Jon and Holly

Budget Update: 7 months in - How we're doing

2009-08-01T18:33:00.001-07:00

In a word: GREAT!

We've managed to pay off somewhere in the neighborhood of $14,000 since January 1st and we are in absolute awe of that fact. We give all praise and thanksgiving to God for giving us the inspiration and promise that He would take care of it if we would make the commitment to get out of debt.

We're now focusing on our consumer account that has not required a payment for over a year. Once January 1st hits, we'll be owing the regular monthly payments as well as the deferred interest that has been building, so we're definitely going full steam ahead to get it paid off by December 31st. It's a biggie, but we know we can do it.

Grocery shopping has been going great. I've managed to still stick to my budget of $75 a week on shopping for the most part, occasionally going over if there are deals that are just too good to pass up, but it's usually no more than $15 dollars over, and even that's rare. I recently had a really great trip to Kroger. I got all of the items in the picture below for a whopping $3.83! I saved 87% by using coupons and store discounts. Not too shabby!

I haven't had many other trips quite as good as this, but I'm still faithfully clipping, sorting and using my coupons every week. We still don't eat out very often and we've both gotten out of the habit of impulse shopping. We've been faithfully tithing out of every paycheck, and even been donating to some worthy causes that we feel are important to contribute to.

We did decide to splurge on new (refurbished) iPhones for both of us, which would definitely not be Dave Ramsey approved. But for me especially, I've found my iPhone has greatly freed up my time at home since I don't feel the need to spend my evenings "catching up" on emails and facebook happenings since I can do this at various breaks throughout the day. We both feel very much more "connected" and for the time it's given me and the stress it's taken off of me alone we feel it's been worth it.

I hope the next big update has more good news! And I pray all of you out there who are working hard to get out of debt are being as blessed as we are. Here's to being debt free!

By the way, in case you're not linked over, I do the huge majority of our family updates on Harper's blog at http://www.babyhanes.blogspot.com/.

Earth Day

2009-04-22T20:32:00.001-07:00

We try to be green. We have all energy efficient lightbulbs in our home. We recyle everything. We try not to leave the lights on and try not to leave the water running. We only wash a full load of dishes in the dishwasher. We have all energy efficient appliances including washer and dryer. I try to use towels instead of paper towels when possible.

But we can always do more.

That in mind, I saw something in the store this past weekend that intrigued me. Actually, it inspired me. So much so that I bought it without a coupon *gasp!*
Here's what I bought:

Now, I realize it's just a silly pack of granola bars. But is this one of the coolest ways of having earth-conscious packaging you've seen lately? I loved it and had to take a picture to share with the class. :) I can only hope more companies will follow Quaker's lead and develop clever ideas to eliminate waste like this package does.

Happy Earth Day!!!

Aw, Hail

2009-04-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago North Fort Worth had a severe thunderstorm which resulted in very large hail. Wouldn't you know it - our neighborhood was one of about 3 hit hard, resulting in the majority of homes now needed new roofs! Yes, us included. A new roof, along with a new skylight, new screens, new window frames and new vent covers. What a wild night it was.

Coming from California, I have the understanding that roofs are supposed to last until their warranty - 20 years is the typical time period in which one replaces their roof. In fact, in all of the houses I've lived in, I've never known to have needed a new roof for any of them. This whole reality is so strange for me. Come to find out, hail and other severe weather is the reason why insurance premiums are so high where we live. Insurance companies anticipate having to replace a roof on any given home once every 5 years at minimum. Crazy, right?

We're still waiting to hear back our estimate on what insurance will pay us to have everything replaced, then it's up to us to decide what we'll replace now and what might be able to wait. We're so not excited about paying our deductible, but from what other say, it's pretty common around here to even negotiate that down to next to nothing. To this I say "whhhaaaaaa???" but hey, I'm not gonna argue.

Here's some pics of the aftermath.

Budget Ketchup

2009-04-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

We've been pretty busy with life lately, though I've been managing to keep Harper's blog pretty current. She's really the only interesting one anyway.

We've been doing really well with our budget, faithfully sitting down every 2 weeks to map out where every penny goes. We've wound up with a surplus every single time, which we then apply to our next account in our debt snowball.

Amount paid off in 2009 to date (roughly).... drumroll please.....

$11,000!!!!!!!

We can hardly believe it and we feel tremendously blessed to be able to look back and see such significant progress being made. Though admittedly, it's a little frustrating knowing what other uses that money could have been put towards had we not been living our lives so stupidly the past 13 years or so each. We've been prayerfully seeking God's guidance as we continue to chip away at our stupid debt and we really feel His hand leading us through every step of the way.

We're also very humbled to have never missed a tithe and even felt God leading us to tithe our tax return. We've still got a ways to go, but we're well on our way to making our goal of having all consumer accounts paid off in 2009. It feels nice to have 5 accounts paid off and closed, out of our lives for good. We've got our 3 biggest balances still to go, though we're already halfway through the third biggest - my last credit card.

Grocery savings are going well. Not much exciting and different to report, though I've managed to stick with my $75/week budget every week very successfully. Remember, I include all personal items such as shampoo, soap, & lotion and household items such as paper towels & cleaning products in my weekly budget - it's not easy! I average 50% savings on my receipts every week which is very encouraging and reminds me why I work so hard to clip coupons, keep everything organized and plan meals out. It's like a second job most times and there are many, many times I don't feel like clipping out all the coupons or schlepping the baby in and out of the car and cart - though she's always an angel and a joy to have out and about.

One small (big) success I must post about is Harper's 1st birthday party. I now know it is possible to do a child's birthday party on $100 or less. A few examples of how I saved money.

- Designed a theme around clearance items. Her party had a heart theme, which I planned because of the Valentine's Day sales. Every single thing I got for at least 50% off including the invitations which I made myself from do-it-yourself valentine's cards. I purchased her balloons, paper plates, napkins, and sweets and treats the week following Valentine's Day and in total spent $12. Yes, I said $12. And I like to think I mixed enough other types of decorations in and around to avoid it looking completely like a big giant Valentine's Day party. Next year might be bunnies. :)

- Planned the menu ahead of time and bought accordingly. We kept the menu simple and planned on doing a laid-back bbq fare with hamburgers and hotdogs. I bought several packs of hotdogs on sale weeks beforehand and froze them, along with the hamburger meat. I'd been picking up cans of baked beans on sale with coupons as well and boxes of cake mix and frosting, from which I made my own cupcakes and avoided a store bought cake. I bought a couple boxes of Rice Krispies and bags of marshmallows for a fraction of the cost, and even stored butter for a few weeks when I found 4 sticks on sale for $0.79 - and voila! Rice Krispies Treats! A couple weeks prior to the party there were 2-liter bottles of soda on sale for $1 so I stocked up with a few of those. The things I did not find on sale, such as chips and buns, I bought generic. No one knew the difference since I set everything out in decorative bowls and I even heard several comments on how good the chips were. The day of the party I found strawberries on sale for a great deal so I "splurged" and am so glad I did because they were a hit and so so yummy.

- I found a coupon online for $5 off a purchase of $25 or more at Party City which I had planned to use on the day of the party to blow up the balloons I had purchased and buy a couple of mylars and anything else I thought I could use. Traffic was so backed up, it caused a change in plans which ended up being a good thing. I found mylar balloons at the Dollar Tree and just blew up the balloons at the grocery store when I was there buying strawberries. Even the last-minute changes don't have to be expensive.

- Speaking of the Dollar Tree, I picked up a few last minute items such as little toys for the older kids to play with. We didn't have a big guest list and I wasn't doing goody bags but I wanted something for them to do while they were here. They were a hit and I was so glad fun doesn't have to be pricey!

I realize that not every birthday is going to be done so successfully on such a small budget, but I feel pretty good about what we were able to do this year. We were reminded it's all about the celebration and not the fanfare. In total, we had 10 adults and 4 kids here celebrating. And yes, we did it on less than $100.

Well, there's my 1st Quarter update. Here's to a successful next 3 quarters this year...

Grocery Budget - weeks #??

2009-02-21T08:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I've let too much time pass now to go back and figure out my savings from 2 and 3 weeks ago, but let's just all agree that I scored, k?

My grocery detailing seems to have gotten off in weeks as well, so from now on I'll just list each week by date.

I do know that I blew our grocery budget by caving in and scoring on the soda deal Tom Thumb had Superbowl weekend. They were purchases I wasn't intending on making and I think I went over by $12 or something. Thankfully we were about $17 under on our gas budget and other places too, so I was saved. And we can enjoy our Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper with (relatively) clean consciences.

Last week's grocery shopping is a bit of a mess to figure out because I began buying clearance stuff for Harper's birthday party and didn't always separate that stuff at checkout. I've also done some massive returning as I've changed my mind a billion times in exactly what I need/want. Once I get it all totaled, I'll share what that cost me to buy for as well.

I have to share one great deal I got last week on Jon's fave cereal, Frosted Mini Wheats. Here's a quick break down of savings buying 4 boxes:
Regular price: $2.99/ea
Sale price: $2.50/ea = $10.00
Store "Super Coupon" for $4.00 off 4 boxes= $6.00
Store coupon printed at checkout a few weeks ago with my receipt: $4.50 off 3 boxes = $1.50
Manufacturers coupon: $1.50 off 2 boxes = $0!!!!!

$11.96 in free money, just by using coupons! He hasn't had his cereal in quite a while because I don't buy it until it goes on sale. Now his Frosted Mini Wheats will taste just a bit sweeter - and longer with 4 boxes to get through!

Brotherly Love

2009-02-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

The Grocery Budget, Week 5

2009-02-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

On a week when I wasn't very inspired by the available coupons and advertised specials, I was pleasantly surprised by the savings.

Jon and I will typically map out our menu for the week based on the fliers and what the grocery stores have on special. The end of the month is usually when a lot of coupons expire, so that also has an influence on what I might buy. This week was very heavy on Superbowl party-type food, which did not lend itself well to dinners for the week, at least not for us. Therefore I did more shopping at Walmart, which makes it hard to determine what savings you actually get if. There was really only 1 must-have item and that was the soda that was on sale at Tom Thumb - oh, how I've been waiting for the Diet Coke to go on sale, I think it's been forever!

Here's how the savings went:
Tom Thumb
spent: $22.24
store savings: $48.21
coupon savings: $21.80
total savings: $70.02 = 76%!!!

Walgreens
spent: $15.01
store specials & coupons: $18.87 = 57%

We haven't mapped out the days yet, but this week we're going to make a homemade corn chowder, which should supply us with enough to freeze for a second time (if we don't eat it for lunches and leftovers!). We're also having BLTs, rice and beans with bacon and some chicken and veggies. All of these hot dishes just as the weather warms up nicely this week - of course!

By the way, the shepherd's pie was a hit last week and has now made it on to our "Favorite Dishes" list. It fed us well that night and gave us each leftovers for 2 additional meals (Jon made 2 batches - 1 veggie, 1 ground beef).

Here's the recipe:
Shepherd's Pie Recipe
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic (we used cream of celery)
3 cups refrigerated mashed potatoes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In heavy skillet cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown and onion is tender, stirring to break up meat, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Stir in vegetables and soup and cook until hot, about 4 minutes. Place in 9 inch pie plate. Spoon mashed potatoes over hot meat mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and pie is bubbling. 6 servings

I know there's a few of you reading this and I'd love to hear from you and what you're making for dinners. Trust me when I say that I can't cook - but my husband can! We're always looking for new ideas and inspiration.

Update: First Month With Our New Budget

2009-02-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well, we've done it! We've made it a whole month on our new budget, and we're very proud to say we've not overspent at all and in fact have wound up with a surplus every paycheck from not spending as much as we anticipated in all areas. It's a great feeling.

We had 3 paychecks in January which allowed us to make significant headway our first month in the Total Money Makeover. Seeing 2 accounts completely paid off, and my very first credit card balance dwindle away has been fun. In fact, we're only $150 from that one being gone. Oh, you have no idea how much I wanted that one closed on this last payday. Our flesh even crept in for a moment when we saw that amount and more in our tithe. Ha! Sinful creatures, aren't we? Of course we left it as-is and resolved to pay it off in 2 weeks and get a start on our next account.

We're on our way!

The Grocery Budget, Week 4

2009-01-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

This seemed to be my most challenging week shopping yet. I headed out with only $54 to spend! We were out of milk so we headed to Walmart yesterday and got milk, eggs and a squash for me to cook up for Harper. Oh yeah *ahem* we also got ice cream in a moment of weakness. So with $54 out of our total 2-week budget, I was a bit daunted as I trudged out this afternoon.

Grand total: $49.47!!!!

3 stores this week, and here's how the savings breakdown goes:
Walmart: spent $17.17 (no coupons)

Kroger: spent $20.45
member savings: $23.88
coupon savings: $15.50

Tom Thumb: spent $11.85
member savings: $16.54
coupon savings: $26.82

All told, savings = $82.74 which equals a savings of 63%.

I didn't get a picture of the loot today because me and the child arrived home precisely at her dinner time and she barely allowed me to throw the freezer items in before she was banging on her tray for me to come feed her. Some of my favorite savings today include blueberries for $1 (I got 3 and froze 2 packages. Harper loves them!), free Hershey's chocolate bars (the big kind!), and body wash for $0.79.

I also stocked up on some food to whip up for Harper, though I didn't get as much as I normally would have. But plenty to get me through at least 2-3 weeks.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was buying 10 items from Kroger that qualified me for $5 immediately off my total: 2 jars of salsa, 2 salad dressings, 2 packages of Fiber One bars, 2 French's mustard, a package of Oscar Meyer hot dogs and a package of frozen steam fresh veggies. Actually, that last one's a lie. They were out of their steam fresh veggies, so I got a package of Pepperidge Farm goldfish for Harper instead for $0.99. Other than the goldfish, I had a coupon for every single item which added up to approximately $7. Each of those 10 items were also already on sale for club members. So not such a bad deal, huh? Sales, coupons and promotions - love it!! You can see how I'd get to $38.88 in savings just from that one store alone very easily.

I guess I should mention something I seem to have neglected to inform about. I am a faithful member of the Grocery Game and have been for almost a year now. It was a hard adjustment for me at first and took me quite a while to wrap my head around what coupons I had, when to use them, how to organize them. Heck, just remembering to buy the paper a day early was daunting back then! But now it doesn't take up so much of my time and almost feels second nature. I subscribe to 3 lists which totals $10/month. A bargain considering the time it saves me by finding the deals and telling me which coupons to use. I've researched other coupon forums before, and maybe some day I will have the guts to venture out on my own. But life right now does not allow the time and energy it would take to research, plan and execute the savings on my own. I have gotten in the habit now of scouring the weekly ads so I can at least start planning menus for a few days.

Our menu this week includes a new easy recipe for Shepherd's Pie that Jon is anxious to try out. I'll let you know how it goes. Next week I have a new corn chowder recipe I'm dying to make.

I'm still interested in what you all are cooking and what your money saving tips and budget "woohoo" moments are. Feel free to share in the comments section.

'Til next week!

Our Stock Yard(s)

2009-01-20T18:28:00.000-08:00

For no reason at all, I'm sharing pics of our pantry and laundry room - two places I do the most storing of all the deals I score. Two of the things I loved about this house was the size of the pantry and the laundry room - don't ask me why, but they seem to be important to me when choosing a house.

These both very much come in handy as I do the Grocery Game since these store the stockpiling items. The only one I'm not sharing is the master bath linen closet. Another 'huge' space, but sadly in need of arranging. Maybe another time - that closet stores our abundance of lotions, razors, shampoos, toothpaste and the like.

We keep things pretty tidy for the most part. Jon and I both have OCD when it comes to organization and I have a need to be able to find something I'm looking for when I need it. That doesn't always happen (don't remind either of us about the air mattress pump), but we try. And everything definitely needs to have its place.

Top shelf is snacks. Next shelf is cereals and pastas. 3rd shelf is canned goods. 4th shelf is baking goodies, oils, etc... Floor is still sealed items such as cereal, soda, snacks, chips.

We picked up this handy contraption at the Container Store recently. We had a gift card to spend, and I needed something to 'catch' all the goodies that tended to float around the shelves such as seasoning packets, potatoes and granola bars. Works awesome!

Even the door has a purpose, holding our grocery bags which do double duty as trash can liners and dog poop picker uppers. It also stores my apron - one of my Christmas gifts from Jon.

Here's the laundry room which has all the extra cleaning supplies. Yes, there's a lot. You'd think my house would be extra sparkling clean, wouldn't you? Dream on. I do use them, but they last a while too. :)

Shopping Trip Savings

2009-01-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm a dork, but I had to do a blog about my savings at the grocery store. Not to boast or brag - but to let everyone know that if I can do it, YOU can do it!

