Proof

This post is way overdue; however, I still wanted to post these pictures if nothing else but for proof that I went. In January, I went to Washington DC for the first time to visit Caroline. It was my first time in DC, and it was a blast. What a great city!

I began the trip with a flight into Baltimore (which can save quite a bit of money) and took the Amtrak, well, actually the MARC train over to DC. I arrived at Union Station and Caroline and Valerie came to pick me up. Valerie had just arrived as well, but at a different airport.

We had dinner at Pizza Paradiso in Dupont Circle. It was fantastic. It was also so fantastic to catch up with my two friends. The rest of the weekend was so much fun. I got to meet Caroline's new roommates, go house hunting with them (which was really cool because Virginia houses are quite different than houses here...and now I know where Caroline's new house is). We had a Marie Antionette brunch, which is an old college tradition of ours. It was really just a grand time. My favorite excursion was a trip to Georgetown!

I am posting the only two pictures that I took the entire weekend. It was rainy and cold and my focus was just on surviving the weather, not snapping photos. However, Val and Carol insisted that I must take a picture in front of the White House. And I insisted on not taking it along. So here you go.

Sweet Abilene

Every time I visit Abilene, I get that same feeling that you get when you go home. You know, that feeling that you are taking a break from the world and going to visit somewhere safe, where everyone really knows who you are and what you stand for, and the people there truly care about you? Well, thats how I feel about going to Abilene. Over the past few years, it has become my home away from home away from home (since I have 2 homes now, Kaufman and Houston). You don't really realize how great Abilene is and how rare being around friends who stand for the same things that you do is until you leave. Then you get it. Then you come back to it for a visit, and it is simply blissful.

This weekend was filled with great friends, great food, and, of course, Sing Song. You have to love that time of year when seeing someone at any given place in Abilene with red dots on their cheeks and long, painted on eyelashes is pretty normal.

We arrived in Abilene about 10:00 on Friday night. Fortunately, we still got to see lots of friends on Friday night.

Saturday morning Belinda, Caroline and I decided upon Whataburger for breakfast...always a staple. Shortly after that, Belinda, Clay, Ryan and I met Courtney and Dustin at Harold's! Still full from our Whataburger excursion, and knowing that I would be eating dinner at 4:30, I only had peach cobbler. But it was life changing peach cobbler. And it just happened to be one of those lucky Saturdays when Harold decided to sing. He told us that he had just had stints put in his heart, so he had a much harder time singing than he used to. He could have fooled me though. He began with "How Great Thou Art."

Now let me tell you something about Harold, the man can SING! I mean, its the kind of thing that gives me goosebumps. He just stood in the middle of his barbeque restaurant where people were lined up from the counter all the way out the back door and wrapping around the building and sang. After a few versus, he asked the whole restaurant to join in and led us all in singing "How Great Thou Art." Of course, everyone knew all of the words. These are the reasons that I love Abilene. Seriously, where else in the world does that happen. After one song, he moved into the next. He got everyone clapping their hands and began a soulful version of "Amen." It was awesome.

And in keeping in tradition, Kara and I got a Sing Song picture together. This is the first time in 3 years that we were not both in costume!

Sing Song 2010

Sing Song 2009

Sing Song 2008

After Sing Song, we all got to hang out again! It was great. I was reminded (not that I forgot, really) how lucky I am to have the friends that I have.

Love this one! It also makes me think of Sing Songs Past...

2009

2008

2006. Hilarious.

Love you all! It was a fantastic weekend!!

Valentine's Day

I have decided that since I am now married, I can give up hating Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong, I still think that it is a ridiculous, commercial, non-holiday. But why would I turn down an excuse for a nice dinner out with Ryan and lots of candy? Therefore, this year, Ryan and I bought into the ridiculousness and celebrated V-day.

We even watched the movie, Valentine's Day (for the recored, I don't recommend it) with one of my very good friends from school and her boyfriend.

For dinner, we went to The Capital Grille in Houston. It was gooood!! And very stately.

AND, Ryan gave me very close tickets to the Houston Rodeo on the night that Keith Urban will be performing...which I am quite excited about.

I gave him some sweet new Sperry's! They are navy, and I really like them. I think that he did too!

Well, I suppose it is back to the homework that I have been putting off. Have a good one!

