Two C's in a Pod

Our yearly post

2011-04-14T16:50:00.005-05:00

So once again it looks like it has been a year between posts. Ehh, I am okay with that. Is there such a thing as an annual blog? I'm pretty sure that is called a Christmas card. Seeing how Claire and I failed to do that this year as well you can consider this our Christmas card and update. Here is the photo, just picture it surrounded by red and green.

So you want a recap of our 2010? Well, even if you don't that is what I am here to give you. 2010 was, well, interesting to say the least. It was an emotional roller-coaster as well as a time that Claire and I realized we needed to really figure out what we wanted to do in life. At the beginning of the year we were super pumped with the start of our business, WholeNine Lifestyle Managment. We had a lot of clients and were staying pretty busy between work, church, our dogs, family and friends. March rolled around and we celebrated my birthday, with a few friends, and then as always we took the week off to enjoy SXSW. Jenny B. and Michael T. joined us that week and we had a blast. We met The Rescues, who Claire and Jenny were huge fans of. I guess I was too because they put on a pretty amazing live show.

During the end of March/April we headed to Tyler to spend some time with Claire's family and do some work for Golly. We also spent a week in Dallas working for her Aunt Amy and just hanging out with friends. Fast forward to May and we did our yearly "roommate" trip with all of Claire's college roommates and spouses. This year we went to galveston and rented a big beach house that was awesome. Lots of fun and this is something we look forward to every year, can't wait for our 2011 trip.

During the summer I started homebrewing and really found it sparked some creativity in me. It was an easy extension of my culinary skills and was something that I found enjoyable and relaxing. Plus it made beer. I have a blog about that you can read here. By the end of the summer Claire and Michelle B. had become really good friends and God put us in the position to help her out and she moved in to our spare room in August. It is amazing how God can create such close bonds between people in such short time. Michelle quickly became like a sister to us, and even though she is no longer living in our house, she is still a big part of our lives.

The fall seemed like a blur to me, currently I can't recall much, other than working and hanging out with friends on occasion. We celebrated Claire's birthday, did Thanksgiving here in Austin, and went to Amarillo for Christmas to visit my family. We found out that Russell and Joni, my brother and sister-in-law, were pregnant. Hooray!

The main thing I remember about the fall was our realization that we weren't very good at marketing ourselves and our business. Claire had been working with Room Fu as an apprentice for a while and during the later part of 2010 was given a part time job with them. I had just been distracted and lacking major motivation to market WholeNine and we eventually came to realize there are a lot of things on our services list that we aren't sure we enjoy/are profitable/or that we are capable of. We still own and run WholeNine but it is in the process of being redefined and redone. Hopefully 2011 will bring clarity to our direction with our business and with our general life. In fact in the first 3 months of 2011 a lot has happened, but you may just have to wait till 2012 to hear about it. Maybe you will get lucky and I will write a post before then.

Welcome to 2010

2010-01-02T11:05:00.006-06:00

So 2010 finally got here, I came in a flying car. Did you? Ok so maybe we don't have flying cars, but Claire and I do have our own business! So that is a pretty big step right. Rather than talking about our plans for 2010 I wanted to do a recap of 2009.

Our year started off with a wonderful week vacation in Amarillo where Claire and I got to visit with friends and family. In early February we took a tour of the Texas wine country with Howie and Jenny. March came along and I was happy. March is one of my favorite times of the year because of two things: my birthday and SXSW. For my birthday we went and visited friends in College Station. We played some board games, frisbee golf and ate German/Irish food. Then for the next two weeks life was all about SXSW. This is probably one of my favorite things in life. Tons of bands descend on Austin. Claire and I enjoy 3-4 days of free shows from our favorite bands and new bands we hadn't heard of. This year we were joined by Michael and had a wonderful time.

By the time April rolled around we were spending most of our time hanging out and planning things for Emily and Charlie and the arrival of their baby, Laith. We were also making a full blown plan for our trip to San Francisco in June. In early May Laith arrived and he was a precious little baby. He was Claire's first experience with birth and I think she learned a lot and was happy to have shared it with Emily.

In June we got to go on the vacation of our lives. Claire and I spent a week in San Francisco and the surrounding areas. We saw everything from the wine country to Berkeley to the trolleys to Golden Gate to nearly the whole city. Plus we ate some of the best food of our lives (see: Little Star Pizza, Genki Crepes, and Avatars).

By the time we got back we were completely worn out. At this point Claire and I had been working for Red Orbit and Bill Miller, respectively, for the whole year. I was sick and tired of the way Bill Miller was treating myself and the other managers and started the wheels turning in my head of ways I could get out. Of course nothing came of it until later in the fall. During the summer we got to enjoy a weekend with all of Claire's college roomies and spouses (minus Kam and David).

In Early september Claire and I came up with a solution to my work situation. Quit...that's right. When the rest of America is holding on desperately to their jobs I just up and quit. Didn't really have a plan other than this faint idea of a business plan. I think I just had it and said I'm done. I hoped for the best and well...so far so good. Soon after quitting Claire and I launched WholeNine Lifestyle Management. We got ourselves a bunch of goverment documents that said we were a business and went for it. I had always wanted to cook for people on a personal cook to family level and the personal chef side of WholeNine allows me to do that. Claire wants to design, decorate, and organize people's homes and this gave her an outlet for that. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around we had thrown our Launch/Re-Launch party at Obees and were officially under way.

We spent Thanksgiving with the Rajehs and enjoyed a delicious feast and some down time with our wonderful friends. Then it was all business in December. We handled a garage sale for some clients, did some Christmas card photo shoots, and did some small handy man work for another set of clients. By the time Christmas came around we had been on an emotional rollercoaster. Who knew running a business would be so fun but so tiring (I guess everyone knows that).

For Christmas my family came into town. We relaxed exchanged gives and generally did a lot of nothing, which was wonderful. For new years we kept it mellow with the White's and this last weekend we visited Claire's family in Tyler. Now with all that out of the way I wish everyone a wonderful 2010 and we plan on telling you our wonderful stories more often this year. Most likely we will transfer over to our WholeNine blog. We couldn't be more excited for what this year has in store for us. We are going into our 4th year of marriage and our first full year of business. I think it will be a great year!

out

2009-08-16T19:35:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the long absence. I assume we will be back someday but for now you might just have to call or email us to get our attention. Work has been overwhelming for me and Claire is just trying to keep up with work and everything else that demands her attention.

We will update about our summer though, at least I think we will.

Also it's hot in Austin. 2 months of 100+ weather is no good.

golden gates and cable cars

2009-06-10T10:00:00.014-05:00

We finally made it in to San Francisco on Monday. Monday was beautiful. First we traveled down into Muir Woods to see the Redwoods and they are big! At first we didn't think they were even going to be as big as the piney woods in east Texas.

We were wrong. They are pretty amazing trees and it's understandable why people make trips out to see them and walk among them. We stopped up on Hawks Hill to look at the Golden Gate Bridge then drove down to Point Bonita and walked over to the light house out on the edge of the continent. This was by far the best view we will get the whole time we are here. It was breathtaking and amazing. Just as we were driving up the hill it started to get foggy. It was simply amazing. We were both in awe that something like this existed and it isn't all that talked about.

The Golden Gate is an amazing structure but the Lighthouse has the real views. You can look back at the bridge, or off into the ocean, or down at the waves crashing on the rocks. It almost feels like you're off in New Zealand. It was a surreal afternoon.

Then we took the scenic drive back, made a stop at Sausalito beach and headed through a tunnel to get back to the bridge. We made one more quick stop at Fort Point for one last look at the bridge. Then we made our way over to our hotel which is awesome and just west of Downtown and Union Square. We are staying at Hotel Vertigo (which was once the York Hotel, which was the building called the Empire Hotel in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo). It has recently been renovated (well halfway, they haven't finished yet). We both think it's got a lot of character. It's definitely a cool place to stay.

That night we made our way down into the mission, which turned out to be quite an experience. Lets just say its a very diversified and not the safest feeling place at night. First we headed over to Bi-Rite to try the famous Ice Cream. It was pretty good, actually really good. But, I have to give Austin credit on this one. We both felt like Amy's Ice Cream was a better experience and was more fun to go to. After that we walked over to Weird Fish were we waited for our table outside on a bench. Well we enjoyed the people watching until we were approached by a really, really drunk hobo who was preaching on love. At least that's what we think he was talking about but being Hispanic and drunk, he was a little hard to understand. Oh well, we got a good laugh out of it before dinner. Weird fish didn't really meet my expectations. It was a cool place but the food wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be. Oh well so far we were striking out in the SF food scene.

The next day we attempted to eat breakfast at Mamas in North Beach only to find a line at 9am on a Tuesday that was about 30 people. Instead we opted for Cafe Greco and had some good coffee/chai and a smoked salmon bagel. We did the normal peir 39/fishermans warf tourist thing and enjoyed the seals for a while.

These guys are loud and boisterous. They just lay around and yell, climb on top of each other, and fight. We could probably have stood there for a couple of hours watching these guys.
We checked out Ghirardelli square and had a cupcake at Kara's Cupcakes (Delicious -watch out Sugar Mama's). Then we headed to the Ferry Building (The last operating World Fair Building) and strolled through the farmers market. Snacked on fresh cherries and fruits. We had lunch there at the Slanted Door (also good, very fresh, but not up to expectations). Maybe our expectations were just too high. After visiting a few shops and riding a bus through Chinatown we ended up strolling around in some cool galleries and checking out Union Square. It was busy and full of tourists. I think it is one of those things you have to do while you are here but I don't really care for the hustle of it. For dinner we headed over to Little Star Pizza, who gets the Best Meal of San Francisco Award so far, and is way up there in our Top Pizza places ever list.

The pizza had this thick, crunchy cornmeal crust that held all the toppings in place. It was deep dish but you could it eat with your hands without it all falling off the crust. Perfect, woo...it was good. We then walked over to Alamo park to check out the Painted Ladies and the "Full House" houses (although it wasn't actually the house they lived in). We took a few fun pictures and enjoyed the scenery. Claire was enthralled with the detail of all the Victorians. This area is a stark contrast to the mission area.

More coming soon!

sonoma, muir woods, and the golden gate bridge

2009-06-08T08:37:00.012-05:00

So far it has been a whirlwind of a vacation. We have packed in about a week's worth of vacation in two days. Two days ago we ate at La Note for breakfast, shopped around Berkeley, ate at Chez Panisse for lunch, tasted at The Cheese Board, explored Berkeley campus, did a tour of the Pyramid brewery, and ate dinner with Shawn and Mandy. We got to see little Sutton for the first time and that was exciting. Thanks to Rick (Claire's Dad) we got to enjoy a nice dinner out with them.

Then yesterday we headed up to Sonoma. Beforehand we checked out the Alameda Aniques by the bay.

It had an awesome view, and Claire was in heaven with billions of vendors selling old antique stuff.

Surprisingly, even I enjoyed myself. Then we began our tasting at about 8 wineries (I think that would make Howie proud). Our favorites were Kaz and Imagery. Imagery does a unique artists' label for each bottle and Kaz is the smallest in Sonoma. Both had great wines and at Kaz the winemaker is the pourer so it was fun to chat with him. Before anything we stopped at Cornerstone Gardens, which is about 15 different intepretations of the word "garden". It includes a dead tree covered in blue christmas balls.

After that we had some amazing and delicious sandwiches at Angelo's Deli. That place is a great cheap lunch stop in Sonoma. From there on out we did our winery tour.

At Benzinger we did a awesome tram tour and then by about 6 we were worn out and ready to head back to our hotel in Tiburon. The hotel turned out to be awesome. It had a 2 person Jacuzzi tub in the room. Very sweet!

For our last stop of the day we headed over to Sausalito for Sushi. Although it was slightly disappointing food it was still good to get some food before bed (We might have made a stop afterwards at In-N-Out Burger for a burger and a shake). Today we are off to Fred's coffee for breakfast, and then we are sightseeing at Muir woods, Sausalito, and the Golden Gate bridge. By tonight we will be in San Francisco. Woo Hoo!

sonoma

2009-06-07T08:07:00.002-05:00

Its 6am day 3 and we are about to be off to Alameda Antiques by the Bay. Nothing there under 20 years old. Claire is excited. Then we are off to Sonoma for the day for some wine tasting.

I don't have pictures up yet for yesterday but we did a lot of shopping at CB2 and Urban Indigo and a few other places. We had breakfast at La Note, lunch at Chez Panisse (INCREDIBLE, in the top 5 meals of my life), and dinner with the awesome Shawn and Mandy at Levende East. It was a good day, a very good day. I should be back soon with more pictures.

twin peaks and dosa

2009-06-06T01:45:00.004-05:00

We got to San Francisco at around 7pm on Friday night. On the recommendation of our fellow passenger and San Franciscan (who was once a Texan, and also had a very unique proffesion) we rushed through renting the car to get to the top of Twin Peaks to catch a great view of the city. If you can't tell from the following pics then let me just tell you it was AMAZING. It was the perfect start to our vacation and I couldn't have found a better view of this city.

After traversing the steep hills to get to Twin Peaks we made our way down into the mission for our planned dinner at Dosa (Indian Food). It was excellent food. We started with a teeny-tiny $9 cocktail, it is expensive here! Then we had a couple soups, one was a spicy tomato broth, the other a creamy, smoky cauliflower dish. Of course we had to actually have the dosa at Dosa. So we went with the traditional masala dosa and added an extra 5 chutneys. All in all it was delicious and we were stuffed and exhausted. We were going to attempt dessert but both were way too full. So we headed across the bay bridge to our hotel in emeryville. Then it was night night.

Today we are off to La Note for breakfast, then we are gonna check out all the shops in Berkeley. Were also gonna hit up the Berkeley Campus, the gate at Pixar, just for a picture, Pyramid Alehouse, Chez Panisse, Beard Papas, The Cheeseboard, and CB2. By the end of the night I am sure we will be exhausted but it will probably be our only chance to see Shawn and Mandy, so we are having dinner with them at Levende East.

california here we are

2009-06-05T02:24:00.006-05:00

We arrived safely in San Francisco today. Now we have 8 more days! I couldn't be more excited to be off from work and at a place that has so much going on as far as shopping, food, tourism, culture, and a just plain cool factor. Not only are we going to SF but we are doing one day stops in Berkeley, Sonoma, and Saulsalito/Muir Woods. I have a about a billion places that I want to eat and Claire has a billion she wants to shop at so combine we have a jam packed 8 days. If you are really curious you can check out our google map for our trip. Just go here. Don't be too shocked. If you know Claire and I you know we had to plan every detail of the trip and this map is proof. I think we both plan on trying to update while there and allow you to travel with us through photos!

finally, a baby!

2009-05-20T10:56:00.008-05:00

No, we're not pregnant. We're still not planning on having a baby ANY TIME in the near future. Let's stop that train before it starts. BUT, our friend Emily who I photographed here finally gave birth to a precious baby boy.

We're pretty dang excited. I'm pretty sure Emily is too, after 9 hours of labor - and 24 hours of 5-minute-apart contractions prior to that, she was ready to have that baby in her arms. I was blessed, along with our best friend Brooke, dear friend Betsy, and a majority of Em's immediate family (her parents, sister, and husband Charlie to get to witness the whole thing alongside the Doctor and nurses (which included on of Em's good friends, Kelly).

I'll spare you the gory details, but birth is a pretty amazing thing. I never thought I'd be willing to SEE that happen to ANYONE...but at the time, all modesty and preconceived notions totally fell away. It was unexplainable, but one of the coolest things I've ever seen that will stay in my mind forever. It is a beautiful process - painful, yes, but beautiful.

Emily gave birth to Najib Laith Rajeh on May 17th (awesome because his namesake - Charlie's father, Najib - had the same birthday) at 1:00AM. He weighed 8lb even, and was 21.5 inches long. His hair may account for half an inch or so - because it is LONG! (:

Charlie and Emily got to spend their first night at home with Laith last night, so I'm anxious to see how that went!

I'm sorry I'm just now posting about this - I felt like I already had, since I've been posting photos to Em's facebook account as well as a special page for her family. I've been tweeting about it, updating my facebook status...and making phone calls. I didn't mean to leave you guys out!

Without further adieu, I give you photos:

Here's Em, right after she got admitted. Her water hadn't broken yet, which you can tell because she's still smiling.

Seconds after Laith was born - literally. The nurse was handing Laith to Emily as this shot was taken.

Charlie, Emily and her Nurse and friend, Kelly - all admiring precious Laith in his first few minutes of life.

He wasn't too keen on being measured, poked, and prodded. Then again, who is?

Chance holding a day old Laith.

Look at that hair! Seriously!

Getting in his car seat for the first time. Not so sure what to think. (:

cuts so throwed

2009-05-15T23:36:00.007-05:00

I am sad to announce the closing of our neighborhood barber shop "Cuts So Throwed". I am not sad because I went there, nor would I go there. I am not sad because I have any idea what Cuts So Throwed means or refers to within the culture that it stands for. What I am sad about is that I can't drive by this local establishment every few days and laugh at my naievity of a language and culture that is foreign to me. Regardless of my cluelessness I will now present to you things that I have found in the last year and things coming up in the next few weeks that I think are "So Throwed".

Feel free to check out the links as I am sure you won't be dissapointed. We will possibly expand on each of these subjects in the future or maybe have a "So Throwed Two" edition.

Food
Tomunchi so throwed: The best yogurt place in Texas. Also the one place that can put me in a good mood instantly.

Obees so throwed: The best deli in Austin serving up traditional deli fare and world class meditternian items as well. Run by the amazing Charlie and Emily.

Polvos so throwed: The best Interior Mexican food this side of the interior of Mexico. Try the Guajillo Fajitas.

Thai-Fresh so throwed: Amazing Thai food prepared by the awesome Chef Jam. She also teaches cooking classes in the Thai-Fresh kitchen. We took a class with her and the Tipsy Texan and it was awesome.

Music
Barcelona so throwed: They just released a new album and it is great. Check it!

Mumford and Sons so throwed: We discovered these guys during SXSW and they are amazing. Haven't stopped listening to them since.

Seabird so throwed: Discovered these guys a while back. Saw them for the first time during SXSW. They had one of the top two shows during the whole festival.

Lex Land so throwed: Amazing, amazing vocalist. Incredible live. Her recorded music doesn't do her justice.

Events
Resident Hero so throwed: In Austin, May 22nd-23rd. It's actually just Ryan White acoustic but it will be incredible.

Paper Route so throwed: In Austin, May 20th at the Mohawk. Great Electronic/Rock out of Nashville.

Laith so throwed: Our dear friend Emily should be having a baby any minute now! Laith Rajeh will join us soon!

San Francisco so throwed: We are vacationing there Jun. 5th-13th. Can't wait for Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Shopping, The Ferry Building, Wine in Sonoma, The Mission, and everything else about this city. The food: A16, The Slanted Door, Chez Panisse, The Creme Brulee Cart, and most importantly Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream.

photoshoots and things...

2009-05-02T22:16:00.022-05:00

I might have mentioned in the last blog that we stink at blogging. I might have also mentioned that we've been busy as heck. Chance has been working a lot, and I've been trying to catch up on work, as well as do about a billion other things.

One of the things I've been doing (well, at least attempting) is shooting some friends. Wait, that sounded bad. Photographing friends. Better?

I did a photoshoot with Candace Christiansen, our Realtor and friend, the last day of March. She needed some temporary headshots for business cards and such. I haven't shot portraits outdoors really (besides just playing around with Chance)...so it was definitely an experiment. But...it was fun for me, and free for her, so hey! It all worked out, I think.

We played around in the arboretum for a while,

And then we headed to Mayfield Park for some different (and better) scenery.

Finally, we stopped on Burnet Road for some of my favorite shots of the day.

All-in-all, it was a relatively good shoot. It made me realize my level of inexperience, and it solidified the fact that I couldn't ever be a professional photographer. It's way too much pressure for me (even though I was shooting in a totally pressure-free situation). I put too much pressure on myself to do well, and when I don't succeed (or meet my own standards) I get disappointed. Also, shoot- photography can get expensive! I shot with my Rebel XT, cheap-o 50mm f 1.8 lens, and the onboard flash - with a DIY diffuser I made from a film canister. If I had better equipment...more experience...anything, these might have turned out quite differently. Makes me respect the Hafners, as well as some of my other photographer friends like Stacy Reeves, Rachel Brooke Stricklin and Michael Cummings even more. But Candace sure is a perrrrrty gal. She was so much fun to photograph (and even more fun to grab a margarita with afterwards)!

I also volunteered to shoot my buddy Emily's maternity photos (I know, you hear a LOT about her, get over it - we spend a lot of time together). I had my concerns, especially since we were shooting so late in the game (she was a month away from her due date). I had even MORE concerns after our failed attempt at a shoot the previous day. We had gotten a very late start, Emily hadn't eaten and got sorta dehydrated/nauseous/terrible feeling, I got devoured by mosquitoes, and the light at the botanical gardens hadn't been what I thought it would be. We went out again that next day - hoping for better, and better we got. I've only edited a handful of these so far, but I'm sure one of us will post more of them on facebook (well, as soon as I give them to her). We shot for the better part of a day, but...I'm glad we did. We got plenty of good shots (although the ones of she and Charlie didn't turn out wonderfully because we ran out of light. Ohhhh well). We headed to Mayfield (one of my favorite new places), and shot a lot at her house, in her own territory. It definitely helped that she's absolutely freaking beautiful.

There have been plenty of other things going on...Em's baby shower (also late in the game, but fun, nonetheless), painting furniture for her nursery, my sister coming in town, re-planting our flowerbed and trying to fix our yard. And that's just the tip of the massive iceberg. Still haven't gotten around to going through the photos from our SXSW adventures back in March (but you SHOULD check out one of our new favorite bands that we heard during SXSW for the first time, Mumford and Sons).

Alritey. That's still all I've got for you. Pretty darn sure we've lost all our readership (and our credibility - well...maybe only from those of you who follow me on twitter). (:

Maybe we'll get better at this whole blogging thing. I think we're both just waiting for things to get less busy, or for something to change...but pretty soon we'll be giving up on that whole thing.

the pressure...

2009-04-07T12:13:00.005-05:00

Well, looks like we got stuck NOT blogging again. Oops. I think somewhere along the line we started pressuring ourselves to post photos with every blog...and, well...there's a stockpile of them on my computer waiting to be sifted through. We haven't posted about SXSW yet simply because I haven't gone through the photos. I haven't even begun sifting through photos from March, and I think there may still be some from February that need posting. I mean...we didn't even really discuss Chance's birthday trip to College Station and how much fun we had. But here we are, in April, coming up on bigger events (like Emily's baby shower and the birth of her baby boy - in something like 5ish weeks?!?!) - and we're falling behind.