Harper and I spent 3 hours this afternoon going to 4 stores: Walmart, Tom Thumb, Kroger, and Walgreens. Yes - my sweet little girl was a trooper the whole time even without a nap. She's awesome! In and out of the carts and car seat - she just giggled every time I picked her up, and laughed while entertaining the customers. She's such a joy.

I digress... 3 hours, 4 stores and (drum roll please)... We saved $115.07!!!!

I challeged myself with a $75 limit again this week and came away at exactly $77. Not too bad seeing as how the darned Walgreens register decided not to double all my coupons. grrr....

Here's the break down:

Total store membership savings (the cards you get for free and scan at the register) at Kroger and Tom Thumb (aka: Smiths and Vons elsewhere): $46.70

Total savings in Walgreens coupons and their sale items: $24.80

Total savings with manufacturer coupons: $43.57

I love shopping trips like today because the sales allowed me to really stock up on cleaning supplies and pantry and personal care items - all are things that store well.

Some of my favorite deals included Olay lotion regularly $7.99 for $0.99, Olay body wash regularly $7.99 for $1.99 and 2 Maybelline mascaras regularly $7.99 each for 1.99 for both.

Here's my loot:

Our Menu Last Week

2009-01-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

We have now stuck to our menu for 2 weeks now and I have to say - I absolutely love shopping with a set menu in mind. No more wandering around, getting the usual things we know we like, knowing that one day we'll use it. Now I go in with a purpose: buy things for the week, plus things that are incredibly on sale and too good to pass up. Usually the really good sales with coupons are on houseware items and canned goods, and those can be stockpiled.

Monday - Jon worked overtime, I was on my own which meant pasta - my favorite guilty pleasure.
Tuesday - Chili dogs. Jon got actual hot dogs this week because they were on sale, and I had my usual veggie dog with veggie chili.
Wednesday - Baked potato and steak/veggie burger. Jon dug into his frozen steak stock and grilled up a couple.
Thursday - Pappa al Pomodoro - always a fave!
Friday - leftover Pappa with grilled cheese sandwiches.

What has ended up working really well is that the dinners have offered up enough for Jon to take with him to work for dinner #2 that night, which helps curb his late-night Sonic visits while he tries to have enough fuel until 6am. Another plus to planning!

Update: First 2 Weeks With Our New Budget

2009-01-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

I had to come update on how the budget has been going our first 2 weeks.

My major accomplishment: I achieved my grocery goal of $150 with $0.35 to spare. I'm incredibly happy and proud of myself.

All told, we wound up with a surplus of $84.00 from what we budgeted to put towards our next smallest bill, which helped it become paid!

The current debt we're working on is one of my credit cards and boy, is it fun to see that balance getting low, low, low. Scary, but fun. This month is an extra paycheck which is helping tremendously towards making that bill nonexistent. It'll be a small miracle if it gets paid off with the next paycheck, but hey, we can pray for one, right?

Dave's book heavily stresses about how God blesses those who take control of their finances, and we're believers. Last night we opened our electricity bill to see that our deposit was being refunded for 12 months of being good customers. Essentially this means we won't have to pay our electric bill for about 3-4 months! We figured we would've gotten this last summer since that was 12 months after moving in, but I think we were just too preoccupied to notice or care. In any event - hooray!

Oh, and another small (huge) victory: We were able to tithe a full 10% for the first time in a long time as we follow the steps of give, pay, spend, save. What a blessing.

Returning January 16th

2009-01-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

We're so excited!!!

Looking forward to Christmas 2009

2009-01-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

Scrat

2009-01-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

Jon and I love the Ice Age movies. Especially the first one. And the little squirrel-type critter named Scrat that's always in search for his nut reminds us totally and completely of our dog Wylee, sound effects and all. Here's the trailer for Ice Age 3. It's VERY cute.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2023162649/

Small Victory: The Grocery Budget

2009-01-04T18:28:00.001-08:00

I'm a very frugal person. I use coupons and absolutely love a bargain. Grocery shopping in the past year has been a real learning experience for me as I started following The Grocery Game and scouring the Sunday papers for coupons, researching sales and buying things at the most opportune time. I've mostly done very well with it, though I found some weeks frustrating when there weren't many coupons I could use or any sales that benefitted me at the stores. The holidays were especially slow with coupons and sales for non-holiday food items, which I found very discouraging.

HOWEVER - I'm back with a vengeance. This Sunday's paper was STUFFED with coupons and there were sales a-plenty.

This week also marked the first time I ever had a set amount to spend while grocery shopping. Usually I search for bargains and just spend whatever I end up spending. Because we're on such a tight budget, putting all the money we can towards paying off debt, we came up with a loose menu of dinners for the week, something I could build my shopping list around and give us something to plan for instead of the usual "what do you feel like having tonight?" conversation, which inevitably would lead to Subway for dinner when neither one of us feels like cooking anything. While Subway doesn't exactly break the bank, it is extra $$ we can use in other ways.

I set my budget for the next 2 weeks at $150, so after planning the menu, I figured I'd just split the goal in half for Sunday's shopping and made it my mission to only spend $75. I'm not very competitive, however I do enjoy proving an impossible challenge possible - especially when my only competitor is myself.

Here is our menu for the week:

Monday - Chicken Parmesean
Tuesday - Soft Tacos

Wednesday - Soup and Sandwich
Thursday - Taco Salad

Friday - Red Beans and Rice

After sorting through my list from the Grocery Game, and sorting through the fridge and pantry, I drew up my list of items I'd be needing for the menu and those that were on sale and a great deal with coupons.

Here's what I came home with:

That's 8 cans of soup, a pack of chicken, some veggie meat, beans, tomato sauce, granola bars, trash bags, Visine, cheese, lettuce, taco mix, chicken stock, bananas, corn, diet coke, tortillas, lettuce, frozen pizza (our weekend fall-back), hand soap, shampoo and hair products. The Visine I got money back on, the big refill of handsoap was $1.99, normally $8.99. The shampoo and hair products were free, the two bottles of handsoap were $0.35. While it wasn't a banner day with the sales (not everything I bought was on sale - which I normally don't do), I still saved $50+ at Walgreens and Tom Thumb alone. Including Walmart that means, yes, I went to 3 stores in 2 1/2 hours with an infant. It can be done!!

I came in just over my goal at $79.74 which I feel really great about, and which means my budget for next week is now set at $70. We're both already thinking about meals for next week and I'll be watching the circulars for ideas as well.

I'd love to hear your cost-cutting ideas, especially for grocery shopping. And, while you're at it, throw in your menu ideas as well.

Goal for 2009

2009-01-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

Jon and I have committed to strive to become debt-free in 2009. While it may not all be eliminated by year's end, we have plans to make a significant dent in it. The plan is to have all of our credit cards and store accounts paid off in 2009, then move to cars, student loans and the mortgage in 2010 and beyond. We believe this goal is definitely do-able, though it's going to take discipline on both our parts to make it happen. We both know God doesn't want us in debt to anyone and we are extremely excited about what it means for our future.

We'll be following Dave Ramsey's financial plan outlined in The Total Money Makeover and my hopes are to take who ever reads this blog along on our adventure with us. While I may not post all the time about it, I'll try to keep updated on our milestones and little victories along the way.

Last year we began making significant strides, though we weren't following any particular financial plan. Just trying to be smart with our money and interest rates. We paid off and closed several accounts, but continued charging others and opening 1 or 2 more.

If you're familiar with Dave's plan, we are at an advantage because we already had babystep 1 done by having our emergency fund in place, so now we're moving on to babystep 2 and paying off all debts beginning with the smallest first, regardless of interest rates. We're also mapping out a strict budget every payday, planning on how every dollar will be spent. It's tough and a challenge, but we're definitely ready for the fight.

By the end of the month, we ought to have closed 2 accounts and be well on our way to closing the 3rd. Yes, these will have been relatively low charged accounts. But we're celebrating these "small" victories to help keep us encouraged towards the bigger goal.

Sooo.. here we go!!

Bubba Keg

2009-01-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Jon has helped my dream come true. He actually found a travel mug that fit all my specifications and I love him for it!!! This was the gift I chose to open on Christmas Eve - the Bubba Keg!

I had a daunting list of requirements for a new mug. I had been using my hospital mugs since Harper had been born and mostly loved them except for the fact they didn't fit in my cup holders. Well, and also because they both broke after being dropped.

1. It had to be BIG.

2. It had to have a lid, but have a big enough opening to pour ice into.

3. It had to be insulated. I hate sweating cups.

4. A handle was preferred, as I often find myself coming in and out of the house with a baby and 4,823 things in my hands.

5. It had to be able to fit into a cup holder.

And he definitely gets bonus points for it being PINK!! Love, love, love my new Bubba Keg.

2008: The Year in Review

2009-01-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

I think I did this last year, but I was reminded by Alicia's post at how much fun it is to reflect back on the year you've just lived!

2008 has pretty much been ALL ABOUT THE BABY - go figure!!! She is our love, our lives and what our world revolves around now. This year was full of many firsts as we celebrated becoming a new family.

In January we attended the wedding of Randy and Katie which was a nice break from the norm. We also said goodbye to Don Dunn, my brother-in-law's father who passed away after a long bout with lung cancer. We spent much of the month in prep mode. Organizing our spare room to prepare for the baby's arrival. We bought new furniture and had lots of sorting to do of all the clothes we had been given.

February was more of the same. Here is my belly shot from Valentine's Day. I was 28 weeks here, 12 weeks away from my due date of May 8th.

March was a much busier month than I knew it would be! Don came through his second back surgery very well which was a huge relief. My company had a big round of layoffs which was very scary. We hosted a BBQ at our house with some friends and neighbors and we said goodbye to dear Cooper. The beginning of the month brought SNOW to North Texas. What a treat!

On March 28th, I was surprised by a doorbell ring and my mom, my sister, Toby and Heather were at my door!!! They flew in to surprise me for my baby shower the following day.

So blessed by many friends and family that day.

This belly shot was taken at 34 weeks and is the last official belly shot I have. I had plenty of time to take more, right??

Or not. April brought the early arrival of Harper Belle Hanes. Born at 35 weeks, 1 day she weighed in at 5lbs 2ounces on 4/4 at 2:16pm. Severely low amniotic fluid forced her delivery by emergency c-section after being checked at a routine appointment.

Because of her early arrival, she had a 10-day NICU stay which was the hardest 10 days of our lives, by far. After a rough start with some trouble breathing, she then had a bit of a tough time keeping her temperature up.

One of my favorite pics. Our little sea creature so tiny compared to Daddy's hand.

On Sunday April 13th we were finally able to bring her home! So tiny in her crib but she had worked really hard for this day. Such a relief.

May brought my first Mother's Day and Mimi's first visit to come meet Harper!

Which means June was Jon's first Father's Day!! He finally got his long-awaited grill. I went back to work this month and Grandma and Grandpa began watching Harper 2 days a week while Jon was a stay-at-home dad 3 days out of the week.

In July we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. Here is us on July 29, 2006.

And July 29, 2008.

In August Mimi came to visit for a second time. I also barely survived another round of layoffs at work and began working in my new department, which would turn out to be a huge learning experience. Our foundation was repaired and left lots of scars all around for us to remember it by.

In September Jon's schedule got switched back to nights. It's a blessing in disguise because while it's nights which is tough on his body, he now had weekends off which meant much more time together! The last week of September we started Harper on solids, 1 week shy of her 6 month birthday. She wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing but quickly caught on!

October was a very fun-filled month. We took Harper on her first plane ride and visited all our friends and family in Las Vegas and California. I also turned 30!

On my birthday

Meeting Auntie Wendy and Uncle Kevin
Hanz and Debbie

Amy and the clan: Noah, Sydney and Holly with Harper.

In November Harper took her first "big" bath, which means she graduated from the sink to her ducky.

We also celebrated Harper's first Thanksgiving.

December of course meant Harper's first Christmas and all the other adventures it brought with it: meeting all the extended family at our family Christmas parties and hosting Mimi and Poppy at our house for the big occasion!!

What a year!!! We really look forward to what 2009 has in store for us!

Food!

2009-01-01T09:12:00.001-08:00

I made my very first ham for Christmas dinner. Turned out pretty good, too! Yes, I actually ate some. I'm trying to follow my tastes and eat what sounds good as far as meat goes. This is as far as I've gotten and I still get a bad stomach ache if I eat anything more than a bite, but I'm working on it!
This was our pecan pie. Isn't the box cool?

And I made round 2 of Nanny's Apple Cake. Fred had the strange idea to put the Las Vegas sign in the middle. And we were strange enough to actually do it.
For some reason blogger keeps turning some of my pictures sideways. Here is a sideways picture of all the junk after 4 days and counting....

Adventures in Cooking

2008-12-21T20:30:00.001-08:00

Since Thursday I think I've well made up for my lack of cooking the past year.

Thursday I made Nanny's homemade apple cake. Read about it more in a previous post here.

This led to making homemade applesauce for the first time. (did you know it turns brown??)

Saturday morning I made 5 lbs of potatoes for mashed potatoes. Yes, 5 lbs. It made A LOT of potatoes. And they are GOOOOOD.

Since we got home today, I've cooked and/or prepared tons of food for Harper: mangos, green beans, broccoli, carrots, pears and peaches. We're set for a while! Since the peeling my own mangos thing didn't go so well, I opted for frozen which worked out really well. Harper looooved them even said "mmmMMM" with no prompting then swiftly smacked her lips together and opened up for more. I also got frozen green beans and broccoli and am really happy with how everything has turned out.

I realize that preparing baby food does not technically count as "cooking". But, hey - I'm standing at a stove, boiling water, using a collander, blending things, using pots.. It counts in my book. And Harper loves it, so that's all that matters!

I got to dust off my mixer for the potatoes. Love to get to do that!

No, the mangos were not green, but I forgot to take a picture of those. The green are the green beans which churned up surprisingly easy and smooth.

A Few of My Favorite Things

2008-12-13T07:45:00.001-08:00

I don't think I have an excessive amount of Christmas decorations. Last year I went a bit nuts since it was our first Christmas in our new house and we were having the family Christmas party here - I felt like nothing was "enough" and I was constantly rearranging things. But this year, I've really only put out a few select things and have gone pretty minimal. And I love it!! I don't feel overwhelmed or claustrophobic by Christmas and it's worked out great with Harper becoming more mobile. In honor of my minimalist Christmas, I'm dedicating a post to a few of my favorite things and sharing stories about each.

This lit grapevine reindeer was one of my few "had to have" items we purchased last year. I'm not really a fan of lawn art, but a tasteful display by the door suits my fancy just fine.

This nativity scene deserves its own post, but I'll try to just give you the edited version. I have started a mini collection of Willow Tree figurines and fell in love with the nativity scene. Jon found most of the set last year and bought it for me - after we agreed we wouldn't buy each other anything. I insisted he take it back because I knew how expensive it was, and it was something I could easily collect over time. We went to visit my mom in Las Vegas before Christmas last year and she offered to give me HER Willow Tree nativity scene - the whole thing!! She had no place to put it, so it was going to remain in boxes, and since she knew I wanted one, I made sure to squeeze the set in with all our luggage to bring home. Jon actually had purchased one extra piece to the set that she didn't have, so we took back the new duplicates (along with another set I had been given - yes, I got 3 total combinations of sets last year), and voila!! It goes so perfectly in our art niche that I'm considering leaving it up all year.

These were Hallmark's bags last year and Jon used them to wrap my nativity scene in. I loved it so much, I saved the bags and had him wrap up a different box this year so I could look at it.

This silly tree was made by my Grandma (I think) and it's one of those things I can't throw away.

I'm not a fan of displaying Santa, so this is the only thing you'll find. Another item from my childhood that I enjoy looking at. They're tea light holders and are just a fun folksy display.

These were gifts from my mom last year and I'm an absolute love with them. They're two scenes from The Grinch and are even animated. Too perfect.

Last year I was on a mission to fine a fake mistletoe ball, but had zero success, so I ended up finally buying real mistletoe to hang from our perfect spot on the chandelier by the front door. I found this ball at the after-Christmas sale at Target for 60% off and couldn't wait to hang it this year.

One of a few ornaments from our tree growing up that I've kept. Jon's family has the same one, which just gives me the warm fuzzies.

One of Jon's gifts from me last year. Kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it? If you can tell what it is!

The Letter D

2008-11-29T20:02:00.001-08:00

Continuing with what Alicia started, I'm participating in a list of things I love. Alicia assigned me the letter D and it's taken me almost a week to come up with a list. It's been a lot of fun, even if it's been harder than I asked for (I specifically asked for an easy one - hmph). I've taken a few liberties with a couple items in order to come up with my 10.