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

Well, apparently I abandoned my goal of being a consistent blogger. I mean, I'm okay with it. School got hard, I got a little bored of it, and I stopped taking pictures for about 6 months. But today, I rejoin blog world...if only for the month of December and part of January (until school starts back).

With only two finals left, I am really beginning to get into the Christmas spirit. In fact, we have already had snow here in Houston, and Ryan and I decorated our Christmas tree today. We were kind of in a goofy mood when we bought ornaments, so it doesn't look as great as I had always imagined that my first Christmas tree would look, but it was fun nonetheless. We have a tree topper that takes up 1/4 of the entire tree because yours truly misjudged the size, red and gold balls, and an ugly stuffed Santa that Ryan decided would be funny to purchase. Oh well. I should put my pride behind me and post pictures of it, but I'm not ready to do that yet. Instead, I will present you with pictures of our lovely snow day.

This is the front of our house (yeah right, I wish). But it is pretty, isn't it?

We decided to do a little Christmas shopping that turned into shopping for ourselves in the merriment.

I am looking forward to my Mom coming to visit at the end of this week.

Oh, AND we are moving to a new apartment next weekend. It is bigger and better, and I will post pictures as soon as a have some. Merry 2 weeks before Christmas!

A Picture Says A Thousand Words--But I Don't Have One; Therefore, I Will Have To Type Those Thousand

For real though, this is going to be long.

I must say, I have been rather uninspired to blog lately. The reason being? Well, my camera broke. After 1.5 hours on the phone with Cannon and several dropped calls (in case you aren't aware, my apt has terrible service), I have a new part coming in the mail. 

Now, I am aware that the point of a blog is about words really, not pictures, but I happen to find that photos are the most interesting part of all blogs. But, until my new battery door arrives, I can provide you with no photo documentations of life's current happenings. Nevertheless, I will trudge on in blog world without photographic representation, but I understand if you don't read the blog posts lacking pictures...I tend to do that myself.

Today is Friday. I am very glad about that fact for several reasons:

One being Ryan. He is always so glad to see Friday. I am sure that I will be myself when everyday is not like Saturday to me (ie. I have to go to school during the week.) 

Reason two is that this Friday represents the end of the last week that I am home all day doing nothing. Bittersweet really, for I have learned to enjoy the solitude with endless possibilities...kinda. I begin orientations for grad school next week though, and I couldn't be more excited!

Reason three is that I get to see my parents tomorrow! My mom's birthday was yesterday, the 13th, and so we are meeting them to celebrate tomorrow night. It should be a very exciting time!

Reason four is that Ryan's cousins, Amber and Ashley, are moving in to Gardner Hall today at ACU. We had dinner with them last night and got grilled on all of the questions that I remember asking as a freshman..."So, how strict is the dress code...will i ever get a shower...did you ever get to sleep...what is freshman follies...what about the bean, is it scary?"

Oh the excitement buzzing around ACU this time of year. I must admit that I am living somewhat vicariously through them currently. I am consoling myself with the fact that I can retire to Abilene? (If Ryan reads this, he will veto that possibility promptly.)

Reason five, and I think this is the last one, is that we actually get to remain in Houston for the first weekend (with the exception of meeting my parents in Brenham tomorrow night) in I don't know how long. We are going to go to church and sleep in late tomorrow, and I am very excited about those two things. 

Although the weekends away have been well worth it. Last weekend in particular was spectACUlar (couldn't help it--former tour guide). 

We spent the weekend celebrating a very joyous occasion--Dustin and Courtney Koctar's wedding! But don't worry, she says we can still call her Flow. 

The weekend began with the renting of a Dodge Caravan...that's right, a minivan. Laura and Jon Hinson, Chris Corbett, Lauren Handley, Ryan and myself loaded up the van and set off for New Orleans. This was my first trip to the Big Easy, and i think I did most of the stuff you are supposed to do there. I went to Cafe Du Mond to have beignets--twice, bought Aunt Sally's pralines, took a walk down Bourbon street, had a hurricane from Pat O'Briens--the origin of the hurricane, went to a local jazz club, and stayed in the French Quarter--all within a little over 12 hours time. 

