Christmas Cheers and Reindeer Ears

The Crazy Christmas Bachelorette Party was everything we hoped it would be: festive, silly, fun and filled with plenty of Santas and reindeer!

The five hostesses with the Mostesses met up at the Sheraton in downtown Austin to get to work. We each had our areas of expertise to get ready, and the clock was ticking!


Morgan, Sadie, Me, Ashley, Meredith


Sadie, Entertainment Chair for the evening, had collected photos and video clips from all the guests that she made into an amazing video. We played it for everyone at the party and let's just say it was a hit. My sides were hurting from laughing so hard! Sadie really put in some sweat and tears into this project, which I know the Bride (and everyone!) loved.



Yours truly took on decorations. Here I model some tinsel and admire my string o' panties, which only fell about three times. Success!



Bridesmaid and friend of the bride Morgan was in charge of costumes. A self-proclaimed craft queen, Morgan really ran with the costumes. Her theme? Christmas tacky. Check out those bows on the shirt our bride wore (most of) that night! And that veil? Complete with poinsettas and Christmas garland, it stood out wherever we were, as well as got tangled up in Royale's hair... many times. Morgan also brought reindeer ears for the all the guests, which guarenteed we could always find each other, no matter how crowded the bar (or elevator) was.



Ashley was in chrage of beveraves. Christmas cocktails and pink champagne all around! Also please note my excellent use of Christmas lights in the bar area (decoration shout out, what what!).



Meredith made sure everyone got there that night with her adorable invites. We hung one on the door of the hotel room, procliaming to everyone on our floor that yes, we are having a bachelorette party in here and we dare you to call and complain about us being too loud!

The evening was a total success. When dressed as festive as this bunch was, would you expect anything less?!

Bridal Boot Camp - Ahh!

Today is a big day for two (very different) reasons:

1. Today is my birthday! This year is the third birthday I've spent with Mark and the first one when I didn't wish for a diamond ring when I blew out my candles ;) Instead, I wished to survive these next 8 months and enjoy the wedding planning/engagement process. I already feel like we're taking this time for granted and not having as much fun as we should be. Aren't you supposed to be living on Cloud 9 during your engagement, enjoying all the bride-to-be excitement and attention? Walking around with a sparkle in your eye and a glow on your face? I feel totally normal, so I'm wishing to get back into the Engaged Gal Bliss and not take this time for granted. I know that we're about to get swept up in the holidays, and then before we know it we'll be in January and six months away from the big day!

2. I survived my first day of Bridal Boot Camp! Yesterday was Day One of the five week class. I arrived somewhat terrified, and then one hour later I left knowing this is just what I need to kick my booty back into shape and get me ready for a wedding dress (and a couple bridesmaid dresses in the meantime!). I ran more last night than I have in a reallllly long time. We did sprints across the baseball field and back… like four times. And most of the people in this class are fast. Like really fast. I had to really push myself so that I didn’t end up being the last person to cross back over the line. Plus, we did tons of strength training and arm work. Strapless dresses, here I come!
We are going out to celebrate my big 2-7 tonight, and I get to choose where! I already know where I want to go… pizza at Fireside Pies! But don’t tell my boot camp instructor. We are supposed to turn in food journals every week and I’m pretty sure stuffing your face full of pizza and wine is not on the approved menu. Shh.

From Flab to Fab, Part 1

We had a slight change of plans this past weekend. Much to our dismay, our lake trip was canceled Friday morning due to an emergency in the family who owns the house we were heading to (all is well now). So here we were, me, Mark and his brother (fresh off the plane from across the ocean) with five days and zero plans. Everything turned out great and we had a nice holiday weekend, just not on a boat in the sun like we had originally planned. We saw fireworks twice, grilled out, spent about 12 hours at the pool, ate way too much, had ice cream EVERY day, went to three different malls, watched a lot of TV and overall had a fun and relaxing time together. Tomorrow I am still off work, so I'm meeting up with my sister to wrap up the long weekend in style. We might hit up the bridesmaid dress quest again, if we are so inclined. Or, we might just sit at the pool all day... again :)

Now, on to my newest mission: Flab to Fab. This is a phrase that is all over the wedding blogs, describing brides' quest to lose weight and tone up for their weddings. Because let's be honest, what is better motivation than you in a big white dress and photos that you'll look back on for your entire lifetime to drop a few pounds? I know I've been telling myself for years that the day I got engaged was going to be the day I signed up for a personal trainer and really hit the gym hardcore. Yet, It's been two months since I've got the ring on my finger and I'm still just skating along with my usual half-ass working out and eating terribly. My excuse? The wedding is still so very far away. But honestly, why should I not turn it up now and get myself in gear for a year of celebrating, showers, parties and general engagement bliss? I've got a lot of things between now and the big day that I am going to use for short term goals to work towards, starting with our engagement party on August 15. After that, we've got our engagement photos in October, the holiday (why not be super skinny for the holidays, right?!), I'll be a bridesmaid in February, we've got another wedding in May and then BAM it will be crunch time for my turn in the long dress and veil.

