Late Nights & No Blogging

I was on a roll with blogging there for a while....missing it, but I'm getting some exciting things accomplished since taking a break from bloggyland.

I've spent some late nights recently working on a wedding album!

Can't wait to have it in hand....here's a little preview of one of the pages:

This is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding - it sums up what the day felt like....fun, joyous and care free.  And it's just silly and makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Almost finished....hope to get back to blogging soon and hope to share more pictures when I receive the book in the mail.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's lasted almost a whole week around these parts...

....it all started on February 13, when my Sweetie brought home a dozen red roses...he decided to give them to me early so I could enjoy them longer (since I'd be gone one whole day that week from home).

On the morning of February 14, I found a sweet card (Brandon says he loves getting to buy cards that say "wife" on them and I love getting them!) and a Kit-Kat on our kitchen table (him giving me Kit-Kats is becoming quite a yummy tradition!).  I got him a card that said "husband" and a Reese Cup Heart. 

The evening of Valentine's, we continued a tradition we had started the year before.....

.....going to Qdoba for their "Buy One Get One" deal if you kiss at the register.  Qdoba holds a special place in our hearts because it was at a Qdoba in the Ville that I first confessed to Brandon that I liked him.....and he likewise. So, even though we waited in line for about 45 minutes.....we kissed at the register and were reminiscent of how our love story began.

But the celebration didn't stop there, The Hubs had wanted to take me out some place fancy for Valentine's, but wanting to avoid the day-of rush and not wanting to break the tradition mentioned above, we opted for going out the Friday after Valentine's for a fancy dinner.

On the way to downtown Lex on Friday February 17.....

We dined at a lovely Italian restaurant called Portofino.  Every bit of it was scrum-didly-umpcious!

We started with a melt-in-your-mouth Bruschetta.....and I mean melt-in-your-mouth....you don't know how close I was to licking the plate!!

Followed by our entrees....Brandon got Linguini Bolognese and I got Ravioli di Casa with a Garlic Sage Butter Sauce....plus we both had side salads....and all you can eat bread.

And lastly, we topped all that off with a just-right-rich Chocolate Torte with chocolate sauce and fresh fruit.

Sigh....my mouth is watering.....Hey, Sweetie - can we go back this weekend???

Fun Weekend

Last weekend, we headed to my old college stomping grounds to visit with my brother's family & to also visit with some friends from the Ville who we were sharing hotel rooms with since they were going to MSU that weekend as well.

Brandon and I got in late Friday night, checked into our hotel and headed to sleep.  The next morning, he and I headed over to my brother, Brad's, house to see him, my sister-in-law, Nancy, and their 4 kiddos.

Brandon and The Tank played several Wii games, while The Chief looked on from his mini-couch.  Goose played games on the computer....

....and little miss Boo occupied her time by taking tons of pictures on my phone.....she seriously took like 120!....she had fun though and I didn't mind.

The Chief, who is almost 15 months old, is walking around like crazy, pointing at things and saying 'dah' as he points.  I thought this was cute - how Brad would swing him up & down on his legs.....The Chief came over and sat down several times on my legs as well (especially when I wasn't expecting it or already had another kid in my lap) and wanted me to do the same.

More pictures courtesy of Boo....

Left: Boo & The Chief

Right: Me & Goose

While we were there, The Tank lost one of his front teeth!!  He was excited!

We headed back towards our hotel around dinnertime to meet up with our friends, Ben & Jenn, who were in town as well (Jenn went there for college too).  Brandon and I decided that trying to get tickets to the already-sold-out MSU game would probably mean we'd stand out in the cold forever and end up empty-handed anyway, so we gave up on the idea before even trying.  So, we set up my laptop at the hotel to stream the MSU game online, while we had the UK game on the TV.  Ben & Jenn (aka, Bennifer) braved the cold and scored tickets for the game, so they got to see it in person.  We met up with them at the hotel after the game and hung out and talked for a while before going to bed.

The next morning, we all met in the breakfast room at the hotel, ate, and then headed over to my brother's church for worship that morning (my brother is a Pastor).