Here's how it works: You leave a comment on this post, and I'll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter and you post it on your blog. When people comment on your post you assign them a letter and the fun continues.

Here we go!

1. Dallas: As in Alicia. And she represents all those friends who I've been able to get to know better through this crazy blog world since I've moved away. Alicia, Alyssa, Freida, Kristin, etc... All people I feel I've gotten to know so much better via their blogs. These are all beautiful women I was never particularly close friends with "in person" back home but who bless me abundantly by allowing me to share in their lives and who share in mine.

2.Dirty Jobs: Jon loves to watch the Discovery Channel, which means I usually end up watching it too. I don't like most of the shows he does: Mythbusters, Storm Chasers, to name just two. But Dirty Jobs is something we both love to laugh and get disgusted at together. Mike Rowe subjects himself to some nasty situations and we find great pleasure and entertainment in this.

3. Downpour: I absolutely love the rain. Dark, cloudy weather puts me in a great mood and rain just makes me giddy. I think it's because I love staying home in my comfies and rainy, cold weather is a great excuse to do that. I love thunder and lightning and walking in the rain is one of my favorite things to do. So much so that I never carried an umbrella until last year when I figured no one would think highly of a pregnant lady being stupid enough to let herself get drenched, and of course I now keep one close so that I can keep Harper dry. The only thing I don't like is wearing wet shoes or socks, which is the only snag in my love of the rain. But in my opinion, just a small price to pay.

4. DFW: I technically live in Fort Worth, but DFW is what the area is called, as well as the airport. I really love living in Texas and am so happy we made the decision to move here. Even though I miss my friends and family more than anyone knows, I wouldn't change my mind. And living only 20 minutes from the airport makes it even easier to get there for flights or to pick those up who are coming to visit - which we LOVE!

5. Dachshunds: Ever since my first Dachshund Lucy, I promised I would always have one. They are such funny, amazing, spunky, feisty, loving critters and I can't imagine what life would be like without them. Between my parents and I, we've been blessed to have had Lucy, Cooper, Peanut and Chuck in our lives and we miss them terribly. I of course currently have my Wylee Boy and she's the home for Maxine, Odie and BenE. All of these fur babies have worked their way into our hearts without much effort. (Side note: This is nothing to take away from Sarge, but I was trying to be more specific than just saying "dogs". Besides - everyone already knows I love all dogs).

6. Diet Coke: My one major vice. I don't smoke, but I am addicted to a different drug: Diet Coke. I drink one as soon as I get up and one or two more during the day. If it's a particularly sleepy morning, I'll stop for a fountain Diet Coke and I can swear there's nothing better at that moment.

7. Driving: I had to wait 6 months to get my drivers license when I turned 16 because my mom didn't want me being a new driver in the snow. Smart. But I definitely made up for lost time once I finally got it. I was off and running and drove down the hill as often as I could afford to or find reason for. I still love driving, though these days I spend more time in traffic away from my family than I care to. Road Trips have always been something I've LOVED doing and being a relatively new Texan, I always look forward to arriving somewhere new and seeing the sights along the way.

8. Decorations: As in holiday decorations. I enjoy making my home feel comfortable, and holiday decorations help me greatly in doing that. I love decorating my home for Christmas, as most people do. But since buying the house, I've also begun loving to put out little things for Valentine's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and other lesser-celebrated days. I usually buy my things on clearance after the holiday for use the following year, so when I go to pull out the next holiday's items, it's always a little like Christmas when I find things I might have forgotten about. Iit's the small things I love - but that's what this list is about, right?

9. Dramamine: This is a stretch, but bear with me. I can get motion sickness in just about everything. Cars, boats, roller coasters, buses - you get the idea. I used to take Dramamine but I didn't like how sleepy it made me feel so in recent years I've started using the pressure bands to put on my wrists and they work great. The reason I'm thankful for Dramamine though is that I can appreciate all the opportunities I've been given to have reason to take it. It seems the sickest I've been are places I've had some of the most fun in. On a boat in the Bahamas following wild dolphins spending precious time with my family (twice); on a plane headed to Europe where I first went in high school, then went to spend a semester in Florence, and third when I took an adventure with two friends backpacking for 3 weeks all over; on a big bus with my best friend Heather when she took me as her "guest" on her company incentive trip to Cabo San Lucas where everything was free - everything. Such amazing times and memories for each of these and reminds me how much I love to travel, despite my handicap.

10. Daughter: Saved the best for last. She by far is the light of my life and my greatest love other than God and my husband. She brings me so much purpose to my life and more joy than I could have ever imagined - and I imagined a lot. I always thought I had a good idea what motherhood would be like, but I truly had no idea. It's 100 times bigger than I ever thought: more love, more joy, more heartache, more frustrating, and more rewarding. I wouldn't change it for anything and I am so glad I was chosen to be her Mommy.

All Decked Out

2008-11-29T19:50:00.000-08:00

Despite having a very clingy and cranky baby, we've managed to get quite a bit done this weekend. We got the house totally decorated and Jon is almost finished with putting the lights up. We also got most of our shopping done, believe it or not. This is a huge relief to me as I hate having the requirement of shopping hanging over my head at the holidays. We also stored away a bunch of things in the attic including a lot of baby things we're no longer using. Bittersweet since I'm so glad she's getting bigger and more active, but it's also weird to think that we won't be using things like boppys, swings or receiving blankets until the next one comes along.

Now I'm just waiting for my Christmas cards to arrive so I can then mail them out and check that off my list.

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-11-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

Well, unfortunately Jon turned out to be sick all weekend. I was crossing my fingers on Saturday morning that he'd have made a full recovery overnight and be 100% healthy again so we could get things done. But it was not in the cards and he spent most of the weekend in his comfies, coughing and trying to sleep. He's back at work tonight and we're praying he makes it through okay.

This meant that I played single parent all weekend as Jon was being very careful about not spreading his germs. It's a tough job, being a single parent. But it meant that I got to give Harper double the lovin' because I had to make up for what Daddy couldn't give. We had lots of fun and lots of laughs, but we both hope daddy makes a speedy recovery so he can join in soon!

I was able to accomplish most of the things on the list, though I refuse to climb a ladder so I couldn't get the Christmas decorations down. And there was no way I could start the cabinet project (again) without anyone else to watch Harper, so that didn't get done either. The clothes are in the back of my car waiting to be dropped off tomorrow, so I believe I can check everything else off the list! Feels good even though I'm completely wiped out and can say that I definitely would have chosen being curled up in bed with a bowl of ice cream most of today instead of doing all the cleaning and picking up.

As inspiration for what we may hope to accomplish in the near future, I'll post a few pics of Jon's latest project: the garage. Being the frugal couple we are, we're always looking for ways to save some cash. My company has been clearing out the building of extra supplies we don't need and giving the things away to anyone who will take them. One of the items that is in great abundance are these wire shelves that attach to the sides of cubicles for storing papers and things. I brought a couple home hoping Jon might be able to use them for something, and with a little intuition and help from brackets he bought, I present to you -- STORAGE!!

Now, I realize this may not look like a big deal. But imagine the work bench in the first picture covered in the things that are on the shelves. All his tool bags, tools, chargers, batteries, paint cans, etc... Just piled up everywhere. Now they're out of the way and it's awesome!!!

I'm so proud of him for figuring out a way to make something free and non-workable into something that so perfect! He'd probably hang these all over the garage if we had the wall space for it. He's done a really great job and it's so nice to have the space by the door so I can have a place to set things down when I'm trying to come in the door with my 10,000 bags and Harper. Love it!

That's Life

2008-11-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

The holidays are coming. Life is about to get a little bit busier.

Things have already been a little hectic and I feel more tired than usual. Things throwing us off our routine, lots of projects to get done for the holidays, trying to figure out where in the world all the time to get those things done is going to come from...

Blogging unfortunately has taken a back seat to some of these things, but I promise I will try to get on here as often as I can and at least post pictures. If not here, then on Harper's blog.

Todays' plans are pretty ambitious, but I think we can manage:

Laundry
A thorough dusting (with wood floors comes lots of dustbunnies, I've realized)
Dropping clothes off at goodwill
Starting the final phase on the cabinets
Pulling the Christmas decorations out of the attic
Making a dent in the aforementioned Christmas projects

Lots to do!! Here's to hoping that life doesn't swallow me whole.

"Papa"

2008-11-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

I need to be better about posting on this blog. So much of our life is all about Harper, it's hard to come up with things to add here. But today I have one!

When I lived in Italy for a semester, we ate at one restaurant for lunch every weekday as part of our cost included in studying abroad. By far my favorite dish to eat was Papa al Pomodoro and I was so excited whenever it was on our fixed menu that day. It actually looked like the cook would take all the random leftovers at the restaurant and throw them into a pot and served it. But it was the yummiest concoction I could've ever hoped for!

A few years ago I found a very similar dish in one of Rachael Ray's cookbooks and was so excited to make it. Her version runs a very close second to the authenic one I was used to, and has easily become one of Jon and mine's favorite dishes. We've actually been waiting for the weather to get colder so we could have a good excuse to make some. This weekend we got our wish and he whipped it up last night. We got into our comfies and curled up on the couch with our bowls and I think we said "MmmMmMmM" about a hundred times each! I'm posting the recipe below with some of my own suggestions.

Enjoy!

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - plus some for drizzling
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped -we use at least 6-8, but we really love garlic
1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounces)
1 ocan crushed tomatoes (28 ounces)
Salt and pepper
1 quart chicken stock
4 cups stale bread (about 1/2 pound), chopped or torn - for our latest batch we used a sourdough baguette and left it out for 3 days. We weren't able to make it as soon as we had hoped so I tossed it into a ziploc and froze it. It's been our best bread yet.
2 cans small white beans – smaller than cannellini beans (15 ounces each), such as Goya brand
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, to pass at the table (we use plain' ole shredded parmesean. Cheaper and easier to find but just as good)
10 fresh basil leaves, torn (optional) - not optional in our opinions. :)

Preparation
Heat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of EVOO, about three turns around the pan, garlic and three quarters of the onion. Cook for 7-8 minutes, then add the diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the stock and raise the heat to make the soup bubble. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the bread and beans. Stir the soup as it simmers, until it thickens to a stew-like consistency. Turn off the heat, adjust the seasonings and ladle the soup into shallow bowls. Top with grated cheese, an additional drizzle of EVOO and a spoonful of reserved finely chopped raw onions. Torn basil is an optional garnish.

This is a 30-minute meal but you really need to let all the flavors simmer for a good 20 minutes in order to get a really good batch.

Turning 30

2008-10-25T20:58:00.001-07:00

I had planned the vacation specifically so it would be on my birthday. About 5 months ago I realized that 30 was going to be tougher than I thought, so I figured any sort of distraction and/or added celebration would make it easier to swallow. I think it was one of my better decisions.

Jon woke up early and went to run some "errands" which included buying me Einstein's for breakfast and bringing home 30 roses. So sweet and such a nice thought. I loved them.

I made an appointment for an overpriced mani/pedi at the fancy salon down the street. My last pedicure was in August when mom came to visit so needless to say I was long overdue. Never ever again will I pay $75 for a mani/pedi - but mom had gift cards (that we think I had given to her when I never used them in the first place - overpriced salons just aren't our thing) so it was "free".

Went to lunch at Island's (YUM!) then back to mom's where we took Harper swimming for the first time. I had been looking forward to this for so long, having practically grown up in the water, and was so glad to discover that she loved it. I even dunked her twice under water and she never cried.

We eventually got out and started to get ready for our date: Dinner at Zefferino's, then The Blue Man Group. Zeff's is the place we went for our first official date together, so it holds a special place for us. It's at the Venetian and we both love to walk around there - it's such an amazing hotel. The Blue Man group is currently at The Venetian and we had both always wanted to see them, so it all worked out great. It was a fun night - great dinner, and such a treat. Never again will we spend that much, but it was a special night and will be remembered. The night started going downhill a bit when I quickly realized that I hadn't adequately broken in my shoes enough. The next morning I had huge blisters on my pinky toes, and they hurt so bad that walking to the parking garage I actually took them off to walk barefoot - gah!!! If you know me, you know I'm a semi-germaphobe and I was so disgusted that I might get a foot disease... but they hurt so bad that I didn't even care. That was Mistake #1.

Mistake #2 came when, after a nice lovely dinner and two glasses of wine, I realized that the 10pm show was going to be a very bad idea. They're a very entertaining group of guys, but man... it was late. Such a sad realization that I was getting too old.

Mistake #3 isn't actually a mistake but an accident. Somehow the stars aligned just right, and as I was turning my head, Jon was raising his arm to put it behind me, and he elbowed me square in the eye. Adding the blurry eye to an already tired Mom was just the topper.

Great night though, and really nothing but good memories from the whole day. Here's to 30... should be interesting to see what it brings!!

Does That Make Me Crazy? Part 2

2008-10-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

I can't have milk unless it's ice cold. Since I don't have mugs to freeze then put milk in (which is awesome, by the way), I must have ice cubes in my milk. It really isn't right otherwise.

I also must put ice cubes in my orange juice. Anything other than ice-cold OJ is just gross.

Also, there is an offramp I drive everyday with 2 arrows made from those mounded "turtle" light reflectors on the pavement. I can drive over the 2nd arrow without having my tires touch them, but never the first. Every day it's my goal to try not to make my tires touch them, and when I don't, I'm always so happy that at least I can do it on the 2nd arrow.

Does that make me crazy?

(To give credit where credit is due, I got the title of these posts from the morning radio show I regularly listen to on my way to work. They play the song "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley and have listeners call in to tell about the weird things they do. It's one of my favorite things to listen to, probably because it makes me feel sane. I'll be updating this post as I think of more things. I'd love it if you continued to share what makes you crazy. Again, so I can feel sane.)

Does That Make Me Crazy?

2008-09-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of things that give me the willies - leading me to believe I might be crazy.

I only eat with plastic utensils when available, because I can't handle the sound of metal squeeking and scraping on plates. It doesn't often apply to other people using metal utensils around me unless it makes a really loud squeak.

I am bothered by things that are "out of place". For instance, sunken ships give me the heebie jeebies like no other. Half-sunken ships or ships I can see from the surface are the worst. Because of this, much to Jon's dismay, I will never visit Pearl Harbor. Even the thought of it right now totally freaks me out. Another example is a common sight going in and out of DFW, where the planes "cross the street" via a bridge over the highway. Seems like one is always crossing over when I'm driving under. I also don't like driving closely past big planes or jets. I guess in my mind, it's just not normal for those big aircrafts to be parked like cars or driving over bridges. I also discovered this applied to people when I once saw a coworker up on a reeeaaally tall ladder in the sanctuary, replacing a light. Looking up at him sent chills down my spine and I had to walk away.

Sounds, like the utensils I mentioned, seem to be haunting me a lot lately. There are yummy granola bars that we love, and there is a coupon on the inside of the box. But the sound of scissors cutting this cardboard coupon out is enough to send me over the edge - so I leave it for Jon to do. It makes my shoulders shrug and my neck twitch, causing a sort of tick just thinking of it now or any time. I've been needing to buff my nails, but the sound and feeling of the buffer on my nails has been causing me to put it off indefinitely. The sound of styrofoam on just about anything practically sends me running, plugging my ears and humming.

Going to sleep is a big event and requires several different things to be "just right" before I can relax. Most of it involves my "stinky", which is my blanket I have to sleep with every night. I won't dare admit what's on the blanket, but that's not why I love it. It's worn in, feels so soft, is the perfect size and thickness. I love it. I can't even begin to describe the process or the requirements for sleeping, for fear that I'd be commited to an insane asylum. Jon has learned to deal with it and in fact most nights finds it quite humorous, waiting for me to get settled.

As I think of more things, I will post them. I don't know why I felt compelled to blog about this, but I think, like therapy, it helps to talk about things in order to begin to overcome them. I'm not yet bound by my phobias, but I don't ever want to be. I guess you could call this me taking preventative measures.

What makes you crazy?

Saturday Project #6

2008-09-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

My dream has come true: We got new floors!!! And they're gorgeous. We are so happy with the work and how they turned out. Anyone who is considering working with Empire, we can highly recommend them!