I don't know why we pressure ourselves to add photos to each blog. Probably because its more fun to tell a story visually, and probably because we TAKE so many photos, we think we should!

I also have a tendency to want things to get posted chronologically. I think that's my OCD kicking in. I have a hard time posting events out of order. Yuck. It gives me the heebies.

I'm planning on setting aside some time to write a few blogs (but then again, I always say that, don't I?). Hrm. It'll eventually get taken care of. But once again, we've been busy with concerts, friends, Brewster scratching his cornea, photoshoots...shoot. You name it.

And right now, I should be working, but I'm blogging instead. I need to get my priorities straight, eh? Back to work for now. Maybe we should ask YOU guys what you WANT to hear about. Let's try it! Here's a list of potential blog topics:

+ March 1st trip to College Station
+ SXSW
+ Bands we've recently discovered (and love!)
+ Robert Adam and Casey in town/Soldier Thread CD release show
+ My photoshoot with Candace
+ Future furniture projects (but hey, I guess I'll post about those in the future)
+ House project updates
+ Some new finds on television
+ Good movies we've seen

...okay. That's enough for now. So what do y'all want to hear about most?

zoom-zoom

2009-03-15T00:22:00.000-05:00

We have been a bit slow about getting up some pictures of our new car. But here she is:

Some of my favorite features:
Auto Audio Leveling: The volume of your audio automatically adjusts to the speed of the car.
Red lights on blue background during night driving.
Auto/Manual..It has the speed shift for when you want to feel sport and do the shifting.
Super comfortable seats.
Great Gas Mileage.
Very sporty look and feel for a 4 cylinder economy class car.

I can't say enough how much we love our new car. We are very thankful we were able to purchase one at a great rate and just have the general means to get a new car. Sometimes blessings are small. Sometimes they are really big!

i know, i know...

2009-03-12T17:13:00.002-05:00

So, Brooke's been complaining that we don't blog enough - and frankly, I agree. I really enjoyed writing every single day in November - taking the time out to vent, or celebrate, or ramble, or whatever - it was healthy. Since then though, I keep posting and promising to you that we'll write more. My intentions really are good, but I just can't actually make it happen.

You might wonder what exactly it is that keeps us so busy, and in reality, I'm not entirely certain. I keep WANTING to blog - but things keep distracting me. There are so many things I could write about - but I feel like other things keep happening that keep me from it. Same goes for Chance - he keeps telling me he's going to blog about things, but he has way less time than I do. And...because I'm slightly anal about writing events down in order, chronologically, I don't post until after he's posted about such-and-such event...etc. Basically...we just suck at this whole blogging thing. But, we're gonna try until we get it right.

Anyway - I guess we have been pretty darn busy. Since the end of February, we've purchased a new car ('09 Mazda 3) - which I KNOW Chance wants to blog about (and show you pretty pictures of our new baby)!!! We took a road trip to College Station for Chance's birthday - hung out with friends there, and celebrated his 25th. We've also had several friends turn a year older - in fact, Emily's b-day is coming up on Sunday. Let's see - what else...our AC went out at our house (had that fixed). My computer keeps overheating, but I keep putting off trying to start the whole repair process. We started digging up our overgrown flowerbed in the backyard and had a slight accident involving a pickaxe and some pvc pipe - causing a geyser in our yard and no water for 20 hours or so. I helped Emily paint her baby's room, and hung out with her parents, sister, brother, and his girlfriend last weekend. Chance has been pretty busy with work (adding an additional 2-3 hours a week on to his already 50something hour work week). Oh - and SXSW is coming up next week, so we're trying to get ready for that (planning a schedule, and getting ready to have people crashing at our house). Oh yeah - and right now I'm sick (yes, again) with some fever and some major aches (similar to what happened in July '07 that made me feel fatigued for 4 months after that).

So yeah, I guess we HAVE been pretty busy. I'm just overwhelmed. So I'm sorry we haven't kept up with our blog very well. We really are working on it - or we will, when I stop being sick and things stop blowing up in our faces. Yup.

vino

2009-02-23T11:23:00.019-06:00

I finally had a three day weekend. Claire and I decided to take full advantage of it too. In early February the Central Texas Wineries get together and do what is called the Wine Lover's Trail, which is basically a self guided tour of all the wineries around the hills of central Texas. However, since Claire and I waited til' the last minute to buy the 30 dollar ticket we missed out on some of the extra treats that you get when you a "official" part of the tour. Howie, Claire's cousin, assured us there would be no need for a ticket and we would be able to taste for free or for a minimal fee at most of the wineries. This ended up being true.

So on Saturday the 7th we loaded up with Howie and Jenny in our Jeep with some crackers, cheese, and no map at all. Luckily Howie has recently become a wine connoisseur and has visited most of the wineries about 5 or so times and has it all mapped in his head.

The first stop was Spicewood Vineyards. The place was pretty nice. Since this was the first time I had been on any wine tasting I didn't really know what to expect. So it was nice to find a relaxing, unpretentious place to sit and chat while tasting. The best wine they had was the Semillon.

After that we headed through the middle of nowhere to McReynolds Wineries where we found one of most entertaining hosts of the whole trip, lots of good chocolates and snacks, and some dogs. Jenny said she judged a winery by how cute the dog they had was. McReynolds is a experience. Wasn't really impressed by the wine but it was fun to listen to this lady talk about everything while tasting.

Next up was Texas Hills Vineyard. They have a incredibly nice building and set up but it was jam packed full of people and so the tasting experience was somewhat rushed. Claire and I have had their Orange Muscat before and it is delicious.

On our way into Fredericksburg we hit up Perdenales Cellars where we debated whether this Buffalo was wearing a blanket or just had a white stripe.

He had a white stripe, it turns out. Becker Vineyards, Grape Creek Vineyards, and Woodrose Winery were also on the way into town. At Becker there was a HUGE! tree by the vineyards. Notice the tiny human being (below the tree) photographing this giant of nature.

I think we did a total of 9 wineries the first day, which I thought was a ton but Howie said he has done more. Like I said he is a pro. Grape Creek was probably our favorite of the day as they had some really good white wines and nice hosts and facilities.

Although it was about 3pm when we got into Fredericksburg no one was hungry for lunch because we had snacked on cheese and crackers while driving. MMM...Beemster Vlaskaas is so good! Once we found our awesome Bed and Breakfast, Das Garten Haus, we unpacked and headed into town to check out some shops.

Our first stop however was for ice cream at The Clear River Pecan Company. They had some fun hats which Howie and I proudly modeled.

More importantly they had tons of varietals of homemade ice cream and all I can say is YUM. We walked around on main street and checked out some of the design stores that Claire enjoys as well as the toy store, dog store, and the famous Rustlin' Rob's gourmet foods.

They have thousands of sauces, jams, dips, etc for the tasting. So even though no one was hungry we managed to eat ice cream and a billion dips. Since we were planning on having a nice dinner later that night at The Nest (reviewed at my other blog) so we tried not to stuff ourselves. Anyways, after wandering around for a bit more we headed to the Fredericksburg Winery on main street where you can taste like 10 wines for free. Howie and I got started on this while Jenny chatted on the phone outside and Claire attempted to go to a store she'd really wanted to visit, Red, which was closed. She joined us eventually. I decided I liked almost every wine they had and so it quickly became one of my favorite wineries.

By this time we are all exhausted so we head to the B&B to chill for a bit. Our dinner spot, The Nest, happened to be across the street from Das Garten Haus so we just walked on over and had a very interesting dinner to say the least. We had steak, scallops, and lamb. Claire just had soup but was satisfied and the soup was actually one of the best plates on the table. The restaurant was nice and tasty but service just wasn't up to par. We were all pretty tired after that so we headed back to our rooms and relaxed, watched some TV, made coffee, snacked on toffee and sat outside on the patio for a bit.

DAY 2
In the morning we got up for our first ever Bed and Breakfast experience. It was incredible actually. The food was superb, most notably the pear baked in cream. We chatted with some other guests for about an hour and enjoyed a relaxing morning with coffee and incredible food. There is just something about rolling out of bed in your pajamas and walking down to a table prepared with delicious homemade food.

As the everyone got ready Claire and I took photos of our B&B. Then we headed north to visit another 4 wineries before heading home.

We visited Fall Creek Vineyards which really is in the middle of nowhere but they had some really cheap, good wines. After that we dined gourmet at Dairy Queen. At Alamosa Wineries we stopped and hung our for a while. We bought a bottle and drank it out on the patio. The wind was like west Texas and was blowing 100 miles an hour. It was still nice to take it slow rather than rush from winery to winery.

We visited two more wineries, Texas Legato and Pillar Bluff, before the day was over. Pillar Bluff had the most amazing blue cheese dip. It outshone all of their wines. Howie has the recipe and someday we will have to re-create it.

We finally headed home after a whirlwind of a two day trip. Having Howie as a guide was fantastic as we didn't really have to worry about finding the places. He only had us take a few wrong turns, which only resulted in minor bickering.

It was a lot of fun to taste and learn about all the different grapes and the wine making process. I would probably take it a bit slower next time and just do a few select wineries and hang out in Fredericksburg. I had a blast just hanging out with Claire, Howie, and Jenny. We fought over Buffalo in blankets, wrong turns, Howie going paparazzi, whether Claire wants salad or not, and probably a multitude of other things. Those little things are what make trips like this so much fun and so memorable though. It is great to get to do things like this with good friends because you can always go back and laugh at the demanding waitress or the crazy wine hostess. The wine, the company, the food, and the Texas countryside were all great. I can't wait till the next time around.

recipe not so much for disaster

2009-02-06T18:57:00.006-06:00

So as part of my "resolutions" this year I wanted to cook more at home. Specifically cook more from recipes out of a cook book. In doing so I hoped to expand my knowledge base on ingredients, spices, combinations, techniques, and foods I had yet to work with. The following are my 3rd and 4th attempts.

The first was a salmon with a sesame seed crust and red pepper mayo. It all sounded like it was going to be amazing. I paired it with some sauteed mushrooms and zucchini as well as some sesame ginger rice (from a box, which is really good).

The real problem was that the sauce was lackluster, and the salmon just needed some more life to it. Coated in flour, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds the salmon hid underneath the light batter, so the sauce/mayo needed to be amazing.

Nothing was bad though, just not up to my standards. Is it narcissistic to critique your own cooking? Oh well, I enjoy talking about it, ha! A couple nights later I attempted some fish tacos with a black bean & mango salsa.These were actually pretty darn tasty. My problem: I don't know how to pick a ripe mango. HA, so the mango I got was piney/crunchy. Not the right texture or flavor. Once picked through this was however a quick and satisfying meal.

I'm not going to post the recipes on these guys since I didn't "create" them. If, however, you must try them I can pass along the recipe's along with what I would change/do different.

Anyways enough about food, on to wine. Claire and I are going on a Wine tour this weekend! Woo Hoo. It will be our first time to get away from Austin where we aren't visiting family and are just relaxing. Just the two of us, sorta. Claire's cousin and girlfriend are acting as semi-professional tour guides and are gonna hang out with us all weekend. Howie is a proffesional at this wine stuff and knows quite a few of the winos (ehh..or..guys that make the wine at the vineyards). So it should be pretty exciting. We get to stay the night on Saturday in Fredricksburg (I know your jealous Mom) at a bed and breakfast. We are also gonna test out Nest on Saturday night for Dinner. Really I am just excited about spending some time away from home and work.

Off to cook dinner.

aaah, the dreaded 25...

2009-02-04T23:44:00.003-06:00

Honestly, we only have like ONE blog reader (RA, ahem, ahem) who doesn't have facebook (that I know of, well, excluding family)...

...but this "25 random things" thing has been spreading around my friends on facebook like wildfire. You've seen these before, I'm sure...where you get 'tagged' and are required to share some number of random things about yourself and then 'tag' other people, or forward it on, or whatnot. It's all just a time-waster really...but since I wasted so much time writing one I thought I'd at least get two posts out of it, and put it up here too. Hey - maybe you'll learn something about me you didn't already know. Chance did! (:

So, here it is:

Since I've been tagged by 9 people, I figure it's time to give this a go. I thought about waiting 'til that number hit 10, but I'm in procrastination mode and figured..might as well.

1. I love food, so what better way to start this? - Donuts and Ice Cream are probably my two favorite edible things in the entire world. If only one could exist, and I were forced to choose, I might throw myself from a building.

2. Toffee is my favorite candy-type substance. Tied for second: Cadburry Eggs and Brach's Mellowcreme Pumpkins. Mmm, seasonal candy. (Okay. Enough about food for now).

3. When my house is clean and things are organized, I feel like a completely different person than dirty-house-Claire.

4. I love lists. To-do lists, wish lists, lists of restaurants I want to try, lists - lists - lists! But sometimes I get irritated when I can't get through them. Once I set my mind to doing something, I have to finish before I can really rest.

5. I often daydream of having a 'real job' where I get to go to happy hour with my coworkers, instead of sitting around the house smelling dog farts all day. But if I had a real job, I'd miss those farts, I think.

6. I almost always refuse to spend more than $20 on a piece of clothing, yet I'll spend much more than that on things for my home. Guess I'm only half-cheap.

7. I have a difficult time listening to music while I'm working - I start listening too hard and forget to work.

8. I really can't multitask at all, although I've been told that no one can ACTUALLY multitask - but I feel I'm worse than others at faking it.

9. I herniated a disc in my back about 4 years ago. It was a 3 step process that involved trying to learn to booty dance, a major tumble on snowskiis, and rearranging the furniture in my room single-handedly. Lately, it's been hurting again.

10. I was tall for my age, until 6th grade when I stopped growing and everyone else shot above my measly 5'2".

11. Ross Sudderth called me fat in first grade...but I didn't get fat until 3rd or 4th grade (and then I was a REAL tubbo). Maybe he was a psychic, but that scarred me for a long time. He also sang Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire accompanied by vulgar movements at Christmastime that year. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken him seriously.

12. I used to have imaginary friends that were mice named Michael and Jennifer. I think they were somehow inspired by David the Gnome. They kept me company when I got in trouble and had to go to time out.

13. Speaking of time out, for quite some time when I was little, I had to sit in the time out chair in the hallway EVERY Sunday. I'm not sure why I misbehaved every Sunday, but I did. At least I had company...

14. I dream a LOT, but my dreams are rarely good. I only remember ONE good dream, and I had it when I was probably 5. Batman (Adam West) and Robin came to my grandparents' house and they were sick and I had to nurse them back to health. I loved that dream. Most of my dreams are fairly pertinent and realistic, and I have a hard time not getting them mixed up with my real life and letting them affect my mood.

15. I have kids' names picked out even though I'm not even sure I want them. In fact, at this stage in life I'm 80% sure I don't. But I do love the names. Maybe we'll use them for future pets.

16. I've only walked out of a movie theater once that I recall. If I remember correctly, my dad had taken me to see the animated movie Cool World when I was 8, and it ended up being WAY too 'grown up' for me to watch, so we walked out. I still haven't seen the movie.

17. I have hundreds of stuffed animals that I've collected over the years. They're currently in my garage and I'm giving 3/4 of them (at least) away. It's heartbreaking to let go of them - they all have names and memories. Luckily (in this instance), in the past two years my memory has gotten bad, which makes this process slightly easier.

18. I HATE the movie Home Alone, and I'm just now getting over my hatred of Macaulay Culkin. I watched that movie the night my parents told me they were getting separated...and have hated it/him ever since. He was pretty funny in Saved though, and that redeemed him a little.

19. I think some numbers are just UGLY. Like 19, which also happens to be my birthday. Appropriate?

20. Last month, I got homesick for what was possibly the first time EVER, and I actually entertained the idea of eventually moving back to Tyler. Yikes. I honestly can't see myself ever leaving Austin. Love this town.

21. I'm passionate about music, houses/architecture, and interior design. I'm hoping to eventually develop at least one of these into a career.

22. I've always been one of those people who was well-rounded, GOOD at a lot of things, but not exceptionally great at any one particular thing. I've always been jealous of people who are just 'gifted' and 'know' their calling because it's so obvious. I shouldn't complain, but I've always wanted to be exceptionally great at ONE thing, rather than good at several.

23. I love my close friends so passionately that my friendships often feel like 'relationships', and if one ends, it hurts like a breakup.

24. I think some numbers are just beautiful, and this is my favorite. I really SHOULD just stop here...

25. 99.9% of the time I get in bed at least 10 minutes after Chance at night - and I always warm my freezing appendages with his body. He doesn't appreciate it, and he always squirms. I'm not sure if I do it more for warmth or for the pleasure of watching him wiggle and protest.

january's been a whirlwind

2009-01-29T11:36:00.002-06:00

The past few weeks have been quite busy, and maybe even slightly more fun than the 'norm' (as you can probably tell from our lack of blogging - we really need to work on that). I feel like we've been quite a bit more social than normal...which feels really good to me...but it makes work that much harder. Lol. Oh well.

When we got back from our holiday adventures, Brooke was in town, and then she came back the following weekend with her friend Emily from nursing school. It was SO good to spend some time with those ladies (and the rest of our friends we met up with while they were here). It was a real treat to get to see Brooke two weekends in a row (although I can't believe she made two trips down here)! I'm sorry she got in a wreck and had to get her car fixed up...but I'm certainly glad it took them a little too long to fix it so she graced us with her presence again! (:

In the past couple of weeks, we've also been blessed to have Monday-sushi-night with Charlie and Emily two weeks in a row! The first week we tried Maki (a create-your-own style sushi place) - you can read Chance's food blog for a full review.

This past Monday we enjoyed Austin's first conveyor belt sushi place...K.G. Sushi Train...they were having a special for $1.50 per plate...Chance and I totally loaded up on sushi - we all ate way too much!

The Monday we went to Maki (2 weeks ago) we also headed to my cousin Howie's to play wii with him...and we had a blast. Lol. He got some weird game pack that was pretty complicated, I must say. Check out the old man in the corner...lol...

Chance got pretty good at a few of the games...and Howie and I showed him up in basketball. The wii world is the only place where us shorties can beat giants like Chance. (:

...more fun ensued on Wednesday. We went to Liz and James' place for Elizabeth's 28th birthday party - and there were crepes and coffee for everyone to enjoy! It was a blast talking to friends from church and hearing some snippits of future Jets Under Fire songs, courtesy of Corbin. It was super chill....the cream puffs were tasty (even frozen), and the company was even better.

Seriously - we've had a ton going on...so much it's hard for me to remember it all! This past weekend was incredibly fun. Michael, Julia, and Sherrice all came in town on Saturday for the Wideawake CD release show. They came in a little early so we could play some games...we ended up playing Gemblo (which is similar to Blokus), Wasabi (which was just awesome), and Tsuro (which we love). The show was early, so we headed out for an early dinner and stopped along the way at Dragon's Lair (a comics/gaming store). We went about 6 months ago, and I had totally felt out of place...but this time, I felt like I fit right in. Hahah. I think I'm embracing my inner nerd more than I have been. After some shopping (and purchasing by Michael and Julia),

we went down the road to Phil's Icehouse (mmm, love me some sweet potato fries), which everyone seemed to love. After stuffing our faces, we headed to the show - where Sherrice and Michael stood in line and Julia and I sat in the car and stayed warm til the doors opened. It was good to see Wideawake again,

and I've got a billion opinions on the show...but I'm just hoping someone else (ahem, Sherrice) will review it for me. The best part of the show was my cousin Ashley appearing out of nowhere - shoot, I hadn't seen that girl in like 2 years. It was great to get to hug her!!!

After the show, we played a new game that Michael and Julia had just bought - and Chance joined us...he got home from work about the same time we got home from the show. Then - we headed to Whataburger to re-fuel, and followed up our grubbin' with some Killer Bunnies (which my pal Philip had given us for Christmas). It was a long, busy, fun day - I haven't had that much fun in quite some time.

...but we did have quite a fun time this past Sunday. After church we went to Lunch with Sherrice (who'd spent the night), Stephanie, Trey, Corbin, and Chad (Corb's brother) at Magnolia cafe. Mmmmm...good food. Then - Stephanie and Trey came over with their precious Yorkie, Becsar, and we introduced him to Freddie and Brewster. We played Killer Bunnies with them before they had to head off to dinner with some folks. Sunday evening we went to help Blaine and Elizabeth Crockett move their dining table into their new house, but it was already done once we'd arrived. We decided to help them out instead by going out to eat with them. Hahaha. We went to Firehouse Subs, which was actually REALLY good (not nearly as good as Obee's, but it certainly beats Jimmy John's, Subway, Jersey Mike's (which I really like) and POSSIBLY even Which Wich). They have a huge variety of hot sauces you can add to your sandwich (my personal favorite being Pappy's White Lightning)...mmm. Tasty.

In the midst of all of this 'being social'...we've also gotten a good deal of work done. Okay, okay...it's not as much as I'd like. But we've at least gotten the ball rolling on the garage organization project (which is huge). I forgot to take a 'before' photo...but I guess I should take one now so that you can see at least a portion of what we've come from. So far I've gone through about 3/4 of my stuffed animals and several other boxes, while Chance has hung a shelf and started putting things in the attic (where he had to first lay wood across the rafters).

It's going to be quite a process, but at least we're moving on it. Yesterday we painted one wall so we can start getting things set up at least along that wall. I'm really hoping we can finish it by March - that's my goal...because I'll have a lot of other projects to complete after that!

And now...I'm sick - with some kind of severe sore throat (maybe strep?)...I'm going to the doctor this afternoon. Fun fun fun.

So...in case you've wondered WHY we've been slackers....we really haven't - just in the blogging arena. I'm hoping we'll get around to posting more blogs (shorter ones)...as our schedule starts to clear. 2009 has certainly started out as a busy year for the Patricks!

a cue from beth

2009-01-26T18:39:00.002-06:00

As I have been inspired by so many of Beth's posts, I decided I would give all you loyal readers a quick taste of what has been cooking in my kitchen. No, sadly you can't really taste it. However, I love to cook so if you bring yourself over, with a little warning, I will attempt to whip you up something palate pleasing. So here is what Claire and I had for dinner on Friday night.

I think I will call it Upside Down Stuffed Avocado. As you will probably notice, or have noticed in the past, I like to infuse a south of the border flair into my cooking. This recipe was a self created one. I decided this year I was going to find a good balance between using the 8 billion cookbooks I have and creating my own recipes. Someday I will compile my own creations into my own Tastebook.

The only problem I had with this meal was that I eyeballed the amount of olive oil put into the rice. Well, I'll admit, we all make mistakes and I over did it a bit so it came out just a tad on the oily side. Cutting the oil back would have made this probably a big winner, in this instance it just came out to be a good meal.