First short term goal - the engagement party in six weeks. I made myself a nice little calendar to check the days off and admire my sure to be success as I do P90X, the 30 Day Shred, run on the treadmill, lift weights in front of the television, walk during my lunch break, ANYTHING. I'll post update here to hold myself accountable. Feel free to pester me and post negative comments when I blog about eating ice cream every day or sitting around watching Say Yes to the Dress reruns for the fifth time, instead of heading to spin class on Thursday evenings.

A Long Weekend

Happy Post Easter! How excited am I that I am still off from work? I cannot argue with a four day weekend. Today I will be watching Whose Wedding is it Anyways, all day. And eating the entire contents of my Easter basket. Here's a little peek into my holiday:

I was off Friday, so I met Mark for lunch at Houlihan's. Yum. It is my favorite. This was the first time I'd ever eaten lunch there. They have this deal, like a pizza place - get your lunch in 15 minutes or it's free. They actually put a little digital timer on your table and start it after you place your order, so you can make sure they don't go over. We had a Free Entree coupon from Mark's birthday (join their email list), so we got out of there for about $15 and we even ordered TWO desserts! How I love you, Houlihan's.

Friday evening I met the girls for Happy Hour at Gloria's. It was just warm enough to sit out on the patio. Always a good time.

Saturday afternoon Kelly and I drove up to Muenster. When we got there we hit up the shops and I got two adorable new shirts (love shopping with Mom!). Both are tie dyed. I am all over this tie dye trend. I LOVE it. Then we went back home to start Bake Fest 2009. We made: Sundae Pie, brownie bites, cut out cookies (butterflies and Easter eggs), pumpkin bread and cupcakes. I do not know why we felt the need to bake so much. It's not like there was anyone else but us there to eat it all!? And, to make it worse, once we were knee deep in these projects (because yes, we did them all simultaneously.. you should have seen the line for the oven), Mom realizes that some sort of strawberry shortcake spilled in the fridge and had dripped all the way down. Everywhere. You know that gooey jarred strawberry stuff that you put on cakes? It had spilt on the top shelf and run down everything, collecting in the two drawers at the bottom of the fridge. Sticky. Thick. Red. Messy. On everything. Every salad dressing. Every bagged salad. Every vegetable. Every fruit. Every leftover. Everything. So we cleaned out the entire refrigerator as well.

Mark came up Saturday night in time for dinner. He brought his two dogs and they wore out the puppies. All four slept in the garage that night, during one of the loudest thunderstorms I've ever heard. My bed shook from the thunder. The family watched Marley and Me that night. We all cried and hugged our pups an extra time that night. I also brought Gus up for the trip because I have been having major guilt issues about leaving him alone at home so much. He usually does really well at my parents' place. This time he was on freak out mode and walked around the entire time whining. Cat whining is quite annoying.

We all made it to Easter mass Sunday morning, dressed in our Spring time best. Even though it was cold and overcast, we forged on. We crammed in the packed church and sat behind a family with four little girls. They were a handful to say the least. The youngest fell and smacked her head on the wood pew, twice. There were a lot of tears during that service.

The Bunny came when we got home. I got the Ped Egg (so appropriate for Easter, yes?) and Mark got A Barrel of Monkey's. Random? We feasted on pot roast before hitting the road back home. I rode up with my sister so I could ride back with Mark. We didn't think this plan through. Because with his two dogs, my cat and the two of us.. it's not really physically possible in his car. So we rode back with Gus in his carrier on my lap. At least it was a short-ish drive!

Last night I watched The Sound of Music on TV. Perfect ending to an Easter weekend! Mark had NEVER seen this movie. He was quickly annoyed, as I knew every single song. His roommate was also amused and laughed out loud at me. Many times.