We've been not only wanting new floors for a while, but lately it has seemed more of a necessity too. The carpet was only 2 years old, but looked worse for the wear. First of all, it was near-white (not chosen by us) which is just bad who ever you are. Second, we have 1 dog who has taken his jealousy of Harper out on the carpet, freckling it with his little spots. And another dog who could easily be Pigpen's twin, as he seems to be a walking dirt cloud. Both of these things do not bode well for a clean carpet. With Harper getting more and more active daily, and with it becoming harder to keep up with vacuuming, let alone shampooing, something needed to be done. We had planned on doing the job ourselves, but I thought it would be a good idea to find out how much it would be for Empire to do it, thinking that maybe the cost of having someone else tear out the old, level the floors and install the new would be well worth the inconvenience of us trying to figure it all out. And it was! Having them finish 3 rooms in about 6 hours was beyond better than we could have imagined.

Technically it was a Friday project, but we've spent a good portion of our Saturday cleaning up all the dust and putting furniture back. Jon was here while they installed it and he said it was really gross to see all the "sand-like" dirt that came out of the carpet when they tore it up. Gross. For once, I'm glad I was at work and didn't have to witness that or the mess of it all happening.

Here's how it all went:

Finished Bedroom

Finished Living Room (before it was cleaned)

Finished Office

Saturday Project #5

2008-08-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Saturday Project #5. I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our Saturday Project Team:

Jon!!!

Jon's new schedule allows him weekends off, which means we now have twice the manpower to get projects done around the house. Today was very productive for us. We did lots of cleaning this morning including shampooing the carpets in the living room. We really do our living in that room, and the carpet proves it. Unfortunately Wylee has also begun taking his jealousy out on the carpet, which does not make us very happy. We are saving our pennies and waiting patiently for the day where we can get wood floors installed in part of the house. But until then, the carpet shampooer is my friend.

We then tried to make a dent in the cabinet staining process. The upper cabinets are done on one side, so we're working our way through the lower ones. I was on drawer duty and Jon did the actual cabinets. It went well but we were only able to get one coat on today. (The USC game and a very fussy teething Harper did a good job of pulling us away!) Hopefully one or 2 more coats tomorrow and we might be done!!!

I'll be posting a before and after soon.

Jon also got ours and the neighbor's lawn mowed, so I'm gonna call that a very productive day!

7 Things

2008-08-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Stephanie to list 7 things in the following categories. See you if you got tagged at the bottom.

7 things I want to do before I die
1) Take Jon to Europe
2) Go to Hawaii
3) Read the Bible in a year
4) Learn Spanish
5) Have another baby (full term, please)
6) Find a job I love again
7) Win the lottery (which would require playing it first. Minor detail.)

7 things I can do
1) Make great mac n cheese
2) Keep a secret
3) Speak fluent American Sign Language
4) Cry at commercials
5) Remember birthdays, anniversaries & random events
6) Drive well
7) Highlight my own hair

7 things I cannot do
1) Make a decision
2) Run
3) Sing, but I do it anyway
4) Cook
5) Not get completely freaked out by the sight of sunken ships
6) Make a fluffy chocolate chip cookie
7) Fall asleep without adjusting positions at least 10 times

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex (changing this one to 'my spouse')
1) His faith
2) His humor
3) His balance (in relation to me - he balances me well)
4) His reassurance
5) His love for his daughter
6) His dorkiness
7) His good looks

7 things I say most often
1) "Seriously?"
2) "Shut your mouth!" (as in, "you're kidding!!!!")
3) "really, really" or "Really?"
4) "I love you"
5) "What?"
6) "Who's a pretty girl?" (to Harper)
7) "Mamamamamamamamamamamama" (trying to influence Harper's first word)

7 celebrity crushes (in no particular order)
1) Philip Seymore Hoffman
2) Dave Matthews
3) Jason Statham (yummy Englishman)
4) Harry Connick, Jr
5) Hugh Grant
6) The Edge (U2)
7) Alicia Keys (My only woman crush)

7 people who I think should do this
1) Freida
2) Alicia
3) Natalee
4) Tara
5) Grace
6) Debbie
7) Alyssa

Cow or Giraffe? You Make the Call

2008-08-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

While in Decatur last week, my mom and I each got new purses. She had been seeing these animal print bags everywhere and really wanted one. Her excitement was infectious, so when we walked into a store that had the exact bags she had been wanting, we both got one. (well actually she got two) ;)

I'm incredibly indecisive, but mom eventually helped me choose one. I really liked the giraffe print ones, but couldn't decide on a style and color. I was really excited about the one I chose because I had tried to downsize my purse to an itty-bitty one a few weeks ago, but with a baby, you need a big purse to shove a diaper and/or bottle into so you don't have to lug around the whole diaper bag all the time. I decided on a tote-style black giraffe print with red accents.

My excitement was immediately deflated when I brought it home and showed Jon. He said "wow, a COW purse!!"

hmph. Of course, I didn't want a cow purse, I wanted a giraffe purse. I'm not a cow person. I don't like cow things, especially not cow print things. Giraffe - cute, trendy! Cow - not cute, not trendy.

This isn't my exact purse, but I'm too lazy to take a picture, so I found one similar to it online. I just have to say that I would've chosen this purse in brown, but they didn't have it. I'm just sayin'.

You make the call: giraffe or cow?

Whadda Week

2008-08-09T08:37:00.001-07:00

Sparing all the gruesome details, here's a wrap-up of our week:

Saturday
I woke up sick. Fever and aches. Yuck. I had a pretty good idea it was allergies, but I knew the true test would be to see if Harper and Jon would wind up sick as well. They didn't.

Rest of the weekend I just did the best I could. Saturday night my fever finally broke around 2am which meant I got some sleep without those weird dreams that are caused by fevers. Those things are weird, man.

Monday morning
Wasn't sure I was going to make it into work on Monday, but following the old "24 hours without a fever" rule, I sucked it up and got Harper and myself out the door.

Then my phone rang.

To sum it up in a nutshell, everyone received notification on Monday morning that HSBC was closing the doors on its Auto Finance business. This would be our last "open" week of operations and everyone was being handed their walking papers (with a tidy severance). EVERYONE. Including me. Including every single one of my coworkers. Including my BOSSES. And THEIR bosses. And so on, and so on...

Of course I called Jon the second I hung up and after initial shock, we both felt like we had a peace about it. All of us have known that it could potentially go down this road eventually. With the mortgage mess, to the economy, gas prices, and now the car industry - things have been tough for us. But we had done such a good job of doing everything "they" asked us to do to pair down, hit goals, change procedures... that we thought maybe we were going to dodge the bullet and the company would keep us (Auto Finance) around a little while. I figured I'd get a severance and just do my best to find another job as quickly as I could, then benefit from the double (triple) income for a while, and plan what we'd do with the bonus.

Monday Afternoon
I'm not losing my job. Everyone else is, but I'm not. WHAT?? Here's the part where I spare most of the details, but in a nutshell, the company is moving me to another department in the same position. This department will eventually shut down as well, but there are no promises as to how long (or short) it will be open -- anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.

hmph. Mixed emotions. Glad I have security. SO thankful I have a job obviously, which is more than everyone else can say. Just trying to process it all.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Very, very surreal. I'm barely sleeping 4 hours a night and am not eating very much. People shredding everything. Projects come to a halt and trashed. Nothing is the same. None of my usual tasks matter anymore. The calendars that I worked so hard to keep organized can be deleted. It's all gone. Shred bins over flowing. Desks cleared off.

Wednesday we said goodbye to our first wave of people, our Funders. Lots of tears. Hugs. Trading of phone numbers. Not fun.

Wednesday the crew also started work on our foundation. ugh. Throw something else on the pile, why dontchya? Thankfully Jon was home to deal with all this and I just came home to huge holes in our ground that led to under our house. Fun.

Friday
Anger. Frustration. Nothing was fair about Friday. All my coworkers were leaving. I was staying. They didn't have a job. I did -- albeit one that I wasn't thrilled about having since I don't know how long I'll be there for anyway. And one that I wasn't even asked if I wanted. I may sound ungrateful here, but Friday I was so angry that I wasn't given the option of going. There's more to the story, but URRGGHH!! I didn't want to stay! Me staying meant someone else was going, and that's not fair.

Lots more tears. Speeches. Hugs. Laughs. "See ya later"s. "It's a small industry, we'll cross paths again", and people telling me to "take care of that sweet baby" which just made me break down more.

I realized something Friday amongst all the tears and frustration and goodbyes. These people were my friends. I don't know many people here and still feel like a new Texan. I remember coming into this place a 16 months ago and immediately being welcomed. Thinking how nice everyone was and realizing "ahhh, so this is Southern Hospitality". It took a while to get to know some, and longer to know others, but these were my friends. I know about their lives, they know about mine. I've met some of their families. And most I will never see again. It's hard to explain how you actually look forward to going to work in some ways, to see people, to talk to people, to share with people. I don't really have that here, outside of my family. Work was a family to me -- everyone felt that way.

I have no doubt that most everyone will move on to bigger and better things. Some will struggle. Some will change careers completely, being scarred by this experience, having no hope for the industry. I look forward to hearing from people, learning what they're up to in a few months' time. I wish everyone the best.

In the meantime, I'll be training for my new job, learning the ins and outs, then being left to figure the rest out for myself. I've decided I'm not going to try to get to know many of my new coworkers, because, gosh darnit, I can't go through this all again. (Only half-joking there). But I'm going to do my best to move forward, pick myself up and see what's ahead in my future. I have no idea what it will bring, but I trust in the Lord and know that He will lead me.

Oh, and our foundation is even again.
And I'm still sick.

Beyond all Understanding

2008-07-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

RIVERSIDE, Calif., July 24, 2008—Christopher Laurie, son of Pastor Greg Laurie and Cathe Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, died this morning in a car accident in Riverside. A resident of Huntington Beach, Laurie, 33, served as the art director at Harvest Christian Fellowship for the past three years.In addition to his parents, Christopher is survived by his wife, Brittany, and daughter, Stella, as well as his brother Jonathan. Christopher and his wife are expecting another daughter in November.Memorial plans for Christopher are pending. More information will be posted to the Harvest website as details become available.

************************************

It's always a strange mix of emotions when a Christian dies. On the one hand you're sad because selfishly you wish your loved one could be here with you to continue to share in memories and to just be around. Knowing that you'll no longer see their face is a hard realization, and usually takes quite a while to sink in. On the other hand, it's a time of rejoicing and jealousy even, for you know they're in Heaven where they belong, face to face with their God and Creator. How fantastic!

Today Greg Laurie's oldest son Christopher died. Greg Laurie is the Senior Pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship, which was my home church for many years and is where I came to a true understanding of what it is to follow Christ. I also worked at Harvest for 3 years in what has always been my favorite job. Because I attended the church for so long, and especially because of working there, I had many opportunities to interact with Pastor Greg and his family including Christopher.

Today's news came as quite a shock obviously. While I grieve with the Laurie family, I also grieve with my dear friends and family at Harvest - with whom I have never felt too far from-- until today. News like this only made me want lots of hugs from those who also understood. I won't get those hugs until October, so texts and phone calls will have to do for now. Scouring the news, reading blogs, and sending prayers and thoughts with several thousand others is pretty much what I've got right now.

Almost immediately I began to feel the "ripples" of what kind of impact this news is ultimately going to have. The Harvest Crusades are just 3 weeks away, and I have absolutely no doubt that they will go on as planned. What the devil meant for evil, I truly believe God will use for good. There is going to be significant news coverage on this "story" in Southern California and in church communities around the country. And in just the stories I've read today, every outlet has mentioned the Crusades coming up. I believe people will come just out of curiosity to hear what Greg will speak about and how he will address this tragedy. People who would never have any intention of coming otherwise will show up and will in turn hear an amazing testimony of how God is being shown Good and Just through this family and all who knew Christopher. I pray for those people who do come and that this terrible event will bring many souls to Christ... what a testimony that would be!

Everyone at Harvest knows that every year right before the Crusades, it never fails that Greg is attacked in some way. Last year he was diagnosed with Vertigo about 3 days before they began and barely had any sleep the entire weekend. In other years it's been a lost voice, or some other type of random illness. Satan is always looking for ways to sidetrack those who are sharing God's truth and this event is bound to shake the faith of a few. However, I know the Lauries will come through this awful tragedy with an even stronger faith and a very powerful testimony to share with so many more than they ever imagined.

My heart breaks for Greg, Cathe, Jonathan, Brittany, little Stella and their unborn daughter. I am sad and grieve, trying to comprehend how and why, and I hug my daughter and husband a little tighter and longer tonight because of it.

We need a name!

2008-07-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

I've decided our blog needs a name. I'm not very good with these kinds of things, so I'm reaching out to aaaalllll our faithful readers... haha, all five of you.

My friend Stephanie's blog is called "Leave it to Weaver". Cute, right? I noticed hers links to another one called "Keeping up with the Joneses". My first blog was called "What Would You Say" after a Dave Matthews Band song, and it fit pretty well since I just talked all about the really random things that happened to me - and Dave is pretty random.

So I figure there's gotta be a cute one that can be related to Hanes. The only thing I can come up with is "Hanes Her Way" but not sure I want to name it after underwear.

Any suggestions? Winner gets something REALLY cool.... Or just a fun mention. ;)

OH! And I'll also take suggestions on a name for Harper's blog. Maybe HERS can be Hanes Her Way! Although the generic title of the blog is "baby hanes" so it could be open for either gender. I don't think our future son (yes I said it) would appreciate that name.

Happy First Anniversary!!!

2008-07-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

To us and our house!!!

We moved in one year ago TODAY. How crazy is that... time has flown yet it also seems like Moving Day was sooooo long ago. While we LOVE our house, we have not loved all of the things it has brought with it. The yard we absolutely fell in love with has been a much bigger project to keep up with than we had anticipated. It now takes Jon a full 4 hours (at least) to mow all the grass and we have not been great about keeping up with the weeding, which means it's a couple-day project just to pull those. We do love being outside though, and it's so beautiful when it's kept up.

The other major problem we are facing is our foundation. Yes we live in Texas, and yes foundation work is pretty standard for everyone eventually here. However it's not so common on 2-year old houses, and we're not too pleased to get to be the ones to deal with it. Our cracks started appearing a month or 2 after we moved in and we've been through one round of cosmetic repair work to fix the damage including drywall and new tiles. However, the cracks started reappearing almost immediately after they were fixed, and now our bedroom door doesn't close properly, and the outside brick has a huge crack through brick and mortar. The Builder has finally agreed that the foundation is in need of repair, and the process is already underway to fix it. The foundation company has made us feel confident in that it will be a minimally invasive process, at least compared to what it could be. They will not even need to enter the house, except to do the actual measurements once the foundation is being raised, and will only dig holes through our garage floor and one on the outside of the house, which they will use to tunnel under the office. I think the 3-day procedure takes place the first week of August, and the Builder will be back out shortly thereafter to repair all the cracks AGAIN.

Of course, looking back, we might have made different choices in moving here. Now that gas prices are so high, and we have a baby (two things we didn't plan on happening when we bought this house), we probably would have chosen a smaller, more expensive house closer to both of our jobs. BUT-- we knew God brought us this house for a reason and we're confident that things will be taken care of with minimal impact on us when we decide to move from here. And we do love our house.

So, on today, our first anniversary, I'm treating the house to a full cleaning. Well... let's be honest... a pretty good cleaning. There's only so much I can do by myself with a 3-month old. I've already scrubbed the tub and shower and can I just say YUCK. How can a place we go to get clean get so dirty???? I might next tackle the baseboards and vacuum then call it a day... but we'll see what else I can find.

**UPDATE**

I went ahead and just deep cleaned the bathroom from head to toe. I mean, I even scrubbed all those little ridges in the cabinets and doors- all the funny places where lint and dust collect. Feels SO much better. Now the question is - do we think Jon will notice?

Battered and Bruised

2008-07-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

I suppose since Jon has been married to me for almost two years, it's about time he started seeing the real me. That is to say, the real me which is the completely clutzy/accident-prone/should-be-wearing-a-full-suit-of-armor-everyday me.

I've fallen off the back of a moving pickup, walked into countless doors, get caught on any sort of knob with any part of my clothing, bump into walls, and fallen down flights of stairs multiple times.

But now... It's gettin' ugly.

A few weeks back I was throwing something away in the big trashcans in the garage and somehow managed to have the thing flip over and fall onto my foot. Mind you, these are the big cans the city gives you that people set curbsite, with the huge lids. There were 2 big bags of dog food sitting on the lid waiting to be put away, and I thought I could somehow easily lift off the lid and throw whatever it was away, then be about my business. But no - the weight of the dog food being lifted threw the balance onto the back wheels, causing the entire can to flip and fall on my foot. It happened so fast. Needless to say, my two toes next to my big toe, along with the joints on my foot turned lovely shades of blue and stayed that way for several weeks. My foot is still sore.