RECIPE:
1 Avocado (Halved, Peeled, and seed removed)
1 Chicken Breast (Grilled, Baked, or cooked to your preference)
1 Handful of Panko Crumbs
1 Cup Cilantro
1/2 Cup Green Onion
4 Chopped Button Mushrooms
1 Box of your favorite Spanish Rice (or make your own)
Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Tabasco, Cumin, Paprika, Fajita Seasoning, and Olive Oil

Saute the Mushrooms, Green Onion, Chicken in olive oil. Add all seasonings to taste. I like it strong so I pack it all on. Cover outside of Avocado with panko crumbs and quickly fry in olive oil until crumbs are light brown. Toss chicken mixture with fresh cilantro and portion onto the rice.
Top with the avocado, pitted side down and serve.

Enjoy.

i'm giddy...

2009-01-20T22:32:00.011-06:00

...like a 16 year old girl. Resident Hero finally put up one of their newest recordings on their myspace this afternoon and I'm floored. Hearing their new song, "The Pressure" (no..the link is not broken I'm just not 100% sure you'll all be able to see it - but whatever, I digress)...took me back 9 years to the moment I fell in love with them in the passenger seat of Brooke's car. And then after that, when she dragged me to the first bar I ever went to to see the first real rock band I ever saw.

Lol. Wow. We even saw them on prom night.

So much has happened since then.

I know the song probably won't quite do for you what it did for me - It still has me reeling, it gave me chills, it made me truly feel something in a place I rarely do. But then, Ryan White's songwriting, guitar playing, and vocals are what made me fall head over heels for music. It was Resident Hero's passion (a passion which I have not seen surpassed) that inspired me to keep listening, seeking it out, promoting bands, and even start a management company with Chance.

I'm so impressed with how far he's come musically (oh, if I could only play some RH circa 1999 for you - and I loved it then)!

I can't guarantee that you'll like it. But you guys should all check it out...even if they're not your style. And wish them luck - they're showcasing in NY next week - hopefully something good will come of it. If Resident Hero isn't your flavor, or if you like pop music better than rock...you can check out his acoustic project with Gavi: Birds of New York.

That's all for now. Be expecting some possible future blogs about...my past and my future. Oh - and whatever Chance might want to write about. (:

big c's version of the holidays

2009-01-18T00:22:00.004-06:00

I will start way back before Christmas. Pre-Christmas was kinda hectic. Although we did put up lots of House lights and a tree, it still didn't feel like much of a Christmas season. Claire and I were to busy running around trying to prepare gifts, travel plans, dog arrangements, work, and just keep our day to day lives in one piece. On my end it was mostly work and be discouraged that my computer was on the fritz and about to die. Beyond work, I did a lot of cooking.

But since Claire did most of Christmas I will briefly touch on my week alone in Austin and then update you on Amarillo.

While Claire worked, socialized, and visited family in Tyler. I was stuck in Austin pretty much just working. I did celebrate New Years Eve with our good friends Charlie and Emily. Thanks guys for inviting me! Mostly I just played Civilization IV which Claire got me for Christmas. Deep down I am still a nerd. Oh well, I enjoyed my time alone but was very ready for a vacation. Once Friday the 2nd hit I was off to Tyler with Freddie and Brewster in tow.

We were finally off to Amarillo for Vacation after that! I hadn't really had a chance to visit with family for over a year. So the plan was to make it as laid back and relaxing as possible, and it was. We did Christmas with my parents when we got there.

I got a sweet magnetic picker upper thingy and Claire got a little baggy to hold stuff in her purse among other great gifts.

That night we headed over to visit my great friends John and Lacey. Although their dog Darla stole the show after her bath.

The next day we finally went to Malcom's. Claire had been begging me to take her there and so Mom joined us

and we had lunch and sundays. Ours was butterscotch. It ended up being a little to butterscothy?! Good non-the-less.

We met up again at the Eslers that night to play some board games (munchkin) and catch up.

During the days Claire worked at Roasters and enjoyed some good coffee, while I caught up on my reading. On the 6th Claire and I celebrated our anniversary...family style.

We had a big meal out with my parents, John and Lacey, and Will and Anna. Off course, if you know us, you know we had to have Mexican food. So we went to Leals. It was delicious, of course. It was also a great way to celebrate two years of Marriage. We topped the night off with more board games at the Eslers. You may start to see a pattern here.

The next day we shopped out at the mall, made friends with a stray,

worked crossword puzzles, bummed around and ended up playing more Board Games.

All the days kind of blend together when you are recalling memories. At some point we went and saw Seven Pounds. I thought it was incredibly slow and boring. Claire was intreguied. We made our way over to the Water Still for some great flavored Ice Teas. We also played around with Scott's fancy lens for his Canon. We pretended we were models. Which Claire could be.

And I could not.

Mostly we ate a lot of food. Hung out every night at/with John and Lacey. Played games, had great conversation and even made some new friends! It was great to see Nick, Will, Anna, John, and Lacey all again and even got to hang out with some of their Amarillo friends, Thomas and Colleen.
On Friday we got up and drove back to Tyler to retrieve our dogs from Luci's care. Which of course while we were away Freddie thought it would be a good idea to eat a Tennis Ball, puke all over the room he was sleeping in and be a general nuisance for Luci. Thanks for keeping the pups though! Before leaving on Saturday to come back to Austin we played a little WII with Elbert. I also discovered not to mess with Claire because she was knocking people out in like 10 seconds flat on WII boxing. The pups enjoyed a smooth ride home

and we finally are home for a while. I bought a new computer on Saturday when we got back from Dell. Merry Christmas to me!

As for 2009, I expect a good year. Yes, Yes..the economy is bad, bad news, bad news, bad news. Thats all I hear. But after two years of marriage God hasn't failed us yet. In fact he has only blessed us so I expect good things in the future. Some things I know are coming and some goals I have set for myself and Claire:

Welcome in a bunch of Babies (Esler's, Rajeh's, Gooch's, and the Carroll's).
Get some new CD's from some of our favorite bands
Have a good time at SXSW
Plan the next set of Holidays way in Advance
Read a lot of books
Accomplish more of our summer goals
Blog a lot more
Practice my photography more
Clean out the Garage
Take a vacation (Most likely to San Francisco)
Redo our Back Yard
Possibly start a Garden
Put in Lights for the House
Write a lot more restaurant Reviews

And continue to bless and be blessed by others whether through prayer, conversation, online chats, blogs, phone calls, texts, emails, or just by word of mouth. I hope that everyone has something great to look forward to this year because I know Claire and I do. When I stop to look back on it I can truly see how blessed we are.

good times in tyler (aka: holiday blog #2)

2009-01-14T23:51:00.002-06:00

Let's pick up where we left off, shall we?

Here's where my memory probably won't function like it should - which really frustrates me. Oh well - it's better for you guys - it'll mean a shorter blog to read (yes, short by MY terms, or shorter than it COULD have been).

The thing I remember MOST about the day after Christmas is the yoga. That's right...Luci talked me into doing yoga with her at her gym (instead of spending the morning working, like I fully intended). I've NEVER done yoga before - and only thought about it once or twice - promptly changing my mind when I remembered how clumsy I am and how badly I'd probably hurt myself. Somehow, the day after Christmas I decided it'd be a good thing to do - mainly because I was feeling like a tubbo from the mounds of food the day before. Anyway...I went....and according to my sister, Tonya - the instructor - went easy on us. Whatever. The class was small, thankfully; it was my sister, myself, Tonya, and two other people. According to Tonya I did fairly well - she gave me a few suggestions to correct my lines or whatever you call them...but I've NEVER seen my muscles twitch like that. I don't think I've ever done anything so strenuous in my life. Toward the end of the class Tonya said something about doing headstands, and I assumed she was joking and nearly started laughing. She wasn't joking. Everyone else aroumd me got on their heads like it was old hat. HA! I'm still on the fence about the possibility of starting to go in for yoga classes at Gold's ....or never doing yoga again, ever. Ha. It was amazingly hard - I was sore for days afterward, but I was proud of myself for doing it.

I don't have any photos from the 26th at all, so I'm going from memory here. I know the 26th started my latte kick - I had coffee with dad in the morning, and then again that evening with Zach Matson (a friend I hadn't seen in YEARS!). I was able to go to lunch at Carretas with Daniel Elbert (one of my absolute best, and longest friends) and hit up Target for some after-Christmas sale goodies (what a great friend, he was carrying crap around Target for me). I also had the pleasure of hanging out with the Becker family and eating some of Charlie's good cooking for dinner (yay for hanging out with Charlie and Em *and Maan and Sarah* in Tyler!)...but I had to turn down several plans for lack of better time-slot-planning (sorry Mark and Amanda). It was a pretty busy day, now that I think about it.

...and since my memory is apparently returning, you can all probably forget about this being a short blog...at this point, I'm writing for the sake of preserving what memories I do have...lol...

The 27th was 'Logan's Christmas'. It's the first year for Logan (my nephew) to have separate Christmases, but he celebrated with my family on the 27th - since we didn't get to see him on Christmas day. It was a pretty big celebration - we had pizza for lunch at his request...and watched him open a zillion presents (and opened our presents from he and Luci). Chance and I got him some webkinz - which I was pumped about playing with...but we never DID get around to it. He got some awesome stuff though...a new bike, a bike ramp, an iPod shuffle.

Man, he's spoiled. But we did have fun playing with his toys! My mom, Luci and I went shoe shopping briefly after that...and then I met up with Elbert for another latte and some wandering around Tyler (checking out some apartments and going to furniture stores and Bed Bath and Beyond). That night I was supposed to go to Megan Carr's wedding...but it also happened to be Tiffany Taff's b-day celebration day...so I opted to hang out with miss Tiffany and the gang instead...and Elbert opted out of the fun, so we went our separate ways. I headed to El Charro (one of the old childhood haunts) to have dinner with some fun folks (including, but not limited to: Trevor, Jonathan, Jennifer, Nathan, and Laura) to celebrate miss Taff being a quarter of a century old. We laughed a lot - then proceeded to her dad's house to play wii. That night - I moved my stuff from my sister's to my mom's so I could stay with her for a couple of days. That's right - not only is my Christmas a mobile one, but every time I stay in Tyler I generally move from place to place so I get to spend a little time with everyone. It'd be so much easier if my whole family just lived in one big house. On second thought, not really.

The 28th...Sunday...I went to Elbert's church which was pretty cool - the service was over 2 hours, which I'm not used to, but the worship was cool and the preaching was great too. Afterwards, I met up with mom, Luci and Logan for lunch at Chili's, then we headed over to my dad's house for Logan's Christmas with him. It was fun to hang out there for a little while...til I had to go work. Working in Tyler was interesting - I didn't get ALL my hours in, but it was fun to venture out to the various coffee shops. That day, I opted to go to Java Jams - the coffee shop in the grocery store (which, at that point, was the only one I knew had free wifi). There were quite a few interesting characters there - like the hobo who was sleeping across from me. My friend (and 'co-worker') Trevor showed up for a little bit with his brother Sam...and talked to me. When I finished working, I headed back up to Elbert's church (where he was setting up computers for them)...and we met his brother Scott for dinner at Little Italy (Lililly - for those of you who knew me in high school). I had probably the most fattening thing on the menu - eggplant parmesan with alfredo sauce. GOSH it was GOOD. I haven't eaten Italian food at a restaurant in at least a year (Chance doesn't believe in it)...so it was kinda nice. Afterwards, we pulled a typical Tyler move and went to walk around WalMart. Yup. That's what you do at night in Tyler. The boys got tired, and...I went home - intending to work - but passed out as soon as I hit the bed.

The 29th was my day of 'adventure' - Claire style. As I'd mentioned briefly before, Elbert was apartment shopping (he's been living with the 'rents and is ready to move the heck out)...but he couldn't do a whole lot while he was at work. I volunteered to check a few places out for him (get pamphlets, prices, info, etc) - so that's what I spent most of Monday doing. I went by 7 or so apartments before picking up some Chick-Fil-A for myself and Golly and taking it to her house to eat and spend some time with her. After lunch, I headed to these AWESOME new lofts downtown (the Moore Grocery Lofts)...and then worked a little at my dad's. Elbert met up with me around 4 at this really awesome 4-plex I'd found to check out on Craigslist - then we went to another amazing house that had 7 or so different units in it. These places were AWESOME...old...ahh...I can't describe them. The loft + those last two places were seriously amazing. If I HAD to move back to Tyler, I'd probably opt to rent out one of them. Loved them. I think I had soup for dinner at dad's that night - not that you care - lol...and then went to Elbert's to hang out. We played the Office game (one of his Christmas presents) - which he kicked butt at - me, not so much.

Although - I ALMOST won - I kept getting the easy questions. But he beat me. I let him. Not really.

The 30th was another adventure-filled day. I worked that morning at Cafe Tazza (best frozen Chai EVER). Then I went to lunch with Golly (who had been nice enough to loan me her caddy for the duration of my trip - so I was picking her up from her hair appt), mom, Luci and Logan at McAlister's. After lunch, I ran an errand or two, which included moving my stuff to dad's house (where I'd stay the rest of my time in Tyler). Then Luci, Logan and I went out to my aunt Julia's place. She and Jan (her friend who she lives with) have a TON of animals - so we thought it'd be fun to put on our grubbies and go play. There were so many precious pups (this one's Denim),

a cage full of beautiful doves, plenty of roosters...you name it.

There was a male goose that was in love with a male Great Pyrenees (and very protective of him),

some really funny goats,

and a PRECIOUS horse who followed us around and constantly put her face right in mine the whole time we were there.

Logan even got to ride a horse for his first time.

Afterwards we grabbed some gas station snacks, went shopping for dad's bday present...and then I went home to work a little more. We had leftover soup for dinner (if my memory serves me correctly)...and then I went to Elbert's again to close out the night. This time, we went to Dairy Queen donning free sundae coupons (courtesy of a client of Elbert's), I showed him photos of my day at the farm, he discovered Google Maps Street View for the first time ever and was overwhelmed,

and we watched Peanut (his sweet cat) be mischevious.

I'm a little foggy on the goings-on of New Year's Eve. I know I worked for a while that morning and I'm pretty sure I had lunch at some point, but I have no clue what or with whom. That afternoon I went over to my cousin Allison's house to visit with her and Nana (my dad's mom). It was nice to spend some time with them (even though Allison's bird Tweety was on my head half the time - haha)!

Late that afternoon I drove to the line to purchase some alcohol for NYE beverages. Ohhh - the line. Tyler is in a dry county, so you've gotta drive out to lake Palestine (or Kilgore) to buy any alcohol. Let me tell you - I have NEVER seen liquor stores look like this. It was like black friday all over again. Insane - I tell you.

Elbert came over that evening to celebrate with me. We began the festivities by watching a dvd he'd brought of all the Pixar shorts. It was a good start to the night - watching Jack Jack float around...and the snowman in his snowglobe...and those fat little birds on a wire. We then proceeded in our attempt to make mudslides (one of the only drinks Elbert will drink which is why I bought the alcohol)...only to find out that the blender was leaking. I guess that happens when you've got a blender from the 1970s. Hahah. I was determined to make them though since I'd driven 30 minutes to buy the mixins. Lol. I put some ice in a ziplock and Elbert pounded it with a potato masher while I hand mixed the alcohol with ice cream...then added in ice. We eventually put it back in the blender - just long enough to give it a good stir...then voila! Mudslides! They weren't actually too bad for my first time - especially considering the circumstances.

Somehow, Bert's was quite a bit stronger than mine, lol - oops. Oh well. I'll give the mudslide the credit for getting him to play Perfect Match with me (one of my favorite games when I was a little girl). It was hilarious. I'll give you a peek:

Oh man. I can't even begin to tell you. We kept trying to find Dick Clark on TV but it wasn't on until the very end for some reason - we pretty much ignored the whole New Year's thing happening. I mean - we argued about whether the ball would drop at 11 or midnight - and we said Happy New Year...but that was about it. We were too involved in our game of scrabble (which we both kinda suck at - so we made up ridiculous rules) to care.

Man - it was a relaxing, fun evening though - I love spending time with Bert. Missed Chance of course - and the fun he was having back in Austin...but I had a good time for sure.

New Year's Day I worked some, then met up with Elbert for lunch at Chick-Fil-A. He was pretty worn out from the night before - it seems his parents woke him up earrrrrly...but he still wanted to hang out. So...we chowed down and then headed to the mall and wandered around there for an hour or so. He bought some pretty nice things on sale (this guy's got more style than I'll ever have)...but I think the walking around the mall did him in. He headed hom to take a nap while I went over to Philip Newman's house for his family's annual New Year's Day get together. I was just in time for some dang good food - a LOAD of various potluck appetizer-type things...man...it was good. I got to play Settlers of Catan, Flux, and some other funny game with shapes with he and Michelle (love her) - and they gave Chance and I Killer Bunnies for Christmas - AWESOME! Without knowing that I'd ever wanted the game, Philip and Michelle prevailed and got it for us. Sweet action.

After getting KILLED in both games (I don't think I'll ever beat those two at anything) ...I went over to Elbert's where we played with Peanut, TRIED to play Killer Bunnies (but failed), and watched True Romance - which was a pretty good, *although pretty rough* movie.

On to the 2nd...my daddy's 60th birthday, and my last day in Tyler...Chance got in town around noon and we once again unloaded the dogs at my sister's house. We headed to petsmart to pick up some food for the boys and some things for Golly, then we met Elbert at Ken's Pizza. Mmmm...pizza buffet. Lol. Greasy, but good - and still one of the best salad bars! Hahaha. Ohman. After Ken's, we went with Elbert to the Mansions, an apartment complex out by the country club Elbert's parents are members at...just to check it out! And...THAT's where Elbert ended up signing a lease. Yaaaay - he found a place he really likes. I'm happy for him. It might not have been MY first pick, but it has most of the things he was looking for in an apartment! So...that's exciting! I'm happy for him. After that, Chance and I went and hung out with Golly - we did three crosswords with her (can I just say I LOVE doing crosswords with Golly?!?!)! Then, we headed to dad's house to meet he and Karen so we could head to Villa Montez (my favorite Tyler restaurant) for his 60th birthday dinner. The meal was delicious and the company was fun. I had a cucumber mojito (excellent) and a pomegranite mojito (not so great) while Chance sampled some imported beer from Argentina (?) and Puerto Rico (?) Lol.

We had family-style appetizers (mmmm, Chino Latino rolls!), followed by sea bass (for me),

surf and turf (for him),

and a massive plate full of dessert (also served family-style). It was a great night and a fun celebration for dad (I think!). It was pretty entertaining for Chance and I...Luci and Logan were there for the first part of it, and toward the end we were entertained by the 55-60 year olds all pulling out their iPhones and showing each other youtube videos. Man. THAT's entertainment. (: Hahaha. They're higher-tech than we are!

Well - that's pretty much the end of our time in Tyler. We hit the road the next day - I'll let Chance cover our time in Amarillo - since that was HIS official vacation.

I'm pretty sure no one will actually read this whole thing, and if you did, I'm sure you were bored to tears. I'm sorry. Lol. I just wanted to have memories recorded for when my memory fails (which seems like it could be any day now)!!!

...the end...(for me, at least).

holiday blog #1...and more to come

2009-01-13T21:34:00.012-06:00

So apparently my technological prowess isn't quite what it used to be. I spent over an hour today trying to figure out WHY our photos wouldn't upload - and what to do to correct that problem - only to find out that I simply needed to restart my computer. Good. What a waste of time. Since I've already wasted enough today I think I'll try to get down to business blogging about the holidays.

I really should have blogged about things as they happened, but I wanted to include photos, so here I am with a bunch of half-memories to tell you about. Better than nothing though, right?

Christmas is always crazy for me - it has been since I was little. I have at least 4 places I'm supposed to be every Christmas Day. It tends to work out to be a fun, albeit tiring day. Since Chance and I have been married - things have gotten slightly more hectic. He closes the store on Christmas Eve and has to be back to work on December 26th at 7:30AM...which doesn't leave much of a holiday. This year the plan was the same as last: head to Tyler around 8pm on Christmas eve, getting there in the wee hours of Christmas morning...spending Christmas day running around town to the four Christmases with Chance driving back to Austin exhausted at the end of the day and leaving me in Tyler. This year, I was pretty excited about spending a little time in Tyler with family and friends - even though I was gonna miss Chance like crazy. He had the house to himself for over a week - which I'm sure he enjoyed. No being nagged to clean things up after coming home from work..just playing with his Christmas presents.

Anyway. We're not there yet. We haven't gotten to the presents. I can already tell this is going to be a VERY vain attempt to be brief.

Let me back up. Before we even GET to Christmas...I've gotta at least mention the slew of visitors we had beforehand. Well, maybe not a 'slew' persay...but we had several houseguests right before Christmas. Robert Adam and Casey came in the 12th to see The Soldier Thread at Antone's and to hang out with us...and we certainly had a good time.

We ate some good food (mmm, Polvos), played some AWESOME board games, and went on this cool Modern Open House tour in Central Austin. It was a pretty adventure-filled weekend. The following weekend, the Deckers came to visit. We get to see Kris and LJ about twice a year, since they live in DC...so seeing them is typically rare and quick, but always special. We got to spend some quality time with them checking out Christmast lights, eating more Mexican food, and playing more games.

We also spent some time leading up to Christmas wrapping up (literally and figuratively) Christmas presents, making our first ever Christmas candy, taking photos for/making/and mailing Christmas cards...

and cramming in everything else we could fit in.

Chance and I celebrated our 'family Christmas' on the 22nd, his last evening off before the 'holiday'. We opened our gifts and our stockings, and minus one minor incident had a pretty good time giving and receiving candy, good-smelling-stuff, utilitarian gifts, and toys to play with.

The gift-giving was followed by our 'annual' trip to Kerbey Lane for a scrumptious dinner/late night meal.

With all the festivities, I think we were both already pretty worn out by Christmas Eve...but we packed up ourselves and the dogs and headed to T-town around 9:00PM. The dogs came with us on a 'trial run' because my gracious sister Luci was planning on keeping them later when we visited Amarillo, and we wanted to see how they'd do with her pups. Anyway, we rolled in to Tyler around 1:30AM or so - introduced the dogs...and crashed.

Christmas day, like I said before...is pretty much a tour of Tyler. We tend to start the day at my dad and Karen's house for the best homemade french toast I've ever had (made by Karen)...and open presents there. This year was a little different - Logan wasn't with Luci and neither Eric nor Shawn (and Mandy) were there for breakfast. Shawn and Mandy celebrated their Christmas in Tyler early, and Eric wasn't coming until later in the afternoon. So - we did our Christmas at dad's...