This morning, I knew I had to take my car in because it's been leaking something all week. The thought of having to spend more money on my car, 5 days after the new tires, was making my physically ill. I got an oil change at Wal Mart last week. We checked the oil level this morning and it was basically completely empty. So I was ready to fight with Wal Mart. Demand that they fix whatever they did to cause this to happen and fill me back up with oil. I went in with my game face on. They took a quick look at it, told me the lid of plug or stopper or whatever hadn't been tightened all the way. Took all the blame. Fixed it up for me and REFUNDED me for the oil change. They even refunded the flat fix they did as well (which we know did no good). It was icing on the cake. They were so apologetic and told me to drive safe as I left. I love when people are nice. It made my day. So I took the $50 they gave me back and got my car inspected down the road. Please let that be the end of all things car for the year.

Now I'm hanging out at home, enjoying the end of this long break. I've got some fun things in store this week. Mark's test is two weeks away, and then we'll get our old, stress-free lives back. Can't wait.

Spring

Happy first day of spring! It's snowing in NYC, which I am watching on the Today show. Today is my last day of Spring Break. Where did this week go?? It feels like it should be Tuesday, not Friday already. Holidays always go so quick.

I spent the first part of this week in Ballinger (think small town, west Texas) where my grandparents live. My mom, aunt and sisters all rode together for this girls weekend. We also brought the two puppies, who, after a first rough hour in the car (puppies do get carsick, in case you were wondering), were wonderful travelers. These little pups are my new best friends. They are so smart and so cute and just smile up at you whenever you play with them. I love puppies.

There's not a whole lot to do in Ballinger. We tried to hit up the town and its shops on Monday, but virtually everything was closed. We made a trip to the "big city" San Angelo on Tuesday and hit up the mall. The entire mall is the size of Macy's at the Galleria, but it gave us something to do. My aunt bought my sisters and I some adorable purses on the sale wrack at JCP and mom got us all new undies at the 7/$25 VS sale. So we didn't make out too bad. We had a pajama party at grandma's house one night, played some Cranium, and took 4 mile walks every morning. I even managed to hold out on the immense amount of cookies and cupcakes that Grandma always provides. One of each a day isn't too bad, eh?

Now that I'm back home, its laundry and unpacking. Joy. I sent most of yesterday shopping for Mark's birthday next week. Then I actually wrapped everything, so i am all set. Today is my dad's birthday. Mom called last night with dinner plans to celebrate Dad and Mark, so we are heading up to Whitesboro tonight (?) to meet them for dinner at some Longhorn restaurant my sister found on the highway. Then there's not much in store for this weekend's plans. Mark wants to study all day every day, so I'm mostly on my own.

I going to be a rock star today and get in an early morning run. The new plan is 5 cardios per week and 2 strength training sessions. I'm on week 2 and so far, so good. It does help to not have work get in the way of these plans, so next week will get tough again. But the nice weather we've been having makes it impossible to not want to get outside and do something!

Ok. This concludes this random post. It's good to be home. The laundry is calling.

I Love You, Presidents

Happy President's Day! In honor of George and Abe, this post is coming at you straight from home, on the couch, in front of the TV. Nice. I feel like I have a lot to celebrate today, besides the day off from work.

In honor of Valentine's Day and me having two days off from work this weekend, I decided to throw eating healthy right out the window. I didn't take one day off like I did for the Super Bowl, of just the weekend off like I did for my sister's birthday. I took the whole week off. Mark and I basically celebrated V-Day from Thursday night until this morning, so I went ahead and started early this week, eating bad from the get go. We had our fancy dinner on Thursday and had (the very best ever) guacamole as an appetizer, and then I ordered a GREAT BIG burger with fries AND potato cakes. I had a beer. Yum. We got Paciugo for dessert and ordered the large size cup with four different flavors. For breakfast I had TWO grands biscuits, bacon, sausage and eggs. I think I must have eaten no less than 20 Hershey's miniatures this weekend. And that's a low guess. On Valentine's Day, we had our traditional romantic dinner at the McDonald's drive-thru and got (more) ice cream. Last night, we ordered pizza and i had FOUR slices. It was a fantastic weekend, food wise. I never let myself feel guilty about any of it.

This morning I knew I had to weigh myself to log my weekly weight. I debated skipping it altogether, but the online program I am using kept reminding me that today is my weight day. So I stepped on the scale this morning and cringed, more than usual.

Something is completely backwards. I lost two pounds. How?? I have no idea. Apparently burgers and pizza and chocolate, with bare minimal exercise works for me. Hmm. This also makes 5 pounds lost so far in '09. Woo! Slow and steady. Summer, here I come. Bring on the bathing suits.

One of my favorite blogs, yourwishcake, often posts about working out and and being healthy and staying motivated. plus, she's as cute as can be and makes all kinds of fun crafts. Following the lead from her blog, I am setting a goal for myself this week (just one, not a whole list! I gotta make it somewhat attainable) to run 5 miles. In 5 days. So that's a mere one mile a day for 5 days. The only catch is I have to run these miles, not walk them, like I tend to do these days. I figure if Sara can run 2.25 EVERY DAY, I can manage 5 short spurts this week.