Tonight, just another example of how random things happen to me. First of all, there were no babies harmed in the making of this accident. I had Harper in her sling as that's become our nighttime routine to get her to sleep. She was sleeping soundly as I went about my business of cleaning up the kitchen. I was putting a case of soda into the fridge but had to pull off the cardboard opening that the fridge packs have. Well, instead of just pulling off the corrugated part to make a lovely opening for the soda, half of the entire front came off too. And with that, a can of soda fell to the ground, so while I jumped to help avoid it from landing on my foot, it smashed to the ground and burst open, spraying soda EVERYWHERE. Somehow in me jumping around trying to avoid the can, I slipped on the now-wet floor and fell straight to the ground. Thankfully (for Harper) I managed to partly catch myself on the island and fell right on my knees. The little stinker never even flinched, even as I squeeled then cried out in pain--LOUDLY.

Of course Jon was there in .28 seconds (just like he was with the trash can incident) and took the baby from me as I tried to scrape myself off the floor. Soda-soaked pants and all, I got up and looked around at the damage. Soda covering EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!! And ending up far into the outer-reaches of our kitchen, even making its way into the halls. The doors, the cabinets, the walls, the inside of the fridge... ugh. I think our floor is going to be sticky for days, no matter how much I mop it.

As of now I've got a nice swollen spot on my knee with another one forming. My back is beginning to hurt and I've just noticed a slight ache in my hand that caught the island. Oy.

Pretty sure Jon is trying not to imagine just what awaits us next.....

Saturday Project #2

2008-07-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last week there was no Saturday Project. Jane, Harper and I were planning on heading to Decatur to see Aunt Nancy's store. But just about 30 mins before we were supposed to leave, she called and said she was sick in bed with a terrible sinus infection. We really wanted to see her shop, but mostly wanted to see HER, so we skipped out. Harper and I stayed home and I had then thought maybe I would make our Saturday Project to pull weeds.... but... well, it wasn't too hard to talk myself out of that one. ;)

Instead we just caught up on Mommy/Daughter time and it was WONDERFUL.

This was our Saturday Project this week:

The picture may not look like much, but believe me, the top of that file cabinet hasn't seen the light of day since before Harper was born. Paid bills, aaaaaalllll of Harper's paperwork, my medical paperwork and all kinds of other miscellaneous stuff has found its way there and stayed. Until today!! It's finally all gotten a home inside the drawers (what a concept!) with neat little labels and easy-to-find hanging folders. I feel so much better, you have no idea. Most of the paperwork already had places to go, it just needed to find its way there. But now all of Harper's things are easy to find and, for a person who lives for being organized, this makes me feel like a huge weight has been lifted - as silly as that may sound. It took us a while, and lots of singing and bouncing Harper in her bouncy chair, but we did it!

It was actually pretty fun because she's starting to laugh and smile at me all the time. But I'd get caught up in playing that the filing took longer than I anticipated.

Happy 30th Birthday Heather!!!!

2008-06-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

We love you!!!! Miss you and can't wait to see you. We hope your birthday is AMAZING!!!
Here's a few pics I had on hand of H & H from the past few years. There's OH so many more. Many that Harper will NEVER see - unless crazy Auntie Hedder shows her!!

In Vegas for my birthday. My 27th??? Not sure.

Cabo!!!!!!

Headin' to see Dave Matthews Band.

Another Vegas trip.

One of our MANY car pics. This one was waiting to get out of the parking lot of another Dave concert. We were bored.

Stupid Pet (Human) Tricks

2008-04-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Things we do to pass the time while the baby's sleeping...

Mini Cooper

2008-03-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

Fred named Cooper after a car. Fred's favorite car. And Cooper was definitely one of our favorite dogs. Well, all of them are our favorites in their own way - and Cooper definitely had his own ways.

Cooper was the second dachshund we got after Lucy. I was still living with my parents in Corona at the time, and I remember he was the absolute tiniest puppy I'd ever seen. I remember being afraid the cat might try to eat him since he just looked like a little mouse. I remember when Cooper was born - it was November 2001 and we were pretty sure we were getting one of the puppies from the litter that Bryan's wife's dog was having. We got Cooper and someone else in the family got his brother Linus. My parents later met Linus and took video to show me how much alike the two were.

Cooper was the dog that forever stayed a puppy. He was 6 1/2 when he died, but still looked and acted like a funny little floppy puppy. We all called Cooper "dumb" or "slow", but in the most affectionate way. He was a dog's dog, and just wanted to play, play, play. Cooper was also our "delicate flower" since he was allergic to most vaccinations and didn't process medications well. The first time he got vaccinated, we brought him home and about an hour later his lips and face had totally swelled up. Another time, he was given something that made him completely listless and caused him to vomit uncontrollably. Both times he recovered just fine, but it gave us a good scare - and he never complained. My mom said that recently the vet told her he's one of the most docile dogs he's ever met. Which I think is why we always thought he was kind of the "Dopey" of the bunch. He never complained or made a noise, and was pretty much just always waiting for you to throw the ball or knot again.

A few weeks ago, after a few hard days of playing (exercising) with Benny - the newest (overweight) addition to my mom's clan, Cooper wasn't moving out of his bed. Mom took him to the vet and after x-rays, it was determined that he had calcification of the spine, a common thing to happen to dachshunds, and what we also think Lucy died from. It can be treatable with medications in some dogs, but can also get drastically worse and begin leaking, causing terrible pain. They decided to try the meds for 2 weeks to see how he did and to see how his liver was holding up. He was kept on total restriction from movement, and my mom even put him in the Pack N Play in order to prevent him from further hurting himself while they were trying to get him healed. Some of the meds made him completely out of it and he even had trouble walking straight, so mom adjusted some things and had least he was more alert. But it just wasn't meant to be...

Mom said he had 2 really bad days in a row where he barely moved and cried in pain. After seeing Lucy struggle so badly, they decided they had to do the humane thing and put him to sleep.

We're all very sad about him being gone, and I truly can't believe it still. Cooper was a very special little dog and people always fell in love with him right away. I always called him the little dog with the funny face, and most people commented on how it looked like his front two feet were on the wrong legs. That was just Cooper. He was a little 'off" and had his own definite quirks like therapeutically chewing away at the knot when he was nervous - which was often. Or eating his food VEERRRRRYYYYY slowly most days, taking the time to chew each morsel individually while all the dogs around him are inhaling it so fast it's gone in 3 seconds flat. That was just Cooper. And we'll miss him.

(I have a few hilarious videos of Cooper but am having trouble finding them on my backup disks. Hopefully they'll turn up soon and I'll be able to post them.)

One Day at a Time...

2008-03-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

That has been my motto for this past week. Unfortunately, things didn't seem to get much better as the days wore on, so by Friday I was pretty much just a puddle of emotions trying to get through the final day without completely crashing and/or having a major breakdown.

The week started off with an early morning meeting on Monday at work, at which we found out that there were going to be layoffs. That day. Starting immediately. Some of the managers who were in that meeting with me, were some that were laid off. Though it was handled very well, it made for a very long day as they called people one by one down to HR to be given the news. By the afternoon, the dust had settled, and those who were left were able to breathe a sigh of relief. But it wasn't a day I'd wish for anyone.

Now, for several reasons, I and my position were never really in danger. There was a strategic elimination that we later had confirmed was based on performance and overall effectiveness of the position/department. Two things I didn't have to worry about. But even through Tuesday, I was still finding out about friends that were gone and it didn't make for a pleasant time. The only factor that softened the blow was that I found out what the severence package was they were giving to those employees who were let go, and the company is doing what they can to make sure those employees are WELL taken care of. For some, in a strange way, it might even be the best thing that can happen to them.

The rest of the week at work was just a rollercoaster with Execs in town, getting to work early, dealing with unexpected and changing plans, etc....

On Wednesday, I woke up and I felt like Harper had gained 3 pounds overnight. She just felt very "heavy" and VERY big in there. It was an unexpected shift and I think I finally made the leap over to the "perpetually uncomfortable" side of the pregnancy. This really threw me for a loop, as I've had a relatively uneventful pregnancy. She's always been very active, but now it seems like I feel her every single movement and I have to readjust as a result. It's a weird thing. I'm also swollen all the time now and can only wear my wedding rings since they were sized bigger to begin with. Even my bracelet doesn't slide on and off easily anymore and is uncomfortable to wear. I've gotten slippers to wear at work because even my comfy Crocs - which are the only shoes I can wear anymore - leave big indentations.

By Thursday afternoon, I had pretty much had it and got home and had an emotional breakdown. I haven't had *too* many of the hormonal outbursts or random cryings, but when they happen, they happen good. I had gotten calmed down and had settled in for some dinner and TV when we got the call...

Cooper had to be put to sleep. I'm posting more about Cooper in my next post (above), but needless to say, this was hard news to take.

SOOOO... I'd like to wash this week OFF of me and throw it away never to be seen or heard from again. Except in this blog, of course. But I'm really hoping these posts serve as a reminder that nothing is promised, life is gonna throw you curveballs, and hopefully we can have the strength and resiliency to get back up. ALSO, though these weeks don't happen very often (THANKFULLY!), soon I'll be able to look back and see a definite purpose in it all. The last time I remember feeling like this was in January of 07 where it was a terrible MONTH. But looking back, that whole month led us here to Texas... and look where we are now. A beautiful home, great jobs, a baby on the way... and a whole future ahead of us.

SNOW!!!

2008-03-06T17:08:00.002-08:00

Okay, so we've had a few "dustings" since I've moved here, but this is full on, no doubt about it SNOW in Fort Worth, Texas!!! The news has been predicting it all week, and for once, there was something to make a big deal about!! I went to work this morning, but it was becoming quite obvious very quickly that things were looking treacherous out on the roads so I come home shortly after 2pm. It took me 2 hours to get home but I finally made it against all odds!!!!! Once home, I grabbed the camera and made Jon come outside to take some pictures. Soon the neighbors were outside with us, so I got some great shots of everyone. So much fun! Not sure about work tomorrow. They don't really have snow plows in Texas, so I'll have to wait for it to melt before I try to go anywhere. Oh, and I LOVE MY CAR!!! Iggy did such a great job, I had absolutely no problems as I trekked home. It was awesome!!

Jon and Sarge

The Parkers! David, Diana, Ethan and Noah.

The Kutz Clan: Christina, John & Hailey

Holly & Wylee

Wylee says "I'm not going out there!"

Hailey all wrapped up.

Jon and Holly

Quick Update

2008-03-06T17:08:00.001-08:00

Don had surgery on Monday and it went very, very well. The only anticipated setback was never an issue, and the surgery only lasted about 2 1/2 hours. He recovered for 2 days at Baylor Grapevine, but was then offered the change to transfer to Baylor Irving to continue his recovery and participate in an inpatient therapy program. So that's where he's at! He'll be there at least another 10 days as he continues growing stronger and getting 3 hours of therapy a day. We're very excited he's doing it even though it means we don't get to stop by before and after work since that hospital isn't exactly anywhere near our way home.

Jon has been busy staining the kitchen cabinets and they're turning out really well. He took a detour last weekend to get the backyard all trimmed and beautified and he did an amazing job. I really couldn't believe how great it looked. We're very excited to have our new patio furniture and looking forward to enjoying our beautiful backyard this spring and summer!

My computer has a virus that I can't get rid of, which has put a serious hamper on my blogging. I'm going to plan on working on that tomorrow.

The pups are well - silly as ever. I'm attaching a few cute pics of Sarge and a video of each that we took in the snow today.

This is Wylee taking his first steps in snow (that we know of)

This is Sarge having a ball playing with his girlfriend Maggie in the snow.

BBQ

2008-03-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday Jon and I had a few friends over for a BBQ at our house. We had to borrow the BBQ from John and Christina next door, and everyone brought a dish to share. We had a great time! Here are some of the pics.

Ethan and Noah flexing for the camera.

The gang

Notice the beautiful yard! Jon's handiwork...

Next door neighbors, John & Christina.

Friends Heather and Les.

pics!

2008-02-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Here's some of the latest pics. We took these Valentine's night while we were just hanging out after taking the belly pics.

February's already halfway over!

2008-02-17T18:10:00.001-08:00

Where the heck has the month gone?!?!

Quick recap on us: I battled a loooonng bout with allergies. Thanks Texas winds! Appreciate it! Jon managed to not get affected too badly - thank goodness!! And now we're just saying our prayers that we manage to avoid the flu that seems to be taking everyone down here.

The recent rain has the dogs sad, but me very happy. It will always be my favorite weather. I even got stuck out in it big time yesterday while staying out of the house so Jon could sleep. Crossing a parking lot, got absolutely DRENCHED in a downpour, but I loved it. No, I still don't own an umbrella. The only thing that makes me hate the rain is the MUDDY FEET!!! Especially those of the 4-legged variety. Each of our dogs have the things about them that make them less than perfect pups, and one of Sarge's is that he manages to bring in half the dirt from the outside in with him. Our white tile floor (and grout) does not cope with this well, so I just try not to get too frustrated and lay towels down and Swiffer as often as I feel like.

Unfortunately we had to cancel our plans for a road trip to Florida due to an unexpected major expense that came up (long story), but we're trying to make the most of our final 3 months with just the two of us. No babymoon in our future, but we're planning a small backyard potluck bbq in a few weekends and trying to scramble with finishing up a few home projects. This weekend we used the rest of Jon's gift cards to Home Depot and Lowe's and finally got a patio furniture set. We're VERY excited to put it to use. Jon and I have always enjoyed sitting outside as often as we can. And now that we have a huge (finished) backyard, we were looking forward to getting a bit bigger table than our little bistro set. NEXT: a bbq!!!! Eventually.... Maybe when his next birthday rolls around and we get more gift cards. :)

Jon cooked a wonderful dinner on Friday night for his parents and I for Jane's birthday. He did a wonderful job as always and she really loved it. Happy birthday, Jane!

Don's doctors have decided to do surgery, so he's got a couple more weeks to go until that. We're praying this will bring him the relief he's needing. Praying for the surgery to go well and for a speedy recovery.

That's all I've got for now! Til next time...

Holly

Blogs

2008-01-20T18:55:00.000-08:00

Blogs I'm addicted to lately and can't stop checking in on. Amazing.

Nate & Trish

Pray for Kyle

Sorry ladies. Another one's off the market.

2008-01-20T18:33:00.000-08:00

Randy Williams got married?!?!? What????

Yes, it's true. Jon and I witnessed it in person. For those of you who don't know him, Randy used to be the guitar player for Big Tent Revival, and is now the lead guitar player for Jeremy Camp. I've known Randy since 98 when I started working at Fishers and we did the west coast booking for Big Tent. About 10 years now! Jon has gotten to know Randy a little bit when we've gone and seen him play when he's been nearby the past few years.

His beautiful new bride is from right here in North Texas, just up the road. So it worked out great for Jon and I that they got married here. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful and Randily unique. Very special personal touches throughout were very memorable. It was great to see a few people I haven't seen in a long while - though most of the people I knew were Randy's groomsmen!

Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures. :( I really need to get better about that. But it was a great time, and a fabulous reception. We really had a great time and we wish Randy and Katie the best of love in their future!!!

My Camel

2008-01-20T18:27:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I wrote in a post about my drive to and from work, and the things that I pass daily including rolling green hills, longhorns and a camel. Well "my" camel was shown on the news and he has a name! Jon named him Leroy, but his name is actually Teddy. Here is his story and his lovely picture.

Camel Takes Drivers By Surprise

WESTLAKE, Texas -- Drivers along state Highway 114 in Westlake are doing a double take, thanks to Teddy the camel.
The camel has been at the Circle T Ranch for about four years.
He recently moved to an area closer to the road, so he could interact with the buffalo grazing there.

Donald Jack Dunn: November 09, 1945 - January 05, 2008

2008-01-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

My sister's father-in-law passed away this past Saturday night. He fought a long, hard battle with lung cancer but he is now finally able to breathe deeply again. He will be very missed by those who knew him, and by his two grandsons who will grow up being told of stories about their Granddad who loved them very much. Here is a link to his legacy.com website.

I'll miss Don for his genuine interest he took in me and my life, for his enthusiasm and love for my sister as a daughter-in-law and for loving my nephews more than any Granddad could.

New Year's Visit

2008-01-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Randy and Rebecca were in town and they stopped by on the 2nd for dinner and a nice visit! We had such a great time and it was so wonderful to see them. Viviana is soooo adorable and a little social butterfly. She looks and acts exactly like Randy - but she's a lot cuter. :) Jona was my little buddy, smiling and laughing and just taking it all in. We had such a blast and wish we could have visited longer, but we were thankful for the evening!!

I'm waiting for Rebecca to send me the pics she has, but here are pics of the kids I took on New Year's Eve.

