Turkey Day, but no Turkey please

As some of you will know, but most of you will not, Rusty and I were fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium with OUR Dallas Cowboys!! While we missed seeing family, and absolutely hated not having Turkey with all the trimmings, our day was one we won't forget.

Rusty got the tickets as a birthday present, as it was a reasonable excuse to for us to kind of splurge for a game. I know in years to come we would have kicked ourselves for not making it to one last game at historic Texas Stadium.

Our experience was fun - we got out there pretty early on Thanksgiving Day and tailgated, along with thousands of others. I have to say our moment of arrival was the least fun part all day... They stole $30 from us JUST FOR PARKING!!! Seriously?!?!? After dropping my jaw and giving the evil eye to the parking attendant, I reluctantly forked over the money. Rusty found us a quaint little spot and called it home for the rest of the afternoon.

I don't think we could have asked for better weather (except maybe a little more sun/a few less clouds) but all in all, everything about the day was fantastic. We watched a great game, we were there with each other, and we had the most gourmet Thanksgiving Day Feast anyone could think of - Ballpark Nachos.... and beer... :)

Knowing we will never get to go back, Rusty and I savored every minute of the game, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It's a Thanksgiving neither of us will soon forget!!!

Two Years

As we approach our second anniversary, Rusty and I cannot believe everything that we have accomplished in this short span of time. We are so blessed with great friends and families, which makes the journey even better. Not only are we building lives and memories together, but our loved ones as well.

Last night we celebrated our two years with dinner at Ruth's Chris. At dinner, we talked about everything we've done in the past two years, and how different our lives could be in the next two years.

"If I know what love is, it is because of you."
--Herman Hesse

TTFN

Why Today is the Best Day of the Year

On each Monday for the last two weeks, I developed a new morning routine once getting in my car. I had a hunch about today, that it would all finally pay off. It did - and that is what makes today the best day of the year.

Out of habit while still living under my parents roof, there were several things my dad always asked of me when getting out (or in, in the case of #4) of a car - 1.) Turn off the AC/heat, depending on the season; 2.) Turn the radio almost all the way down, or off completely; 3.) Set the parking brake, and; 4.) Let the car warm up on cool/cold mornings. As I've aged, I finally understand the importance of two of these, as Rusty can confirm. I always turn the radio (almost) all the way down. I can't stand to get in the car and have it blaring - especially first thing in the morning. The second is letting the car warm up on cool/cold mornings.

I have to hand it to whoever thought of seat warmers. I'm very grateful for that person. Now that the weather is cooling off, I have a very set routine in the mornings when getting in my car. As soon as I crank her up, I immediately turn on my seat warmer, followed by the rear defrost (JIC - sometimes it's too dark to tell if it's fogged up), and then the floor/front defrost heat. Only then will I reach to adjust the radio to a suitable "first thing in the morning" volume. Depending on how cold the morning is, I'll wait at least long enough until my buns are toasted. Please know that if Rusty was the last person to drive my car, my routine is disrupted for having to turn down the radio from the "afternoon/evening" volume the day before.

I'm usually in no hurry to go through my routine, as it just means I'll be at work that much sooner, but the last three Monday mornings, this morning included, I couldn't get in and through my routine fast enough. This morning, I opened the car door, and didn't immediately sit down, knowing how cold the leather would be. I started the car, turned on the seat warmer, and that's when it hit me - that maybe today was the day! My eyes went immediately to the radio and noticed the volume was turned down all the way and I realized the need to hurry through my morning routine. I couldn't get the heat turned on fast enough, because all I was thinking about was the radio. I kept hitting the wrong buttons on the heater for staring at the radio, thinking, "OMG! I don't have a free hand, and I keep messing up the heater! I'm missing it!"

I finally got in, heat was on, both hands were free, and I flipped through all my radio settings only to pass the two FM channels completely. Crap! I had to flip all the way back through! I'm OCD enough that I don't have my FM channels set by favorites first - they are set in order of the radio stations, so most of the "90" radio stations are on my FM 1, and all "100" radio stations are on my FM 2. Don't ask... Now's not the time... I wasn't patient enough to make it all the way to FM 2 again (hello! that was an extra button to push!), so as soon as the FM 1 came up, I stopped and started scanning for the channel. Then I found it...

The Holidays are upon us my friends. How do I know so - by the chill in the air? No. By the never-ending Christmas decorations that are up before Thanksgiving? No. I know so, because 103.7 Lite FM has officially switched to their Holiday format. All Christmas music. All the time. Today is the best day of the year. I'm sure the people that sit around me at work are none too pleased about the music they will be hearing until the end of the year. Oh well...

http://www.1037litefm.com/

TTFN!

The Most Difficult Decision

So that time of year is upon us when it is necessary for Rusty and me to make one of the most difficult decisions of the year... what will we be for Halloween?

As some of you may or may not know, I ventured out last year, and made our costumes. That's right - I said made. Along side with Chrissy, we strategized about what our Halloween costumes should be, and I must admit I think we made a fine choice, given the situation. Rusty and I went as Fred and Wilma Flintstone, while Chrissy and Jeff went as Betty and Barney Rubble. We even downloaded the theme song to prance around to... :)

We got the idea at a Halloween Costume store - you know the ones that are ridiculously overpriced? I told Rusty how easy it would be to make those costumes, and that we could save a lot of money. Little did I know...

You might be thinking to yourself, "Oh that's cute!" and I'll admit, it was. You might also be thinking to yourself, "That wouldn't be so hard to make." I'm here to correct you though. For those of you that might be creatively challenged (as I am when it comes to sewing), this is no easy feat.

Rusty's was the most involved - apparently they don't just sell orange material with black dots already on it. No! I had to buy solid orange, and then cut out like a gazillion black dots to sew on to this outfit. Mind you, I don't own a sewing machine. I actually brought it up to work the entire week of Halloween, just to sew the stupid things on, and I barely finished it in time for the party. Chrissy can attest to this because she was there one of the days. After we ate lunch, I pulled the costume out of my little bag and started sewing, and she said I looked like a little old lady that always has a knitting project in her purse.

I assumed mine would be the easiest - a simple, one shoulder white dress. Ha! A.) it was white, so it needed lining. B.) I don't remember Wilma wearing a potato sack of a dress, so it had to be somewhat form fitting. I didn't have a pattern for this, so short of being able to lay myself down and outline my body with chalk (where are the cops when you need them?) I had to take measurements at different points along my body in order to get the dress the right size.

I assumed sewing Rusty's black dots on would not take long, so I vowed to finish his before I did mine. That was a mistake... there were literally people at our party, and I was still sewing my dress. I finally finished and tried putting it on... and then the horror sank in. My little method of what we'll call "measuring" didn't work out so well. The dress was too tight to wear certain necessities with. Talk about uncomfortable...

Everyone laughed, thought the idea was cute, and no one could believe we (I) made the costumes. We took some pictures, had a few drinks and called it a night. The next day, I vowed I would never sew a costume again. Had I just spent the $20 dollars, I would not have dedicated my lunch for 5 days, I would have actually been there for the first part of our Halloween party, but I wouldn't have made the memories I did from working on the costumes with Chrissy, Rusty and Jeff.

So now the challenge is on for this year... what to do?? I guess you will just have to wait and see.

TTFN!

North Texas Tailgating

Like previously mentioned, football season is in full swing, which means that tailgating is also in full swing. A lot of sun, a lot of food, a lot of people, and maybe a beer or two... :)

If you don't already know, North Texas isn't doing so hot this year... It's been a pretty dismal year, but that doesn't make the tailgating any less enjoyable. We always have a decent crowd, and a really good time, regardless of who comes out!!!

There are a few regulars we are missing this year (Liz, Jeremy, etc.) but we are off to a good start!! We have 3 games left - 2 of those are this month and encompass Family Day and Homecoming!! Saturday Oct 11th is Family Day, and Saturday Oct 25th is Homecoming. Both of these days always have really fun events and the larger than normal crowd, so if you aren't too busy, I highly encourage you to come out and enjoy the day, even if it is for a few hours.

Below are a few pictures from the first two games... ENJOY!!!



TTFN!

Three North Texas grads - my dad, Rusty then me!

Rusty and his football - he never leaves home without it...

The group huddle around the tailgates/grill. Isn't this what it is all about????

From when I was young, to now, I always have a way of coming between my parents. I guess since I didn't have siblings to pester, I took it out on them. :)

Another One Bites the Dust...

As you know, Rusty turned 26 on Saturday!!



We had a whole weekend of fun (with the exception of brutal losses by our teams, North Texas and THE Dallas Cowboys...)!!!


On Friday night we met up with about 20 friends and parked it on the patio of Jake's Hamburgers while listening to Josh Goode Band. If you have never tried Jake's I highly recommend it. There are several in the area. It was a REALLY great time - we got to see some friends we haven't seen in a several weeks, even months. Rusty just kept going on and on that night and even on Saturday about how much fun he had, so I want to personally thank you if you came out - it was a blast!

On Saturday, we did some more work out in the garage on Rusty's workbench... it's almost there!!! We plan to finish it up this weekend... After a long hard day of work (for those of you who know me, you know I didn't do much work) and after listening to NT get stomped, we headed up to Hooter's for Rusty's birthday dinner. The waitresses had him do the hula - grass skirt, mop wig and all!!!

On Sunday, we had lunch at Babe's with his Dad and Lisa, which was good. :) We always love Babe's!! The food that is... They made him flap like a chicken while they sang "Happy Birthday" to him! Sadly, I don't have a picture, but you could imagine what it would be like if I did...

While 25 quickly came to an end, Rusty had a great time bringing in number 26 - the second quarter-of-a-century in his hopefully long-lived life!

TTFN!

Belles Dedication

As many of you know, after high school, I went straight to Tyler Junior College to continue my dancing career as an Apache Belle. Since my graduation from there, I have remained very fond of my time invested there. My memories as a Belle are irreplaceable, and those 2 years will always have a special place in my heart.


When I attended TJC, dorm life was optional for Belles. While many incoming freshmen stayed, most sophomores got apartments. While adequate, the dorms were definitely nothing to write home about. In fact, I found myself escaping to Rowlett at every chance I had to get away from the dorms.

The campus recently built a new residential complex. With this complex came the now mandatory dorm life for Belles. Both freshmen and sophomores are now required to live on campus in this dorm while a member of the Belles organization. With this mandation came a very rare opportunity for Belle Gold - a chance to sponsor a room, a lounge or the entire dorm floor that is dedicated to the current members.

When I first heard of the opportunity last fall, I thought to myself, "That would be neat to do." It wasn't until this spring that I realized how doable something like this would be, and that I would regret it tremendously if I didn't become a part of this. This summer, I went for it. I sponsored a dorm room for the Belles.

Because of the sponsorship, I was able to be a part of a historic weekend in Belle history. I was there to witness the ribbon cutting and dedication ceremonies of the new complex and the Belle floor. I met the 2 young ladies that will reside in my room for this year. Most importantly, though, I was able to be a part of Apache Belle history. All of the young ladies to come will have something special - a place to call their own. I'm so envious that I did not have this opportunity as a Belle, but I was so elated to be able to give this opportunity to someone else.

The complex is absolutely beautiful, and I am so happy for the organization and the school that they now have this wonderful resource at their fingertips.

TTFN!

What September Means

As we embark into this new month, Rusty and I realized that what is probably our favorite portion of the year is once again upon us. This month marks the beginning of many fun things - football and tailgating, just to name a few. We also celebrate quite a few occasions in the next 4 months - Rusty's birthday, Halloween, Turkey Day, what will be our 2nd anniversary, and of course, Christmas and New Years. Besides the afore mentioned, we also have so many exciting little things along the way that will make the next 4 months fly by, but everything will be so much fun!!


This Saturday is the first North Texas home game vs. Tulsa. We are always proud supporters of our Mean Green, and are hoping that this season won't be quite as depressing as last season, but never the less, good times will be had by all.

To follow Saturday with a bang, Sunday brings us our first regular season Cowboys game. I'm sure most of you can only imagine the anticipation building in our house, as Rusty gets so giddy when football season comes around. It's all I can do to keep up with him, as he gets so excited!!

While this weekend's festivities are hardly a drop in the bucket for what is to come, it signifies the beginning of a great 4 months ahead. As 2008 quickly comes to an end, we wish all of you a Happy Fall, and hope that you will enjoy what's left of this year as much as we will.

TTFN