McTarnahan Moments

Date Day!

2011-09-15T23:18:00.006-05:00

John & I took a day off work to go on a date! We went to Shiner, TX to visit the brewery where Shiner Beer is made.

We ate at a wonderful place called Friday's Fried Chicken & Pastries!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/fridays-fried-chicken-shiner

The brewery tour was neat, it was a fun little day trip. John's favorite part was the samples!

Feed Me!

2011-07-14T21:18:00.002-05:00

It's Hard Being a Star

2011-06-30T13:25:00.003-05:00

Whhhooo's There

2011-06-24T21:20:00.002-05:00

This is the awesome birthday cake John made me this year!!

Itsy Bitsy...

2011-06-08T22:37:00.003-05:00

Can You Hear Me Now?

2011-05-09T21:05:00.003-05:00

Easter!

2011-04-28T21:49:00.003-05:00

Where is My Book?

2011-04-19T22:45:00.001-05:00

There it is!

CAT?!

2011-04-19T22:41:00.003-05:00

CHEESE!!

2011-03-16T22:18:00.002-05:00

Big Girls Don't Cry

2011-02-02T23:28:00.004-06:00

Today was Ally's 1 year appointment at the Doctor's, and we got her ears pierced!

She did not cry one single bit.

What a beautiful little (Big) girl!

Ally is 1!

2011-02-01T22:31:00.002-06:00

1925 to 2011

2011-01-25T13:46:00.004-06:00

That is a long time; but yet does not seem long enough. I would have loved for Ally to have a few more years to get to really know her Great Grandma, Ruby Mitchell, but we have the wonderful memories and pictures of the time she did get to spend with her! We will all miss her very much.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T13:12:00.000-06:00

Santa, Meet Ally

2010-12-18T11:00:00.003-06:00

Turkey Day

2010-12-11T19:55:00.003-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving in Kansas with my parents and grandma! It was great to spend so much time with Ally all in a row. She finally said mamamamamama, and she took her first steps! She kept us all entertained that's for sure!

Buzzzzzzzzzz

2010-10-22T22:26:00.002-05:00

Ally's First Halloween Party!

She did so good, she even left her antennas on the whole time!!

SweetBerry Farm

2010-10-17T18:00:00.003-05:00

Had a fun Saturday with Nana & Papa McT at SweetBerry Farm in Marble Falls!

Ice Cream You Scream

2010-09-27T21:54:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, Dad & John fixed home made ice cream for the Trike Club that Mom & Dad are part of. We all met at the city park in Cove and had at least two bowls each! YUMMY!

Guess Who

2010-09-11T09:13:00.000-05:00

A Day at the Beach

2010-07-25T17:55:00.002-05:00

Blocks

2010-07-20T21:52:00.003-05:00

Furr Baby

2010-07-08T21:56:00.005-05:00

Step One

Step Two

First Swim

2010-06-24T22:08:00.005-05:00

Ally went for her first swim on Father's Day! (Notice her teeth in the close up!)

Mass.Vaca.

2010-06-24T21:42:00.005-05:00

So we took Ally on her first plane ride! My Parents, John, Ally & I all went to visit my brother, Brian, in Massachusetts. We had a great trip, and true to form, Ally was great! She did good in the plane, stayed on her sleep schedule, and was generally a happy baby everywhere we took her. We went to several museums and a zoo!

More Ally-Gator

2010-05-16T11:56:00.002-05:00

McT Annual Bluebonnet Photos

2010-04-06T22:48:00.002-05:00

The Real Farmville

2010-04-04T23:41:00.003-05:00

We took Ally on her first big road trip! We went to Kansas to introduce her to her Great Grandma. This was also Ally's first trip to a farm. There was a HUGE tree stump that had recently been cut down - I insisted we take her picture on it - it was WAY bigger than she is!

Roger (I think he's my Mom's cousin) had his new tractor in the barn, so we got to check it out too! It's much nicer inside than most cars (but probably cost as much as a house!)

The whole trip was great! Ally did so good in the car - she slept almost the whole time. And she stayed on her sleep schedule pretty well also. Such a precious little girl we have!

V-Day

2010-02-14T02:58:00.003-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day from the McTarnahan Kids!

Ally-Vasion

2010-02-10T20:22:00.006-06:00

Ally Jae has arrived! February 1, 2010 - 8 pounds, 6 ounces, 20.5 inches long

We went to the hospital around 2 am on Sunday night - contractions were three minutes apart. I was only dilated to 1 centimeter, and they kept checking and I wasn't progressing, but they admitted us anyways (thank goodness - I was in a lot of pain!) They started an epidural and pitocin, and then things moved right along. However, I got to 9.5 centimeters and stopped. Dr. thought Ally was just going to be too big, so we decided that a c-section would be best (that was the last thing I had wanted though). They got us all prepped and when they got started they realized the cord was wrapped around her neck THREE times! So a c-section was the best choice - she was delivered at 3:18pm on Monday, Feb 1st.

We came home from the hospital a few nights later on Thursday, and Ally has been a great baby! The puppies have gotten used to her, and always come to check on her anytime she makes a noise. All has gone very well! Hopefully it will go as smoothly next week when John goes back to work!

Baby Cave

2010-01-19T20:06:00.003-06:00

Here is Ally Jae's room!

Man Cave

2010-01-18T20:43:00.005-06:00

It seems the Man Cave is complete! I'm sure there will be a few more additions here and there, but here is the Finished For Now Product.

Ice Cubes

2010-01-10T00:31:00.006-06:00

Our pond froze. Luckily, I had already brought the turtles in to the garage before that happened! Today I decided I should go break up the ice so it didn't freeze completely around the fountain and break it. Of course Tina & Einstein came to help. One of their favorite treats is ice cubes... well today they got REALLY big ice cubes!

Ally Jae

2009-12-11T19:43:00.002-06:00

Ally's Room So Far

2009-11-22T12:43:00.004-06:00

John finished painting, and the new carpet has been installed. It's all coming together! The black parts of the squares are chalkboard paint!

Bellies

2009-11-13T22:59:00.006-06:00

We went to Sea World on Halloween and I noticed that the animals there have the same problem as the animals in our house... they fall over and their bellies go up in the air!!

Catching Up

2009-10-08T21:52:00.007-05:00

So I haven't posted anything in a while, and there are a million reasons why, but I won't bore you with them! Here are a few fun things that have happened recently.

Tonight was Einstein's last Intermediate Agility class. He has done so good! He's such a handsome boy running through the tunnels and jumping over the bars. He's so fast at it too it's hard for me to keep up with him! We are going to take a few months off until the larva gets here, but I'm sure he will get to go to the advanced classes at some point in the future!

When it rained ALL day last Sunday the pond got pretty full... and I think our big turtle tried to make an escape! And of course, Tina had a great time playing in the water in the backyard!

John has been doing awesome in his Composition class. He has made high 90's on both of his papers so far! He's so smart.

I'm doing good also, my regular pants are barely fitting (buttoning them is out of the question). I'm starting to have a bit of heartburn, but it isn't nearly as bad as being sick & nauseous! We are in week 24 of 40 now. We have successfully moved the Fat Cats out of what will now be the Baby's room. So now we can paint and put new carpet in that room.

And that's about all... at least all I can remember right now!

99.9% it's a Girl!!

2009-09-15T08:45:00.004-05:00

Had another sonogram at my appointment yesterday, and this time it is confirmed that the larva is indeed a little girl!

Pink or Blue?

2009-09-02T12:44:00.004-05:00

Most likely pink!!

At our sonogram last week we got to see lots of neat stuff. The head and spine, and some ribs, and a hand up in the air waiving again, and we got to see lots of the feet and legs - which were real cute, but kept us from knowing for sure if it's a boy or girl. The Doctor did tell us she saw two lines that she thought were girl parts though, so as of now, she is betting on a girl. We'll have another sonogram at some point to see if we can determine more then!

Family McT

2009-08-16T11:38:00.005-05:00

We had some McTarnahan Family photos taken yesterday. They turned out really good, and we all had a great time. We went out to eat afterwards... thank goodness it was after the pictures, otherwise we might not have all fit into one shot!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-08-12T18:35:00.005-05:00

This past Sunday was my Mom's birthday and they came down to take us out to eat! What a deal! We ate at the Monument Cafe in Georgetown, it was a real fun, cute place, with good food too!

Happy Birthday Mom, You're the Best!!!

First Photo

2009-07-25T14:41:00.003-05:00

Thursday we had out first sonogram. The baby was definitely awake during it, and squirmed and waved the whole time! The top picture has a dark spot towards the right with a white splotch in the middle; the splotch is the waving hand. Underneath that is a profile shot of the head, and the body is off to the left. The bottom picture has the waving hand again and a front view of the face, all that you can really see are the big eye sockets and other facial bones; it doesn't quite look like a baby face yet, but I'm certain that I can see dimples just like John's! =)

Thump Thump thump thump

2009-07-14T22:04:00.003-05:00

We were able to hear the baby's (other wise known as "The Larva") heartbeat at my appointment today!! It took a little bit to pick it up, but we could hear it pretty clearly once she found it. Dr. Pagette told us it is between 174 and 178, which is pretty normal for this stage. Very exciting!

Make sure to take our poll on whether it is a boy or a girl!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2009-07-03T13:33:00.006-05:00

July 2nd was our 4th Wedding Anniversary! John got me a beautiful potted flower and made me a chocolate chip cookie cake!
The first four years have gone by pretty fast, I'd say. They have been great though! This anniversary is even more exciting for us since we are expecting our first baby, due in late January!! (yes, a real baby this time, not another fur baby) =)

Who Will Scream at Me Now?

2009-06-28T23:06:00.004-05:00

So I come in to check my email just before heading off to bed, and check out CNN only to see the saddest headline I could possibly imagine... Billy Mays, OxiClean pitchman, found dead What?!?! How can this be? I heart Billy Mays. I record Pitchmen every week and love watching him & Sully go back and forth. I don't think tv will ever be the same again (John says it will be quieter from now on; I am not amused by that). Well, I guess I will try and get to sleep after this devastating news. Goodbye Billy, I will miss you.

Start Looking Into

2009-06-14T22:09:00.004-05:00

Nursing Homes for me... I've turned 30!!

Ok, so maybe I'm not quite ready for a nursing home yet, but I am a year older (on June 13th). John made me a very fun cake for my birthday this year. Apparently he has had this idea for quite some time and finally got to execute it. Here are some pictures:

House Guest

2009-06-14T22:03:00.002-05:00

We have had a house guest for the past few days... and she is a real Princess.

No really... her name is Princess. While her parents have been in Vegas for a long weekend, Tina & Einstein have been keeping her company.

Words of Wisdom - by Regina Brett

2009-06-05T14:56:00.003-05:00

Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
When in doubt, just take the next small step.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Pay off your credit cards every month.
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
It's OK to let your children see you cry.
Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
Over prepare, then go with the flow.
Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
The most important sex organ is the brain.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
Always choose life.
Forgive everyone of everything.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Believe in miracles.
Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
The best is yet to come.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
If you don't ask, you don't get.
Yield.
Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Final Day of Vacation

2009-05-27T22:24:00.002-05:00

Monday we drove from Arizona to Texas. 13 hours of dirt. The End.

Vacation Day Four - Sunday-Sunday-Sunday!

2009-05-27T22:06:00.008-05:00

This was a busy day for us. We went to The Science Center where they had lots of hands on exhibits and fun science facts. And their newest feature was a lego castle section.

Then we walked around trying to find the Police Museum (when we finally gave up trying to find it and headed back, we found it!) but it was closed. After that we did some more driving around sight seeing, and then went to the Wiener Dog Races!!! It was held at a greyhound track as a fund raiser. The little dogs were so cute. Usually one or two out of the six at a time would run toward the finish line while the rest of the dogs just kind of muddled about at the start line! It was fun to watch though and there were lots of people there, so hopefully they raised good money.

And of course THE concert. We saw Fleetwood Mac Sunday night (which was the main point of our trip). It was awesome! They played for two hours and then came back out and played for about 30 minutes more. Lindsey Buckingham was amazing on the guitar, and of course Stevie Nicks was just beautiful! They played all the classic songs, and it was well worth the trip!

Vacation Day Three - Saturday

2009-05-24T12:07:00.006-05:00

So what did we do on the day when we didn't have to drive anywhere?... We drove around! HeeHee. We drove to meet John's Aunt, Cheryl for lunch at Margaritaville. It was our first time meeting her, she was just lovely. She reminds us both A LOT of John's Mom. Both lovely ladies. Cheryl told us about a car show that one of the other towns has every Saturday night, so later in the evening we drove to see it. It was lots of fun too. There were lots of corvettes and lots of other cars too. John probably thought he was in a dream! Then we drove to a really cool mall and ate in the food court. Then off for ice cream, and back to bed!

Vacation Day 2 - On The Road Again

2009-05-23T12:46:00.008-05:00

We drove and drove and drove! We drove in the rain most of the day from Roswell to Glendale, it took us a little over 12 hours but we did make a few stops along the way. We stopped in White Sands, NM, and guess what we saw... WHITE SAND! Unbelievable, I know!

As we were approaching AZ, we kept seeing billboards for "The Thing" that's all they said except an exit number; and we past lots of them! Brilliant marketing scheme I tell you, because sure enough we stopped to see what it was! First of all it is a gas station, a Dairy Queen, and a huge tourist gift shop... who'd have guessed! But there also were these big shed type buildings full of old antiques. Everything from cars to type writers to beds! So I guess those were "The Things"!
We drove around Tuscon for quite a while trying to find something to eat; it really is a pretty town. There are shapes and designs on all the bridges and walls, and just lots of neat stuff in downtown. We finally decided on a place and ate, and then got back on the road again. Our hotel this time isn't quite as nice as last time... but it also was only about half the price!!

Vacation Day One

2009-05-21T21:48:00.008-05:00

Today we drove from home to Roswell, NM. Took us about eight and a half hours. Pretty uneventful drive, though we did pass a huge area of wind energy turbines. They are HUGE! The hotel is nice (even had cookies and milk this evening). The Alien museum was closed by the time we got here, so we will go to it tomorrow morning. We did find an alien gift shop though! We also found a real fun (and free!) zoo. The had what seemed like hundreds of prarie dogs running all over the place! They were real cute! And then we ate at Farley's restaurant, it was a real cool place, had an old motorcyle & car and neat decorations. Successful first day!!

Pre Vacation

2009-05-20T23:49:00.003-05:00

John and I are headed to Roswell, NM (and then to Glendale, AZ) tomorrow morning. I will try to do a daily blog of our trip. Tonight we took the puppies to their Grandma & Grandpa's house in Cove where they will have their own vacation! We got home and started packing, and I think someone wants to come along...

Camping Part Deux

2009-05-16T10:59:00.007-05:00

We went camping at Inks Lake this past weekend and had a blast! We did some fishing, hiking (ok, I didn't really go hiking, but John, Pinky & Val did), paddleboating, the boys got to swim, and of course we did alot of eating - John & Pinky are quite the excellent grillers!

Flower Power

2009-05-02T13:32:00.002-05:00

I'm Appreciated!

2009-04-26T18:17:00.004-05:00

Since Administrative Professionals Day was this past week, we (the staff at GDHM) were treated to a weeks worth of fun stuff! There were gift card give aways, goody bags, ice cream, and the main event was a cruise on Lady Bird Lake (which is just a few blocks down from our office). It was alot of fun, and the weather wasn't bad, a bit windy, but not bad at all. It's nice to work at a place that cares so much! The picture is a zoomed in view of our building from the lake. I work on the 22nd floor.

Camping

2009-04-08T21:05:00.004-05:00

This past weekend we went camping with our friends, Pinky & Val and their boys Nathan & Alex... and our dogs, Tina & Einstein, and Pinky's dog, Princess. It was the first camping experience for John & I, and we were really camping... in a tent! It was quite windy & chilly Friday night and Sunday morning, but Saturday was great! The guys & kids flew kites, played ball, and we all went on a hike along a trail (we were at Granger Lake). The puppies did great! It was their first camping trip as well. I'm so glad that warmer weather is finally here!!

Spring Break

2009-03-28T21:17:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we went to our condos up near Tyler, TX with my parents. We went to the Azalea Festival and saw lots of beautiful flowers and HUGE houses, more like mansions I'd say! The weather was perfect and we all had a great time.

The strangest moth I've ever seen landed on the glass door at the condo, I think it might be from outer space.

Bye Bye Wedding Fish

2009-03-14T15:54:00.002-05:00

In 2005 when we were planning our wedding, I was a bit fixated on things being white. We happened to get a new fish tank during that time and I insisted on having all white fish for it. We bought a few Snow White Cichlids and kept them for quite a while. We even had a breeding pair who had several baby fish over the years and we got to watch some of the babies grow into big fish as well. As time went on the fish passed away one by one until we only had one big white fish left. We still referred to him as our "Wedding Fish." He got to have his own tank in the kitchen when we moved to the new house, and he seemed to really like it. He was always hungry it seemed, and would come up and splash and make lots of noise to get your attention if you weren't feeding him. Looking back at the picture not too long after we got them I'm reminded of just how much he had grown in the four years we had him. Sadly, he too passed along last night. I'm really going to miss him. John assures me we will still stay married even though we don't have anymore wedding fish =)

Is that a Gopher I hear?!?

2009-03-13T16:27:00.002-05:00

Every now and then we hear a beeping that sounds like a smoke detector when the battery is low, but it's not consistent and we can't figure out where it's coming from. It has beeped again the past two mornings and today I get the following email from John...

Oh and we still have some stupid detector chirping at home as of this morning. I took about 15 minutes before work trying to figure out which was doing it. I was standing in the kitchen facing the coffee maker and heard the chirp 4-5 times about once every 30 seconds behind me. Presuming it was coming from the hall or my office/the cat’s room, I stood in the hall for about 2 minutes. I didn’t hear a chirp. ~_~

Went on my way and heard it again… sounded like it was coming from by the back door. I then decided it was the carbon detector by the back door. I grabbed a battery and was in the middle of getting on the ladder to replace it, a chirp came from behind me…

That didn’t make sense as I replaced the battery in the one outside our bedroom last night. The one inside our bedroom didn’t make a noise. I just waited again for about 5 minutes, didn’t hear another chirp.

As I was going out the front door… something chirped again.

I swear, we have a gopher in our ceiling.

Olive You!

2009-02-15T15:39:00.004-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

John got me some beautiful Tulips for Valentine's Day.

I got him some yummy chocolate covered strawberries.

I have had a cold the past few days, so I wasn't in much of a Valentine's mood, but we had a nice quiet day at home and watched some movies. John's parents stopped by to see us also, it was good to see them again. We'll probably go out to eat sometime this next week to celebrate more!

Green Thumb

2009-02-02T19:53:00.006-06:00

For Christmas, my Boss - Elaine, gave me a plant bulb that she assured me even I could grow! Low and behold - it has blossomed! It is a beautiful red Amaryllis. I took some pictures this weekend during the afternoon before the flowers had opened and just a few hours later that night two of the buds had magically opened all the way!

And The Winner Is...

2009-01-25T11:29:00.004-06:00

Thursday night we were invited to the Circle of Excellence awards presentation from Dell. The awards were for some of the Customer Service Teams, and they gave out quite a few awards. However, the only person to receive the SILVER award was none other than Mr. John McTarnahan! YEAH! I'm told this is a very prestigious award to get and we are all very excited and proud that John got it. Way to go John, You Rock at work too!

Gingerbread Family

2009-01-08T20:53:00.004-06:00

At the same time we made the Heartbreak Cake (see below) John made some gingerbread man cookies from a mix we have had for quite some time. John managed to make them with out any disasters. He even made a few "other" gingerbread figures... see if you can tell what they are!

Heartbreak Cake

2009-01-08T20:23:00.003-06:00

A few nights ago I decided John and I needed to do something fun, so I decided we would make our own rendition of Boston Cream Pie. We had a white cake mix, and cool whip for the center, and baking chocolate for the top. Now, don't get ahead of me and decide that this wasn't really a good idea! We mixed up the cake mix and got it in the oven in two heart shaped pans.

I read a tip that you can whip canned frosting in a mixer to make it fluffier and more expansive, so I decided this might work with cool whip too. (again, don't get ahead of me!) To start with, the cool whip was frozen, so I ended up beating around a big hard blob for a while. Finally it melted and broke up enough to be mixed, and I added some red food coloring since we were making a heart shaped cake. Needless to say, cool whip cannot be mixed and made fluffier, but it was a nice shade of pink now.

While I was wrangling the cool whip, John decided he better do some thing to keep from just watching and laughing hysterically, so he worked on melting the chocolate. The cakes finished baking so we took them out and cut the top off one layer to make it flat for the bottom, then put my pink cool whip on it... I must have forgot that it melts in heat... and the pink cool whip mostly ran off the edges or kind of soaked in to the cake =( At that point I started referring to it as the Disaster Cake. We put the top layer of cake on and further squished out the Cream in my supposed Boston Cream Pie. Them we put the chocolate on and the top piece of cake cracked at the top. Just lovely. I was so exhausted from this whole process we didn't even eat any the same night. We did have some the next night, and beside the fact that the only chocolate stuff we had in the house was baking chocolate, and is pretty bitter to eat by itself, the cake actually isn't that bad tasting. I'd imagine we'll finish it and not have to put it in the trash! Many lessons learned.
.

Catching Up

2009-01-08T20:12:00.003-06:00

One of my Co-Workers (Teri) got me a fun little growing Christmas tree. It starts out as some sort of cardboard, and you put "Magic Water" on it and it does Magically grow!! It was really amazing, it grew so much it covered up the little red decorations they send with it. My other co-worker, Steve, got one too and immediately said he was going to re-gift his to his nephew... I think he missed out, it was great fun!

1st Anniversary of 29

2008-12-28T21:18:00.004-06:00

Just a few days ago, on December 25, John turned 30.

John doesn't seem to be too affected by this seemingly monumental occasion, which is good. You are as young as you feel and act, and judging by John's birthday plans and gifts (paintball with the guys, and PS3 & XBox games) I'd say he's definitely still in his teens! But seriously, John is a great Man, a great Husband, and a great Dad to the fur babies (and I'm sure he will be a great Dad to a real baby someday too). We had dinner tonight to celebrate at The Oasis with friends.

Happy Birthday Dear, I love you!

Is there a Meatball in there?

2008-12-15T13:05:00.004-06:00

Friday was a busy day for us. After work (I had to work, John is off the rest of December) we got ready and went to the Downtown Round Rock Holiday festivities with Pinky, Val and her two boys. We had free hotdogs and walked around among the masses of people. We watched a little play, the boys got foam rockets, we saw the horse drawn carriages go by, and we stood by the fire for a bit. It was great fun for us. Then I changed clothes and we came to downtown Austin for my work Christmas party at the Blanton Art Museum . We got there really late, but we had fun mingling with the people that were still there. We stayed until it was over and walked out with a couple of my co-workers. We discovered an "Exhibit" of what looked very much like a bunch of hanging noodles!! We all ran through them and hung and swung on them and just had the best time! What fun... we might need one installed in our back yard!

John Rocks Before Christmas

2008-12-07T13:28:00.002-06:00

Last week John got our Christmas decorations down from the attic and put out all the decorations that go inside the house. We were really hoping to get a black tree from Garden Ridge this year, but both stores in Austin are sold out (if you happen to find a 7 foot black tree at a Garden Ridge near you... please let us know!!). Anyway, John did a fabulous job putting everything out. We are going to the Paramount Theatre today to watch It's a Wonderful Life and really kick off the Christmas Season!!

John also Rocked yesterday by spending time with me doing a little Merry Christmas to Myself clothes shopping. It was fun - I found two pairs of shoes, and 5 new shirts (all on sale)! Woo Hoo!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T22:45:00.005-06:00

We have successfully hosted our first large gathering at our new house! We had 19 people here total for Thanksgiving (plus the 2 dogs and 2 cats, and the rest of the zoo). We did not attempt to cook the turkey this time though... fortunately my Dad cooked one on his grill for us and it was wonderful!! John baked pumpkin and pecan pies and I made a apple/Snickers dish that is very easy, yet very tasty. Everyone brought other dishes and it was all fabulous!! We still have lots of leftovers in our fridge. It was very exciting for us to get to use our new big table. We were specially pleased to have John's family and my family all together. We hadn't all been together since our wedding three years ago! Here are some pics of the feast!

John Rocks

2008-11-21T21:46:00.006-06:00

So my friend Angela has a husband named Aaron (also known as ATB). Actually, he is the only husband she has, so I guess I could have just said her husband's name is Aaron. Anyway... on her blog she has started posting a new ATB Rocks blog each week to show him gratitude for the many helpful things he does. I think this is a fabulous idea, and I've decided that John deserves some public appreciation too!

John actually has two projects he has recently completed that both turned out spectacular!

These are the can lights he installed in the Man Room. You actually have to cut holes in the ceiling to do this! Yikes! But he did a marvelous job. He even installed a separate dimmer light switch for them.

The other project was constructing a pool cue rack. He bought wood and trim and paint and ta-da, a masterpiece.

Fine job Dear, You Rock!!!

Brain Buster

2008-11-11T19:21:00.003-06:00

Last weekend John & I went to the mall to take a copy of our marriage license to Kay Jewelry so my name could be changed on my account. (Yes, I know... we've been married for over three years now - but they are one of the only places that won't let you change your name by phone or online.) So anyway, after that was done we had some free time, so we went to the game store. These game stores are one of John's favorite places to go. But this time it was me who found a fun new game to get!

I like puzzles and thinking games. Sudoku is one of my favorites, and this fancy Brain Buster Puzzle Pak seemed like hours of fun! So I bought it (the used version of course). I set up my profile and added my little character picture to my name (and I made one for John too) then I played for two whole hours! It was great fun for me and got my brain wheels really turning. Slitherlink is my least favorite of the games, but I haven't really picked a favorite yet.

Note to self (and others) - Don't play this for very long right before bed, or you will not be able to fall asleep. You will be too busy trying to figure out what combination of numbers equals 16.

Random

2008-11-01T19:43:00.008-05:00

We finally have a full dining room set! Since this picture was taken, John has assembled the other two chairs as well. So we have a big table, 8 chairs and enough plates and silverware for all to eat off of! YEAH!

Here's a picture of Skinny, Tina, and Moose this afternoon. I think there was a flying bug outside the window that Skinny & Moose were watching, and of course Tina had to come check it out too!

Here are John & Pinky on Halloween. They dressed up as two of the characters from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog John is Captain Hammer and Pinky is Dr. Horrible.

Enchanting

2008-10-29T21:41:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we went to Enchanted Rock. This was our second trip there, with the first being when John proposed to me! That was quite a few years ago now (where has the time gone?!). The weather was wonderful this weekend - as opposed to the last time when it was REALLY cold, drizzling, windy, and even started hailing! Needless to say, I don't think it was the situation John had envisioned proposing to me in, but I said yes anyway! We had a much more pleasant trip this time.

I love this guy!! =)

The Final Kung Fu Fido

2008-10-25T18:09:00.001-05:00

Dog who falls out of boat never without paddle.

Resting Babies

2008-10-25T11:27:00.002-05:00

It's Magic

2008-10-24T21:34:00.003-05:00

Our friends Pinky and Val both have birthdays in August. We decided that since they had never been to the Magic Time Machine it was a good opportunity for us to take them there. However, we didn't actually make it there until October! Oh well, better late then never! We all had a fabulous time; great food and great friends!!

Kung Fu For You

2008-10-08T20:57:00.002-05:00

Here are two more Kung Fu Fido fortunes (there are only two cookies left after these):

Rollovers are easier eaten than performed.

Confucius say, dog who run behind car get exhausted. (heeheehee)

Now Serving One

2008-10-05T21:14:00.006-05:00

I have had a heck of a time finding a black dining room table that seats eight. But alas, we actually have one in our house!! I really wanted to see one up close and touch it before I bought it, but no one had them in their showrooms. So we blindly ordered the table and waited a few weeks. Yesterday we picked it up and... it's perfect!!! YEAH!!! We couldn't be happier! It even matches with the chairs (chair for now) we ordered. I ordered one chair to make sure we liked it, and we do, so I have seven more on order now. I love it when a plan comes together!

And we are still loving the new couches as well! After some trials and rearranging, I think we have settled on this layout.

Photos

2008-10-02T21:00:00.002-05:00

This is the Desert Dome at the zoo in Omaha.

And this is the fabulous Pink Vespa with Sidecar.

Fido Fortunes Continue

2008-09-25T21:36:00.002-05:00

Here are two more Fido Fortunes:

Sticks can be quite fetching.

When in doubt, tell the truth... the cat did it!

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto

2008-09-25T20:54:00.004-05:00

Last week we went on a fabulous family vacation!! John and I went to Mom & Dad's house Friday night, then we all got up EARLY Saturday morning (all in the car at 4:45am) and headed to Oklahoma City where we picked up my brother, Brian at the airport (he flew in from Boston). Our next stop was Wichita where we saw my parents' college friends, Ed & Carol, and also my cousin Jeri and her family. Jeri's family happens to include a very cute 4 month old little boy, Jace, who I got to meet and squeeze for the first time!

Then we headed to Pratt, KS and stayed with my Aunt Jeri, Uncle Larry and my cousins - Lindsey & Haley. Their newest toy is a pink Vespa with a side car!! How fun is that?! After that we stopped in Lyons and saw my Dad's aunt, Doris Mae, then on to McPherson to my Aunt Linda & Uncle Mike's. They have the cutest little dog, Tasha. We had planned to see my cousin Michelle and her family, but she had to have some wisdom teeth removed that morning so she wasn't up for much visiting. We did get to meet her children though, Kyra is 5, Kaven is 2, and Krayton is 4 months old. Krayton is quite shy and not too sure of strangers, but I was determined to hold and squeeze him too. It took a while, but eventually I wore him down and was able to hold him!! It was great fun for me! All of her children were very beautiful and precious.

Next stop was Omaha! None of us had ever been to Nebraska before. My Aunt Yvonne & Uncle Dale moved there a little over a year ago. We stayed with them and got to go to the Omaha Zoo. The zoo was amazing, but it closed pretty early so we didn't get to go through it all. We went through the Desert Dome, the Aquarium, and the Cat Complex. Everything we saw was fantastic, we'll have to go back again I guess to see the rest!!

Our last stop before heading back was Chetopa, KS to see my Grandma Wilson. She is doing good and looking great! John & Dad did a few household projects for her including putting an antenna on the roof so she can still watch tv in February when digital tv kicks in. She lives on a farm... a real farm with a barn and cows! It's a fun place to go visit.

Then back on the road to Oklahoma City to drop Brian back off at the airport and head back to Texas. The whole trip was just over 2000 miles (Dad drove the whole way!) It was such a wonderful trip, the weather was great, everything went right along as scheduled, and we got to see a bunch of my family all in one week!! I did miss our babies, but they all did just fine at the Pet Resort. In fact, they all gained a bit of weight while we were away!

I will work on getting some pictures of our travels posted soon. Here is a map of our route though!

In Case of Emergency

2008-09-10T20:52:00.006-05:00

So with the impending arrival of Hurricane Ike likely late this week/weekend, I was thinking... "Man, we couldn't have picked a better time to go on our vacation to Kansas." Then, within the same few seconds of having that thought, my thoughts shifted to my Babies, who will be left at Premier Pet Resort and Spa while we are gone. My thoughts got a little irrational as I started to imagine them all alone in a strange place with water coming in all around them.

I had to calm these thoughts, and quickly! I called the Resort and asked what their procedures were in case of a weather emergency. I was a bit shocked when the girl who answered didn't have an answer. But she was very friendly, and said she was meeting with the owner in about an hour, and would call me back with an answer. The place is very new, and granted we don't have very many weather emergencies, so I was ok that she didn't have an immediate answer.

As promised, she called me back after her meeting and here's what I found out:

*They are a FEMA approved facility (which means they can actually take in pets during emergencies)
*They have onsite generators
*The building is in a 100 year flood plain
*The building is all concrete
*The pets are housed on the bottom floor, so even if something were to happen to the roof, the pets would still be protected

After receiving this news I was able to finish my day relaxed and comfortable that my Babies will be ok while we are gone next week. When I got home I told John what I had found out, and though he didn't directly say it, I know he was thinking "Geez, my Wife is neurotic."

Rock On!!

2008-08-31T18:12:00.010-05:00

This weekend we tackled digging a hole for the new pond. This first six inches went quite well. We even saved the grass to replant in other spots.

Then we (John) hit rock, solid rock! We were pretty sure this was going to happen, as we had been warned by the previous owners of the house that they ran into it while trying to plant a tree in the backyard. John picked away at it for a while with a sledge hammer and a railroad tie, and eventually we gave in and rented a jackhammer. (which is what the previous owners had to do also)

Four hours with that and John was spent. And rightfully so, but he did a fabulous job! Just look how handsome & strong he is!

This morning Blake needed John's help to get a large piece of furniture from IKEA to his house, so he agreed to help John dig the rest of the dirt portions out for the shallow parts of the pond around the edges. John was thrilled with the exchange!! After just a couple hours they were done. We still have to put some of the big rock chunks around the edges and figure out what to do with the excess piles of rock, dirt and grass, but the turtles are in their new location and the hard part is done!! The puppies have checked it out and given it their approval.

To be a Fly on This Wall

2008-08-28T21:42:00.005-05:00

Pocket Taser Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife.. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Taser for their anniversary submitted this:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser. The effects of the taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety....??

WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME!!!

Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised.

Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and taser in another.

The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5' long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!'

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best...? I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dummy,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and...

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . . . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . . WHAT THE HECK!!!

I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, 'man parts' nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs?

The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room. Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself!

You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three second burst would be considered conservative?

THAT HURT LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT!!!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling. Apparently I did lose my bodily function control, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my man parts and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!!

P. S. My wife loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!

If you think Education is expensive, try being stupid.

The Man Room

2008-08-24T16:41:00.006-05:00

John's Man Room is coming along nicely. He has big dreams for that room. He has painted the walls a blue color (quite a dark color if you ask me, but my opinion has no bearing on the Man Room!). I'm told eventually the trim will be painted black (oh boy, I can't wait for that either {insert eye roll}). Our black couch from the living room will be going into his room once our new couch arrives. And except for when he was hanging some of his cabinets and ran a screw into an electrical wire and stopped power to half the outlets on that side of the house, I must say he has done quite a good job in getting it all painted and arranged!

Houston, We have a problem

2008-08-23T13:13:00.003-05:00

So, last weekend, as I was vacuuming and cleaning, I kept getting hotter and hotter as the day went on. I figured it was just my feverish cleaning skills, but turns out... the air conditioner wasn't working!!! So it got to be about 87 degrees in our house for two and a half days! The home warranty people couldn't get anyone out until Tuesday afternoon. Joy. Once the fix-it guy was here, he just switched out a little capacitor or something, and all is well again. Happy Pets once again (and a happy Husband & Wife).

And then yesterday, I get in the car to go to work, and it barely starts! It seemed the battery was dying. I headed to work anyway, and drove around the parking garage on my lunch break to make sure it would start then and charge it a bit more. On the way home I stopped at Sears to get a new battery, and find out that they don't carry the battery for my car! Just great, now I have to go to the dealership (which is closed already at this point). So this morning I sent John out to finish my quest. He went to the dealership where we bought the car and they didn't have it in stock!! Luckily the GMC dealership just up the road from them had one, so John headed over there.

One of these days we might have a whole weekend where we don't have to fix or replace anything... my guess is that will be around October of 2011!

A Decision Has Been Made

2008-08-20T12:32:00.003-05:00

We have been looking for a formal dining room table and chairs and also a new couch. This process has been much harder than I expected. First of all it is hard to find any furniture in all black (found lots with brown wood & black - but that will NOT work for us). We found a few pieces we liked but all were either the wrong size, too expensive, or John & I just couldn't agree on them. But, alas, we have found a couch in colors we like and that we both agree on!! Now we can really focus our efforts on a table!!

Fido's Fortune

2008-08-07T14:55:00.002-05:00

Here are two more fortunes from Kung Fu Fido.

Man's best friend is a dog.
Dog's best friend is a man with food.

Confucius say, short-haired dog shed light on subject.

Rack `Em Up

2008-08-02T13:21:00.002-05:00

We finally have a fully assembled Pool Table!!
YEAH!! It was delivered two weeks ago in pieces and it was supposed to be assembled last Friday. The installer had an "emergency" out of town though and couldn't do it until yesterday. But none the less, it is done now. Pinky came over right after it was done and they played a few games. Sometimes I wonder if they really do have jobs!! =)

Squawk

2008-07-30T21:55:00.006-05:00

I have been trying to spend more "quality" time with our cockatoo, Cela. Right now she is out in the front living room where nothing really goes on, and I think she is getting lonely. So as I was playing with her the other night I decided to take some videos of her. One is of her eating a peanut, which still to this day amazes me that she is able to do so precisely. The other is of a not so pleasant new habit she has of picking the newspaper up of the bottom of her cage and playing with it.

Cat Nap

2008-07-26T15:53:00.004-05:00

I assure you that when we left for work the morning this photo was taken, all three pillows were standing up... hhhhmmm, wonder what happened? I guess Skinny has claimed this end of the couch, as that is where she can be found most of the time. Happy napping, Skinners.

New Neighbors

2008-07-24T20:44:00.003-05:00

John spotted a family of deer right across the street from us the other day! Two big ones and three babies. We see deer all the time out here, and they aren't eating any of our plants, so we love them!! What a happy little deer family! =)

Kung Fu Fido

2008-07-14T22:03:00.003-05:00

One of the things in my birthday basket from my co-workers was Kung Fu Fido - Fortune Cookie for Dogs. I just love it! It's one of the cutest pet items I've seen in a long time! I've given a few to the puppies already and they love them (like that is a suprise though). The fortunes are just hilarious, so I've decided I will share them with you as we open new ones! Here are the first three:

Some day you will find yourself barking up the right tree.

It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable as your tongue keeps hitting you in the face.

Confucius say mad dog with flea collar get ticked off.

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-12T09:39:00.007-05:00

Here are some pictures of the new house! It's coming together quite nicely.

We also ordered our pool table yesterday! It will go in the front living room (where the zebra carpet is in the picture above). We are still searching for a formal dining room table, we have found a couple that we like though.

RUN!

2008-06-28T08:01:00.002-05:00

Here is a short video of the Babies in the back yard. It doesn't capture the full excitement that they usually have (there are no instances of them running together with Einstein's tail in Tina's mouth!) but it is fun none the less. I will have to work on my video taking skills a bit more. Stay tuned!

We're Still Here

2008-06-26T22:40:00.002-05:00

John & I are still alive... just very busy. That's why I haven't been as diligent about posting anything on here in a while. Both of the house closings went just as planned and we are getting settled in to the new house. The kitchen, bathrooms and main living room are fairly well complete, we just haven't hung any pictures yet and both our offices are in a great state of dissarray. The garage is still quite cluttered as well, but everything is coming along nicely (one box at a time). The puppies love the new house and the new big back yard! They just run and play all the time. I'm so proud of them, you never quite know how they will react to new situtations, but they have been the best Babies ever! And the rest of the critters are doing fine as well. We didn't lose ANY fish during the move, which I think is quite impressive. We drained the tanks down to almost empty and loaded them in the back of John's truck to transport them. It was HOT outside too that day. Actually I think we only broke three things during all the moving. The globe of my Garfield gum machine, the glass door to one of the tv stands, and a support board from our headboard came unglued. Nothing that we really needed or that can't be fixed so I'd say that's a success! I must also mention that we did have lots of good help moving. Blake, Carlos and Val were all wonderful and very dedicated to our cause. We have such good friends! Couldn't have done it with out them.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-06-13T19:27:00.003-05:00

Today was just about the best birthday ever!! We picked up the puppies last night so my alarm clock this morning was a cute little Einstein nose to the arm. I did have to work, but it was still a great day. My boss got me a blueberry muffin for breakfast, then a bunch of co-workers & I all went to Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch. I had the four cheese manicotti and it was excellent! Another co-worker also rounded up about a dozen empty boxes for me (we still have packing to do!) Then, the best news of the day... we got our statement showing how much money we have to bring to closing on our new house on Monday, and it was about half of what we expected! Woo Hoo!! I also got a great gift basket from my accounting co-workers with several house warming items that are fabulous and just my style! And when I got home John had left a vase of Sunflowers for me on the table! Just about a perfect day!! Now... off to fill those empty boxes!

Vacation!

2008-06-10T20:08:00.006-05:00

John and I spent a few days on vacation near Tyler, Texas this past week. We had a great time, and it was definitely good to have some relaxing time before our big house move! We ate lots of good food, played shuffleboard and mini golf, and went to the Tyler Zoo also. We even rode paddle boats around for a bit. Ours seemed to be defective though... we couldn't turn right! There were two hammocks nearby - one pink and one orange. (Bet you can't guess who got which) After the paddle boat excursion, we decided to rest in the hammocks. After about 10 minutes or so, I hear a **thud** and look over to see John flat on the ground! After checking to make sure he was ok of course, it was a bit comical. And since that's about the worst thing to happen the whole trip, I'd say we did pretty well! Good Times!!