End of '07

2008-01-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

It's 2008! I can't believe it. Jon and I keep reminding each other all that 2008 holds for us, and it's unbelievable the events that lie ahead for us this year.

The last few weeks have been great, though very different for me. All the holidays fell during Jon's schedule, which means there wasn't much time for celebrating. We did manage to meet each other at IBC for Christmas Eve service, then grab a quick bite at Dickey's before he had to go to work. Christmas morning he got home at 6:30, just after his parents got here. We enjoyed breakfast and opened presents together, then they were gone by 8:30 and he was in bed! It was a very early and short Christmas this year.

I thought it would be a rather depressing day hanging around the house with nothing much to do but hang out quietly while he slept. Usually I would try to get out of the house and find something to do, but that's hard to do on Christmas day as nothing is open. I managed to watch A Christmas Story in bits and pieces and just hang out and do nothing, really. It was tough being away from all of my family and not having Jon around to really celebrate with, but I made it through pretty well.

New Year's Eve came with a nice surprise. I worked, then drove to downtown Fort Worth to meet up with Randy and Rebecca and the kids! It was soo great to see them, and we're planning on them coming over tomorrow night for dinner and another visit before they leave to go back to Colorado. I like what Rebecca told me "it's like we've never been apart!" We just picked right up and it felt like it hadn't been a year and a half (our wedding) since we've seen them.

Today I am so thankful for our cable company! I managed to find the KTLA coverage of the Rose Parade, and I was so happy. Right now I'm watching the Rose Bowl and of course am a happy camper as USC is beating the pants off of Illinois. Go Trojans!

Keepsake!

2007-12-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

Jon and I thought it would be a fun idea to start buying Hallmark Keepsake ornaments each year to commemorate significant events in our lives for that year. We had the idea quite a while ago, but unfortunately we didn't actually go to Hallmark until this past Thursday - less than a week before Christmas! Needless to say we didn't have a great selection.

I was hoping to find something like this:

But unfortunately it was sold out. However, I think the one we found suits us just as well!!!

It's called "Do It Yourselfer" so we found it very appropriate. Love it!

sick

2007-12-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

I've been officially SICK for the past week now. A hideous cold has taken ahold of my head and it's been terrible. Thank goodness I'm finally seeing the other side of this cold and there's a light at the end of the tunnell. And thank goodness for Tylenol Cold!!!!

Hanes Family Christmas Party!

2007-12-22T08:04:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday we had the Hanes Family Christmas party at our house. It was our first party at our new house, and we were very excited to have everyone here. It was so great to see everyone and we all had a great time. It was my first time meeting little Molly and I hadn't seen Braylen since he was a month or so old. They are too precious. And most of the family I hadn't seen since the last Christmas party I went to 2 years ago. All of the kids have gotten so big and we really enjoyed having everyone here. Unfortunately not one single person took any pictures!!

Jon did most of the cleaning before the party, as well as wrapping all of the presents which looked PERFECT, of course. He also made a beautiful green salad and two amazing cherry pies which were a huge hit! I did the rest of the baking, churning out sugar cookies, rice crispy treats, ghiradelli drop cookies, brownies, holly treats and of course - apple cake! Jane brought the dinner which was ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, and rolls. Eddie and Nancy brought Sy's fruit salad, Craig and Karyn brought drinks and homemade spinach dip, and Darryl and Cheryl brought drinks. We had so much stuff!!!! It was great.

We did the gift exchange and I was so excited to get a mini food processor! I had already thought about trying to make homemade baby food, so this will be perfect! Jon got a cozy blanket and The Bourne Ultimatum, so we are so excited to watch it. Oh! And Craig and Karyn asked us to open our gift from them, and we got a digital photo frame!!! We love it!

The whole day was great and we can't wait to do it again next year!

Vegas Visit!

2007-12-12T19:39:00.001-08:00

Jon and I flew to Vegas last Wednesday for an early Christmas/late Thanksgiving/Birthday celebration with my parents, Wendy and the boys. We were so looking forward to a change of scenery and of course seeing and hanging out with the family most of all!!! The boys have both gotten so big, I couldn't stop staring at them! They are both so sweet and I miss them soooo much. I tried to absorb every minute of being with them.
Jon and I were able to steal some time away to go check out some of the newer sights on the strip including a few of the sites he used to send trucks to at his old job, and the site where The New Frontier used to be!!!! We also stopped by his old work and mine and said hi to a few old friends. Oh! And I also managed to squeeze in TWO trips to In-N-Out which was WONDERFUL!!! So yummy.
Thursday night we took the boys to Opportunity Village to see all the Christmas lights. It was freezing, but it was so much fun to see their faces light up when looking at all the lights.
One of the major accomplishments of the weekend was getting all of the tons of baby things home to us that have been building up at my mom's house. So many people including my sister have been so generous in giving us all sorts of necessities. We are still awaiting our 3 huge boxes to arrive that we sent to ourselves.
We had such a great time seeing everyone and exchanging gifts, celebrating birthdays. We came home exhausted but so appreciative of every minute of the time we had.
Jon turned 32 the day after we got home and slept most of the day because he had to work that night. I felt bad for him having to work on his birthday, so I went and picked up dinner from Johnny Carino's, one of our favorite places, and brought it to him at work. It was a nice treat for both of us.

Tobin!

Jon and I at the Bellagio

Holly, Wendy and Tobin

Wendy and her hat!!!

The gang and their hats

The boys got a sparkler on their birthday (cheese) cake!!!

Which Camden was absolutely fascinated by.

The painting is DONE!!!!

2007-11-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

Jon has worked SO HARD and finally - the painting is DONE!!! We are so happy with how everything has turned out. We still have the hallway to paint eventually, but we've crossed it off our list of things to do by Christmas. The things he has done all look great.

One of our walls in the kitchen, looking through the arch to our niche - Jon picked out the statue!

Dining Room - dark brown on the bottom and a light beige on top.

Living room - Jon hanging up our sconces.

We've also put up the Christmas tree and decorations. It's been a bit of a struggle to not want to go out and buy a boatload of new decorations to fill up this house we now have. But so far I've resisted and I think I'll do okay until things are on clearance after the holiday. We did finally get to put up our tree that we haven't seen since we bought it half-price the day after Christmas last year.

Jon put the Christmas lights on the house today and they look FABULOUS!!!! I need to take a picture of them -- coming soon.

Oh, and we've both had our first door-busting Black Friday shopping experience. We jumped out of bed at 3 and were out the door by 3:30 all ready to go. Kohl's was absolutely INSANE and we failed by not having a real plan for our day. But we made it through that madness with a few treasures and headed over to JC Penney for a few more things. Overall it was a good experience, and I'm ready to do it again next year! However, Jon is anxious to stay home with the baby. Here's a picture of us before we left the house.

Wow - Time to play catch up!

2007-11-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

There are so many things I've wanted to blog about in the last month and a half. I've been keeping a mental list of them, but if you've ever been pregnant, or married to someone who's pregnant, you know how the brain is the first thing to go. I do know that my list consisted of discussing the Big State Fair of Texas, Texas/OU weekend, my birthday, painting....

But now it's Daylight Savings day, and I'm waaaay too tired to discuss any of this. Except maybe painting which we're in the middle of. Jon has completely finished the baby's room, with the exception of the pink or blue stripes that will be painted on, and possibly the wainscotting that might or might not be installed. He's also finished the bedroom which looks FANTASTIC! Two shades of green, chosen completely by him. He did great. Now we're in the middle of painting the kitchen and dining room. I'm not so sure about the colors this time, but we're going to give it another couple days and finish a few more sections before we completely decide.

We've got to have the builders out to inspect the floor this week. We've developed some serious grout cracks and cracked tiles in our kitchen and master bath. And this afternoon I also noticed a crack in the ceiling on the same line. Ahhh... the joys of homeownership!!!

We did manage to get the office a little more put together with all of our books now put away and our new filing cabinet being used in full force. I still have to clean out the junk from the guest bedroom that was transferred there when we started painting the baby's room.

Of course, I will be updating the baby blog. Click here for updated info!!!

New blog!

2007-09-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog for the baby. See it here.

Painting!

2007-09-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

We spent all day Saturday painting. The nursery and the living room are almost done - just need to cut-in at the ceiling line. And Jon's TV has remained paint-free through it all! Woohoo!!! I knew I would be unable to lift it again in my present condition, so we wrapped the heck out of it with plastic. And it has survived beautifully.

Thank goodness!

I've posted a few pics and will post more once they're done. Hopefully this week after Jon's work week when he's able to finish painting. I'm not allowed on the ladder, which I'm fine with. I get freaked out on the second rung.

We LOVE the colors. Can't wait til it's done! Here's the living room.

Milk Chocolate

2007-09-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

The red room is no more!! It took two coats of primer and a very patient Jon, but it is all gone. And the color about to go on?? Milk Chocolate! Seems as though we're getting the unborn baby off to a good start in this family of chocaholics.

Here is Jon starting the monstrous project.
And he's done!!!! At last!!!

Coming May 2008

2007-09-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

This about says it all....

Mom, Crocs, and Cows

2007-09-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Mom visited!!!!!! We had such a fun time with her, and it was so great just to hang out. The overall purpose of her visit was to get her expert opinion on paint color and a few design things. But that became kind of secondary, of course, once she got here. We managed to run her pretty ragged since I wanted to make sure to we didn't forget to do something!

She did exert her influence in one major area - we are now Croc people!!!! She bought us each a pair and she left us an extra pair that didn't fit her very well. I need to take a picture of our new footwear. I will post soon!

One of the things we almost forgot to do while she was here was go to Southlake Town Center. I knew she would love it there because there are several painted cows scattered about. We hit Nestle Tollhouse (dessert first!!!), then Barnes and Noble, then Cheesecake Factory. On our way out, we found a parking spot and walked around to the various cows and took some fun pics.

I can't express how great it was to have her here, especially during such a memorable time that's going on for Jon and I. I truly can't wait for her to come back for another visit!!! And all the rest of ya'll too!!!! Get on down here!!!!

Taxes, headaches, and camels - oh my!

2007-08-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Texas has a tax-free weekend every year. It's meant to give parents a break on back-to-school shopping for their kids, so all clothes, shoes and school supplies you buy from Friday thru Sunday are tax-free. I had never heard of this before, but apparently the idea is catching on around the country. We took advantage and hit Target - our favorite - and got Jon a few new shirts and me a new pair of jeans. Gotta love Target!

We had a slight change in the weather. The tropical storm Erin brought in some rain and wind and it's set off my sinuses. I had a huge headache all day yesterday and woke up with it still this morning. Jon was stuffy as well, so we weren't very exciting. But we did manage to squeeze in a game of "I Love the 80's" before he went to work. He beat me - but I think he'll readily admit that I gave him a few answers out of pity because I was kicking his butt for most of the game. Note to self: Never feel sorry for your competitors when playing I Love the 80's. I'm ready for a rematch.

And finally - I am so excited for my mom to come visit. Just a little over 2 weeks until she'll be here! I'm really looking forward to someone else seeing where we live. Not just the house, but the neighborhood, and the different roads leading to it. For instance, off the main highway on the road we take to our house, there is a taxidermist and a wild game processing place (the butcher you take the deer you just shot to so he can slice it up for you). So random! Also, on another highway we both take each day, we pass a big farm with rolling green hills, streams, bison, cows and sheep. The other day I was driving home and I saw a CAMEL on the farm!!! an actual camel. Probably one of the things I would least expect to see on a farm, especially on a farm in Texas!!!

Weird.

We did it!

2007-08-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

One goal of mine in this house has been to get both cars parked in the garage. Yesterday we put a few boxes of Christmas decorations (and a few more of my boxes) up in the attic and I got to work rearranging what was left while Jon mowed the lawn. Soon it was done!!! I was so happy to have accomplished that little feat - and in 100+ degree weather! Of course it required moving a few of the random objects I had no idea what to do with into the house - still with no idea where to put them. But I guess I'll figure that out with time.

I did tell Jon something I will probably come to regret in the future. I drive through my neighborhood and see the garages that are open and either half-full or completely full of stuff with no room to park both cars. I said that if we ever have too much stuff where we can't fit both cars in the garage, then we have too much crap. We'll see how that goes...

Also, an update on the house. Jon did install the handle on the back door and the ceiling fan in the living room. He also replaced the lightbulbs in the lights that were out in the backyard. He's been doing great with keeping up with the yard work and all of the other joys that homeownership brings with it. We managed to get his computer set up in the office yesterday. We find ourselves having some extra furniture we don't need, and missing a few pieces we really need. So it's been challenging trying to make our current things work for now until we find the things we like. We did come up with one quick fix - we have an end table that doesn't fit in our living room right now, so it made its way to the office. We don't have a coffee table in there, so yesterday I was looking at it and Jon and I flipped it over and screwed off the bottom feet and shelf. And VOILA!!! A perfect-height coffee table is born!!! ahhhh - gotta love it!

The office is on its way to becoming the "Man Cave". Jon's designated room for all of his toys and pictures that I don't care for. And the thing he's most excited about - his deer antlers. And me, being a good wife, hung those the very first thing yesterday. There's a lot of work to be done, but at least the Man Cave is off to a good start.

Cake!!!

2007-08-05T17:34:00.001-07:00

Tuesday night we finally remembered to eat our cake. Here is the progression of how it went. I've documented it because it was as amazing as it was on our Wedding Day.

Held up pretty good considering it's been in 4 different freezers and 3 states in one year!

I snuck a swipe of frostin! I'm not a frosting person normally - but this was AMAZING!

Master Cake Cutter!

All dished up and ready to go!

That's the face of a happy Newlywed!

I actually thanked Jon for marrying me so that I could have this cake a year later. I was hoping more chocolate would be in my teeth for this picture.

Two clean plates!! Yes, we had a second piece right afterwards.

One year! We made it!

2007-07-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to a year! We celebrated Saturday night and tried to "surprise" each other. Jon wouldn't tell me where he was taking me to dinner, but I figured it out. Melting Pot!! He did try to confuse me by driving all around Grapevine in order to throw me off - and to kill time. Turns out we were early for our reservations. We had a fabulous meal and a really great time enjoying the chocolate - you can never go wrong with the Melting Pot dessert.

First anniversary is traditionally paper. So of course Jon got me a keyless remote entry system for my car!!!! Makes perfect sense to me! I actually loved it and he was just so happy to get me something completely unexpected. I love that for our first anniversary he got me something completely practical - totally me!!!

There is also a modern take on anniversaries, and the gift for "modern" first anniversaries is a clock. I didn't even know this when I bought Jon his gift - more than 2 1/2 months ago!!! It's a watch he's been wanting for the longest time. I actually wanted to give it to him as a wedding gift, but was too broke. First anniversary ain't too bad! He figured out what his gift was ahead of time, but didn't tell me. I'm just glad he never saw it - hard to hide something for that long in the close quarters we had been living in! And yes - he made me take this series of pictures below...

This is a terrible picture, but we had to take it anyway for posterity's sake. Darn flash!

Here's a picture we took on our actual anniversary. We needed one for the anniversary book Lucille gave us as a wedding gift! Jon brought me these flowers on Friday, and had a card for me every morning for 4 days. I love his cards. The bouquet had lilies and roses just like my bouquet!!! We also re-enacted the "kissy-face" picture from the wedding, but they didn't turn out so well. Maybe I'll get brave and post them.

What a year it's been. I'm not sure we can top it - or that we'd want to!! Such a blessed feeling knowing we were celebrating moving into our first house just as we were celebrating our first year of wedded bliss. So surreal - and we thank God for every second of it.

Although we DID forget to eat the cake.... I can't believe we forgot the cake!!! I made it such a huge priority to have Jon get a cooler and dry ice so we could transport it from Vegas. His parents made plenty of room in their freezer for the thing, and it had even already made its way to our new house! And we forgot it!!! Oh well... we're just prolonging the celebration. :)

Moving right along!!

2007-07-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week!! We closed one week ago today - and time has flown! With the exception of Jon's bike and golf clubs, which are still at Don & Jane's house, everything has been moved! Things are slowly finding their places as I unpack. Jon has been working overtime so has not had much time to do things. But he's made a really good dent in projects. I'm posting pictures of all the things we've done and continue to work on...

Jon hung a new storm door in the back. It still needs a handle, though. And best of all... it's got a doggy door! The dogs took a while to get used to using it, but now they're pros.

Don and Jane graciously hired a company to install a garage door opener for us as an anniversary/welcome home gift. After watching them install it, I'm SO GLAD Jon did not attempt to do this himself.

Jon removed the chandelier from the office and installed this ceiling fan.

And moved the chandelier to the entryway!! It looks fabulous!

We've even started organizing the garage!