Oh and in case you were wondering, Mark was pretty adorable with his Valentine's plans. He mailed me a home made card inviting me to dinner with him and since I never check my mail, it sat in my box for almost a week, while he sweated it out. I finally got it the day before the invite's date, much to his relief. He was brainstorming ways to get me to check my mail without giving it away. This is our third V-Day together and our third time to celebrate our own "Fake Valentine's Day," which basically means we don't go out on the 14th, but skip the crowds and preset menus and opt for a happy meal and ice cream cone on the real day and a nice dinner out sometime else that week. It means two days to celebrate and twice the fun.

Well, I'm off to the outlet malls. Let's hope for some good sales. Big plans this weekend as well - an out of town wedding and a trip to Austin early next week for a work conference. I'm looking forward to seeing friends and celebrating some pretty big news with them :) I'm also looking forward to wearing my new black dress to the wedding. I got it at Zara on the clearance rack for 14.99, marked down from $129.99. Dear lord. You can't pass up something like that!

Up With the Chickens

I woke up at 6:00 today, thanks to my early rising cat who wouldn't keep quiet in the bedroom I share with my sister at my parents' house. I finally got out of bed around 6:45 and dragged him downstairs with me so Kelly could at least sleep in peace. We watched the sun come up and now I'm watching the Today show with the volume down so low I'm having to read their lips to understand the stories. I had two Christmas cookies for breakfast and am browsing all the online sales. Does anyone have short legs? If so, these pants at JCrew are a steal of a deal. I wish they had my size.

Yesterday I played Santa's elf and wrapped close to 30 presents for my mom. It must have taken me 4 hours. Wrapping takes forever! I had to hand-make bows for them out of craft ribbon, which at first was really hard and ended up being pretty fun. I got really good at making those bows. I also baked a batch of Neiman Marcus Cookies. Have you heard the story about their recipe? They are a bit of work to make. The recipe calls for blended oats, chopped nuts and a shredded Hershey's bar. We didn't have a candy bar, so I used a handful of Hershey's kisses and and a cheese grater. It took some time, but the cookies are delicious. Especially for breakfast.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Phlem-y

Saturday morning, one day into my official Christmas vacation, I woke up with the World's Worst Cold. My throat felt like I was swallowing knives and my entire face was consumed by gigantic, swollen sinuses. Mark and I were headed to Tulsa that day for a graduation/birthday party for a college friends of his, and I had strict orders to be at his house ready to hit the road by 8:30 AM. So I stopped by CVS and spent close to $30 on Tylenol Cold, Chloroseptic throat spray and cough drops. Fast forward to that evening and I am all but dying in a house of 20 people who are trying to re-live their college days. Some of them were still awake (and drinking) at 5:00 AM. Oh geez.

Sunday morning we hit the road (in 14 degree weather!) and drive back to Dallas and head straight for the Care Now. I wait about an hour and see a bitchy lady who is angry that she went to medical school, only to work at a primary care unit that is open on Sundays and four days before Christmas. She assaults me with the Strep Throat Kit (seriously. she held the swab stick like she was in a fencing match and shoved it into my throat as if she was jousting with a knight) and runs some tests. Outcome? It's not strep. Just the World's Worst Cold that is draining into my throat and growing bacteria. She writes me a prescription for penicillin (yes!) and tells me to take Mucinex with it. Just like on the commercials where the little green glob families are living inside of you? Yup. That's what's going on in my throat. I've been on the drugs for a day and a half now. Let's just say it's a lot of nose blowing. As long as I'm feeling better by Christmas, I'll deal with it. Everyone who steps foot into my parents' house is immediately handed a Vitamin C tablet.

So I'm up in Muenster now. It's been almost two days and I haven't showered yet. I love being here and having nothing to do. Nothing but rest and get over the WWC and listen to Christmas carols on iTunes. We ate dinner tonight at the kitchen table with the entire family for the first time in who knows how long! Sure it was KFC chicken in a bucket, but it felt like home to me.

Oh Christmas Tree

Here's a shot of my tree. You can't really see him, but there's a little cat curled up underneath it. It is his new favorite place to sleep!