After church, Us, Bennifer and all of Brad's family went to Los Portales, my favorite Mexican restaurant ever!  It was soooo yummy!  Then it was time to head home - great trip and fun times!! 

Throwback Thursday

 My favorite place to eat in college was a Mexican restaurant called Los Portales.  I ate there about 2-3 times a week, at least, I'd say.  It was yummy, not to mention cheap & quick - everything a college student needs.

Not only did I eat there A LOT, I celebrated 5 out of the 6 birthdays I had in college there (yes, I was in college for 6 years, but I got two degrees, so get off my back!).

At "Los" (that's what we called it, which I realize really just means "the") when it's your birthday, they bring out a sombrero and a sopapilla with ice cream and sing a very slow, Spanish version of a birthday song...then they thump you on the top of the hat at the end of the song.

 I'm very excited to say that I'll get to taste Los again this weekend....maybe, I'll tell them it's my birthday!

European Adventure Recap - Sunset Along the Seine - Part 2

 A European Adventure Recap?  Why not!?

Ok, so it's been over two years since Shannon and I went on our European Backpacking Adventure, but for archiving's sake (and because I want to), I'm bound and determined to finish blogging about it!

If you'd like to catch up on other posts from our trip to Europe - Click Here.

Sunday October 25, 2009

Paris, France

Last we left, we were in Paris, walking along the Seine towards the Eiffel Tower while the sun set, here's part two of those pictures.

I'm so glad we went to Paris in the fall, it's my favorite season and I think that made everything even more beautiful to me. I'll let the next few pictures speak for themselves, as there isn't much more to share than just the beauty of the colors, silhouettes and the sunset.

We finally made it around a bend where we we had an unobstructed view of the Eiffel Tower.  I love the sky and the lights and the Tower all so shimmery in these next few shots.

See that glass-topped building sticking up above the trees on the right?  It's Le Grand Palais or The Grand Palace.

Here's a closer shot - it sits just on the other side of the Pont Alexander III - The Alexander III Bridge (the white columns with gold statues on top are actually part of the bridge, but you can see the Grand Palais' glass roof beyond on the right).

The Grand Palace was built circa 1897.  It was used as a hospital during World War I, occupied by the Nazi's during World War II and was attacked by tanks during the Liberation of Paris in 1944.  It has been and is currently used as a museum.  It also is currently used as an exhibition hall and houses a "major police station in the basement." (source)

"The competition to choose the architect was fierce and controversial, and ultimately resulted in the contract being awarded to a group of four architects...each with a separate area of responsibility.  The main space...was constructed with an iron, steel and glass barrel-vaulted roof, making it the last of the large transparent structures...that were necessary for large gatherings of people before the age of electricity." (source)

Me, Myself and I

So, the other day, I had a little conversation with Myself.

It went something like this:

Myself said to I, "I, you write really looong blogposts."

To which I replied, "Yes, but I want people to get the whole story with as many details as possible."

Myself:  "Yes, but if you blogged more frequently, maybe you could share just as much, but spread it out over a few posts so as not to exasperate over-load your reader(s)."

I: "Well, you have a good point there."

Myself: "Ok, I, repeat after me.....I promise..."

I: "I promise..."

Myself: "...to write shorter blogposts..."

I: "...to write shorter blogposts..."

Myself: "...and to be more diligent..."

I: "...and to be more diligent..."

Myself: "...at blogging more frequently..."

I:  "...at blogging more frequently..."

Myself: "...so one blogpost..."

I:  "...so one blogpost...

Myself: "...doesn't take up the entire length of my blog page..."

I:  "...doesn't take up the entire length of my blog page..."

Myself: "...and to buy Myself some really expensive camera lenses."

I: "...and to buy Myself some really expensive...Hey!"



Ok, so maybe I've been spending too much time inside - is it Summer yet???

Engage-a-versary

Today is a very special day - It's my Engage-a-versary!

One year ago, Brandon proposed and I said Yes!  Because I love the story so much, I thought I'd re-share it, so click here to read about Our Engagement.

2012 - The YoFS

2012 is going to be the YoFS!  (The Year of Finishing Stuff!)