Though it's still a work in progress....

Jon's work bench.

And my first order of business.....

BUT I had to be fair....

We did it!!!

2007-07-20T02:03:00.001-07:00

We signed the papers and now own the house!!!

So silly, but we can't wait to get the dogs over there to have them run around the backyard. As I said before, it's the little things.

I can't sleep - I've got 2 hours until my alarm is set to go off this morning. I guess I'm a little bit excited, huh? The movers are scheduled to show up this morning, then Jon and I are heading over to hopefully find new bedroom furniture. Then we'll swing back by Don & Jane's, pack up the rest of our stuff, load up the pups and head back home! (I'm sure we'll manage to squeeze in another trip to Lowe's along the way.)

Here's a link to the album. I'll make sure to upload another one when we've gotten our furniture set up and a picture or two hung up. http://picasaweb.google.com/hollyhanes/OldMacGregor

We have a fridge!

2007-07-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

ohhh, it's the small things, isn't it? We have a Sears Outlet where all of the damaged/returned merchandise gets sent to. The fridge we found actually was in near-perfect condition. It only had a few minor scratches/dents on the sides where it will be hidden anyway. But it had EVERYTHING we wanted: Sateen finish (yay! no fingerprints!), water in-door, ice maker in-door, perfect height, everything.

Everything's moving right along. There's SO MUCH to do, but I think I've done everything I can do at this point. Got all utilities ready to be hooked up. Movers have confirmed they'll be at the house Friday morning. We have our walk-through at noon tomorrow and closing appointment at 1:00pm. From what we hear, the sellers were able to get the builders to fix every single thing on our list from the inspection - we had only asked for 2 things. And they've also apparently had all the wood blinds professionally cleaned and have patched up and painted over all the nail holes.

We feel so blessed!!! I'm glad I don't have to go back to work until Thursday - although I know I will be wanting a REAL vacation after all this. We know it's worth it.

Now we just have to figure out when to squeeze in a BIG trip to Lowe's. Oh yeah, and did I mention that Jon doesn't have any time off at all? So we've still got to manage to let him sleep all during the days while I'm home fixing things up. We'll make it work somehow...

We are scheduled to have internet up and running by next Wednesday, so unless I can "borrow" an unsecured wireless line somewhere in the neighborhood, I most likely won't be posting again until shortly after that.

Thank you for all your prayers!! They're being well used.

til next time.... !!!

Sunday Goodies

2007-07-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Jon and I went back to Irving Bible Church yesterday. It's been very easy to become complacent on Sundays with Jon now working nights, but we fully realize how important it is for us to not only attend but to become involved in a church. IBC is a bit far from our new house, but we both really like it, so I think it's where we'll wind up. Yesterday we attended the young couples study following the first service and we really enjoyed it. And we met another couple who live in the development next to our new one!! Such encouragement.

After church we went to Tom Thumb (Vons for all our Cali/Nevada friends) and were hungry - which is never good. We overshot it a little bit when we got a big box of mac & cheese, however we also got a container of the yummy tomato basil soup and a sourdough baguette. We're still talking about how good it was.

Jon hit the hay shortly after and I went to browse Lowe's for goodies for the new house. Kind of overwhelming but definitely exciting. We can't wait!!

Less than a week away!

2007-07-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Jon and I close on our new house in less than a week. We're scheduled for Thursday, July 19th with movers scheduled to come first thing Friday morning! So far, so good. Things have been really smooth - we just hope it continues that way!

I'll have off work for a week starting Thursday. Friday after the movers leave, the plan is for Jon and I to rush over to Lowe's to go shopping! We are in need of a refrigerator, washer & dryer, lawnmower, trimmer, doggy door, etc... !!! Very exciting, yet a tad overwhelming.

We're on our way!!!

We're baaaack!

2007-06-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

After a long break, I'm officially picking up the blog again. Yes, again. I realize I take long breaks now and then. It really shouldn't be as much of a burden as I sometimes make it to be. I worry about getting the right pics, the good stories, the interesting tid bits. But I've come to realize this is just us.... So here you go.

We've found a house!! Actually, we found two. The first one fell through after the sellers just weren't seeming to be very flexible with repairs after the inspection. It was a tough decision because we loved the house and we couldn't beat the location. The house would have been a lot of work over time, and it would have extended us financially. Probably more than we would have wished as a first home.

BUT - We feel like that was a necessary detour for us to find the one God really had for us. We went and looked back in the area we've been interested in from the beginning. And we found it!! It's an absolutely beautiful 1-story home, 1900 sq ft in a new development. The house itself is just about a year old. The inspection went extremely well and as of right now, we're scheduled to close on July 19th! Thankfully this home needs absolutely NO work on it right away - save for a few coats of paint once we get settled. And it's already got the appliances we wanted to buy anyway!! Hooray!! We've just got to get the fridge, washer & dryer. (Oh yeah, and Jon's TV). We have tons of plans for the future of this home and are just so excited.

We're just looking forward to being settled in by our first anniversary. So far, things are looking good.

Jon and I were able to take a weekend trip to San Antonio over Memorial Weekend. A very much needed getaway and we had a wonderful time staying on the Riverwalk.

But the bigger news over Memorial Weekend was the birth of the newest (and final??) addition to the Dunn family. Tobin Christopher was born on May 27th weighing 9 pounds, 1/2 ounce and 22 inches long. Auntie Holly was able to visit last weekend and I instantly fell in love. I wasn't convinced I'd be able to love another nephew like I love Camden. But now I understand how, like a parent, your heart just grows bigger to make room for all the love you feel. It was amazing to be able to visit and spend good Auntie time with Camden and get some good baby cuddling time with Tobin.

Yesterday I attended the baby shower for Michele, Jon's sister's oldest daughter. Got that? In otherwords, Mine and Jon's niece. She's pregnant with her second child due mid-August. Had a lovely time and got to say hello again to Karyn (Jon's sister), and her two other daughters, Samantha and Christi. Jon and I hope to be able to spend more time with their family soon. There's not too many funnier families we've found.

Jon and I are both doing our best to become more active and lose some of the weight we've gained since moving to Texas, plus the weight we've gained since getting married, etc, etc... We're in a aerobics/step/weight/spin class that we attend twice a week, plus we're walking two other days a week. Slowly noticing changes, so we're trying to become more serious about the diet part.

Dogs are good and funny as ever. They manage to crack us up every day. No less full of their own issues, though. Funny boys.

Sargey Boy

2007-03-04T18:15:00.000-08:00

Sarge has been quite the little escape artist lately. He's jumped over baby gates, pulls open baby gates like they're doors, and has learned how to open the door to the laundry room. Sneaky little devil Here are some pics of our favorite Houdini.

These first 5 are from today. Lazy boy was posing for the camera. This was in the span of about 15 mins.

Apparently he got tired of the paparazzi snapping pictures every 5 minutes.

Here is Sarge looking pretty.

Here is Sarge wanting to be a Rottweiler and squeezing into one of Wylee's t-shirts.

Fun With Wylee

2007-01-07T21:04:00.000-08:00

You're the One

2007-01-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

Quick wrap-up:

How could I forget to write about Emmitt Otter?????? Jon and I finally watched it on New Year's Eve day. How is it possible we've found each other and that we both love this movie?? It was meant to be, as Hanz said during our ceremony. We sent one to Hanz and Family for Christmas, but haven't heard a report back on it. I'll have to make a phone call...

We redeemed our voucher for free Penn and Teller tickets and last night was our show. We had a great time, and who can beat free???? Something different, lots of laugh. Great show.

I do realize I love TV. I watch too much and get easily addicted to new shows and have a slew of shows that I "have to watch". Well, my life just got a little simpler. We finally got a DVR!!!!! Okay, let me rephrase - we finally got a DVR we could get to work!!! Heather actually got me a TiVo last year, but we could never make it work at our place because we don't have a home phone number. Soooo.... since Cox offers one at only $10/month, it was a must to have as the new TV season starts up and I start school at the end of the month. Woohooo!!! Sooooo exciting. Well, for me at least... but I think Jon will love it once he gets to watch all of his games and Discovery shows whenever he wants.

And one final item. Don and Jane gave us a fun puzzle of Las Vegas in our batch of Christmas goodies. We finished it in a couple days - 3 sessions to be exact. Pictures of our progress below. It has led us to purchase 2 more puzzles mostly because they were on sale. I'm not sure we have the time to dedicate to any more right now since our lives were basically put on hold while we were working. Kinda sad.

Apple Cake!

2007-01-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

The second try at Nanny's apple cake this year was successful. Enough so that I made two of them! And as good as it is hot right out of the oven, Jon says it's always better the second day after the apples' juices have a chance to sort of permeate through it. I have to agree with him.

Whispering

2007-01-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

We've decided to use some of the Dog Whisperer's techniques in trying to get our dogs a little bit more respectful in some areas. Of course Sarge is pretty much the perfect dog except when it comes to OTHER dogs. He can't stand them and it's always a struggle on walks when we encounter other furry friends. Wylee is not exactly the most friendly pup either, but will submit a lot easier than Sarge will. Not to mention the fact that Sarge is 5 times bigger and 3 times stronger (yeah, Wylee's pretty strong :) ).

It's been a little difficult for them - and us. But with plenty of practice and consistency, we're sure we can make it happen for both of them. It basically comes down to them becoming submissive and realizing we are their pack leaders. And it also involves US realizing we are their pack leaders. Not as easy as it sounds, but we're confident we can make it happen!

Here's Sarge looking at us and seeming to say "oh yeah? We'll see who the pack leader is around here!!"

A whole lotta nuthin'

2007-01-01T16:18:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been WONDERFUL for Jon and I. I had a 4 day weekend after deciding to take Friday off for what I considered a much-deserved break. Jon had Saturday off, so we've spent the past 3 days just hanging out with nothing to do.

A huge blessing for myself has been that the pain and discomfort I've been experiencing due to indigestion has all but gone away. The only explanation is that it was due to stress at work - and there's been plenty of that for me the past 8 weeks or so. Jon had me start a cycle of Prilosec and I tried my best to stay away from spicy or acidic foods for 2 weeks. I feel 100 times better - I am SO thankful! It's been the perfect medicine this weekend to have a whole lotta nuthin' to do. I have no idea what to expect out of work the next few weeks, but nothing could be as bad as the last 2 in particular.... right????

Friday I accomplished the only goal I had set for myself for the weekend which was to take down all of the Christmas decorations. I was correct in my prediction that I was READY to have all the stuff gone as soon as possible after Christmas. It was enough. I went to the movies and did a ton of laundry. Nothing too exciting, but wonderful to have time to do on a day off.

Saturday Jon woke up and took the dogs for a run. He's gotten into the habit of taking BOTH dogs and assures me that Wylee and his little legs do just fine on the longs treks. Jon's already lost a bit of weight and is happy to see his pants fitting easier. He loses weight so easily, it's sickening. We treated ourselves to a fun lunch at Islands but pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day except continue to clean the house. Texas played that day, and though it wasn't a guaranteed win early on in the game, Texas came through, which allowed Jon to be in a great mood. Our neighbors came over for a visit that night and she helped me work on my admission paperwork for the University of Phoenix. My class will start January 31st! I just need to decide for certain on a major.

Sunday we woke up and watched Harvest online. We have to get out and start looking for another church but it's hard to get motivated. We took yet another day to do as little as possible except for watch a few movies and get In-n-Out as our last meal of 2006. We watched the Times Square celebrations, then switched over for local Strip coverage. We love where we live because it has allowed us to go out the past two years to the sidewalk in front of our unit and watch the fireworks go off from at least 4 of the casinos. Fun stuff. Oh yeah, and I beat Jon at Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture 2... AGAIN. :) He put up a fair fight, though.

Today Jon made a great big breakfast which was such a treat and very very yummy. And a tradition in my house growing up was always the Rose Parade. I'm a little disappointed in the options for coverage where we're at - all the networks just want to plug their shows and constantly show commercials. I miss KTLA!!! Thankfully the Travel Channel showed an extensive pre-show done by KTLA along with the same broadcast and hosts I'm used to seeing. Even though it was the encore broadcast and I still had to put up with commercials... it was better than nothing. Love the Rose Parade. And we took the opportunity of our day off to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and use our gift certificates so we could buy our new pots and pans. And man, are we glad we waited! The set Jon wanted offered a free $50 pan with purchase and with our coupons, store credit and gift cards, we were able to buy a few additional items and only paid $1.47!!!!!!! We love it when that happens!!!!

Currently, we are sitting here watching USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl. It's the 3rd quarter and I have every confidence in my team. My USC sweatshirt should probably be laid to rest very very soon, so it would be nice for this season to go out with a bang. Then I can treat myself to a new "Rose Bowl Champions" sweatshirt! (And maybe Wylee, too!) :)

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of 2007 - whew, time has flown!!! We had quite a year! I'm planning on writing a belated family "Year in Review" letter to send out in a couple of weeks - anticipating some news in mid-January that will kick start that letter. But before that, here's a list of just a few things that happened in 2006:

1. February - Jon and Sarge picked up and moved to Las Vegas! Of course, the road trip on the way was half the fun of getting here. 24 hours of driving was not the highlight, but Holly was most excited to stop in Winslow, Arizona on the way!

2. May - We're engaged! Jon asked me to marry him and we promptly set a date to be married in Las Vegas 10 weeks later. Just enough time for everyone to make their plans to come into town. We didn't get too many complaints, though since we had changed our minds and scrapped our original plans to elope ALONE in Antigua.

3. July - We're married! We had the perfect small backyard ceremony. Low in stress, high in fun and friends. We felt so blessed God had brought us each other and had the perfect day to celebrate that.

And PLENTY of other big news along the way, including Jon's college football team (University of Texas) beating Holly's team (USC) in the championship game at the beginning of the year, a few illnesses, a trip to the emergency room for both Jon and Sarge, a lot of fun shows and concerts, and best of all lots of laughs.

What a year 2006 was. We're not sure how we can top it in 2007, but we're sure going to have fun trying!!!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of catching up to do! We were both sick last week - Jon stayed home from work and I came home early one day. We've both slowly recovered. Just in time to head to California to celebrate an early Christmas at my sister's place on Saturday. Our family pulls names, so it was fun to see what we all got from whoever had us. Jon got his new razor and Band of Brother DVD set he had wished for from Kevin. I got a fantastic pink candle and Old Navy gift card from Fred- woohoo! Does it get any better? Of course Camden was overwhelmed with all the presents he got from Mimi and Poppy and Auntie Holly and Jon Jon.

Mom and Fred left to head back home and the rest of us headed over to the Irvine Spectrum to get out of the house and try to get Camden to burn some energy. He got to ride the carousel with dad and Auntie Holly and Mom took him on the "big wheel" much to Dad's horror. We made it through safely, and Camden did a great job of making Auntie feel at ease-- especially at the high parts. And I found out today he told Kevin's mom that I was scared and I cried. Funny kid. We came home and said goodnight to Camden and the four of us played one of my gifts to Wendy - Trivial Pursuit 80's edition. Finally the girls were redeemed after their sorry loss to the boys at the last game (I Love the 80's) because we kicked their butts!!! My advice to anyone looking for a rematch: Don't mess with the Winslow gals and their 80's music knowledge. Finally a use for all of that stuff stuck in my head!

We got to sleep in the next day and said our goodbyes and had lunch with Hedder. Jon was thrilled that she gave us a gift card for Bed, Bath and Beyond so he could put it towards a new set of pots and pans that we've been waiting to get. yay! Then we went over to Harvest for the 4:00 Christmas Eve service and really enjoyed being there at a familiar place that felt like home - for me at least. Great to see Hanz and Debbie and their girls... along with everyone else of course! Made the drive safely home and picked up the pups and came home and CRASHED.

I was so excited for Christmas this morning that I woke up and could not fall back asleep, so I woke Jon up--and I've been exhausted all day! We opened presents - he got me a gorgeous "right hand ring" just like the kind I was looking at when I was looking at engagement rings. We need to get it sized and I can't wait to get it on! I made Nanny's apple cake this morning, but it wasn't exactly right because I used whole wheat flour in an effort to be a little more health conscious. Doesn't work and I need to re-make because you can't skimp on things like Nanny's apple cake. :) I'll try again this weekend, though Jon said this batch was just fine. (It wasn't). We love to go see the Belagio's conservatory decorations, so we got dressed and headed down there. It was awe-inspiring as usual, and from there we headed to Lake Las Vegas to see the Christmas decorations. Not much to see there as just about everything was closed, but it was still a great outing. And that's been pretty much our day!! Mostly enjoying the day off.