Christmas Vacay 2K8

As of twelve noon today I am officially on CHRISTMAS VACATION! The joys of working for a school. I was just as excited as the little kids today, counting down the minutes on the clock. We are getting new carpet in our offices over the holidays, so we had to pack up all our desks and filing cabinets and then move our computers, printer, scanners, etc. etc. etc into the chapel. It was more of a chore than I thought it was going to be. I hit up the Galleria on the way home, before it got too busy this evening. I grabbed a gift for Mark's parents - these adorable luggage tags at Brookstone -- that I thought would be fun for when we travel to China. I think they will make some good stocking stuffers. I still have two more gifts to buy, but they require a trip to Wal Mart, which will likely be INSANE this weekend. I might go first thing tomorrow morning, and hopefully beat the rush.

I put my tree up in my apartment the weekend after Thanksgiving. I love how the Christmas lights make everything feel so cozy. When I leave my place for a few hours, I always leave the tree plugged in so I can see it glowing right when I walk in the door. But then I always have this fear that it's going to catch fire while I'm gone and the complex will burn down and all my stuff will be destroyed. It's a fake tree. I am probably overreacting a tad.

It has been so foggy here all week. Yesterday they predicted "freezing fog," but it turned out it was too warm in the morning. I kind of wanted too see what this freezing fog was though. Is it like driving into sheets of ice? Instead we have mildly warm, slightly brown fog that's lingering everywhere. It's not too pretty. Although I can't help but think that the vampires are out and about in this weather. Twilight, anyone?

Another Year

I am 26 now. Past the middle of my 20's. On the side closer to 30. Yikes. Where did the year go? I celebrated for two weeks straight, first in Austin, and then in South Bend. This weekend I am looking forward to watching the games from the comfort of the couch!

I've got a date tonight with Laura -- Chick-fil-a and a Nicholas Sparks flick. Sounds like the perfect ending to a birthday celebration.

Labor Day

Labor Day weekend was spent in Bartlesville, visiting Mark's parents. On Monday morning we made a quick trip to Stillwater, to surprise my sister. I called her boyfriend and coordinated with him so that me, Mark and his dogs showed up at her door for lunch. After some OK Mexican Food, we took all the dogs swimming at the lake. Mark's two labs learned to swim here when he was in college, and we were going to teach Wes's dog Finn to do the same.

Turns out Finn is a big baby! He can do all sorts of tricks, but he was too scared to ever jump off the dock into the water. He would wade in until he couldn't touch anymore, then he would turn back. After an hour of trying, we finally gave up! I guess he's just not meant to swim!

Take a look at the video I made that sums up our afternoon at the lake.


Swimming Lessons from Amanda on Vimeo.

Birthday Girls

Maggie and Jordan's Birthday from Amanda on Vimeo.

Maggie and Jordan turn seven today! Here they are eating their birthday cupcakes last night.. and showing off their excellent "stay" skills!

Celebrating Moms

Happy Mother's Day to all!  Today I called my mom, emailed my godmother and hung out with this little guy, who likes to call me Mom.

This pic was taken with the camera in my laptop, before we went to bed.  Gus curls up with me while I'm reading or watching TV before bed, then he leaves me for the closet, where he sleeps most of the night.  I think he thinks its his own bedroom.  I hope everyone had some quality Mom Time today!

May Day

How did it get to be May already? Working for a school, I still function on semester calendars, so I can't believe the "year" is almost over. I couldn't be more excited for summer to get here though. Here's a few things I have to look forward to:

1. Four day work weeks. Starting June 2, I get every Friday off during the entire summer. This could be the number one perk of my job. What do I plan to do with all those 3 day weekends you ask? Keep reading.

2. "Working" from the beach. My co-worker and I stated to get spring fever a month or so ago, so we searched for some conferences we could attend this summer in fun vacation spots. Well we just found out yesterday that our trip to Sarasota, Florida for a 3 day conference on fundraising was approved! We're working on going down a few days early to extend the trip and maybe even bring the boys along. Perhaps even a day trip to Orlando and.... Disney World? It's in the works.

3. Wedding fun. What would the summer be without some wedding festivities? I've got an engagement party at the end of May and a Bachelorette Weekend at a bride-to-be's lake house in June. Both should be fun times with friends I don't get to see that often.

4. More beach time. My parents have rented a beach house for a week in late June/early July. Hmm. Who's going to have the best tan ever this summer?

5. High School Graduation, Small Town Edition. My little sister is graduating Memorial Day weekend and my parents are planning a party to which they are inviting "half of Muenster." There's even guaranteed live music and all you can drink keg beer.

6. July 4th at the Lake. We're heading back to Lake Ten Killer this summer to spend the Fourth with Mark's college friends and their new boat/lots of fireworks. Once again, hellllo tan.