(which was awesome - and included a new point and shoot)...

...then headed over to Christmas at Golly's (my mom's mom).

There we opened gifts (more really cool stuff - clothes, gift cards, home decor)...

...and had a yummy Christmas lunch (I can still hardly tell the difference between Thanksgiving and Christmas food...).

Chance carved the turkey to everyone's liking (he was getting a LOT of praise for his carving job - lol - I guess he WAS the only man there). As soon as we finished lunch, we were shuffled back over to my dad's for Christmas number 3 (number 2 at his house for the day)...with Eric. We hung out there for probably 30 minutes - talking to Eric, watching him open gifts, opening our awesome gift from him (a Roku)...and eating candy. Then it was BACK to Golly's for dessert. As soon as we crammed some pie down our throats it was off to Nana's (dad's mom's)...for Christmas with the Barrett clan. We weren't able to stay for long, unfortunately, just long enough to eat a tiny bit more and open a few more presents and give some hugs. By then - Chance and I were both about to pass out - and he still had to gather the dogs and drive back to Austin (it was around 6pm or so)...so we decided to call it quits. Unfortunately, it was Chance's 2nd year in a row to miss Christmas at PaPaw and Margie's (Karen's dad and step mom)...and my first. Once Chance got on the road, dad and Karen had been there and were ready to head home themselves, so I stayed in the rest of the evening and worked (at my sister's) while my family went and saw Marley and Me...and while Chance drove back to Austin.

I wish we could spend a Christmas night together. Maybe SOMEDAY we'll be able to. I also found myself wishing everyone in my family would do Christmas on different days...so we could spend more time with each group. Or...so Christmas would be more relaxing - you know....eat food, take a nap, watch tv, play games...that kind of Christmas. I can't complain too terribly much though - there's always lots of good food and good times with family (just NOT ENOUGH time)!

We came away from this Christmas saying we weren't 'doing Christmas' next year. I'm pretty sure we've both already changed our minds about that. Lol. Never lasts long. But maybe next year there'll be less pressure. Maybe someday. Or...maybe we'll just run away.

Goodness. I've been typing forever and just covered Christmas. Looks like you'll have to wait til tomorrow for a blog about my time in Tyler. And expect an upcoming post by Chance about our time in Amarillo. With even more photos. Dang. Alritey. I'm off to go watch American Idol. Yuck. I don't even know why we're doing this to ourselves. Lol.

so many blogs, so little time.

2009-01-12T00:11:00.005-06:00

'Vacation' (in quotes due to the fact that I didn't really GET one) has been quite enjoyable, but now that we're back to Austin (in my case, after 3 weeks of being gone)...things seem a bit more frantic. Don't get me wrong - since our return on Saturday afternoon we've gotten quite a lot done and had plenty of fun (playing with Charlie, Emily and my beloved Brooker). That doesn't change the fact that the to-do list for tomorrow and the rest of the week is gigantic. But oh well. I guess I'll focus on that when the time comes. In the next day or two, you'll probably be reading a few blogs from us, hopefully with 'vacation' photos and the like. As we've warned you before, they might be long, but hopefully they'll be an enjoyable recap of our adventures.

For the time being, I thought I'd satiate your thirst with a project I started and completed today...one that may influence my future. (:

Emily (who you should all know by now) and I agreed to go 'fabric shopping' today for her nursery. Although we never really got around to it, we found some great materials on the interwebs...along with some accessories - and she came up with an idea for a 'theme' for her nursery. It all unfolded in less than an hours' time. Pretty impressive really. However, she was having a little trouble explaining it all to her mom, so I decided I'd put together an inspiration board (design board, mood board, whatever you want to call it) for little "Chigger's" (as I so lovingly call him) future nursery.

I've never put together one of these before, and I can't take 100% credit for this one (I DID find the background premade here). Despite my 'cheating', I'm pretty happy with it for my first time. And I'm thrilled that we found so many cool things for Em's baby's room. She seemed to like it too.

Here it is in all it's glory (click on the image to see it larger):

In the 3-4 hours it took me to pull this together (I'll admit, it's been so long since I've used photoshop that I'm kinda slow)...I realized that maybe THIS really IS what I want to do: design. Interior design. Decorating. Something along those lines. Now, the decision lies in whether I want/need to go back to school and whether I want to be licensed. Well, there are quite a few decisions that need to be made, but...you get the picture. Maybe that's what I'm supposed to do! I CLEARLY need to get a better handle on photoshop again, and need to be educated somehow...but...

We shall see.

Oh. Also, Chance just found our future home. Not really, but this house is absolutely freaking amazing and I want it badly. Okay. So it's about 50sqft smaller than ours, and one less bedroom...but still, it's beautiful!!!

amarillo by mornin'

2009-01-05T12:47:00.001-06:00

Sorry about the lack of blogs, but you know how the holidays are. Claire and I are finally in Amarillo and plan on having a nice relaxing little vacation with not much to do. Yesterday we got visit with my parents, open up Christmas presents, and hang out with John and Lacey. Which is pretty much all I plan to do all week minus the Christmas presents part. As always be expecting a big update with pictures and real goings-on sometime in the next couple weeks. Until then Happy New Year!

hope it's happy

2009-01-01T12:36:00.003-06:00

Well, happy new year, readers! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas - or whatever you might celebrate - and a very entertaining end of 2008. Our Christmas was BUSY, but pretty dang great. But, well fill you in more later (maybe after I upload some photos).

Chance and I have been apart since Christmas evening, but he's coming back to Tyler tomorrow to celebrate my dad's 60th and pick me up to take me to Amarillo for his vacation! That should be fun.

In the meantime...I'm still working and visiting friends. Still have a few left to see (and I'm SO SORRY if I didn't get to hang out with you and you live in Tyler - boo)!

So, we'll be back mid-January, unless we decide to start blogging before our vacay ends which is entirely possible. I mean we really should. I've already forgotten what I've done all week. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

Look for a slew of posts coming up, like I said...sooner or later.

And have a happy happy 2009 while you're waiting to hear from us again. (:

shifting gears

2008-12-18T17:56:00.006-06:00

When I signed into blogger, I fully intended to write about how much I loved Benjamin Button - basically to tack on to Chance's short blog last night. And...it really was the best movie I've seen in a very very very long time. But...then I got the air knocked out of me.

Not literally. Figuratively, of course. I just realized today was John's birthday. And...well...that just kinda brought me back to last year, just a few days after Christmas, when I found out John Schuessler wasn't with us any more. There's honestly not much I can say in this blog about it - I'm having trouble verbalizing my thoughts. It's been great to watch Laura come so far through the year, and it's been amazing to see how many people still love him and miss him, and how many lives he affected during his 22 years. It's just sad that he didn't make it to 23. I'm glad he's with the Lord right now, but selfishly, I want to call him and tell him happy birthday. I didn't last year - and I regret that. I messaged him on facebook...but does that count?

Maybe I need to take this into consideration. I've been so bogged down lately with the stress of work and the holidays...it's been hard to balance time with people vs. time getting things done. I keep putting 'hanging out' off until after the holidays. But will it be too late then?

Ugg. Like I said, I can't verbalize. I can't finish this. There's no conclusion, no real 'point' to the blog. Just, needed to say SOMETHING. I miss you, Schuess. Life is precious.

John Schuessler wrote
at 3:36am on May 14th, 2005

Claire, you are an awesome lady. A fine lady of true gentility...and that of the deepest kind...the woman who has Proverbs 31 written on her heart rather than her mind...who has a desire to wife and mother and be a mother to the lonely so that it eats away at you inside. You are someone I treasure...and I only wish I could somehow be there during all those feelings that tear at your heart...but He prepares in darkness what He will reveal in light...and so are you...a woman who is to be so beautiful from heart to smile...that fire is the only thing hot enough to purify such a precious stone...you are a jewel held close to His heart...though feelings do lie...He sings over you as your Beloved totally enraptured with His bride...you. You are beautiful, and it is a huge blessing to me...for reals...to be a small part of your life.-John

buttons buttons

2008-12-17T22:47:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to gloat a bit. I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tonight. A full week before it was released. Big shout out to James for giving Claire and I reserved seats for the show.

I will say one thing: Great movie! Claire even cried. It is one of those epic movies. I highly suggest that you go see it. That is all. I figured with all the complaining we have been doing we could balance it out with some bragging. HA!

pc or bust

2008-12-15T20:22:00.002-06:00

No, I'm not talking about being politically correct. If you know me, I am about the last person that cares about that. I am talking about my PC being busted. I love me some computer trouble. I think Claire and I have a curse on our comps. As soon as one of us fixes a problem the others goes out. My most recent problem: my screen shuts off after reboot but the computer continues to run. Yeah not an easy problem to fix when you need a screen to access the information on the computer to fix it. So far I have reformatted the hard drive, purchased a new monitor which is really pretty, ran the computer with the case off, and bought and installed a new power supply for the whole computer. NO luck with any of it. Yes it is slightly frustrating, but at the same time I have a little more time to waste everyday as I am not wasting it on the computer anymore.

If your a computer whiz and have any thoughts on repair that would be great. Other than the pc ordeal Claire and I are just trying to chug along through Christmas. We still have a billion things going on and a billion more to do. Somehow we managed to put off the Christmas picture for our cards until today. Guess how cold it was outside today, yes thats right 32 degrees. Not exactly the nicest day for outdoor photos. But sometimes you learn, as a husband, you just suffer through what the wife wants. Yeah it was cold, and it involved a lot yelling and arguing but for dang sure these cards will be full of Christmas cheer. HA! I am glad Claire wants to do them although I hate the process. Brewster wasn't to happy being out in the cold either.

The other fun event of the day: Allergy Testing. Results: I am allergic to everything but dog. No seriously. The only thing not itching on my back today was dog, cat, cockroach(yeah gross), and some rare mold. Everything else made me swell up and itch like crazy. The antidote: 5 different medicines and the possibility of shots in the future. Oh well, at least now I know what causes my allergies......air with any particle of anything in it. I try to keep a good attitude but sometimes everything comes together all at once and you feel a bit overwhelmed. Claire is feeling it, as am I. I work about 90 hours through Christmas eve so I have little time off to accomplish anything and today we got very little done other than discover I shouldn't go outside and my computer has a unsolvable hardware problem.

Tis the season for joy!

I am not really that bitter! Just somewhat full of sarcasm. I hope everyone's Christmas season is going well so far and they are all done with errands and shopping!

christmas dash

2008-12-10T20:17:00.003-06:00

My time off has been mostly consumed by Christmas. I don't think I really wanted it this way. But when you have parties to go to, presents to buy/make, food to make, friends visiting, work to run you down, and a billion other things going on you kinda lose track of time. Well I do anyways. I have been wanting to post about some great dishes I cooked up over the past few weeks with recipes and pictures included. Time has slipped away and I still haven't posted. Don't fret though..I will get them on here for everyone to delight in. I am sure y'all just can't wait. For now it will have to be wrapping and planning and checking off lists. Maybe on vacation in January I will put up some interesting blog stuff.

I think at this point I am more excited about vacation than I am Christmas. Really, who wouldn't be after working for 15 straight months. Whew I'm tired.

Oh, and just to throw this out there like everyone else has been today. It snowed last night. Not the real snow that you see up north or even in Amarillo where there are large visible snow flakes. But the flurry white stuff that you can only tell the difference between it and sleet because it kinda floats rather than pelts. Exciting non-the-less. I love the cold weather.

decisions, decisions...

2008-12-09T17:42:00.002-06:00

I've been debating for the past week or so which point and shoot camera Chance and I should get...and I'm making no progress, really. Every electronic piece of equipment we purchase is an absolute ordeal with me. It always has been - since I can remember - since I've been purchasing electronics. You may think I'm terrible with decisions anyway, which is true, but the electronic factor multiplies the indecisiveness by 10,000. I'm not kidding. It took me a month to pick out a digital slr three years ago (shoot, I think that's when it was), a couple of days to decide on a TV, and several weeks to pick out a printer which we didn't even end up getting. Chance doesn't care, as long as it's good - he's pleased. As for me - I want to make sure I'm getting the best product for the price, and the most fitting to us. This whole process can be quite tedious.

At first instinct (prior to doing my research) Chance and I had decided to probably go with the Canon 1100sd. Our friend Hollie has it, and it seemed good enough - and it was $150 on Amazon. Just at our price point. Then it occurred to me that someone MIGHT get it for us for Christmas, and might be able to spend 20 bucks more - which opened up a whole new range of products (mostly Canon).

Part of the problem I'm having with this decision is due to my mind changing. Originally I thought I NEEDED a viewfinder. Not having one (and just having a larger lcd) irked me...and made me feel like I was missing out on something. Now I know viewfinders in p&s's aren't exactly accurate, but good in case the sun is shining so brightly that you can't see your lcd. Now - I'm not as convinced that I need one (which also opens up another range of possibilities).

I can't decide exactly what I want in a camera. It will be our secondary camera - our 'fun' camera - our backup - our quickly accessable and carryable camera. And I've read reviews and posted on message boards but I can't seem to get a straight answer. WHICH IS BEST? WHICH IS PERFECT FOR US? Ugg.

I'm debating between the Canon SD1100, the Canon SD770, the Canon SD790, and the Panasonic Lumix TZ4.

I know Susan has expressed her love for the 1100, and Elizabeth and James have pretty much said kudos to Canon in general...but I want help. Which should we choose, and WHY?

Hellllllp.

my toes might fall off...

2008-12-05T10:18:00.006-06:00

...because it's so SO SO cold in our house. Lol. Oops. This morning when I got up around 8:45 it was a frigid 64 degrees. It's inched its way up to 65 or 66 by now, but still...it's dang cold in our house. I can't really complain - I made it that way. I have this thing about turning on the heat - I just hate doing it. It always smells funny when you turn it on for the first time that year, and it makes me feel slightly like I'm suffocating, so I avoid it like the plague. No one told me how cold it was gonna' be last night though! Goodness! I think I've succumbed to Chance's wishes and will probably turn it on tonight, but I'm sitting here in big fuzzy slipper socks, fingerless gloves, and sweats and eating oatmeal to avoid doing it right this second. I know. I'm crazy. But how many of you have turned your heat on already? Eh?

Well - we didn't mean to fall off the face of the earth - or...quit blogging, but somehow we just totally stopped for 4 days after NaBloPoMo ended. That wasn't our intention. I kinda wanted to keep it up. Oh well. Here I am now - that's what matters, right? (:

As you all know, our Thanksgiving week was a blast...and the weekend following was great as well. Our house is all ready for the holidays, and we've gotten to have a few friends over since then. On Monday night, we celebrated Natalie's birthday (better late than never). Some of you might remember Natalie - she's the precious friend who made me one of the best gifts ever.

I got the table all decorated for Christmastime - I even finally put something in our photo coasters that have been empty for 2 years (still not what I WANT to do with them, but good for the holidays).

Chance made his yummy turkey (leftover) enchiladas. I craved these things ALL year long, so it was great to finally have them again!

We had so much fun talking and laughing with Natalie,

and then we had her birthday pie (Buckeye Pie, sans Buckeyes).

I forgot to get candles, but oh well. I think she liked it anyway. It was actually slightly too rich for me (which may be a first), but it was relatively tasty. I think my chocolate icebox pie is better though...(sorry Nat)!

Chance took some goofy pictures of us, because I realized it'd been about 4 years since we had a picture together. Dang. We needed to fix that, and we STILL need to get some better ones (note to self : don't wear hoodies in photos).

And I got to give Nat her present I'd been working on - a scarf! I got the idea from Beth's blog and just edited it a little. Nat's got it on in the pictures...over her other beautiful coral-colored scarf from Europe. Lol. But here's what it looks like on its own:

We had a pretty awesome night - which was only followed by a relatively good rest-of-the-week-so-far. We had lunch at Obee's on Monday with (and provided by) Emily and Charlie, Tuesday was a lost day (I have NO CLUE what happened), Wednesday night was small group at Howie's, and Thursday Nicole came over for lunch, and Tiffany came over for Dinner/Grey's Anatomy. So - it's been pretty great (minus all the errands and appointments of yesterday, but those weren't TERRIBLE either). I'm ready for the weekend, even though ours technically doesn't start til Sunday...but we might get to see my sister tonight - so that'd be pretty cool! That is...if my appendages don't freeze off first.

let there be light

2008-11-30T23:26:00.002-06:00

Today was a first. We lit the house with lights. After Church, and then lunch with new friends and old friends we headed home to finish our Christmas decorations. It was the first time I have ever attempted to light the roof of a home, much less my home. Thanks to Claire's cousin Howie we were afforded the lights we needed to make our home the envy of the neighborhood.

After a surprisingly easy two hours of applying clips and snapping the lights on to shingles we were all set to go. The only hindrance was the 30 mph wind and cold gusts threatening to blow us off the roof. We prevailed in the end and now have all our Christmas decor done. Something strange ensues after Thanksgiving, every day off seems extraordinarily great. We made new friends, had a good time with old ones, put up decorations, ate some thanksgiving leftovers and topped it all off by relaxing out a local coffee shop and doing some reading.

We only have more of the same planned for tomorrow. Well that is if you exclude taking the jeep into the shop. Hopefully once we get whatever is wrong with it fixed, it will continue to be reliable for another good 5 or 6 years. We shall see. Anyways, just thought I would post a note on how great the days off have been lately. Hopefully they continue to be that way all the way up and through my vacation in January. Can't wait for that week off.

o christmas tree...

2008-11-29T15:00:00.003-06:00

Sorry my blog last night was a rant - when I sat down to write I was exhausted - and the whole Brewster incident had just occurred (apparently Brewster ALSO bit Chance and broke skin...grr). I had intended to blog about our WONDERFUL day after Thanksgiving, but I got distracted by the situation at hand.

So...without further adieu, the day after Thanksgiving story commences. Ha.

Chance was off of work (thank GOODNESS) after having worked almost constantly for four days. We allowed ourselves to sleep in a little...and when we woke up it was nearly time for lunch. The doorbell woke us up - some guy who thought we called in for our dryer to be repaired. That never happened, unless I did it in my sleep. Nothing is wrong with our dryer. Anyway - he must have written down the address incorrectly or something. Oh well - it got us out of bed. (:

We hadn't yet decided if we were going to take it easy, or put up Christmas decorations. We ended up doing the latter (after eating some delicious homemade soup - I'll let Chance tell you all about that since he made it).

It only took us a few hours...well, probably about 5 after it was all said and done, to decorate. It was fun to get all of our things down from the attic and see what we had to decorate with - things we'd forgotten about, and things we loved putting up last year.

We turned on the Christmas music channel on the tv and half made-fun-of, half sang along with the classic holiday tunes. We talked, laughed, and enjoyed each others' company while we put up the tree.

It was raining outside the first part of the day, but once that was over we went outside to begin decorating the outside. I re-lit the garland and pulled grass/weeds out of our currently vacant flowerbed (so that we can plant winter plants asap), while Chance put lights on the bushes. He lit one of the two trees in our front yard, but we decided it looked skimpy/silly so he took those lights down and used them on the fence instead.

Last year, I created a pretty crummy wreath out of some extra garland. When we pulled it out of the box it was squished and looked terrible, so I decided to reshape it. I thought a "P" wreath would be different and more appropriate.

I can't claim all the credit, I'd seen the idea in a blog I read. And, well, theirs look better. But I'm pretty happy with it considering I just used things we had laying around the house, and no form.

We called it quits at dusk. We're still considering lighting the roof - Howie gave us some big lights so we might do that on Sunday or Monday. We're not sure - we didn't even decorate this much last year.

But...it was a fun day. I LOVE the day after Thanksgiving. Leftovers, decorating for Christmas....it's so much fun. (:

Especially the sleeping in part. After last year's escapade with Nicole to the Black Friday sales at 4am, I decided that sleeping was more worth it this year - and that put me in a better mood for the whole day!

Today I've cleaned the car and the house (the car REALLY needed a good vacuuming) cuz Chance's allergies are terrible. The rest of the day: work. But that's okay. Chance has two more days off this week! I'm thrilled. Shoot, I think the spirit of Christmas is upon me. It must be - I'm not generally in this good of a mood on Saturdays!

the dog whisperer

2008-11-28T23:07:00.003-06:00

Shoot. I need Cesar Milan to come to our house. Brewster seems to have this bad habit of biting people who try to move him/pick him up/wake him up when he's laying on the futon or in his bed. I can't really figure it out. Chance and I have been watching the Dog Whisperer tonight trying to get some tips...but we're trying - and it's not working yet. Cesar would probably say it's my fault because of the vibe I'm getting off because I'm slightly scared of getting bit again, and slightly angry at Brewster for being such a butt. Tonight is the first time I've EVER seen Brewster respond negatively to Chance. He generally doesn't misbehave when Chance is home - only when I'm home alone (great, so if I lose an arm I won't be able to drive myself to the hospital).

...I guess that's not the only destructive behavior - there's his digging too. I think we've already mentioned that. He's gotten out 3 times in the past 2 weeks. Ugg.

We're gonna have to get some help, I'm pretty sure. Unless we can figure out how to correct his bad behavior on our own. That's the only time he's really mean, or in attack mode. Weird.

I AM 'friends' with Cesar on Twitter. Lol. Maybe he can help me. Persistence pays off I guess. Hopefully there won't be too many battle scars.

thankful for friends

2008-11-27T23:09:00.007-06:00

I think Claire and I are in full agreement when I say Thanksgiving is the best holiday ever. Those pilgrims really did a good job with that food agreement they worked out with the Indians. I can eat as much as I want...in fact I had two slices of pie today. I will probably have one more before bed.

After working 45 of the past 75 hours I was ready for Thanksgiving. This year's Thanksgiving was just what I needed. My store and my managers did a great job. We had the best labor % in the city, as well as a solid gain over last year. So I have to brag a little about our success. When it was all said and done, I was very ready for it to be done. After I got off work at 2 today, I headed over to Charlie and Emily's who were kind enough to open their home for Claire and I to enjoy the festivities.

With a plethora of food, no one went wanting. We had sweet potato soufflé, green been casserole, broccoli rice casserole, sweet corn casserole, shrimp diablo, a cheese ball, crab dip, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, rolls, brussell sprouts, Greenberg turkey, and fried turkey.

It was all amazing. Charlie's fried turkey was great and all the casseroles were perfect.

It was a spot on traditional thanksgiving with great friends. Afterwards we had our fill of pecan, pumpkin, and Claire's chocolate ice box pie. We bummed around, took naps, and watched football. I won't speak of the sadness the Aggies have left us with. Maybe someday they can turn around the program and actually have a decent season. Just maybe. Until then I will enjoy my Thanksgiving holiday and food whether we win or lose.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you ate way too much, took a long nap, and can enjoy some delicious left-overs tomorrow!

aaaah thanksgiving

2008-11-26T18:45:00.005-06:00

I'm kinda sad that we don't get to spend T-day with either of our families this year. Last year would have been our first time without family - but Chance's Aunt Ann stepped in to save the day! We were able to head down to Kyle, TX and feast with Chance's aunts, uncles, and cousins - it was a ton of fun to spend time with family we should see often, but rarely do.

This year will mark the first year that either one of us won't be seeing family for Thanksgiving. Chance's family is mostly in the panhandle, and we're not entirely sure what the family members nearest us are doing. Some of my family will be in Tyler for the holiday and the other part of my family is headed to Dallas to check out the Gaylord Texan for their Thanksgiving feast. Sounds like a blast...but this year we can't make it.

But you know what? That's QUITE alright. We're still having Thanksgiving with our family (of sorts) right here in Austin. We're gonna give thanks this year at the Rajeh's house...with Charlie and Emily and their family. I'm so happy that we were invited to share in one of my favorite holidays with them. Chance and I really enjoy relaxing at their place on a semi-regular (we wish it were more regular) basis anyway, so why not do it on the most relaxing holiday of all? (:

I just finished making my first ever Broccoli Rice Casserole, the one item Chance said he wouldn't want to miss this time around. I've started on my first cheese ball (we'll see how that turns out, I improvised), and am mostly finished with my chocolate icebox pie (my favorite)! My daddy and Karen were sweet enough to send us a Greenberg Turkey (from Tyler) again this year...I can't wait to enjoy that too!

I'm headed over to Emily's now to see if I can help with anything, and I'm SURE we'll be over there all day tomorrow (at least, Chance'll join us when he gets off work at 2). So, if you don't hear anything from me until late tomorrow evening, that's just cuz I'm stuffing myself with wonderous food.

This is a bad holiday for gluttons. It's like having an alcohol related holiday that recovering alcoholics are forced to partake in. I've been doing fairly decent with the whole eating healthy thing (and at least I've been making it to the gym a couple times a week)...so maybe this won't do me in. Let's hope not. If I'm still gorging in a week or so, someone stop me. Tell me I'm fat or something. Anything. I don't want to add another chin.

a long day just got longer

2008-11-25T19:42:00.003-06:00

Well...it's 7:45pm but it feels like midnight already. The days when Chance works a lot of hours just drag on like nobody's business. Today's no exception.

Chance had to be at work at 7:30 this morning (yeah, 12 hours ago)...and I couldn't make myself wake up in time to take him. Part of it was my fault, I'd stayed up a little too late reading. Part of it was the fault of my dreams, those boogers exhaust me. And part of it was the knowledge that today would be long no matter what, but if I slept a little later it might not seem as long. So, I couldn't force myself out of bed, therefore Chance has the Jeep at work with him.

The day was going about normal speed until it started getting dark. The darker it got, the slower it got, and now I feel like time's not movng. And unfortunately, I just received word that he's not sure when he'll be home. According to Chance it could be "any time between 11pm and 1am". Fun times! Now, I shouldn't be the one complaining, he should be. But since he's not here, I'll just whine a bit for him.

Things had been going really smoothly for their T-day setup...and everything was in place, they were actually a little ahead of the game, and Thanksgiving sales tomorrow seemed like they'd be a piece of cake - until the vault went out. The vault is their refrigerator which should currently be holding all of their turkeys, but they've had to move them all to a cooled truck so that the vault can be replaced. The coils decided to melt at the absolute worst time possible: the day before their turkeys all go out...so tonight they've got to deal with the setback.

Poor Chance. That'll make a 15 to 17 hour day for him. He's gonna be exhausted. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, and if things go well on Thursday maybe he can have a decent Thanksgiving afternoon.

The days like today...I hate. I should have gotten up with him this morning, but I was already dreading the day. Now I'm miserable - I should have at least gone outside this afternoon. It's these days that I SHOULD get a ton of work done. I SHOULD get plenty done around the house as well...but these are the days that slow me down. I wonder why that is? I can get so much more done in 8 hours away from Chance than I do when he's gone for 15. Terrible, but true. He should be coming home to a spotless house, a hearty meal, laundry cleaned and put away (which might happen), and 2 or 3 finished projects (you know - wedding photos edited, paintings completed, things organized). But he's not.

Sorry - there's really no point to this one. I just thought I'd whine a little for the both of us since Chance won't have the time.

I'm not lovin' you...way I wanted to...

2008-11-24T12:22:00.007-06:00

Yeah. Kanye says it pretty well. "I'm in love with you, but the vibe is wrong and that haunted me all the way home." My sentiments (about the Twilight movie) exactly.

If you don't feel like reading a relatively long winded blog, then read this for a relatively accurate review. I agree with most of her thoughts on the film - but I think she's a BIT more hostile toward it than I am.

Really, I shouldn't get so worked up about a movie - I mean, not enough to blog about it in detail. But, seeing as how I've been obsessing over the books for the past...uh...week - I might as well go ahead and tell you how I really feel.

I'm glad I waited until today to write this rant - I'll rant a little less this way, since I got most of it out to Chance last night. I also told Chance I'd pay him $25 to read Twilight (at least the first book)...so I'm really hoping he'll read it. I'd love to discuss it with him. It's already hard enough to not discuss my other obsession (Grey's Anatomy), and not talking Twilight is getting to be too much. I've already spoiled quite a bit for him, but oh well.

If you haven't read the books, or seen the movie - you might not want to keep reading. **SPOILER ALERT**. Unless, of course, your name is Elizabeth Crockett and you really like to spoil stories yourself before you start reading them. (:

I KNOW the film was low budget (as if $37 mil isn't a large enough chunk of money to produce a pretty decent movie)...but most of my qualms aren't about the CG. I mean - yeah, when Edward sparkles he looks slightly like tinkerbell, and his jumping around from tree to tree like a monkey didn't exactly look the most realistic...but I don't care too much about those things. I'll forgive them that.

What I'm having a hard time dealing with is the MINOR details. I know they had to 'dumb' some things down for the audience...but they dumbed them down to a point where (and I've read this several places) non novel readers have a hard time following. Case in point: Chance. When we were discussing particular things after the movie, I'd say something like -"You know, when Bella went out of town to go dress shopping" - his response, "They were out of town?" - just to name one instance. Chance claims he was mostly lost for the first half of the movie. Can't blame him. The flashback scenes - those were terrible, as was the dream Bella had. I said I wouldn't dog effects - but...those were just bad.

I understand that they only had 2 hours to fit 500 pages into, but maybe they could have still had two dances (girls-ask and prom)- so that the dynamics of things with Eric and Mike could have been different - how they were supposed to be. Her group of friends seemed mostly shallow and immature - and they shouldn't have come off that way. Her friends in the novel were pretty cool, I thought. Even Eric - the nerd. (Newspaper? Really?)

I know to save the time of Jacob having to explain who he was when they met at the beach - they introduced him at the beginning of the movie. But that ruined a lot of their dynamic, I thought. He was over the top flirty from the beginning. Too much. It was things like that though - introducing characters incorrectly, having her first day of school all wrong (In the book, she got there early so people DIDN'T stare at her, and she felt more like she fit in than in AZ - in the movie, she got there and everyone was there - staring at her, then suddenly - she fit in *Chance was lost*), getting the van scene wrong (Edward didn't just jump up and leave her in the book), going on a field trip (what field trip?), using google to find out what Edward really was (REALLY?), and having her get ready at HER house WILLINGLY for prom, amongst a slew of other things.

Their conversations also really bugged me. Chance even went so far as to turn to me and ask me if Edward was supposed to be "special". And not the "chosen" or "awesome" sort of way. There could have been a lot more talking (like there was in the book) and a lot less of Bella's idiotic narration. Down with the screenwriter.

What REALLY irked me were the most miniscule details - the ones that could have been easily changed without throwing the budget. In the movie, Bella wears a sneaker to prom - whereas in the book she wears a heel. And Charlie changing the tires on her truck and telling her - totally made the viewer miss the sweetness of Charlie waking up super early to put chains on her tires, and her not noticing 'til later.

I also missed the things they left out: explanations of some of the Cullens' histories, more of the Cullens' house (Carslile's office in particular), Bella cooking meals for Charlie, the fainting scene, the lullaby - WOW. I really could go on for days about everything I disliked. I mostly enjoyed Rob P.'s take on Edward (besides the slow-talking nonsense, and some of his added-in lines - "Google it"), but Kristen's take on Bella was a bit too stammer-ish.

I've gone on long enough - but I could probably go on for a few days longer. I've talked to friends who saw the film and really did like it. I don't want to discourage people from seeing it, but I'd HIGHLY recommend the books over the movie any day. I honestly think (and hope) New Moon will be a better book-to-film translation, because I'm sure the budget will be much higher after this one's success. And I'll still see it. And I MIGHT even watch Twilight again (after it comes out on video, just to TRY to like it a little better). But for now, I'll stick with the books - they truly are magical.

**END RANT. END SPOILER**

Other than the Twilight disappointment, yesterday was truly excellent. Church was great, as usual. Anthony's sermon was good, and the boys in the band blew me away with their rendition of Be Somebody by Kings of Leon. It was really one of the best covers I've ever heard. Chance and I went to Borders so I could pick up Eclipse, and then headed to the Steeping Room for lunch. If you live in Austin and haven't been, you should. We forgot to take the camera, but maybe Chance will still review it in his blog. The feel of the place was very European-bistro-ish. It was well lit by a wall of windows, and the green fuzzy carpet made it feel as if you were outside in a park, almost. We shared a tea service - complete with two sandwiches, tea cookies, a scone, and a slice of lemon cake - and of course, TEA! We had their Beautiful Coconut green tea, and it was scrumptious. It was such a fun place, and a pretty good deal too - we're DEFINITELY going back soon. I have a lot of good things to say about it for sure.

Mid-afternoon we went to the movie (after going home and hanging with the pups for a bit), and we came home and enjoyed Chance's remake of my birthday salad. It was great - light and flavorful - just like the first time.

We decided to head out for the evening on our second coffee shop adventure. We went to Epoch first, one of the only (if not THE only) 24 hour coffee shop in Austin. It was jam packed. We found two chairs, but they were in opposite corners of the room (and couldn't be moved), so we decided to try the next place on our list - Genuine Joe's. They closed at 11, but that was no biggie. And there were probably only 4 other people there the whole time. We were able to sit on a big puffy couch and enjoy an Orange Mocha and a Pumpkin Latte while we read our books. We both really enjoyed it - the ONLY con was the bad music (but I'm sure that changes from time to time). They were playing some sort of cajun-louisiana-boggy sounding jams. I don't really even know how to explain it, but it was obnoxious. Just not bad enough for me to refuse to go back. We'll probably still try Epoch again - it had a good vibe, but it was just way over-crowded.

It was such a good day - it was a shame to ship Chance off to work today, especially since Monday is supposed to be a day off. I can't complain too much though - his thanksgiving schedule isn't TERRIBLE. Well, he might argue with me there. But it seems like he has more time off than normal (in a bizarre way). Today he's working 9-2, then 5-8, so I'll get to see him for a few hours (yay!). Tomorrow and Wednesday he works from 7:30am - 10pm, and Thursday he works from 7:30am -2ish. We'll have thanksgiving afternoon/evening together, then he's off Friday. He'll work again all day Saturday - then back to his normal schedule of having Sun/Mon off. Not terrible, but it could be better. Sure he's not ready for two 14.5 hr days in a row. Wish him luck!

I'm off to get some more work done now. Just thought I'd blog while I had it on my mind. And if anyone read that...I'm amazed, and sorry I'm so long winded.

more on this later, but...

2008-11-23T19:15:00.002-06:00

I just thought I'd let you know I think I may lose my lunch. That's right. The Twilight movie was THAT bad. I'm hoping I don't lose my lunch though - my lunch was quite good the first time around. I'll fill you in later (or, maybe Chance will). But...I just thought I'd inform you. Save your money. MAYBE rent it. Maybe. Ugh. Gag.

dadgummit.

2008-11-22T23:22:00.004-06:00

So, we totally missed November 22nd - I mean, in a technical sense (blog-wise). Ugh. I'm frustrated. We'd been doing so well for NaBloPoMo...and then we got home too late for our post to count (it's 1:22 AM). Darnit. I guess it's not really a big deal at ALL, but I thought it'd be neat to be in the running for some of the treats they've got at the end of the whole deal. I'm mostly disappointed in myself - we blogged 21 days straight....and on day 22, we slacked. I could have blogged earlier in the day, but I didn't - I was too preoccupied with work, grocery shopping, and preparing for the crazy night tonight was.

Jordin Sparks seemingly took over north-central Austin, so I wasn't able to make my trip to Borders, although I DID try. Several different ways. She was performing at the Christmas Tree lighting at the Domain, and although I wouldn't have minded seeing her, I REALLY wanted to hit up Borders to buy Eclipse. No luck. It would have taken me 3 hours to find a parking spot.

I did make it over to Jen's brother - Ben's....in Round Rock. And...Chance made it a little later (after I left and picked him up from work). Most of our small group was there, plus a few extra folks. We watched the Tech slaughter (sorta. I didn't personally care at all), and played Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band. That was a ton of fun. Crazy antics, lemme tell ya'.

~~Anyway. Both of us are feeling like it's pointless to blog daily now that we've 'missed' a day due to technicality. I guess that's what we get for putting it off til the evening.~~So...you may hear from us tomorrow (and the week that we've got left in the month), or you may not hear from us at all. I'm guessing you will, because I think we may see Twilight tomorrow. Lol.~~It's stupid that missing a 'goal' can make you feel this sad. Barely. Gah. We're both kicking ourselves.~~

Would you look at that...I must have ready my clock wrong! It's only 11:22! HA! Freaking out about nothing. (:

Crap. Now I'm gonna be freaking about about God striking me down. But whatever. Post options have their perks.

chance's hiccups make me gag

2008-11-21T23:21:00.003-06:00

Seriously. Chance is sitting next to me hiccuping. Generally, when he has the hiccups, they last about 3 seconds...normally I'M the one who hiccups for an hour without stopping. Well, apparently when he has the chance to hiccup more than 3x in a row, they sound like he's dry heaving. No lie. At first, when I heard the noise I thought it was Freddie about to throw up (because that's what it sounds like). Uggg. I feel bad for him, cuz I know how much I hate the hiccups, but really - I've never heard any this gross. Maybe it's just because I'm full. But eww.

Sorry about that. Hope none of you have super weak stomachs.

So, I was reading a blog a couple of weeks ago and stumbled across a post on this study. I don't know if I found it interesting because it was so colorful or what...but it's a pretty stinking cool study - about how people feel emotions. It's honestly hard for me to explain, so you should really check out the site...but it was cool to see how people visualize how they feel. I was pretty set on posting a screenshot so you could see what I was talking about (which would make you want to VISIT the site) but unfortunately itunes has rendered the rest of my computer dysfunctional, so just trust me and check out that link. Lol. Wow. That just ruins the post.

Also - stuck in my current obsession - do any of our Austin readers have the last two books in the twilight series? I'm trying to avoid buying eclipse at full price, but I can't wait for it to be shipped. I can buy the 4th one online...but...I know I don't have the patience to wait for the 3rd to come in the mail. Its sad, but true. And the Pflugerville library has all the books checked out (I'm pretty sure they only have one copy of each. hrmph.) We hit up two half price books tonight too (I'm going back to one tomorrow)...and they said they're flying off the shelves. They'll put one out and it's gone within the hour. So...wish me luck. It's weird, I dunno if I've ever been quite this obsessed with reading before. Not since 3rd grade, really.

scatterbrained

2008-11-20T23:21:00.004-06:00

Last night, as Chance touched on, in small group we talked about life...and how fragile it is. Well, that was part of the whole 'bigger' picture. But life IS fragile. I was driving to south Austin tonight and a fairly bad accident happened just two cars behind me on the lower level of 35. It was one of those things that made me realize as a human being...my life could end at any second...and it made me thankful to be alive...and where I was at the time. Had I left my house 2 seconds later I might have been in that accident. Wow. I'm grateful I wasn't.

On a lighter note, Meiko's album is selling for $1.99 on Amazon right now, and although I haven't listened to it yet - I'm PRETTY sure it's great. It's been on my list of cds to buy for a while, but - heck - you can't really beat $1.99.

I'm truly scattered tonight. My thoughts are everywhere, I'm sleepy, but I'm working on a 'secret project' and I REALLY want to finish the second Stephenie Meyer book, New Moon. I'm obsessed. Unfortunately, the third book is checked out at the library, so I may have to hit up half price tomorrow. I can't believe I'm this hooked.

I also want to apologize because my blogging has been subpar lately, while Chance's has been pointedly interesting. Hopefully I can remedy that soon. I think its the pressure I'm feeling from NaBloPoMo (I know, no one is forcing us to do it)...and I always wait til the last minute to write something...and by this point in the day I'm exhausted and every ounce of wit has been drained from my body. So, I'll work on it. I'm just crossing our fingers that we don't lose all of our beloved readers in the meantime.

blinding lights

2008-11-19T22:22:00.004-06:00

Claire and I now know we have healthy eyes. In her case she is just a bit far-sighted. In my case, well, I might as well be blind without some sort of vision enhancing equipment. But beyond degradation of vision our eyeballs are healthy and without pestilence. Today was the first time I have had my eyes dilated at the optometrist. Let's just say it was weird when I was done. Everything was really bright and slightly blurry. So going outside at 5pm in the middle of dusk was some what traumatic. We managed however.

After the blinding light we went to small group and had some delicious homemade butternut squash soup that Hollie made. After that I managed to squeeze in a few slices of fresh baked banana bread. Man that Hollie is a good cook.

Speaking of eye-opening, small group was interesting tonight. We discussed breathing. We discussed how old Christians had the belief that your breath and the spirit were one and the same. Also that the name Yahweh when pronounced in the Hebrew was believed to have the same sounds as breathing. The word is all vowel like noises that correspond with the breathing. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on that. I am just going off of Rob Bell's word. In essence we breathe the name of God. Now I know I don't discuss religion on here a lot, and this isn't necessarily a religious post. What it is, is a chance to take a step back and analyze my words, how I speak to others, and what frivolous things I spend my day talking about. Rather than encourage I end up destroying. Whether you are a Christian or not, some times we need to take time to step back and see if we are encouraging those around us or causing a nest of confusion. Hopefully we can use our breaths to do good. Whether it just be a nice hello or a deep conversation that builds on a friendship.

book vs. space

2008-11-18T23:35:00.002-06:00

I've started to notice lately that I've been getting on facebook about 10,000x more than MySpace. Strange, too....I was just the opposite a few months back - rarely checking facebook but on MySpace every 5 minutes. So, what's the deal?

Why do we change our internet habits suddenly and randomly?

I started blogging back in 2003 on Live Journal. That lasted about a year, and then I made the switch to Xanga, shortly after I joined Facebook. A few months to a year later, I joined MySpace. And since then...I quit blogging on Xanga...blogged a bit on MySpace, and then ventured over here (after a period of not blogging). Now that we've got a more 'official' blog (for some reason I feel like blogger/wordpress are so much more official than Xanga/LJ - why is that?)...I feel like I've finally settled in to my 'place' on the interwebs. It took me so long to get here...that by the time I did all of the bloggers from blogs I frequent have dwindled, or quit. Many of the people that inspired me to write and get a blog have either completely stopped blogging, or taken to doing it very very rarely. And the people I used to talk to on MySpace, are all now over on facebook or twitter. It's hard to keep up with everyone. Why can't we just consolidate? And...why do we flip flop so much?

I'm just curious. Is anyone else experiencing a phenomenon like this? I guess Elise's blog today really got me thinking. That, and a text message I recieved from my friend Sherrice saying she'd sent me a MySpace message DAYS ago and I hadn't responded. I hadn't even thought to check it, which surprised me, because at some point a few months ago I wouldn't have gone an hour without checking it. And now...I'm allllll over facebook, when a few months ago I swore I wouldn't use it anymore because they'd changed the layout. When's facebook going to become obsolete? The whole Web 2.0 world is terribly difficult to keep up with.

Anyone have any thoughts on any of this? I'm just curious. I'd waste so much less time if things were simplified...but for now, I guess I'll keep checking 10 different websites every 5 minutes.

makes me wanna scooby do

2008-11-17T22:37:00.005-06:00

This weekend was pretty great...really - thanks for asking!

For the first time in QUITE a while, it actually felt like we had a complete two day weekend (although Chance DID have to work a few hours this morning). It was much better than the past couple of months have been with him working on Sundays in the middle of the day. Chance and I were able to go to church and lunch (with Elizabeth and Blaine @ Zocalo - FUN!) - which is totally not typical these days. We ended up with a lot of time to talk, relax (see Chance's last post), and get a few things done on Saturday and Sunday.

Our weekend was pretty full, and I won't detail the entire thing, but today was pretty darn busy. We spent a majority of the day searching out a potential vehicle (minus the two hours we were at Obees visiting Emily and Charlie - eating lunch - and taking Emily a nasty hot dog which she was craving). I'm pretty sure we've narrowed it down to two vehicle choices...the Mazda 3 and the Toyota Camry. Yes, we know that these cars are in two different size classes...that's part of the decision. But we're pretty settled. We've also decided that WHEN we buy, we'll most likely buy a new car (which we originally intended NOT to do). Due to financing/interest rates and the cars we're looking at, it generally would only be about $20-$50 more a month to own a brand new car with warranty, etc...so...yeah. But we also made the decision NOT to buy right now, unless we can get the EXACT deal we want - because honestly, we don't NEED a second car. We want one, but we're surviving just fine without. It's kinda nice to have all that off our backs - knowing that we're not tethered to NEEDING a car...knowing we can buy when we want and that we hace control over how much we pay ---it's all so relieving! At the end of the day, part of me felt like we'd wasted 6 or 7 hours of our lives test driving/searching/dealing with dealers...but really, I feel much better now that we've been through it and know what we want.

So, that's one accomplishment from this weekend. We also gorged a little, which I wouldn't necessarily call an accomplishment, but...eating a Cookie Monster at Cheddars + Frito Pie at Obees could almost be considered just that. The scale won't thank me tomorrow.