With pralines in tow, we loaded up the several passenger mini and headed for Nashville, TN--one of my favorite places on earth. The boys split off to Dustin's posse for the weekend, I met up with Courtney, her Nashville bridesmaids, and Jamie, Morgan, and Caroline. It was glorious. I had not seen them in quite some time! We did the normal wedding festivites. Very fun bachelorette party, rehearsal, perfect rehearsal dinner at Maggianos, had pedicures (by the same lady that does Dolly Parton's--if you know me, then you know who exciting this was). 

Then it was time. We went to the church and began getting ready. Courtney looked absolutely beautiful. You will have to find pictures on Facebook, because this is an instance where words cannot describe. The church was pretty and the reception was amazing! Great food, great cake--the cake was Courtney's mom's strawberry cake recipe, dancing, and just a really good time. Joey and Sydney were there, which also made for an exceptional evening because once again, it has been quite some time. We sent Courtney and Dustin off with sparklers to their honeymoon in Cancun! I am so so happy and excited for them. The wedding was just perfect, and Courtney--wow, like I said, absolutely beautiful!

And then we drove 14 hours home. I have never been as happy to see downtown Houston as I was at 1:30 on Sunday night. 

Impact Back to School Shopping

Last night Ryan, Grant, and I had the chance to be a part of Bammel's annual Impact Back to School Shopping trip.

We met the little girl that we would be taking shopping. Her name was Alexis. She was going into 4th grade, and she was adamant that she wanted to go shopping with us by herself. NOT with her little sister. 

We got to Wal-Mart, which happened to be Alexis's favorite store. She found some shoes that she just adored and some new uniform clothes. 

We got the typical school supplies such as pencils and markers, and then moved on to the fun stuff. She really wanted "one of those backpacks that hang by your side." Some know that by the name of a messenger bag. Alexis is a huge Hannah Montana fan, as well as High School Musical. We found a pencil bag, lunch box, and messenger bag--all Hannah Montana themed.

Our next stop--CiCi's Pizza. Believe it or not, ANOTHER favorite of Alexis's. She had about a half of a piece of pizza, a small salad, and about 8 cinnamon rolls. That's right, 8!  She cracked us up on the way home. The happy, talkative Alexis began answering all of our questions with a miserable sounding "uh-huh" and "uh-uh." I looked back and she was hugging her stomach. She said, "I think I ate too much. Hope I don't get sick on the way home." Ryan was very careful to drive smoothly and I advised her to sit by the window on the bus. 

She was such a sweet girl, and we loved spending time with her! 

A Weekend Away

Exactly what I needed because I have been so busy and stressed and overworked. 

Okay, that's not true at all. I have been on vacation pretty much everyday until August 19th, but it was a much needed break for Ryan. 

Andrew and Abbie Harmon invited us, along with 14 other people to their family's new lake house on Lake Granbury, which is a part of the Brazos River. We had so much fun!

Ryan and I had quite the drive on Friday to make it, but it was well worth it. By the time we got there Friday, everyone was pretty much winding down to prepare for the fun that Saturday promised us. 

Saturday morning we woke up to coffee and muffins prepared by Abbie. The girls made our way down to the lake to float for a while. One we considered our skin sufficiently damaged for the day, we went to the yard where Andrew and Abbie were grilling hotdogs and hamburgers and the guys were all playing washers. 

That afternoon, Andrew took us out on the lake in shifts. We got to see some beautiful homes (including one that Kenny Chesney is building) and knee board. Tanna and Logan were champs. Shealynn and I, not so much. Shealynn, however, was hilarious. And I have a HUGE knot/bruise on my shin, which I think warrants an A for effort. 

After boating, we spent the lazy part of the afternoon on the hammock and sitting under a big tree reading. The guys were still immersed in yet another game of washers. For dinner, Andrew and Abbie made wonderful steaks and baked or sweet potatoes. 

It was the perfect summer weekend with great food, great fellowship, and, as usual, hilarious stories to be told. 

Andrew and Abbie were the perfect hosts.  Above, you can see Andrew in action . 

Below is an intense game of washers. 

IMPACT

Another week of IMPACT is over. This was my third week to work with 5th graders. I never thought that I would enjoy that age group, but I really like working with them!

This week, we started with a book called Knots on a Counting Rope.  It is a story about a young child and his Indian grandfather. They talk about the 'dark mountains' that the child has to cross in life. The 5th graders got into groups and wrote a group story about a character who has to cross 'dark mountains.' We talked about symbolism and using it in a story.

On Tuesday, we talked about the tone and mood of stories. We compared and contrasted the mood in two different books about shortcuts. One was by Donald Crews entitled Shortcut. It is an ominous tale about kids that narrowly escape the train tracks with their lives after using it as a shortcut. The second was called The Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague. It was a lighthearted story about adventurous boys who get lost in the forest and conquer alligators and swinging vines while taking a shortcut on the way to school. And would you believe it; the two make it to class on time!

In comparing these two, we talked about how the dialog, illustrations, mood of characters, repetition, vocabulary, and other elements give us clues as to what the tone of a book is. 

And Wednesday, we had a relaxing class time. We started off with a book called Bigmama's. It is also by Donald Crews. It was a warm glance into what summertime was like at the authors grandmother's farm in Cottondale when he was a child. 

After reading and discussing this book, we had free reading time. The kids really seem to love this. I brought many of my books from home and let them read through them in groups, and then they were able to share with the class if they wanted to. I was lucky enough to get some pictures of them reading in their groups.

Wedding Cake

I decided that I did not trust the top tier of our wedding cake to still be good on our one year anniversary. 

So I did something that I always make fun of other people for doing and celebrated a one month anniversary. Let me be clear, I think "month" anniversaries are silly. I will only celebrate them in the form of years. It is too hard to remember every month and becomes overkill. We did it for the cake. 

And let me tell you, it was a good decision. Laura Dougherty made our cake, and she is spectacular. Not only are her cakes beautiful, but she does not let the taste quality suffer for aesthetic value. She somehow manages to make them both delicious and pretty!!! 

This is the cake in all of its glory.  

And here is what we had for our "one month" anniversary. 

Waiting an entire year for this is overrated. 

Official

Well, I am now an official Houstonian. No, I haven't changed my drivers license yet. I am sure I will get around to that someday. Even better. I have a library card! 

In Kaufman, obtaining a library card doesn't take an act of congress. On the contrary; one goes to the library, states an address, receives a card. 

In Houston, it is a horse of a different color. It took three tries before I got mine. My drivers license was not enough because it didn't state my new address. Try two: my lease agreement was not enough because it was "vague." What does that even mean? Third time was charmed by providing an official piece of mail from the county clerk's office in Kaufman to my Houston address with my marriage certificate enclosed. Hallelujah. 

The good news is that the library next to me is beautiful!

Also, there is this little cafe/bakery that connects to the library with an amazing brick covered patio. I am looking forward to a good lunch on that patio while reading a newly obtained library book.

Eating Good In The Neighboorhood

Many of you who have eaten something that I have cooked before have worried about mine and Ryan's nourishment without someone to cook for us. I can bake, but I was lacking in the area of 'real' food. My specialties consisted of Macaroni and Cheese and Tuna Patties. That may sound gross, but I promise it is good. However, it is not exactly something that one could have for dinner on a nightly basis.

This is strange because I come from a legacy of wonderful cooks. My mother and grandmother are spectacular in the kitchen! I was wondering why I had not inherited this trait.

Ryan and I received many wonderful cookbooks as wedding gifts. One is particularly great for me because it explains what a 'pinch of salt' and a 'dash of sugar' actually are.

This is beneficial because whenever I call my grandmother and ask for cooking instructions, she is great to give them to me, but sometimes I am left wondering what she meant when she said 'a little bit of milk and a pinch of salt.' How much is a little bit? That could really vary between people! But now I have an index for these questions.

Another of the books is called Peace Meals. It has exquisitely beautiful pictures of the food, and being the aesthetic person that I am, this encourages my cooking gene.

So, all of that being said, I have taken a leap of faith and tried out several new recipes. As of yet, I haven't even purchased one single can of tuna since we got married, and I only bought one box of Macaroni and Cheese--as a back up or on a comfort food night.

On a typical evening, Ryan grills whatever type of meat we are having on our awesome indoor counter top grill, and I make the side dishes.

Last night was our best creation yet. We had Grilled Tilapia with a wonderful lemon-creole seasoning that Ryan came up with, Home-made Mashed Potatoes (thanks for the Milnot, Mom!), and a Champagne Feta Cheese Asparagus and Tomato Salad. I included a picture for proof!

Impact

Three weeks ago, I found myself sitting in my new apartment with nothing to do. Grad school doesn't begin until late August, all of our boxes were unpacked, and I was without a task. Now I know what you are thinking--that sounds awesome. It was for like three days. But there is only so much unpacking, reading, and watching TV one can do!

I started looking for something to get involved in. I knew that Impact Church of Christ in inner-city Houston has a summer reading program for the kids in the area to continue working on their reading skills throughout the summer. Many of the kids that attend this program come from lower income families with parents that work long hours and don't have a lot of time to read to them. They also come from households where books have to take a backseat on the priority list because the burden of groceries takes precedence.

Impact tries fill in where families may not have the time or money to do so regarding literacy. Children of all ages attending Impact's Vacation Bible School take a small break from the traditional VBS activities to focus on literacy for a little over an hour three days a week.

I had the joy of working with the fifth grade students for the past two weeks. We played a few games, did a few enrichment activities, and read a lot!

Last week, we read a book by Sara Pennypacker called Clementine.

Clementine is an imaginative, creative, artistic 3rd grader with a huge heart. Her creativity and imagination often cause Clementine, and her parents, a great deal of grief. She is constantly in the principals office for her impulsive behavior. Her best friend Margaret is one year older than Clementine and the complete opposite. Margaret is neat, organized, and never gets in trouble.

One day, Margaret gets glue in her hair. Clementine decides that she will help her cut it out. Something goes horribly wrong, and before the two realize what they are doing, Margaret is without any hair. To make her feel better, Clementine cuts all of her hair off too! The story unfolds from there, taking unexpected twists, turns, and trips to the principals office for Clementine.

The story is about unconditional love, friendship, and Clementine having the courage to be herself. The 5th graders loved this book! We took turns reading out loud, brainstorming solutions to Clementines woes, comparing and contrasting Margaret and Clementine, and enjoying this great story!

This week, we talked about different kinds of literature and read a different style each day.

Monday we took a literary journey to Africa! The kids imagined an animal never before discovered that they had come into contact with on an African safari. They described the animal using different adjectives and gave it a clever name. We had a gorilla mixed with a dog, called a Gog. There was a lizard crossed with a butterfly, and dragon mixed with a lion, and other creative animals found deep in the jungles of Africa.

We then read a book of tales from long, long ago in Africa. It was called Misoso (Mi-SAW-SAW)

The kids really got into reading this one. Our goal was to read it like an African storyteller might read it around the campfire.

Tuesday we rapped. Yes, that is right, rapped. You can imagine the 5th graders entertainment with my rapping. We read a book called Yo, Hungry Wolf by David Vozar.

It was a nursery rap about Little Red Rappinghood, The Three Little Pigs, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The kids were anxious to read this one aloud! After reading all three stories, we made up our own rap to the Three Little Pigs. It was hilarious!

And today was poetry.

This is an assortment of children's poetry resembling that of Shel Silverstein. The kids LOVED this! They each read several poems out loud to the entire group. The crazier and sillier, the better.

I had a really great time working with these kids. They were so good and so much fun. Today wrapped it up for this session, but the next session begins on Monday and I am already looking forward to it!

One Fine Day

Sunday was a 10 as far as good days go. 

Ryan and I went to church for the first time since we have been in Houston. We visited First Colony in Sugarland and really loved it. He had been asked to lead singing at Bammel next Sunday, but after that we plan on visiting First Colony again. 

After church, I got to see my mom and dad and brother!!! They made a day trip out to see our apartment and where I will be going to school in the fall. 

First, we had lunch at Lupe Tortilla. Always a good choice.

Then, we brought them to our apartment and gave them the grand tour--which takes approximately 30 seconds. But we love it anyway! It is starting to feel like home.  Mom and Dad brought us some homegrown tomatoes from our garden at home, so that was a special touch!

After the apartment tour, we showed them around the area that we live. We drove through the Medical Center, the Museum District, Rice Village, and then we went over to U of H.  I feel much better now that they have seen where I live. It makes story telling much easier now that they have seen it all!

It was so incredibly wonderful to get to see them. Hopefully, we will be planning a trip to Kaufman soon!