So that should get me through mid-July. Then perhaps some trips to visit all these girls who have moved away? I've been watching flights.. no steal-of-a-deals yet, but I'm keeping my eyes on the Ding Fares :)

Holidays = Exemption from Lent

Lent started last week and this year I decided to take sacrafice to the ultimate extreme and give up desserts and cokes, and pledge to run 40 miles during the 40 days of the season. Really, this is a very selfish lenten promise. Yes it is hard to not eat the yummy treats at work all day and no I don't want to go home and run 3 miles in the afternoon, but I'm trying my darndest. However, I am not doing it so much as a way to suffer with JC during Lent, but to get into shape before the summer rolls around!

Forgive me, Lord.

So for the last seven days, I haven't had my usual Diet Dr. Pepper first thing when I get into work and I haven't once eaten a mini Mr. Goodbar or a Starburst 2 pack. I haven eaten some mints though, becase I decided they don't count as candy. They freshen my breath!

However, I have also decided that holidays don't count as Lent Days of Obligation. So I did eat a piece of cake on my boss's birthday (it would have been rude not to!) and I did eat one little lemmon bar at my friend's engagement party this weekend. Oh and Movie Club Night, totally a holiday, so it was okay that I ate THREE heart cookies. And today, well it's Valentine's Day. You better believe I will be eating every cupcake, cookie and candy heart that comes into my office all day. And I'm making a cake for Mark and me to eat tonight. Right after our romantic dinner from McDonald's! You might think that I am getting jipped with a happy meal for Valentine's Day dinner. No way. It was totally my idea to get fast food tonight. We'll miss the crowded restaurants and overpriced dinners and instead enjoy a hamburger and fries from the comfort of home while watching all the episodes of John and Kate Plus Eight that we have recorded. I can't wait! Besides, we both love us some McD's and need a special occasion to eat it, other than our usual reason, which is when we are hungover.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Duece Duece Birthday

My sister turned 22 this past Sunday, so Mark and I went to Stillwater to stay with her for the weekend. We had the best time! We celebrated with Miss USA, birthday bowling and karaoke. On Sunday, we met my parents, sister and grandma in Oklahoma City for lunch with the whole family before heading back home. It was a great weekend. I was truly sad to leave Kelly on Sunday and start another week at work.

Birthday Girl!

All glammed up for some bowling

I can't wait until it's summer and we can be tan again..

Pack Your Kleenex

Last night Mark and I went to see I am Legend. Has anyone else seen it? I wanted to see Juno, but he was really pulling for Legend, so I gave in and off we went. I had heard that I am Legend is a little scary (try A LOT), but I was ready for that.

Now I've cried at movies before. I've teared up, maybe had a drop or two run down my face, but nothing like this time. From about the midpoint on, I was sobbing. OMG, it was so sad. I felt like an idiot, especially since there were maybe 6 people total in the theatre, including us, but I just could not stop the tears! I was having to hold in the actual sobs so that people wouldn't hear me weeping. I was wearing a white fleece sweatshirt and kept wiping my eyes on my sleeves and I just knew that I was going to walk out of there with eye makeup all over me. Please tell me someone out there has seen it. If not, go see it. Even though I will never ever watch it again (because its scary and sad), I do highly recommend it. Will Smith is amazing. And I fell in love with Sam.

On a happier note, I am trying to organize and back up all the pictures on my laptop. There are hundreds and its pretty much causing my computer to nearly crash every time I try to use it. The error message "Not enough memory on Drive C" never sounds good. Here are some recent pictures that I finally got off my camera from the holiday.

The kiddos before we went to see "A Christmas Carol"

Why hello there.

Number 1 and Number 2, the Amanda's (flashing our gang sign)

Wrapping Up

Last night I finally took my Christmas tree down, so the holidays are officially over. My apartment now looks very empty and sad, to the point that I'm wondering how I lived with such a large empty hole in my dining area before. See, I don't have an actual table on which to eat food, so my "dining room" was the perfect spot for a Christmas tree. Now that said tree is gone, I've got a gaping stretch of carpet that serves no purpose other than to provide Gus with some extra running space. Maybe I should get a table, or at least a bookshelf....

I found the following on another blog and stole it. It's a good way to recap the year and I thought it would allow me to start fresh in 2008. Feel free to steal it from me now. In fact, I hope you do.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Went to Vegas. Adopted a cat. Started a blog. Told a boy I loved him and really, truly, genuinely, 100% meant it for sure.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I resolved to do three things last year: exercise more, save money and clean out my closet/throw out the clothes I don’t wear anymore. The latter I completed within the first four days of 2007, although I don’t think I did a very good job. My closet is still jam packed with clothes I don’t wear, probably won’t wear, but cannot throw out for fear that someday I will need them. Oh that Hawaiian print spaghetti strap dress that I bought when I was 18 and no longer fit in? I might get back to that size! There might be a luau to go to! I must keep it!