Accomplishment #3 (if you choose to claim the aforementioned as an accomplishment) is that I started and finished a book that I deemed 'way too huge to read' in about 6 hours. I swallowed it, if you will. I honestly didn't want to like Twilight - I'm not a big fan of reading what's popular just because it's popular, but Nicole forced the first two books in the series on me, and I had to oblige. I started reading Twilight at Thunderbird, and finished it off when I woke up this morning (I was nearly finished when I put the book down at 3:45AM). Ha. I'd recommend it to nearly anyone to read. It's so incredibly intense - just beautiful. I can't wait to start the next in the series. I'm craving it, actually. But no, this doesn't mean I'll concede and read the Harry Potter books. NEVER! I'll stick with vampire love stories for now - much more dark and interesting than kids and magic. (:

That Stephanie Meyer - she's got skillz (of the storytelling kind, at least). (: I'm SO ready for the movie. (:

EDIT: At least, I thought I was ready for the movie. Now I'm not so sure. I just re-watched the preview, and I'm concerned about some of the locations. Most of them are 100% what I pictured, but one of them in particular....is completely wrong. And the acting, not so sure about that either. But then again, can movies EVER be as great as books? And speaking of movies as books, does anyone have any knowledge of when Time Traveler's Wife is actually going to make its debut? Seems all release dates have been removed from IMDB. Great.

sos

2008-11-16T23:27:00.002-06:00

Unlike Claire my short post will actually be short.

We went to Thunderbird Coffee tonight to relax and read. It was a great place to just hang out have a latte and enjoy a good book. Which we did. However, we found the lack of comfortable seating to be an issue. There are only two couches and two comfy chairs. The rest is hard chairs and tables. So I am calling on you, my faithful readers for help. This is a SOS for your opinions on some of the best coffee shops in Austin. We want a place preferably no farther south than where Guadalupe and Lamar split and it must have comfy seating, good coffee, and preferably a cool vibe. Any neighborhood shops would be great. We tend to shy away from Starbucks, not because we are stuck up or think it's bad (it's actually quite tasty) but just because we are adventurous and like to check out the local scene.

Start sending your suggestions....now!

my head's hurting, so this'll be short

2008-11-15T23:36:00.003-06:00

My head's hurting...and I think I know why.

Tonight I had a nice little adventure. My friends Tiffany and Lauren invited me to dinner....Lauren was in from Dallas visiting and I haven't seen her in almost two years, so I was pretty excited about hanging out for a little bit. We ventured out to Magnolia Cafe after the two hot chicas got dolled up for their evening out. We met up with Lauren's friend Jessie and had a great time just eating and chatting. Afterward, Tiffany and I said goodbye to Lauren and Jessie and went separate ways. Tiffany was planning on meeting up with them later but had to take me back to my car so that I could make it to Bill Miller to pick Chance up by 10:15.

That's when the adventure kicked in. We were driving down Annie Street and all of a sudden, Tiff's jeep starts shaking and slowing down. She'd been having car troubles earlier in the week and was kinda panicked...until she realized what was happening. Apparently...she'd run out of gas. (: Hehe. She was SO embarrassed (which I'm sure she'll be even MORE SO if she reads this blog)...but I reassured her that we'd all done it at some point...and proceeded to tell her the stories of when it happened to me in Bryan and again later in College Station. Anyway. Her roomie was nice enough to come get us and take us to 7-11 where she purchased an $8 gas cannister, and 1.79 worth of gas to go in it (thank GOODNESS gas prices keep going down)! We made it back to her car...and then things got even more complicated. This gas cannister wasn't your typical cannister. No. It was a mega-child-proof safety cannister. Apparently it was adult proof too. It was leaking gas when we tried to pour it, and the pouring spout mechanism was super complicated. It took 3 of us to figure out how to even work it, and by that time I was soaked in gasoline up to my elbows.

We eventually figured it out, and Tiffany made it to get gas - and I made it to pick up Chance by around 10:50pm. Oops. At least he'd gotten out late, at 10:40. He'd decided he'd walk across the highway and get a frosty at Wendys - which was fine by me, he got me one too. (:

Anyway. I'm pretty sure that's why I have a headache. No, not a cold headache due to the frosty...I'm pretty sure its from the fumes. I've washed my arms in dish soap, lemon juice, more dish soap, vinegar, special chef's soap and a bubble bath and still no luck. I'm going to be reeking of gas for a while, I think.

Haha. But it makes for a funny story. I just hope Tiffany tells it better. (: And if anyone happens to have a remedy for ridding skin of gasoline stench, please relay it this direction.

i learned from the best

2008-11-14T22:38:00.005-06:00

I found some really awesome news out today, even if it was a year late. As most of you know I work in the food industry and I grew up with most of my jobs being food industry related. I worked my way through college at the Edge Cafe. Basically a cafe for a private dorm. Although you wouldn't think they would have great food (it was average) it IS where I learned a lot of what I know about cooking. I accredit that to one man: Rich Risbon. Rich was my boss at Edge cafe and taught me a lot about spices, knife skills, and lots of different culinary techniques. Such as how to flip an omelette, make a decent stir fry, toss pizza dough, cook and cut a large variety of meats, and properly mix and match seasonings. Thanks to three years at The Edge.

Today while scouring the blog world I came across somebody who had reviewed Hullabaloo Diner. Hullabaloo is the place my boss was preparing to open as I was graduating college. I never got to eat there but did visit it once before it was open. It has an original train car diner shipped all the way from New York. Very cool atmosphere and some great home cookin'. The best part was that it was featured on Food Network's Diner's, Drive-In's, and Dives. It makes me really proud to know that is who I learned to cook from. Check out the video below:

Now I have to go eat there.

this one's gonna be boring

2008-11-13T23:00:00.003-06:00

Not gonna lie - it hasn't been a very eventful day in the Patrick household. Just your average workday + grocery store trip...nothing super cool.

Although, my dear friend Tiffany came over and we got to watch Grey's. And SHE's super cool. I love our Thursday night hangouts. (: I also cooked dinner (pineapple-jalepeno chicken), which wasn't really super cool - but decent, at least (I know, kinda summery, oh well). I haven't cooked in quite a while, at least, not creatively - so it was kinda' a challenge for me to think of anything to make. I need to get back in the swing of things. Probably not gonna happen any time soon as I just stocked up on easily-microwavable soup at the store. Well, when I run out...maybe I'll cook then.

(I'm always tempted to say "In other news..." here. I've done it a billion times. Apparently I'm terrible at segues).

Although today wasn't super amazing, yesterday truly was. I was privileged enough to get to accompany my dear friend Emily (she just started blogging yesterday, check her out!!!) to her OB appointment, and the most amazing thing happened. We got to listen to her baby's heartbeat! She's about 13 weeks into her pregnancy...and it was seriously one of the neatest/most unbelievable things I've ever heard. Little "Chigger" (as I lovingly call the baby) has a heartbeat like a super-fast freight train. It was incredible. I'd gotten to go to her first appointment too, but not in the room with her - so I'd just seen a sonogram photo. That made her pregnancy REAL to me, but THIS made it even more so. Congrats, Em. And thanks for inviting me along. I can't wait til her next appointment - the gender 'peek'! Oh boy! Even if I don't get to go, I'm super excited about all of it. It's awesome to be able to watch a friend go through her whole pregnancy (even if I'm not the least bit interested in getting pregnant myself). (:

Small group last night was also just such a blessing. We've been meeting as a group for about 6-7 months now (I think) and last night things finally really came together. I feel like we have a plan, a direction, and we're just growing and learning a lot with each other. I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks, months, and even years with these friends. I'm thankful for that.

Shoot. I started off thinking I had nothing to blog about. I guess I did. Maybe I'm not quite so boring after all, eh? Maybe.

inheritance

2008-11-12T22:37:00.009-06:00

In our small group tonight we were talking about being rich, giving, charity, and material things. We discussed what one item we would have a really hard time living without. We discussed that last thing we received that we were truly thankful for. This was the basis for a discussion on giving more of ourselves, time, and money to things that make a difference in other people's lives. I had wanted to blog about this subject for a couple days or so but just now got around to writing about it. It was ironic to discuss material things when it was going to be the subject of my blog. But really, it is more sentiment than material.

So I have been thinking about my Dad a lot lately. I thought about all the things he represented, did, accomplished, and was in his life. When he passed in August I got the Chance to travel out to Phoenix with my brother, sister-in-law, and wife. We sorted through all of Dad's stuff and let me tell you, it was a real random mixture of things. Maren wanted to see the grandfather clock in our house so here it is.

The clock is in our living room and is a beautiful reminder of Dad. I didn't necessarily have sentimental attachment to it but I definitely do now. After all it was the one thing Dad put in his will to give to me. It's funny how the little things can set off random memories. I am glad I am able to put this stuff around my home to make me smile and remember a man who traveled from the U.S. to Malaysia to Ireland to Australia.

To be honest I don't know where I was going with this blog. I just had these things around the house that made me proud to have a Dad with wide cultural experience. A Dad who having been all over the World still didn't have many things. What he had was a family he loved and an influence on the people around him.

The ostrich egg above is painted with two tigers. Dad had picked out 5 eggs when in Malaysia that reminded him of his kids. This one is mine. Although not normally a collector of eggs I decided this deserved to be on my bedside table. It was chosen for me because he thought I was "wild and fierce".

Dad being a certified diver and myself being the only kid that is certified I was happy to get a wet suit, a nice divers watch, some goggles and other random scuba gear. Although I haven't been in well over 2 years I am now equipped to go. Which means John and I can finally make that scuba trip we keep talking about. Anyways I am just rambling on. Mostly I hope that I inherited my Dad's spirit and his ability to continue loving throughout the ups and downs of his life. I miss you Dad. Thank you for being a man of influence. Thank you for bringing all your lessons and wisdom from your travels all over the world back home, to teach them to me.

a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad...

2008-11-11T22:45:00.004-06:00

...day. Like Alexander. I hope other people remember that book.

Okay, I'm exaggerating. It wasn't really THAT bad. I did some fun things, and got to vent to Liz a little - that's always nice (you know, laying all of your problems on the table via g-chat). But it WAS bad enough that I don't really want to discuss it.

So INSTEAD, I'm going to show you a few pictures from Halloween! Haha. We're a little behind, because of the computer crashage going on around here...but late is better than never, right? Some of you may have seen us on Halloween (although I honestly don't think any of the folks we hung out with even READ this blog).

We were slightly lazy this year...or maybe lazy's not the right term. We knew we were going to a gathering where dressing up was 'optional' - and I couldn't find out til the last minute whether or not people were dressing up (I didn't want us to be the only ones). So we didn't plan and had to use items we already had, but I was pretty proud of myself for assembling an idea/costume so quickly. (:

Without further adieu I give you professional wrestler Chance and Claire (otherwise known as Hulk Hogan and Mysterio):

Not the most flattering Halloween costume...but I couldn't resist wearing the mask Chance got in Playa Del Carmen on our honeymoon. (:

And it didn't hurt that I didn't have to wear any makeup! (:

when it rains...

2008-11-10T22:13:00.007-06:00

...my hair goes nuts. Seriously. It's only rained about 3 times here in the past 6 months, and I'd forgotten how out of control my hair can get in the humidity. I remembered because Chance decided tonight would be a good time to dine outdoors. And, well, it was - but my hair doesn't thank him.

This weekend was exceptionally good for some reason. It was just your average weekend - no super exciting events or anything, but it was fun. Sunday Funday at the boys' yesterday was pretty enjoyable - despite having to choke down about 40 minutes worth of Meet the Browns (ugh, really?) - it was good company.

I was in a pretty strange mood last night - I was hyper when we rolled in at 12:30AM or so...but unfortunately Chance had taken benadryl for his allergies and just crashed. I stayed up reading til about 5am...just started reading Baby Proof by Emily Giffin last night and couldn't put it down. Brooke introduced me to her books Something Borrowed and Something Blue and I practically swallowed them whole. I often read relatively heavy or deep books, so it's refreshing to read something so light and girly. (Shoot, I never thought I'd say that).

We slept in until around 11:30 today - which we haven't done in a long time! We finished cleaning the house and kinda vegged, really, for part of the day. Got a few things knocked off our to do lists, at least.

Mid-afternoon I did something I'm quite proud of...I fixed my iPod by myself! Okay, I had a little help from a website...but still. I popped it open, unplugged the battery and the hard drive - well, and a few other things before I realized what I was doing - then plugged it all back in and restarted it - and it worked. It's totally back to normal now - I'm pretty excited about it and fairly proud of my relatively non-technical self for the repair. (:

Another interesting tidbit about this afternoon: Brewster escaped. (Mom, don't freak out - just keep reading). He's been having a digging problem lately - but I didn't think it was that bad. Chance went outside to get something from the car while I was finishing up the chores. By his account, he heard a dog barking coming toward him and thought "Great - another stray. Claire's gonna want to take him in". Then he saw the dog - a dachshund...and still wasn't too pleased. Then he noticed the green nametag - you know - the one that says Brewster. He was floored. Brewster came running up to him and Chance brought him inside - I was in shock when I saw them walk in. I'm glad Chance happened to go outside when he did. He cramed a bunch of rocks under the fence which should hold him in for a little while longer til we can either fill the hole or...correct his behavior. Geez. Scary, but slightly funny at the same time. Maybe you had to be here.

This blog wasn't supposed to be this long, really. What I REALLY wanted to tell you about was tonight - kinda the 'cherry on top', if you will. We had dinner plans with my super-amazing-great friend Natalie. Gah, I love her - we've been friends about 4 and a half years I guess (correct me if I'm wrong). (: She's a cutie. Anyway...we went over to her house to meet her (her house is super cute) and got to meet her roommate/best friend Camden and their precious dogs. She'd told me about a Mexican food place she loves (back when we wrote the top 20 Mexican restaurants blog)...and she wanted to take us there (for a late birthday dinner for me)! (: So she drove us down to a place called Sazon on South Lamar - interior Mexican (you know, only the BEST kind). She treated us to dinner (Chance and I shared a Chile en Nogado - one of my favorite dishes), she fed us some of her tasty grilled shrimp, and she bought us mojitos to top it off. Scrumptious. She also gave me my birthday present. I think I offended Chance a little on the way home when I told him that she has given me some of my favorite presents. (: But she has - she always makes me the most special things (like the rose painting/drawing and the dinosaur friends tshirt she gave me)...but this time she really outdid herself.

What amazes me is how much she cares - how well she knows me even though we don't get to hang out as often as I'd like, even though we missed AT LEAST a year of each other's lives since we've known one another. She somehow knows me.

I'll preface it with this: the other day...I'd found some jewelry on etsy I wanted to post a blog about (but, that never happened). For those of you who don't know what etsy is, it's a site where you can sell and purchase handmade items (from clothes, to artwork, to furnture, to jewelry...you name it). I had stumbled upon some sellers who crafted some pretty cool items - and I thought I'd share them with my readers. Luxe Deluxe, Just Be Designs, and Old But New - just to name a few (feel free to check them out).

Anyway, when I opened my gift tonight (it came in this cute little package):

...I was FLOORED.

She'd done it again. Natalie had gone to a place in town called Bead It and handcrafted a necklace for me. It looks like an antique - something passed down for generations. I love antique-y things. I can't even really describe it, it's so pretty - I'll just have to let you see for yourselves! I just can't believe she made it (well, I can, she's so dang creative, but still)...

Natalie, I really can't thank you enough! Now, I don't want to devalue all the other wonderful birthday gifts I got - which I love - I really do.... but Natalie - this gift means so much to me. It's such a work of art - I want to find a way to display it when I'm not wearing it!

...what a great day. What great friends I have (I could write 5,000 blogs about this). I hope I can be the friend to you guys that you all are to me. But like I said - that's a novel for another time. (:

For now, I'm off to watch Heroes with Chance - and to drink the coffee with the 'homemade creamer' he just created! (: Yum yum.

vietnamese heartburn

2008-11-09T21:29:00.003-06:00

Yeah....that's right. I'm pretty sure I've got heartburn from the Pho I just ate. Somehow. Perhaps it was the jalapenos. It's okay, don't be too concerned about me - it was delicious. I love Kim Phung. If you live in Austin, you should go there...and you should read Chance's review of it when he posts it (probably in the next week or so).

Today has been a pretty productive day, honestly. I went to church this morning, came home and did a few things around here, picked Chance up from work...and then the business started.

We baked cookies (for our new neighbors and then some), Chance mowed the back yard (what's left of it - the part that isn't a desert wasteland), I brushed Freddie, Chance bathed both of the boys, we cleaned our bathroom and bedroom, and we boxed some things up to take to Goodwill. Pretty successful, I'd say. Tomorrow we just have to clean the rest of the house and....I guess we can play! (Although, I'm sure I'll find more work for us to do - I always seem to do that).

We just got back an hour or so ago from taking the cookies to the new neighbors. They were super nice. They live diagonally across the street from us - he is a kitchen manager at Boulevard Grill, and she goes to school at Virginia College and works as well. They've got a daughter named Sydney as well as two boys (who weren't there, and somehow fit into the picture). Anyhoo - somehow I got pulled off by Sydney up to her pretty pink and purple room to check it out. It was the only room in the house they had done - I was pretty impressed they got it pulled together over just a couple of days. She's cute. But seriously - most kids DON'T like me. Only girls named Sydney. What's up with that? Chance thinks its hilarious when kids decide I'm their friend. I think I'm starting to enjoy their company too. Scaaaarrrry.

What else? I guess computer recovery has gone pretty dang well - the only trouble I'm really having is with McAffee - I'm having MAJOR problems with it...but I'm sure I'll get it figured out. Next up: trying to make my ipod work again.

I'm sure you guys are kinda getting bored with these photo-less posts. Pictures are so much more fun! I promise, one of the next few posts will include some photos. And maybe be a little more entertaining. For now, I think we're off to Sunday Funday at Chris and Corbin's apartment. Fun times shall be had by all.

the bbq business

2008-11-08T22:55:00.003-06:00

I had a whole blog written out about work, about the stress of it. About how how I miss having normal hours like everyone else. About having co-workers of the same age and possibly interests. I decided that maybe it's unprofessional to rant about your work place. Maybe it's better to just keep quiet, work hard, and make the best of it.

I read a blog of a friends tonight that made me reconsider my point on Mr. President-elect. They made a point about how his color will make a difference in the generation below mine. The point was that our kids will grow up (at least for the next 4 years) seeing a good role model, a educated, and a responsible figure of African-American decent. I hadn't thought of this and I think it is a legitimate reason to celebrate a black man being in office. We so often see the role models of not only black kids but of White, Latino, and Asian (as well as other races) being rappers, rock stars or some other character that is not really in any way suitable to influence our children's generation. It will be interesting to see how this presidency plays out. Not only for Americans in general but for our children and how they perceive each others exterior and culture. It will be interesting to see if Obama can make a dent in the "rap" culture that has so dominantly shaped the African-American community. For that I applaud him and do have hope. For the rest of us, I hope that we just see a man, a man of no color.

And with that, I hope my political rants are over. I am either surrounded by news coverage of politics or consumed by Bill Miller Barbecue. I prefer to talk about something, with God's help, that is positive rather than BBQ.

Also give us some ideas to write about. This whole blogging everyday for a month thing is hard when you run out of ideas in the first 6 days.

it's my cable and I'll cry if I want to

2008-11-07T22:58:00.003-06:00

So I guess I am drawing a blank tonight. I don't have a whole lot to say and honestly in the middle of the week (yes, Friday is the middle of my week) I am pretty much consumed by work and lack any great stories. I will just offer a little advice for you soon to be married people (although I think all of our readers are either already married or single).

After reading Beth's blog tonight. I was reminded of when Claire and I were discussing finances before our marriage. At the time we were unaware of what our income would be or really what our expenses would be. I may have thrown out a comment in the nature of "We may just not have cable at all" which in turn made Claire cry. This may seem strange or outlandish to some that she would cry over cable. In reality I think it was less the lack of cable than the realization that we had no certainty as to how we were going to pay for ourselves to live. It was the cold truth that we couldn't really rely on our parents to help us out, although they still do of their own accord. Cable was just a materialization of that thought. Of course now if I tried I couldn't cancel the cable because Claire and I have addictive personalities and have "our shows" that we need to watch. Who am I kidding, I can't miss The Office or Heroes. Anyways, the moral of the story is, don't worry about discussing the important issues, just make sure you know whether you are going to have cable or not!

Ok...maybe you should also discuss the important stuff as well.

reece saved my life, or at least my pc

2008-11-06T22:41:00.004-06:00

Well, thanks to my friend Reece - my computer is saved. At least, I'm pretty sure it is. I'm in the process of recovering files right now. My files from my desktop seem to be in good shape, and now I'm working on My Documents...which includes all my music. So far I've only had errors on my Explosions in the Sky albums, so we're good to go. *knock on wood* - I'm so thankful I have friends who are so good with computers...like Reece, Robert Adam, and James. They've all been lifesavers at some point. I wish I knew as much as them - my brain's just not that big. So - for those of you who were worried about me and my 'puter...we seem to be doing just fine. It will take a while to get programs installed again and files in the right place, but hey - I can't complain!

Today was pretty decent. Worked quite a bit on work and the computer. Tomorrow will be the same, I'm sure...plus hopefully finishing the closet (or at least putting all my jewelry away - right now it's strewn all over the bathtub). Got dinner plans with Mrs. Crockett...which I'm excited about - shoot, it has been a LONG time since we've gotten to hang out (very very sadly). And HOPEFULLY I'll have time to make it to the gym...I've missed my running this week - I'd been doing so well, but I haven't gotten to go since I last wrote about "Val". Not because I was that discouraged - just with the closet and the computer I haven't been able to make it.

Chance is jammin' to David Cook on his computer, and I'm slightly distracted. He listens to things so loud that I really can't think.

I'd REALLY love to vent about Grey's Anatomy right now...today's episode was just SO good...except for a few things (which I really want to talk about)...but Chance will KILL me if I use our blog to discuss Grey's. He hates it (which he has no right to say because he's never watched a single episode). Ugg. But if anyone wants to talk to me about the show - please IM me. Lol.

new car politics

2008-11-05T22:53:00.006-06:00

I am not really one to spew out my opinion on politics, but, I am ready to spit this out and be done with it. Regardless of who I backed in the most recent election I can't help but be nervous now that the time has passed. I am proud, I think America has made a step in the right direction with their choice yesterday. I think America has made a wrong choice because now there is very little balance of power. I think we made the wrong choice because like my mom said we just voted in a "global" president. I for one would like a president who is the president of the United States. It makes me nervous but at the same time optimistic that the world has celebrated our choice for leader elect. I can do nothing but pray that this man makes sound decisions for the US, not for the global state.

I would hope that the new step we have taken is a step towards peace with one another, towards a Union that is truly united. I think it's amazing we have voted a man of different color into office. I just hope that isn't the reason that we voted him in, I hope it is not the reason we are celebrating. Maybe we can forget the color, which is what should be done. It is what I have done with friends from African-American decent, to Lebanese, to Mexican, to Chinese, to white suburban. I would celebrate no different any moment with these friends due to their color than I would with anyone else. I would celebrate because they achieved something, not that they are of certain decent and then they achieved something. I would not celebrate a persons color over their accomplishment. That is what bothers me most. I want to celebrate a step in the right direction as a whole, towards union. I don't want to celebrate a color.

So I will support my president, although I know I disagree with many things he stands for. I would like to ask you Mr. Obama to stand not for hope or change or a color or a segment of people as you have said all along. I would ask you to stand for union. For a country that can recover, that can sort out wars, that can sort out a poor economy, that can make the right decisions towards taxes, health care, education, homosexuality, church & state, and foreign relations. I want a man of invisible color that makes the rest of us invisible to each other's color.

That is all I have to say and all you will hear me say for the next 4 years on that. I won't give you my beliefs on the details. Just what I would like out of the next 4 years. Take it as you will.

And on a less, well, political note. I will beg of you dear readers to lend me your opinions. Claire and I are in the market for a new/newly used car. We are considering the 07-09 Toyota Camry, 09 Toyota Corolla Sport, 08-09 Nissan Altima, and the 07-09 Mazda 3. If any of you have experience, thoughts, knowledge, or advice towards these vehicles please let us know. We can use any help we can get.

pricey plastic, among other things

2008-11-04T23:06:00.002-06:00

I'm really too worn out to blog - mentally and physically. And you'll have to forgive any typos or slip-ups in tonight's writing. Chance is watching TV beside me and I'm quite distracted. He thought it was a good time to watch the SNL Presidential Bash from last week. Ha. Sure it is...

Anyway, I'm not gonna talk about politics - let's get that straight right now.

Instead, I'll talk about plastic. I probably bought 100 sq feet of plastic today. That will probably upset some of my greener readers, and honestly - I didn't think about the fact that it might not be good for the environment 'til right now (does that make me a bad person)? But really, guys, it was necessary. My closet needed it.

We're in the middle of the Fight for the Closet campaign of '08 and I won. Chance gave in to my slightly crazy idea to add more storage space to our closet. We spent about 6 hours shopping for supplies, removing shelves, patching holes, and hanging shelves yesterday....Maybe sometime later this month when my computer is up and running you'll get a before and after. We gained about 8 feet of hanging space though - I'm pretty excited. We decided to get some new white plastic hangers and shoe storage boxes to top it off and make things look 'prettier' - Plus its a lot easier than fighting with those silly wire hangers and finding stray shoes. We're hoping to complete the project later this week/weekend...and by we, I mean I. Chance is pretty sure HE's finished.

In other news, the computer repair is coming along. I bought a new hard drive and am planning on starting the whole process of 'fixing' things tomorrow.

Unfortunately, 5 days or so after my computer quit, so did my iPod. The Todd Pod has malfunctioned, most likely, permanently. Stink. When my computer crashed, I was ecstatic that I had recently updated my ipod - so I wouldn't lose any music. I guess I rejoiced too soon. Not too happy about losing $100+ worth of music. Fun times.

That's really about all I've got for today. I'm too tired to be funny or snarky...so we'll just leave it at the facts. I'm going to go zone out for a while. If I can. Doubtful.

closets and mexican food

2008-11-03T22:59:00.009-06:00

You thought we were gonna miss our daily blog, didn't you? Well I still have an hour so here goes with today's topics.

First a comedic story. As we are walking through Lowes on our way to pick out the wire shelving for a new closet redesign project, Claire yells out -loudly- "I sound like Jesus". Taken out of context this could sound blasphemous and possibly somewhat offensive. In context, however, it was humorous -especially to the innocent bystanders shopping for nails, Christmas trees, and lawn mowers. Maybe it wasn't her fault she screamed inappropriately - I was giving her a hard time about coming up with new projects that really don't need to be done (IE: redesigning a closet). I had been teasing her in a mocking voice, the voice of the Jesus character from the Vintage 21 videos online which portray him with a super meek voice and character (these videos might be somewhat offensive but were produced to make a point - many of you have probably seen them). So I'd been mocking Claire in the video Jesus' voice when she yelled. It was really funny - and much more so out of context.

I also thought I would entertain and challenge you foodies and culinary aficionados with the Patrick's top 20 Mexican food establishments. We want your feedback. Tell us what we left off, what you agree with, what you disagree with, and what you think about Mexican food in general. I think we are part Mexican because we both agree we could probably eat it for every meal and half the time our home cooked meals turn out to have some sort of south of the border flair. This list is in order of preference, however it changes frequently and is not totally mutual between the two of us, albeit, it was voted on by both of us.

1.) Picante Grill (San Antonio, TX)
Try: Chile En Nogado
2.) Polvos (Austin, TX, South 1st)
Try: Fajitas Al Guajillo
3.) Villa Montez (Tyler, TX)
Try: Chino Latino Rolls, Sea Bass, or the Daily special
4.) Jardin Corona (Austin, TX, Anderson Mill)
Try: Mango or Strawberry Margaritas, Chipotle Enchiladas, and the Salsa
5.) Margarita Rocks/La Bodega (College Station, TX, Same owner, same fair)
Try: BBQ Chicken Nachos,enchiladas, burgers, burritos, & Don't miss the salsa
6.) Posados (Tyler & Austin, TX)
Try: Cheese Enchiladas, Free tortillas, sopapillas, and ice cream
7.) Tacos Garcia (Amarillo, TX)
Try: Enchiladas de Chile Verde
8.) Trudy's (Austin, TX, various locations)
Try: Stuffed Avocado and brunch buffett
9.) Zocalo (Austin, TX, West Lynn)
Try: Fish Tacos, Dos Salsas, Ceviche, and Pulled Pork Posole Soup
10.) Taco Bus (Houston, TX, Behind Fitzgeralds Bar)
Try: Steak Tacos...it is a taco bus, literally.
11.) La Cocina De Consuelo (Austin, TX, Burnet Rd.)
12.) Leals (Amarillo, TX)
13.) Serranos (Austin, TX, Various Locations)
14.) Ruby Tequila's (Amarillo, TX)
15.) Chuy's (Austin, TX, Various Locations)
16.) Jalepeno Tree (Tyler and East Texas)
17.) Rosas Cafe (Amarillo, College Station and other various TX locations)
18.) Gueros (Austin, TX, South Congress)
19.) El Charro (Tyler, TX)
20.) Taco Garage (San Antonio, TX)

Honorable Mention: Pico De Gallo (Tyler, TX, Closed), Curra's Long Bar (Austin, TX, Closed), Don Luis Supertacos (Austin, TX, Closed)

Let us know what you have had and what you think of this list.

okay, so i fibbed

2008-11-02T12:43:00.004-06:00

I'm back, much sooner than expected. No, the computer isn't up and running (well, it is to an extent. I'm typing on it and can get on the internet thanks to Reece's Ubuntu suggestion...but my files still haven't been located (he's working on it via email). If this doesn't work, I'm taking it in next week.

But - Chance and I decided in a flurry last night to do NaBloPoMo - probably due to the inspiration of Kaki. So, I figured I'd post something for the day while I had something to post about, and while my computer was at least semi-functioning.

I went to the gym today.

No, that's not the whole story. I went to the gym today, planning on doing a short workout, and actually worked out longer than I expected to. I ran 3 miles instead of my usual 2.6...so I was feeling pretty good. That is, until I met 'Valerie'. That's what we're going to call her, at least - I never got her name. Anyway, Valerie happened to be using the hip abductor (aka: sex machine) next to me - I was doing the one that works your hamstring. She saw me doing it and said, "I've never done that one before, it looks kinda hard, but my legs are fairly strong". I was getting off and wanted to try my luck on the hip abductor anyway, so I cleaned off the machine and she prepared to give it a whirl. I, thus far...have been doing reps with 15lb or so on that machine...my hamstrings are clearly weak. Valerie appeared to be older, and not in super amazing shape so I warned her that she might want to go light....that it was kinda hard. She then informed me that she could press 110lb with her quads..."pretty good for a 50 year old, don't you think?" She proceeded to adjust the machine to 70lb. I just about SQUEALED, and thought - there's NO way she can do this. Sure enough, she did. Several reps. She dropped it down to 65 to finish out her sets. My mouth was probably hanging WIDE open. And, as I sat on the hip abductor, greatly REDUCING the amount of weight I was doing....I felt pretty dang bad. I went from patting myself on the back to pretty distraught, but proud of Val! Ha.

In other news, I was looking through my blog subscriptions this morning and came across something interesting - a profession I've never even considered. Did you know that there are people who get PAID to pick a soundtrack for your office, or even your HOME? That's right, a "music stylist". I don't know HOW you GET a job like this...I'm guessing you have to live in Hollywood or NYC, but...seriously. These people walk through your house to feel it out for the 'vibe'...and get paid $50 -$250 PER hour of music that they find that sets the mood for your home. Get out. Here's the article in the New York Times. Maybe I've found my future career path. Aaaah, pipe dreams.

a month of blogging

2008-11-01T22:41:00.004-05:00

Well, we have had our blog for a little over a month now. I'm sad to say that I don't feel it has lived up to my expectations of it. Maybe I thought I would have grand thoughts I would share with everyone on a daily/semi-daily basis. Then the real world set in and I have been working 70 hours a week for the last two weeks with little time for blogging much else anything else in my life. Such are the woes of being a general manager at a restaurant, I guess.

Halloween was good, we went to a couple of friends' parties, played games, and went to bed. I think the holiday really lost it's appeal to me about, oh, 15 years ago when I couldn't go trick or treating anymore. I remember going with mom one year in pajamas that had glow in the dark skeletons on them. I have no idea how we convinced mom this was suitable for Russell and I but we did it and I am pretty sure I had too much candy. I am positive I had too much candy, since I still have too much candy on Halloween and I am 24. Who can resist a butterfinger or 6 anyways (they were at least the "fun" size ones). I might let Claire tell you more about what we actually did on Halloween. For this post, however, I wanted to write about something on my mind.

I got a haircut on Wednesday. While doing so I realized I finally understood why Claire likes to go get massages. In my own weird way, getting a haircut, for me, is like getting a massage. Of course, there are some boundaries on this. I have to have a stylist that is either foreign and therefore can not communicate with me, or just someone who has no desire to discuss my frivolous day. So assuming I have a mute, foreign, or shy hairstylist I can go in sit down and shut off. Often this ends in me nearly drifting off to sleep. I have the white noise of the buzzers, a cool mist being sprayed from time to time and a nice hair/head massage. Really how could this not be wonderful. I realized I have been letting myself down by being so lazy as to only get a haircut every 2-3 months. I am missing out on one of the most relaxing 20 minutes of my month if I skip for that long. Maybe I am just crazy but dang it's relaxing.

Also November is National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) so maybe Claire and I can get on top of this and give you readers a little more to chew on as we head into Thanksgiving. But, expect me to be gone for about two weeks around the big Turkey day as thats my busiest time of year at work.

Until next time.

this week's drama

2008-10-31T12:15:00.004-05:00

Well...there may be another lag in posting. My computer died (or something - yet to be determined) on Wednesday. I've spent a good part of the week trying to figure all THAT out...and will probably end up taking it in to someone on Monday or Tuesday to get fixed. It's kinda put me in a shabby mood, which it shouldn't. I've just gotten behind on work...and may lose 6-8 months worth of files. It's not a HUGE deal really...I should be thankful. I've got a majority of my work stuff and bookmarks backed up on a thumb drive, and my music is all on my ipod - we have 2 OTHER computers (the laptop which I'm on currently - and Chance's). Really, we're blessed. But I'm pretty wound up from being behind on work as well as other things, and I probably won't post anything for the next several days, maybe a week. It's possible that Chance might write...but as for me, consider me on a temporary hiatus 'til I can pull myself together.

Oh yeah, and Happy Halloween.

it might be a quarter life crisis, or just a stirring in my soul...

2008-10-26T18:16:00.010-05:00

Well, I'm 25. John Mayer says it well. And yeah - man, the weeks prior to and following my birthday have been weeks of...reflection and wondering. I'm not gonna divulge ALL of my incoherent thoughts about being this old on our blog, but I AM going to tell you about my birthday and all the goings-on and festivities. That's much, much more fun.

Chance made me a delicious dinner last Friday night (the 17th) - it was scrumptious. A coconut-crusted tilapia salad with mandarin oranges, strawberries, apples, feta and some wonderful homemade citrus dressing. I wish I could describe it appropriately - it was truly some of the best fish I've ever tasted.

We decided to pop open a bottle of wine and celebrate the bday early. Much better than the Little Caesar's we had for his 24th (still sorry about that one, C). We had a relatively relaxing evening at home...it was nice.

On my birthday (Sunday the 19th), we headed for my hometown of Tyler. We treated ourselves to some Bill Miller breakfast tacos and were on our way. When we got there we dropped off our stuff at my dad's and visited briefly with he and Karen...then made our way to Ming's for lunch with one of my absolute best friends in the world, Daniel Elbert. He's been my buddy since 6th grade - I just love the kid - so it was great to spend some time on my b-day with him. Chance, Elbert and I went to the Caldwell Zoo (which is still one of the best zoos I've ever been to, second to San Antonio). We wandered for a couple of hours checking out the animals...we were slightly disappointed that the painting elephant wasn't painting, and there were fewer monkeys than times past - but it was a good adventure nonetheless. The weather was gorgeous. We also spent a little time out at the rose garden (which was in full bloom) at an arts and crafts fair out there. That may have been a flop, but my dad joined us...and I honestly enjoyed just relaxing and walking around.

We dropped Elbert off eventually (and sadly), and decided to check out our friend Trevor's vintage shop, Blue Owl, which he opened fairly recently. It's awesome to see him doing something so cool - the store setup is seriously awesome - its even got a cool lounge area...and his merch selection is awesome and VERY pleasantly priced.

Following our afternoon adventures we headed to my grandmother Golly's house. We hung out with her for a while until we headed to dinner at Coyote Sam's - a fairly new restaurant in Tyler. Elbert decided to join us for that too - so it was Chance, Elbert, Golly, mom, my sister Luci and my aunt julia who celebrated over dinner. I'm going to TRY not to turn this into a food review blog - lol - I LOVE food, so that's hard. Anyway - their portions were giant and we all ate til we were stuffed, I'm pretty sure. I opened a few gifts and some cards (including an inappropriate one from my sister - thanks Luci!) It was great spending time with everyone, and we ended up back at Golly's house talking to her til 12:30 AM. She's a night owl, even at 87 years old. I just adore time with her - and it was nice to get to chat with her for so long...just the three of us.

We stumbled back to my dad's house...a block away from Golly and got a good night's rest in his California King sized guest bed. Shoot. If I could have that bed, I'd take it. It's such a great bed, it's worth mentioning in the blog. Ha.

Monday was fun as well - we slept in a little and then headed to lunch with Dad and Karen. They were more than willing to take me to probably my FAVORITE Tyler restaurant - Villa Montez.

Mmm. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The food there is great too. I'll let Chance talk more about it in his food blog, but for now, pictures will have to suffice. We shared a delicious Cucumber Mojito -

as well as my favorite appetizer...and some scrumptious entrees.

We went back to their house for cookie cake - then said our goodbyes (ugh, that's always hard)...

...picked Golly up from her house...and headed over to the McMurrey office where my mom and sister work to say bye to my mom and meet up with my sister... I took a few pictures there (I had forgotten to take any at dinner the night before, unfortunately) - *Elbert, if you read this, we NEED a picture over Christmas break*.

Apparently my mom and my sister were both about to pull their hair out, so that necessitated a viewing of some crazily dressed man(?) singing Rio De Janiero on you tube. Seriously. Talk about torture - but at least they think its funny. I'd link you to it but I can't remember the dude's name and I wouldn't want to subject you to that kind of pain.

We hung out there for a little bit then headed out to Logan (my nephew)'s school Brook Hill to pick him up and say hi to him (we hadn't seen him at all yet and I needed to - those kids grow so fast)! We talked to him and he showed us his classroom - I'm so impressed with all they're teaching him. He's in 2nd grade and learning things I learned in 6th. Seriously. My amazing friend Kameron (who was also a roommate in college) happens to teach at Brook Hill in the high school so we saw her classroom and went to grab some coffee at a cute little shop in Bullard on our way out of town. Talking to her was so nice - we've both missed her a ton. When we left I was super satisfied with our time in Tyler, even though we'd only gotten to spend about 27 hours there, and we didn't get to catch up with everyone...but still, it was nice.

Just when I thought it was all over...Chance pulled a fast one on me. We were over halfway home when Chance decided he was hungry - and we happened to be relatively close to Highway 6 (you know - the road that takes you in to College Station)....so he decided we'd take a little detour for dinner. I instantly called our friends Robert Adam and Casey (I tried miss Chalyce too, but no answer). We were able to meet them at Blue Baker (which Chance and I crave ALL the time)...it's an awesome sandwich shop - they've got amazing bread...and cookies! Yum! It was SO refreshing to spend time with those two kids - I love them dearly. R.A. is one of my closest friends from college and his wife Casey is seriously awesome - once I met her she quickly became one of my good friends. We got back on the road pretty late - but it was totally worth it all. Spending time with my family and friends was all I REALLY wanted for my birthday - and I totally got it.

The celebration continued into this past week - my homie Jen made me a beautiful kahlua birthday cake (which I wish I had a picture of)...and the small groupies sang happy birthday to me. Haha. Good times.

Basically - all that to say...I had an awesome 25th birthday (despite my continuing quarter life crisis). Thanks to Chance for making all that happen - I'd better kick things up a notch for his 25th!

Sorry this blog was kinda' a doozy...but I wanted a record of our adventures. If you actually read it all, then kudos! Seriously! And THIS was me trying to keep it SHORT! (:

30 min. there, 22hrs back

2008-10-17T18:19:00.013-05:00

Sometimes even four days off can make the world to your sensibilities. Since I was in desperate need of any sort of vacation, our four day trip to Arizona was just the ticket. Although it wasn't all a trip about fun, it was time away from work and a chance to get out of town. Since it only takes 30 minutes by plane, flying there is great (technically it's 2 and half hours, but you gain two hours). Anyways we got there around 8:30 am and in traditional Patrick style, we made our first stop Dunkin' Donuts. Really who can resist having breakfast at 6am in Austin and again at 9 am in Phoenix.

Claire and I got there early Friday so we could start sorting through Dad's stuff. We made fast progress of it. We found some really funny stuff, some sentimental stuff, and just some downright odd things. But we made better time than Maren expected us to and so we had time to enjoy some Mexican food for lunch and got to go out for a treat for dinner. Some great sushi from Sushi Creek. I will have more on Sushi Creek, later, in my other blog.

Russell and Joni got in late around 10 and since they drove 17 hours they were exhausted. As were Claire, Maren, and I. So we hit the sack as we had a long day of packing and sorting on Saturday. We got up early enough to finish dividing up things between the siblings and then took off to watch the newest additions to the Patrick clan: Edward play football, and Sydney entertain in general.

We all enjoyed the amazing 70 degree weather and the chance to hang out together outside.

Claire even got to re-unite with her best friend Sydney. They played Hide-and-Go seek as well as held hands and ran down hills. HA! I think they both have become fond of each other. It does make me smile though to see my family get to be close even when we all live so far away.
After the game, in which Ed's team had a great fourth quarter comeback to win, we headed to Paradise Cafe to grab lunch. Apparently they claim to be famous for their cookies. Well being skeptical like I am I doubted the "amazingness" of these cookies. I will man up, and say I was wrong. They are probably the third best cookies in the world. Of course, Mom's will always be first, then Blue Baker, then probably the chocolate chip from Paradise Cafe. I digress. We finished up lunch and started loading 2 couches, 2 mattresses, 10 or so totes of stuff, 10-15 large pieces of art, a dresser, a recliner, a LARGE chair, 2 end tables, 2 lamps, a bicycle, and a grandfather clock into a u-haul trailer and Russell's pickup. It was probably the most amazing packing job ever seen. Thanks to Claire who could climb around that u-haul trailer like a monkey.

For dinner we go to enjoy San Tan Flats Steakhouse. This was one of the first places I went with Dad when I visited him over the summer. For that reason it holds a lot of sentimental value, being one of my last memories with him. So I really wanted Claire to get to go to this place and to share it with Maren, the kids, and Russell and Joni.

It really fits my Dad. The open fires for roasting marshmallows, dancing, great steaks, and country design just really seem like something Dad enjoyed. So it was a bittersweet experience to be there without him. Of course the weekend wasn't without those bittersweet moments anyways.

Getting to talk with Maren about her memories of Dad is something I will always Cherish. Sharing in tears, may be hard, but the sharing part is what means so much. I always have room for more in my family and I can proudly say that I have a great family in Maren, Sydney and Ed out in Arizona. It was good re-hashing memories about Dad, and remembering them while looking through his belongings. Plus the Grandfather clock he left me looks amazing in our house and stands tall and proud like Dad.

Sunday we woke at 5:30 Texas time and hit the road for what turned out to be a 22 hr drive home. We took shifts with person asleep in the back and three riding up front. The eastern half of Arizona is beautiful, as is the western half of New Mexico. Plus in the middle of nowhere in western N.M. is Pie Town. Yes, that's right, a real place called Pie Town. You guessed it, they have pie shops.

We sampled some amazing peanut butter pie here before returning to the drive. We stopped south of Albuquerque to meet up with Dillon and give him his stuff. That was close to the last of the beautiful scenery.

We drove out of the scenery and into the west Texas flatland. Dropped some stuff off with Nashee' and Danielle in Lubbock and continued on to Fort Worth. We arrived at 3 am, exhausted, sore, and grumpy. It was well worth it to spend time with siblings and family. Monday morning we drove our Enterprise rented Mini-van full of stuff back to Austin.

This weekend we head back out on a quick trip to Tyler to visit Claire's family. So more to come on our weekend getaway adventures.

we're still alive...i promise...

2008-10-16T22:45:00.004-05:00

Well - here we are, more than a week later...and we haven't posted. I thought we'd be so much better at this. We have PLENTY to say - just no time to write it all out. Chance should have a big blog coming your way about our trip to Arizona (perhaps tomorrow)...

I would have helped him out in the blogosphere, but I've been kinda under the weather. The congestion I faced on our trip to Phoenix somehow morphed into a sinus infection. No biggie, right? I have those all the time. Well, somehow THAT turned into a migraine with a side of vertigo. Ha. Loads of fun. So - I inhaled some sort of nasal migraine treatment, plus I'm on an antibiotic and mucinex (on top of my normal meds). Lovely. Oh - and I've been assigned these exercises (similar to the ones pictured below) to clear my ears, or whatnot.