Last week we received our gifts from Jon's parents, which they asked us to open early so we could enjoy them. We discovered gift cards to Target, Buca di Beppo, AND Bed, Bath, and Beyond - which guarantees we have enough to look for a nice set of pots and pans. Such a blessing and we're looking forward to treating ourselves thanks to them. Along with a huge puzzle of Las Vegas that is guaranteed to begin as soon as the Christmas decorations are put away and we have a little more room. Can't wait!!

I've been putting in a ton of hours at work and Jon had an exciting week last week (great news!!! - hopefully more information on that SOON!) so we're pretty exhausted these days.

We hope everyone had a fun Christmas like we've had. And of course we must remember what Christmas is all about and celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. The greatest gift of ALL. Tons of pictures posted below. Enjoy!

Camden and Kevin on the carousel. Camden was VERY focused.

Sisters!! She's getting a belly finally!!

Soon to be big brother and mommy.

Cute guy at the Bellagio.

That tree was amazing surrounded by TONS of poinsettas.

At Lake Las Vegas.

Looks like a real Italian street!

Birthday Boy!

2006-12-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Jon's 31st birthday! I tried to make the day very special and memorable for him. Unfortunately for him he had to work in the morning (7am - yuck!). But fortunately FOR ME it allowed me a few hours in the morning to arrange for a few special surprises.

Because we celebrated with Brad Paisley last week, I didn't get him anything big and exciting. But I DID get him his own "Stinky" (feather pillow) so that he would stop stealing mine every night! :) I think he liked it. I also surprised him with a ton of balloons and his very own cupcake cake all decorated for him. He was tired, so we took a nap, then got up and got ready to go where he requested to go for his birthday: The Rio buffet! He's so easy to please! We stuffed ourselves pretty good, then wobbled out and drove to Red Rock to catch a movie. But we got there a little late, so we killed 2 hours people watching and trying to continue to digest our dinner so we could sit through the movie comfortably. We saw "The Holiday" and really liked it. Very cute movie.

All-in-all, I think it was a fun day for him! You know, except for the working part. It was the first birthday of his we got to spend together, so I tried to make the most of it. Pics below!!

With his hat! Hadn't shaved yet....

Cupcake Cake. He's 31, not 37. It's a 1, I swear.

Cute.

Make a wish!

At the buffet with his favorite meal - dessert!

At Red Rock, waiting for our movie to start and for our bellies to deflate!

Sneezing, Playing Dress-up, and Silly Sarge

2006-12-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

I came down with a good bout of allergies beginning on Sunday. It's actually a mild case compared to what I've dealt with in the past, but apparently living in Vegas for a over a year now is beginning to strengthen me a little bit. I still feel like my brain is leaking out my nose and probably by tomorrow I will be ready to trade in my nose for a new one that is not red and raw. I feel pretty good for the most part - just congested and sinus pressure which makes me sleepy. Hopefully I start feeling better soon. I really hate waking up with a sore throat after having to breathe through my mouth all night.

Saturday night was my company's Christmas party. it was at Red Rock Resort, which we really love. We had a fun time, and as always, Jon was a good sport while we spent time with all the people I work with. Of course, he got to touch base with a few people he used to work with as well. And he LOVED the food. Here is a picture of us from the night:

Here are a couple of pictures of Sarge being a weirdo. We know how much Don loves these pictures.

This is one of Sarge's favorite places to lay. We're not sure why he loves to stick his head under the bed, but it apparently makes him happy.

Sarge sat in this position for a few minutes. It looks as though he's about to lie down but he got stuck. And that's how he stayed. Weirdo.

Baby, you are the world

2006-12-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

Jon's birthday is Saturday. We don't have any real plans, except to spend the remainder of the day together after he gets off work. The rotation of Saturdays wasn't kind to him, so he's got to wake up early on his big day.

We did get to celebrate 9 days early. I treated Jon to go see Brad Paisley, aka "My Man" as Jon calls him. My favorite thing about getting him the tickets was when I was asking questions about who he might want to see if we went to a show for his birthday. I said "there are tickets I want to buy you for your birthday, but I want to make sure you really want to go because they're kind of expensive." His response was, "is it like, Brad Paisley big, or what?" I couldn't believe he used it as a comparison to determine if he'd want to go, so I blurted "well, it IS Brad Paisley". So that was that.

We had a really great time. Until I met Jon, I hadn't listened to country since high school. I've mostly enjoyed getting back into it, though it's still weird to me. Brad's music is great and his live show is a lot of fun. And a bonus for BOTH of us was that Carrie Underwood opened the show! She sings AMAZING live, I couldn't stop being impressed by her.

It was a late night on a work day for us, but well worth it. Fun to do something different and to celebrate Jon's birthday doing something he really loved. By my calculation, his birthday has already lasted about 3 weeks and it hasn't even happened yet! I hope he keeps that in mind next time mine rolls around. :)

The big 3-6!!!

2006-11-29T22:15:00.000-08:00

This big congratulations is a week overdue but I still want to acknowledge the 36 years of marriage of Don and Jane Hanes!!!! It was officially a week ago on November 22nd. Unfortunately I don't think it was a wonderful celebration due to Don's root canal, but it doesn't make the date any less significant. And we hope to see them soon!!!

Speaking of anniversaries, today is mine and Jon's 4-month anniversary as a married couple! I realize we have all sorts of silly dates we recognize as "anniversaries" but 4 months ago today we said our "I do"s and committed our lives to each other forever and ever. We look forward to celebrating 36 years together like Don and Jane... minus the root canal, hopefully.

Birthday Boys

2006-11-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

Today is Thanksgiving and we have SO MUCH to be thankful for. We had a wonderful day full of all the usual eating, laughing and football. Camden is at an age where he is so hilarious and says the funniest things. It's such a fun time.

Last night we celebrated both Jon and Camden's birthdays a little early while we were all together. Jon got a birthday pie (pecan) with candles, and Camden got a very delicious chocolate cake. Though when told to "blow", he blew his nose instead of his mouth. Easy mistake when you're 2.

Both boys had fun opening their presents, though there was a little more screaming and jumping up and down on Camden's part. Poor Jon is faced with sharing his birthday with our favorite little boy, but he proved himself very selfless and gracious and willing to share the spotlight. Plus he got pecan pie!

Fun time had by all! Though we wanted Camden to wait until the morning to open one of his games that was going to take quite some time to set up, so we snuck it away when he was distracted by something else. It brought a few of us to laugh to the point of tears when he kept turning around looking for that other box, seemingly saying to himself "but I know there was another one!! It was right there a minute ago...!" His little 2 year old memory is pretty good, we had to admit.

And it's not until right now as I'm posting pictures that I realize we didn't even take one of the birthday boys together. Heck, we didn't even take one of Jon.... At least I have his actual birthday to make up for it in a couple weeks.

Our Boys

2006-11-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

Since we don't have kids, our worlds revolve around the dogs. Seems they've been extra-entertaining lately. Which could also translate to higher maintenance. Sarge still has the occasional accident in the house and the times he does prove to have no logic, so we've almost stopped trying to figure it out. We endured a bit of drama this week with trying to find Wylee a new bed. With new couches arriving on Saturday, sleeping on the couch is no longer an option for the boys - even if it was never an option to begin with, it's out of the question now. Wylee's second favorite spot is UNDER Sarge's bed, which leaves Sarge no other logical option (according to him) but the couch... and round and round we go... Never did I think buying a dog a bed would be such an ordeal. The only thing I can compare it to is the story my stepdad tells of taking his son to go buy a new "wubby" (blanket), where they had to "test" each and every blanket based on how it felt and fit in his tiny hand. The same goes for Wylee and how he determines comfort and fit. We've tried 3 and failed miserably each time. Though we have gotten some good laughs with each attempt watching him try to squeeze himself into a bed we thought was plenty big as we stood in the aisle discussing the pros and cons. For full disclosure, I must say that we might have found a few beds Wylee would have found completely suitable, but they did not pass the Jon and Holly test of ugliness. The saga continues.... Included in the slideshow below are a couple of shots of Wylee trying to act comfortable in a bed we chose. Luckily for Wylee, we've saved the receipt and it is being returned.... We've also snapped a few of Sarge's alternative choices for sleeping spots. And, just because, we had a little fun with the pups today and got a good snapshot of Cooper's ears flipped over. It was hilarious at the time, and the picture still makes me laugh. If I could get Wylee to sit still enough for me to get a good shot of him, I'd post one of his ears, too. One day...

Our Boys' Slideshow

2006-11-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

Ornamental

2006-11-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

I have an ornament party I'm going to on Sunday night. Everyone must make 15 ornaments and they must be handmade. I am very proud of myself that I used no kit or pre-made anything. And that the idea came completely from my mostly uncreative brain. And I think they're pretty cute!!

Bingo Was His Name-o

2006-11-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

I played bingo for the first time last weekend. I didn't win anything, but we had fun with the dobber and the dogs.

2006-11-16T21:59:00.000-08:00

Midweek madness

This week has been a rough one for us all. I've been filling in for someone who's on unexpected medical leave indefinitely, working lots of overtime (yay, extra cash - boo, super tired). I'm spent and super stressed trying to get through each day with little direction on what to do for her job. Next Friday in my department is known as "Golden Friday" with the biggest shopping day of the year for Retail. Lots of activities and craziness going on, so no rest in my future.

Jon's work has slowed down a little and he was granted his 3-month raise. He's doing well there still, yet looking ahead to what's next. We have my Holiday Gala to look forward to next weekend at Red Rock. We always love going there and I got my dress on sale last weekend (gotta love 75% off!) so that is something fun to look forward to.

We thought Sarge was making progress, but he regressed one day this week, leaving me TWO surprises mid-day. Still trying to figure out what it is that's making him use the living room as his personal toilet but haven't gotten very far. Just lavishing cookies on the both of them when they go outside. Frustrating, to say the least.

Next week is Thanksgiving and we both have to work every day but Thursday. But Kevin, Wendy and Camden are coming in on Tuesday (yay!). I wish I could be off at least one day so I could spend more time... we'll see! Not planning on baking too much this year (yet!), but we'll be celebrating Jon and Camden's birthday Wednesday night so that will be nice. We may try to squeeze in the Switchfoot show after Camden goes to bed but I think we'll have to play that by ear. It would be nice to see Drew again, so I'm sure we'll make it down there at some point.

Life seems crazy these days and will only get crazier with the holidays, I think. I'm considering pulling out the decorations this weekend but I'm not sure I can stand them for 5+ weeks. Last year I was ready to put everything away the day after Christmas. I looooooove Christmas. But I love having my house put back together, too.

'til next time!

2006-11-12T20:50:00.000-08:00

Cars, Jars, and National Parks

I'm a little behind in updating this blog, so I'm going to give a quick recap. I had every intention of updating last weekend after our couple of days of fun. But life has kind of gotten in the way this week.

Last Friday night I raced home from work, took care of the pups, then raced down to meet Jon at work so we could zoom over to Mandalay Bay to catch Jars of Clay at the House of Blues. I had purchased the tix a few months ago because they were cheap and they're a band we really like. It was a good show and great music. And overall a great time just to get out and do something different.

Saturday morning we woke up early, loaded up the pups and some roadtrip snacks, and began the drive up to Zion National Park. It was a beautiful drive and we enjoyed making our way up there. It's an incredible place, and we are looking forward to going back. We took a few wrong turns and ended up taking "the long way" there, but now we know for next time and hopefully we'll get to spend a little bit more time. I became a little "car crazy" by the end of the day. The dogs had a blast taking a dip in the river, sticking their noses in gopher holes, and getting stickers in their feet-- (okay, so maybe that last part wasn't so fun) and were completely exhausted for the drive home.

As for "cars", Jon and I went to the SEMA show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It's a HUGE trade show of car stuff. Everything you could ever want. Jon and I both took the morning off work and went downt here and walked around for a couple hours. I mostly followed and watched Jon look around and drool over all the fun stuff. I did enjoy seeing the new Civic Jon has told me about. It's pretty cute.

All in all, a great couple of days. It was a sad ending with the news of Lucy, but each day gets easier. It's been a week now and we still miss her like crazy.

2006-11-05T21:26:00.000-08:00

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds....

Little Lucy has finally been relieved of her pain. She has been suffering quietly for who knows how long, and today she finally feels pain-free for the first time in a long time. She has always been "the good dog" and wants nothing more than a warm lap and all the affection you can spare. She's a very brave little pup and has aged twice her years the last two weeks. To say it was a hard goodbye this morning is an understatement. She will be missed for a very long time and it will be a hard adjustment without her around. Sweet, sweet girl.

2006-10-29T17:25:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....

And another day with nothing too exciting to report. Jon has been diligently working on his assignments for his 2nd class. It's a lot of work, but will be so worth it in the end. And he's doing such a great job on his work--despite how boring the class and material is. I'm very proud of him.

Last week Wendy and Camden were in town. I was fortunate enough to take a day off of work to spend with them. Unfortunately, our big outing of the day was the pumpkin patch and it turned out to be a bummer. It was way too windy, so the rides were a no-go. In fact, they shut the place down as we left. But we had a great couple of days as always. And, as always, Auntie Holly took tons and tons of pics. Camden is getting the hang of this "melting Auntie's heart" thing just by saying my name... "An-tee Howwy" Too precious. Every time I see him, I'm amazed at how much he can talk and what he has to say. He even told me a story. It went something like this.... "One day. Window. Trash truck. Backwards. beep, beep, beep..." Such a great story. (He's obsessed with trash trucks). And the kid is in love with "Jon Jon". Proof being that the first night Jon walked in, Camden looked at him for a second, then shouted "JON JON!!". Mind you, he had had no encouragement from any of us about who he was, and he hadn't seen Jon Jon since the wedding, 3 1/2 months prior. Camden also couldn't wait to show Jon Jon his new Halloween costume, and even raced to put his (very hot) boxing gloves on. Too cute, that kid.

Sarge had a rough week with using the living room carpet as a toilet this week. We're pretty sure he was upset with us about something, so we've tried very hard to make him a happy pup again. So far, so good. Wylee's eyes are still a bit weepy, but I think they're getting better. I'm trying my best to keep the place vacuumed and dusted in order to aleviate everyone's allergies a little bit. Today was an exciting day of deep cleaning one of the sofas that Sarge has taken to. After today, no more Sarge on the sofa.... even though he's not allowed in the first place. We've walked in on him on more than a few occasions curled up on it. Oh well... he's hairy. It gets EVERYWHERE. I'm trying to accept it and move on.....

It might take a little more time.

We've got our four pumpkins, (2 big, 2 small) but nothing more in the way of Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations. I'll try to work on that. Almost time to bring out my cinnamon and spice candles! yay! I love Christmas time.

I haven't been experimenting with new recipes like I should be as a newlywed. Most times it seems as though cooking with all the fancy things is just more expensive than buying it pre-made. I'm still trying to fall in love with cooking... That will also take a little more time. But Jon hasn't had too many complaints with anything yet. As long as I keep the cupboard stocked with the generic sugar-free fruit punch powder mix that he says reminds him of the Vacation Bible School punch, then he's a happy camper. So easy to please. Lucky me!

I suppose our only bit of excitement is Folicle News. Due to an incident with his clippers dying, Jon bic'd his head. I hadn't seen him like that in a long time, so it was quite a surprise. And me, being a dutiful wife wanting to please my husband, dyed my hair blonde after he told me he liked me better that way. Worked out nicely with my sister being in town since she is the only person I will let touch my hair--much to her dismay, I'm sure. She did a fabulous job as always and thankfully Jon is very happy to have me blonde again.

Til next time!

2006-10-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

2006-10-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

We're up!

Welcome to our webpage! I promise to try to keep this updated as often as there is something interesting to post... and sometimes when there's nothing interesting to report.

Well, we've been married 2 1/2 months now. I've officially changed my name to "Hanes" everywhere from my Drivers License to my paychecks. Somehow doesn't seem fair that the women have to do all the work in changing their name. I think I support the "both sides changing their names" idea more and more. But it's all worth it!

Our entertainment at home is the dogs. Our "children". Whether it's Wylee constantly trying to get on our laps, or us vying to be the one Sarge chooses to give a lick to (it's always Jon). There's never really a dull moment. Our latest enjoyment has been watching the two dogs figure out ways to distract the other away from the bone chew toy. Sarge even plays "fetch" just to get Wylee to run after something, so then he can turn around and lay down with the bone while Wylee is still chasing the ball or whatever it is... The oddest part of this ritual is that the plastic bone has been laying around the house for months and months practically untouched. Yet now it's become hot property and the thing both of them want most of all. Very strange. Hope you enjoy the slideshow above!

Last night we had a great birthday dinner to celebrate my 28th. Friends, family and great food. What else do you need??? Went home with big stomach aches.