I did fairly well on the working out this year. I can now run for a decent amount of time (okay, 20 minutes) before getting totally winded. I’m pretty good at the kickboxing class at the gym and sometime I’ll do some lunges across my apartment before bed. And I did actually start putting some money into my savings account every month. It’s not much and my total saved would be at a much higher level if I hadn’t had to dive into it for a little trip to Vegas, but hey. How often does my best friend have her Bachelorette Party in Sin City?

I will make new resolutions this year. I just haven’t put a lot of thought into it yet. Maybe I’ll just do the same three again?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nooooo. I am finally used to my friends all tying the knot but when they start having babies. No. Not ready for that!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My uncle died this past June. It was one of the toughest weekends of my life. It still continues to leave a mark on my family that was especially felt through the holidays.

5. What countries did you visit?
None.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A wardrobe that reflects the fact that I graduated from college over two years ago. So that means no more sorority tshirt and jeans every day. This year I’m trying to dress like a grown up and throw out the 2002 Date Dash T’s. I plan to stock up on more casual clothes that don’t necessarily come from a football game or formal dance. Which means more shopping at Target and the Gap.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 4 - after much pressing from LJ, Mark and I had the DTR and then celebrated with lunch at McDonalds.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I’m proud of myself for losing some weight this year. I really don’t know how much, but I know that my clothes fit better and I feel great about myself. I used to be that girl who had never once stepped foot in a gym. If I can get my bootie in there and run on a treadmill, anyone can.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I don’t know if I really failed at anything, but I did have some slipups. Two times at work come to mind. I learned that everyone makes mistakes and that you just have to keep your head up, apologize only once and then get over it. Everyone else will have forgotten about it by the next day and so should you. Fix it, then move on!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope. I got the occasional cold and had to go see the doctor a handful of times, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I didn’t do a whole lot of buying for myself this year, unless you count two very snazzy bridesmaid dresses. However, I did have the best thing bought ­for me when Super Boyfriend took me to Nordstrom and let me pick out any jeans I wanted. It wasn’t even my birthday. I picked up some hot Seven's and my back side has never looked better.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Mary Beth! She took a bold step and was offered a job in the UK. In a few months she’s moving away to a place where she knows no one and where they drive on the wrong side of the road. I admire her strong desire to try anything and truly chase her dreams.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Is it lame to use Britney Spears here? She has gone so far down the drain that surely Morgan Ash doesn’t even look up to her anymore, right?

14. Where did most of your money go?
I was in two weddings this year. That’s two bridesmaid dresses, two engagement parties, way more than two bridal showers and two out of town bachelorette parties. Not jump in the car and drive to Austin, but “get on a plane and stay in a hotel for a long weekend” out of town. Don’t get me wrong though, those were some of the best times this year and I was honored to stand up for my friends on their big days.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My birthday. Christmas. New Year’s Eve. Going to Vegas with my best friends from college. Going to NYC with my best friends from high school. Watching two friends get married and celebrating with two others after they got engaged. Everyone coming up to Dallas for OU weekend. Having a real Valentine’s Day for the first time in a long time. Meredith’s wedding. Virginia’s wedding. The RRE 2K7. I had a lot to get excited about this year.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
“Cupid’s Chokehold” by Gym Class Heroes

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:? a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Happier and thinner, but also poorer. Oh well. Two out of three ain’t bad huh? And I’ll get back up to the richer phase. Just as soon as everyone is done getting married.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Corresponding. Phone calls, emails, letters, cards, anything. I let too much time pass between communicating with some of the most important people in my life. I know its easy to get caught up in what’s going on here and then I forget about my best friends scattered around the country, my sister in Stillwater or my brother in Portland. Too many times I said oh I’ll call her this weekend.. and then never got around to it.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Freaking out. I let too many things stress me out to the max, which often results in any combination of the following: tears, headaches, sheer anger, annoyance, silent treatments sleepless nights and heartache. This year I aspire to go with the flow and not sweat the small stuff nearly as much.