Spinning around on the bed is a real treat, let me tell you. Oh well. At least maybe this will keep me from almost falling over 13 times in the grocery store.

I just thought I'd let our faithful readers know we're still alive (barely), and that Chance will be in with a recap sometime soon-ish (hopefully Friday)! We're heading to Tyler on Sunday (at least, we're 99% sure we are) for a brief weekend 'getaway'. And that, my friends, is just about all I know.

food - our love

2008-10-08T18:42:00.002-05:00

I just thought I'd step in here and let you guys know that Chance has been busy on his other blog this week; Austin Texas: I'll be your tongue's proxy has some new restaurant reviews. I think starting our blog has re-ignited Chance's desire to write about food. His blog was dormant for several months, but as of late, he's wanted to take the camera everywhere we eat. Perhaps that's because we ate at home for a good part of last month, so he's super excited about eating out. Whatever the case, you should check out his reviews of what we've been eating lately. Plenty more of that to come, I'm sure!

and a week goes by

2008-10-06T12:23:00.010-05:00

After churning out the blogs Claire and I got rather busy with real life. I guess that happens when you have friends in town for the weekend and you are organizing a three day trip, there and back, to Phoenix.

We finally finished up our detox diet last Monday, a week ago. We did have a splurge meal at Sushi Caliente to celebrate. We made it a light/sort of healthy meal though. You can read about it here. Anyways, both of us feel much better and can tell a noticeable difference when we eat "fatty" foods compared to when we stick with the diet's plan. After this weekend of eating out with friends, we both came away wanting to just eat vegetables. It's weird how that works. As of tomorrow we will have both gone 28 days without sodas, and for the most part without caffeine. If you knew either of us before we had a very high Diet Coke (Claire) and Dr. Pepper (Myself) consumption. We have challenged ourselves to stick as closely as possible to the diet, with a few splurges here and there. You can't just give up your favorite frozen yogurt place, MMMMM....Tomunchi. So far we have both lost some weight and I can't believe I am saying it but I would suggest the diet to anyone looking to feel better and have the extra benefit of losing weight. You can still cook great things like my own creation: eggplant stack. We used a chicken sausage from Whole Foods stuffed with spinach and feta. All you do is grill up your eggplant, cook the sausage, slice up some avocado, grill some thin strings of onions and stack it up. I served it along side some steamed broccoli and okra with crumbled feta on top and some candied pecans for a little bit of a sweet kick.

Claire also set out on a mission to re-organize our study closet. After visiting Ikea, twice, we had picked up enough organizational tools that she could get started. She set out on a weekend/week of organizing, sorting, adding new books, removing old magazines, and creating general destruction of our study floor. But in the end she did an amazing job and we now have a fully labeled and accessible closet. I am still of the opinion that Claire would make an amazing personal organizer for people.

After working most of the week Mark and Amanda came in town and we had the chance to relax and hang out. We ate at Kerby Lane, ate at Sprinkles (the arch-rival of Tomunchi) and we played Rock Band over at John and Sara Vershaw's apartment. It was a blast and who knew I could sing so well. Yesterday we had some free time after work and headed out to one of our favorite Austin parks with the dogs, Walnut Creek Park. We hiked around down in the creek bed, which, contrary to the picture below, is completely dry and barren due to the lack of rain this summer. Yet it made for a fun, 2ish mile hike as well as good exercise.

Brooke is coming into town this week and then we head out to phoenix for the weekend so hopefully we can get a few more updates in for you loyal readers about how exciting our suburban lives are.

aggie networking

2008-09-27T00:23:00.010-05:00

Claire and I both have telecommunications and media studies degrees. IE: we "should" know how to network computers, modems, cables, etc. As of today we have been married for about 1 year and almost 9 months. During this time we have shared music through a flash drive. Folder after tedious folder we would share in our joy of music. Tonight, we realized we could just network our computers together and give and take as we pleased. Also we noted that we could share the one printer that had previously been solely in use by Claire's PC. Yes, we are Aggies and the Aggies are we.

Finally my degree came in handy for something. I knew that 20 grand would be worth it.

truly honored

2008-09-24T08:57:00.006-05:00

Holy Moly! I woke up this morning and was enjoying my morning ritual of blog reading, when lo-and-behold - I saw my furniture. My sleepy eyes did a double take. I thought I had made a mistake and posted the blog twice, then I realized it wasn't my blog at all!

I feel so honored - Olga from Ginger & Gold (one of the design blogs I read) featured my furniture in one of her blogs today! I'm still in shock - I feel so special to even be mentioned by someone who does incredible work such as this Before/After:

Can you believe that transformation - with a little paint and some repurposed legs?

I've been reading her blog for several weeks...she blogs about pretty things + her own great re-do's. She's done some great things you'd never think of with upholstery tacks too!

We've only blogged six times, but already we've received mention on two of our friend's blogs...and now on Olga's - who we don't personally know. That's pretty good encouragement to keep going, and to keep trying to be creative! (:

Check out Olga's Blog:

furniture facelift(s)

2008-09-23T00:02:00.011-05:00

When we moved from our duplex to our house last November...we changed decorating styles quite a bit (from modern to more eclectic/contemporary/transitional)...and we also upgraded in terms of square footage (by about 400ish square feet). These changes called for some 'new' and additional furniture. Instead of purchasing new, I decided I'd revamp some older pieces with a little paint and TLC.

It was definitely a process...and of course, being myself, I added several steps to the process which were useless ones that I won't do again, most likely. For instance, completely stripping pieces with a belt sander. Unnecessary - since I was painting, and on some, it did more damage than it corrected. But - oh well. The furniture is finally all finished (half a year after I began the process)...and I'm just glad to have it done.

I started with some tables I found on craigslist for the living room. We needed side tables and a coffee table. The side tables were wooden - maybe an oak-ish color, and they came from someone's mother's house. The coffee table was from a seller I often purchase things from, Michelle, and it was painted black (which I originally wanted). At some point, I decided white was better, and this is what I came up with (click on the picture to see it larger):

The tops of the end tables are completely stenciled in a pearlescent white paint. The coffee table has a more 'scattered' stencil. And...the third photo shows the tables from their sides - so you can see their bases/legs.

Once I finished the living room tables, I moved on to a chest of drawers that used to be in Golly's attic. It had a pickled-ish yellow finish, and some funny wooden knobs (which I may save for later use on another project). Here's what it looked like to begin with:

The knobs are in the baggie on the drawer. I decided for the look I was going for the chest would need something a little more fancy...a fresh coat of paint, some stenciling, new hardware, and something to line the drawers. And...here's the result (once again, click to make larger):

I painted the entire thing black, created a harlequin stencil for the top, found a stencil for behind the knobs (and stenciled in silver paint), and then decoupaged the drawers with sheet music. This piece is currently in our guest room, holding Chance's t-shirts.

Finally, I decided to take a swing at the nightstands I had purchased. They were going to be quite an undertaking, due to some broken pieces, the bronze hardware, and the sheer size of the two cabinets. I found these on craigslist as well, at a dentist office. The 'cane' look on the trim matches a antiqued silver mirror we have hanging on our bedroom wall, so I thought it was perfect! Here's a glimpse of the nightstand(s) before:

And here they are after:

The two pieces are finished out the same way. I painted them black and added the accents with silver and gold paint, which I sanded for an 'aged' look. The hardware, which was bronze-ish, I turned silver with Rub-n-Buff. That stuff works wonders. I did a little 'antiquing' to the hardware - which you might not be able to tell from the pictures - it's easier to tell in person. Then Chance found this wrapping paper at Target which I decoupaged to the inside of the drawers and cabinet doors. Currently, Brewster camps out in my nightstand at night. He loves his new bed!

And now...I'm taking a break from re-doing furniture. Lol. Doing all that wore me out! I'd love to try to do a few smaller pieces, but at this point, we've pretty much filled our house entirely. (:

Hope you enjoyed this, Kaki (and the rest of our curious readers)! I'm sure there will be more to come in the way of painting (although it might not be furniture next time. Probably canvases instead!)

EDIT: I didn't give Chance enough credit here. Not only did he help me pick out the wrapping paper for the nightstands, but he also graciously helped me strip a few of the pieces as well as put the paper on the cabinet doors! Couldn't have done it without him!

evacuee-no-more

2008-09-22T22:50:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know, He-Man now has a home...and a new name. Our good buddy from the old days of Telecommunication Media Studies at A&M....Catherine Clyburn, and her sweet fella' Jarrett Hervey adopted the little guy. He's now in College Station, living the dream with his sister, Pixl the Pomeranian Princess (her name's just Pixl, but I get carried away sometimes). And...his new name is Dr. Ruttiger Daugh, PHD.

I'm so happy he has a good home where he'll be loved on every day. But I'm not gonna say that I don't miss him. I had to fight back tears when he left. In the six short days he was here, he sorta became family. I'll miss him - but luckily we can see him whenever we want now - any time we go to College Station!

Thanks again C & J. It means a ton to me that y'all were willing to help him out...and us. (:

vegetables = vegetables

2008-09-19T18:24:00.008-05:00

The diet: woman’s daily challenge, man’s worst enemy, natures’ cruelest joke. Once upon a time men, women, children, and dogs ate what they wanted, they might have had a little extra meat on their bones, yet they stayed warm in the winter. They didn’t have organic eggs, soy milk, almond milk, all natural, unprocessed, and fat free foods. What they had was meat. Meat, potatoes, bread, and whole milk, and they were happy. Now fast forward 50-100 years and you enter the Patrick household.

Day 1, circa Sept. 9th 2008, there is no meat in sight, no milk, no beverages other than water and herbal tea. There is the option for vegetables with fruit or fruit with, you guessed it, vegetables. Mind you there are no sauces, salts, pre-made seasonings, ketchup, condiments, or moisture to be added to your vegetables either. You can put some tomato paste in with your squash and zucchini in hopes that all of it combined will create enough moisture to make it palatable.

Somehow, before this time of vegetables, my lovely wife convinced me to do a 21 day Detox diet with her. A lot of our friends have been doing different versions of the same diet and all have said they felt better afterward. Well, our eating habits aren’t necessarily poor, but they could be improved. So we thought we would give it a shot. Our main goal is to lose weight and feel better. My motivation is to support Claire, because I am a bad influence when it comes to food, and to get my blood pressure down. Claire’s goals are to lose weight, to cut out/back on caffeine, and feel better in a general health sense.

Just a quick run down on what we could eat day 1-10. We are allowed vegetables, fruits (berries, kiwis, lemons, limes, and granny smith apples only), some FEM supplement, almond milk, and nuts (No peanuts, however). Yeah, that’s it for 10 days. It’s fine the first 1-3 days. Then you get hungry. Then day 5-8 everything starts to taste the same. Day 9 and 10 you just decide you don’t want to eat because everything tastes the same. Keep in mind this is my perspective, not Claire’s. Day 11 precious, precious eggs become available in this torture we call a diet. Chicken, fish, lean and organic meats become available as well as goat & feta cheese. So maybe we can survive 10 more days with a little variety.

So to go along with everything tasting the same you have to come up with some creative cooking. Such as “Mushroom Pizza.” Maybe it looks appetizing and tastes decent, but it still comes out tasting like vegetables with more vegetables. When you eat veggies at a restaurant they are smothered in butter and salt. One tends not to think about this until you are on a unseasoned vegetable diet.

I say all this sarcastically, but really, it has been a good challenge for both of us. Many nights we talked about the foods we long for but so far have both been really good and only eaten what we are allowed. So the next 10 days with a little protein should be easy. As much as I enjoyed Claire cooking her vegetable stir fry,

I look forward to some fish and chicken. We both think we have lost about 7 pounds thus far. Neither of us have had any caffeine, salt, or meat. So maybe there is something to it. I am glad we have done it but can’t wait to go enjoy a cold Dr. Pepper and some enchiladas. 10 days to go. Wish us luck.

20 months in less than 2000 words (aka: from mexico to mexicans)

2008-09-17T23:40:00.028-05:00

Well, we promised you a recap. We probably shouldn’t have done that because…well…goodness knows how long a year and 2/3rds recap can be…and how hard it can be to recall everything.

Oh well – we promised, and you’re gonna get it. And…it may be long – but I’ll try to sum it up as succinctly as possible…which we all know – won’t happen.

Ready? Ok.

We’ll start at the wedding. We got married January 6, 2007, in Tyler. That’s another story in itself – but, needless to say – we ended up married. Woo hoo!

After our first night in Dallas, we spent the rest of our honeymoon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico at the Aventura Spa Palace Resort. It pretty much WAS a palace. It was awesome. All the food we could eat, all the drinks we could drink, and a full-blown hot tub in the room. We met some new friends there too. Good stuff.

Unfortunately when we got back to Texas we got hit with the sickness (you know, the kind that comes from drinking sodas with ice in the Mexican airport). I got it first, and Chance got it second. And that’s how we spent the first 48 hours or so in our duplex.

Once we healed and the ice from the ice storm had melted…we started our lives in the ‘real world’. Chance had been hired at Landscapes USA just a few weeks prior to the wedding in a sales/tech monkey position, and I started working for my stepbro Eric at redOrbit.com, writing articles about fish. Fish and cats. We also started going to Southwest Family Fellowship (our church) and met a bunch of cool kids (who we like to call our friends).

I eventually took a job at Maggie ‘n’ Me – a kids’ interior design company in South Austin. I truly loved the ladies I worked for. Things were going well…

And then we met Freddie, the Border Collie. I decided one day to go photograph pups at the animal shelter here, and I happened to stumble upon one who grabbed my heart.

Chance met him and, after a little convincing, loved him too. When we got Freddie he was sick with kennel cough – really bad…but we thought we could ‘heal’ him. The healing process was incredibly long, but he eventually got better, like 2 months later.

Also, it rained the entire month of May.

Mid-summer, Freddie got hurt. I had taken another job assisting a photographer (so, I was working 3 jobs at the time)…and was gone shooting a wedding. Chance was home playing fetch with Freddie and Brewster (our dachshund), when a dead rosebush went through Freddie’s leg and tore the tendons. He had to go to the Emergency Animal Clinic and have surgery. To make a REALLY long story short, after 2 vets, 2 e-collars, 30 trips to the clinic, 200 bandages, and some water therapy…Freddie still needed plenty of time to heal.

He was injured. Injured baaad . {For all its worth, he finally did become famous when this photo was included in Austin Monthly Magazine}

Sometime in the aftermath, I quit Maggie ‘n’ Me. For various reasons, I just couldn’t continue working there – although part of me really wanted to, and still wants to. It just wasn’t feasible.

I also got super sick, and continued to get sick. I was sick at least 6 times in 2007. And I don’t mean minor 2 day cold things. Nope. Sick.

And…Chance quit Landscapes USA – also for a lot of reasons – and was hired at Bill Miller BBQ as a Manager in training.

And…I quit my photographer’s assistant position. After the scare with Freddie…it just wasn’t worth it. [edit: I didn't technically 'quit' - more like 'phased it out']

In October, we began a house search. By then, Freddie’s leg had healed, but his paw pad was splitting – just another fun doggie drama situation. The house search was quite quick. Our realtor, Candace Christiansen, is amazing. After a couple of weeks of research on neighborhoods, and seeing 3 houses, we found our home. Technically, ours was the second house we looked at, on our first and only day truly ‘house shopping’. We moved in at the beginning of November and haven’t looked back. It’s only about 8 minutes from our old duplex, so it made moving fairly easy.

Thanksgiving was interesting, due to Chance’s new work schedule. We didn’t get to go to either of our homes, but we went to Chance’s Aunt Ann’s instead. And it was a TON of fun with lots of good food and family. It was nice.

I decided to get my thyroid tested, with all the sickness/fatigue/etc going on…something had to be up.

Christmas was also the same crazy yet cool phenomenon. Chance had to work on Christmas Eve, so we decided to start a new tradition (which technically won’t be a tradition until we do it again next year, right?). We opened our gifts to each other (and our stockings from Chance’s mom) by our beautiful little tree on Christmas Eve after Chance got off work. Afterwards…we went to Kerby Lane for some breakfast (around midnight). It was yummy and tradition-worthy. The next morning we set out for Tyler. Chance rode back to Austin that night with our friends Charlie and Emily (an adventure, from what I hear), and I stayed on in Tyler for a week.

We celebrated our first married New Year’s Eve in Austin at the home of the aforementioned Charlie and Emily.

In January, Chance had to do the end of his management training in San Antonio, so we took that as an opportunity for an anniversary trip. He had two weeks of training there, so I went in the middle of it for several days and we enjoyed getting to know the city. It was very relaxing, and involved substantial amounts of good food.

At the end of his training, Chance was promoted to 2nd Associate Manager.

I started taking thyroid meds. Woo hoo!

March brought with it South By Southwest (SXSW) – the giant annual music/film/interactive festival. And this one was the best yet – for so many reasons. We were able to go with our friends (those cool church kids plus a few special others), and we got to see some of our friends play. We also had the opportunity to attend some of our ‘favorite shows ever’, as well as meet some new key people in our lives. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but one of the high points for sure. So many inside jokes…so many friends…so much music. Perfection – but perhaps only because I am the schedule master and plotted out all of the free shows and food during the weeks prior. Yes, I am good.

During April, Chance was in Seguin for an entire Month. He came home every once in a while, but never stayed long. He was helping them open a new Bill Miller there. April did have its high points though, like the Weiner Dog Races in Buda. ‘Nuff said.

Then, everything fell apart again. Or…Freddie’s Intestines did. They had BEEN falling apart since approximately about the time his paw pad started to heal, but it wasn’t overwhelming til spring. That’s when he started puking and didn’t stop. We took him to our vet (vet #2), and it turned out our vet had left the practice and following an overnight stay at the emergency clinic, lots of xrays and fluids, the other vets couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. Fred’s nausea quit for a bit then started again. We finally went to vet #3, they did exploratory surgery (after x rays and a sonogram), and found that a rubber object had been lodged in his intestine. We’re still not quite sure what it was or how long it had been there, but I suspect it was a chunk of a toy that I had taken away from them in December or so, due to the fact that they were ‘tearing it up’. I neglected to note where the missing portion of the toy was – and it was apparently in Fred’s intestine. Lodged. Causing part of it to die, and another part to puncture. They had to cut out a good deal of his intestine. But at least it was the end of puke stains on the carpet in our new house.

Things started looking up again when Chance was promoted to 1st Associate Manager. To celebrate (well, not really, but let’s pretend), we went on a tubing trip with the Deckers and the Hensons. Floating the Comal was one of the few things on our summer ‘to do’ list that actually got done – and done well. The trip was pretty dang fun.

In the midst of a light-hearted blog, it’s hard to write about something so…hard. I’ll just do it quickly. – Chance’s dad, Barry, was diagnosed with cancer in his lung, brain, and leg. We found out about it at the end of April, and Chance took a trip to visit him in AZ. In July, post floating trip, we traveled to AZ together to see him again, and August 10th he passed away – after a really hard battle and a ton of treatment. Countless blogs could be written about Chance’s dad and how amazing he was and how nice the memorial was and how much we miss him, but just the facts for now.

When we came home from the memorial, Chance was promoted to General Manager – and moved to the store nearest our home. And that brings us to this month…in which so far we’ve sold Chance’s truck (to some soliciting landscapers), and started this blasted diet.

The diet, my friends, ohhhh – that gets a blog to itself.

dogs are evacuees too

2008-09-15T23:50:00.007-05:00

Sometimes plans change on us. Today was one of those days. As of Sunday, I planned to wake up around 10, have a smoothie (more on that later), make a few phone calls to repairmen for the house, eat some lunch, and then start working on cleaning out the garage. We might possibly throw in a movie at the end of the night but that was up in the air. Well At around 12pm, I glance out the front door and see a dog chasing a car down the street. Being curious I step outside and see if I can get the dog to come over to me. Reluctantly at first, then exuberantly after that he chases me down. I wanted to see if I could get close enough to befriend him, read his tags, and return him to his home that presumably contained him and stopped him from chasing 2 ton killing machines down the road.

Well wouldn’t you know the luck, NO TAGS. Let me take a brief intermission and get on a soapbox. WHY do people not tag their dogs? They are magicians, escape masters, and they can wiggle a 50 pound body through a 6” by 6” hole. Please tag your dogs for when they do escape someone like us can return them to you. Anyways, the thought crossed my mind to go inside, let the dog go on his merry way, and pretend it never happened. Unfortunately this dog pulled on my heartstrings, he was cute, and I told Claire to come out and see him. That’s mistake number one. Claire immediately falls in love. (Mind you, this is dog number 3 that this has happened with). Being the Good Samaritan she is we set off with dog in tow to ask all the neighbors if they know who the dog belongs to. No luck there either. We take He-Man (that’s what I decided to call him during his brief stint at the Patrick house) to the vet to see if he is micro-chipped. No luck again. At home once again Claire proceeds to make out posters about a found dog and post ads on Craigslist. As of 10:15 tonight we have no responses.

So this is a call out to all of you our new, loyal, and dog loving readers. Please let us know if you would be interested in adopting He-man (you can change his name if you must). We really would like to give him to a good home rather than take him to Town Lake Animal Shelter. We can’t keep him ourselves more than a day or two, Freddie doesn’t like him much.

So we could really use your help to spread the word and pictures to friends that you think might be interested in adopting him.

blog numero uno...

2008-09-14T22:22:00.006-05:00

Holy Cow. Like 5 hours later and I'm blogging.

Chance and I have been wanting a blog for some time...but I've been busy painting furniture and getting the house together - and he's been busy working. I was DETERMINED to get a wordpress blog and do it all myself - all the coding - all the prettiness - all that jazz. I thought blogger was a cop-out...and if I were a REAL designer, I'd make it happen on wordpress.

Clearly, that did not happen.

We finally got around to creating this guy today, due to a change in evening plans. And...I gave up on the wordpress idea. Unfortunately, I can't remember any code...anything Robert Adam taught me. Nothing. So we had to settle for the time being. Perhaps someday I can beg James to make a wordpress blog for us. Or maybe someday I'll reteach myself CSS. But until then...this'll have to do.

We're excited about joining the blogosphere...we read so many of our friends' blogs, and now maybe they can keep up with us. We let our old url (www.chanceandclaire.com) go for now...but maybe someday we'll repurchase it to make keeping up with us easier. But for now...bookmark this - or subscribe to the feed - cuz we'll be here a while!

Pretty soon we'll be posting a recap (or two) of the past year and a half of our lives (since we've been married)! Then we'll move forward to our day-to-day lives...and talk about...well, whatever we want!

Pardon my random elipses (...) and bizarre punctuation. I guess you'll have to get used to it (and Chance's spelling). (: --- And my backwards smileys. You'll get the hang of it.

For now, I bid you adieu.