Each New Year, instead of making resolutions, I like to come up with a theme for the year....seems that having a theme to live by is more encouraging than a list of things not to do.  So, this year is the YoFS.

I have waaay too many projects that are mid-way done.  Below is a list of things I've started (some I even started years ago!) but never finished for one reason or another (can you say A.D.D. and/or Procrastination? - I even procrastinated on writing this post!!).  Not to mention that I like to help other people get things done too, so there's a list projects I've started and a list of projects I've helped other people start.

So, here's my goals for 2012  - The YoFS!  (the ones that are marked out are done - yes, I've already accomplished some things this year!):

(the stuff in red that is crossed out is what I've accomplished since I wrote this post)

My Projects:
-Put pictures in frames around house (Hallway, Office, Living Room, Bedroom).  We currently have frames hanging on the walls, but most either don't have pictures in them or the picture inside is landscape while the frame is portrait, etc...
-Organize the book shelves in our Living Room
-Sort through Facebook Friends and put folks into "Groups" (and maybe purge my friend list?)
-Complete unfinished quilting project (name of project withheld because it's a present!)
-Break out my Cricut & "Sure Cuts A Lot" program and make cards with all the paper/card stock I've accumulated over the years
-Scrapbook the rest of my college years (mostly from Graduate year: 2003-2004)
-Make 3-4 photo books and thereby use the Groupons I purchased that expire in February 2012
-Make stuff from all the felt/fabric/yarn stock I have
-Scan all photos, negatives & memorabilia from the years 2004-2011  I'm almost done with 2005!
-Blog the rest of our Wedding, Honeymoon & post wedding stuff
-Blog the rest of mine & Shannon's European Adventure 2009 (preferably before we hit the 3 year anniversary of that trip in October)
-Cover couch throw pillows with new fabric that I've already purchased
-Recipe Cards - transfer recipes from magazine clippings to actual cards that fit into my recipe box
-Update Google contacts with addresses, email addresses, birthdays, anniversaries, pictures, etc...of everyone in my phone/contact list.
-Read the 4 books I've started (I'm such a *slow* reader!!)  I've read two of them!!
-Edit DVD's that Brandon is making from my VHS tapes from High School Band, etc...
-Make shortcuts within my computer folder system for pictures (this probably make no sense to anyone but me and my organized chaos and I don't feel like providing a lengthy explanation, but I wanted to add it to the list in hopes that I can later cross it off, sorry for my vague-ness)
-Consistently do my Throwback Thursday posts
-Keep my blog more current, instead of posting something months after the fact
-Catch up on blogs in my blog reader.  Between my computer crashing, our Month o' Travel and then the Holidays, I haven't read many of the blogs I usually keep up with, including friends' blogs.

Helping with Other People's Projects:
-Sand re-patched walls/ceiling in play room at my parents house, trace all the existing "Peanuts" characters and repaint the entire room, then add the Peanuts characters (and some other murals?) back on the re-painted walls
-Scan pictures from the Baby Shower for my first niece (born in 2003, yikes!) to give to my sister-in-law
-Hang the hammock I bought for my Dad almost 3 years ago in Honduras
-Help my Mamaw put some pictures back on her walls since repainting her bedroom (in October of 2010!)
-Help my mom organize all her pictures into boxes/albums
-Complete cleaning out process of my parents basement.  We finished phase 1, now on to phase 2.

Throwback Thursday

Around this time back in 2009, Shannon and I took a trip to Las Vegas.  You know, we're such party girls, that it was on the top of our list.  ;)  Seriously though - we had a blast and while Vegas isn't Family Friendly by any means, even conservative Christians like us could enjoy some of what it offers.



  

We walked around the hotels and casinos enjoying the interior & exterior architecture.....

Ate lots of yummy food and desserts (several times from Monte Carlo's awesome buffet)......

Went on a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon where we had lunch on the bottom of the canyon.....

We drove to the Hoover Dam.......

And even enjoyed a Chris Tomlin concert from the 6th row!  And met his drummer, Travis Nunn, after the concert.

I'm currently making a photobook of this trip on mixbook.com, so I thought it fitting for my Throwback Thursday.