Also, I could have done with a little less of eating the candy at work. My place of employment must have an entire item line in our budget for candy to replenish the little bowls on everyone’s desk. Every few weeks, someone goes to Sam’s and comes back with dozens of the jumbo size bags of every miniature sized candy there is. It’s my biggest weakness during the work week.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas this year was spent in three different places. First, I had a “Fake Christmas” on the 20th with Mark at his house. The plan was to each exchange one gift before we went home to our respective parents’ houses for actual Christmas. But when I got to Mark’s house and saw that he had sixteen presents for me under the tree, he let me open four. From there, I was in Muenster from the 21st through Christmas with my family and grandparents. Mark came up to Muenster for a few days and we had Christmas # 2 with my family before he and I headed to Bartlesville on the 29th to have a belated holiday with his parents. Whew! That’s three different times of opening presents. It worked out really well.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Yes :)

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Friday Night Lights all the way. Even if it is more about murders and meth labs than high school football this year, I still can’t resist the coach’s witty remarks and QB1’s goofy grins.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hmm. Not that I can think of.

24. What was the best book you read?
I read a lot this year! I joined a book club at work and then a girlfriend started up our own book club with five other girls, so I’m usually reading at least two books a month. Some that I’ve really enjoyed this year are The Time Traveler’s Wife, My Sister’s Keepe,. Harry Potter 7, and The Pact. I want to start the year out by reading PS I Love You but the darn thing is sold out all over town! Seems I’m not the only one who wants to read the book before seeing the movie.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I didn’t exactly “discover” a lot of music this year. It’s more like I heard a song on the radio and started liking it, thus I illegally downloaded it on Limewire and then listened to it a hundred times. A group who I haven’t heard a lot of publicly but do like a lot is Secondhand Serenade. Check ‘em out.

26. What did you want and get?
A Nintendo Wii. Watch your inboxes for a Wii-vite. Just as soon as I get really good at all the games myself, I’ll invite everyone over for a friendly boxing match.

27. What did you want and not get?
An apartment where I don’t hear every step my neighbors take, every song they play on their stereo and every shower they ever take. And also Justin Timberlake tickets.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Superbad

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned the big 25 this year. On my birthday I was in Stillwater, OK watching the Longhorns make their usual comeback and beat OSU in the second half. This was a great birthday gift, even if I was with all of Mark’s college friends and the only UT fan of the weekend. I kept quiet about our victory and they more or less left me alone, since it was my birthday and all.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I could afford it, a nicer apartment. I live in a decent place with reasonable rent. But I think if I was living in some trendy high rise with stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors, I would be much more satisfied at the end of every day. I just have to keep telling myself that I won't live here forever and I just have to suffer through these renting an apartment days before I reach the blissful life of what's to come.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Swooping bangs, sparkly sunglasses, cute jeans and flip flops.

32. What kept you sane?
Mark. My friends. My family.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
JT. I tried and tried to get tickets to his concert. I watched ebay like a hawk the day before. It could be my biggest regret of this year, not coughing up the 75 bucks to go see him live.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
I’m sad to say that political issues do not typically “stir” me. But I'm working on watching all this election coverage!

35. Who did you miss?
My girls in Austin and Morgan in Houston. I just didn’t see enough of them and when I did, it was always for a too short weekend with too much already going on. My year was extremely busy and I had to spread myself thin to see everyone. I wish I could have spent more time with these great friends.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Early this year, Mark took me to Tulsa to meet his friends that I had heard so much about. I was more nervous about meeting them than I was about meeting his parents! Winning the friends over is vital and Mark has such a close-knit group of college friends that I was worried I would always be that new girlfriend who never really knew that they were talking about when they started laughing at all their old college stories. However, this group of people quickly became not just his friends, but my friends too. I love going up to visit them and spend weekends with the whole group who was so kindly welcomed and included me.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Take chances. Take every opportunity you’re given. If someone invites you to out to do something and you don't have other plans, do it. Keep in touch with those far away. Write emails when work gets slow. Put other's before you. Don't whine a whole lot... like I always do. If you are carving pumpkins, make a boy scrape out all the gross insides.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
When you figure out love is all that matters after all,
It sure makes everything else seem so small.

Christmas Birthdays

I made it to Muenster on Friday, then came right back to Dallas last night to celebrate Katherine's birthday. Her family always gets crazy huge Christmas Tree so we snapped a photo in front of it before I left.


After dinner, my mom and I went to pick up my brother at the airport. His flight came in at 12:23 AM. Yes, AM. As in Sunday morning. He waited for his luggage for 30 minutes, so we got back to my parents' house at 2:15 AM. I was beyond tired. Today we are in full panic mode as my grandparents have decided to come in one day early. Mom's running around in a frenzy trying to wrap the rest of the presents, thaw out the turkey and clean all the bathrooms. It's probably going to be a hectic day!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve.