Happy Anniversary to my parents!

Today is my parents' 39 year wedding anniversary. :) I'm proud of them! They took a little 2-day trip this week. Hope they had a good time!

Here's to many more anniversaries!!! :)

Busy week!

Today, the river rocks arrived for the backyard project. The dump truck man delivered them at 8:35 am. He dumped them in our driveway. So... for the next 2 or 3 weeks, I won't be able to park in the garage. It can't be helped... there was no other place to put them. I took this picture after the first load. The dump truck came back and dumped a 2nd load. Hard work ahead!



Anyway, I've been preparing the house for the delivery of our furniture tomorrow. Yippee!!!! :) The movers will arrive in Tualatin between 8-9 am to load our furniture. Everything should be finished by noon. Then, Brandon & I have one last lunch with some of his friends in the school district.

I can't believe how fast this week has gone!

Brandon's Party

Brandon's friends at the administration building gave him a Going Away party today at noon. It was so nice! They brought in a barbecue pit and made burgers. It was very casual and relaxed. We really enjoyed it. :)

I made homemade brownies and lemon bars. They devoured my lemon bars! :)



The entire room was filled at one point... every table & chair. It was a lot of fun. There wasn't a formal roast or anything. People came over one at a time before the party was over to say goodbye to Brandon & thank him for his hard work over the last 4.5 years.


His last official day is Friday. The end of a chapter! :)

Baby Fawn

My parents live in a large neighborhood on the edge of Sam Houston National Forest in Huntsville, TX. Deer roam freely year round. It's not uncommon for a herd of 17-21 deer to run through my parents backyard. Sometimes they lay down in the yard and take naps.

My dad sent this picture to me last week. The does all had their fawns in May and early June. This is the tiniest one we've ever seen. It's so small, it looks like a chihuahua. So sweet! It rested all day by their back porch in the shade.


Speaking of animal babies, I think "my cows" here are going to have some calves any day! I can't wait to watch the baby cows! :)

After I typed this, I was looking out the dining room window toward the farmer's property. I saw a fat, brown bunny rabbit hopping around in the field. I love animals!

Extremely busy weekend!

Friday, Brandon got off work early and came home to work in the backyard again with his dad. They started a major project last weekend. When they started, they anticipated that it would be a 3-4 weekend project. They think they can get finished this next weekend.

So, Brandon & his dad worked until 7 pm. Brandon got cleaned up and then his parents took us to dinner for Brandon's birthday. We went to a really good Mexican restaurant called On the Border.

Then, Saturday morning, B & his dad started working around 10:30 am. They worked until 4 pm. Serious digging and heavy rocks & bricks... those guys have been working so hard! I will post before-and-after pictures when the project is complete. :)

Brandon's mom & I drove about 45 minutes away and bought an aluminum patio furniture set off of Craigslist. It's awesome! It was Brandon's birthday present. We got a very good deal on it. We priced them new for around $600. It's in really good condition and it's exactly what I had in mind. :) Yay!


Also, while we were in Tualatin, Oregon, we went to look at a bedroom set. We didn't realize the entire contents of this gorgeous, elegant home were for sale. Brandon and I went back yesterday after lunch and bought over 3 rooms of furniture!!! This home was like a furniture gallery. So elegant and the furniture hasn't ever really been sat on. Gorgeous stuff... If we had bought everything we got brand new, it probably would have cost over $14,000. We got an UNBELIEVABLE deal on all of it. Priced so low... we got the "heaven discount". :) Praise God!!!




These are pictures of our new sofa, dining room table & hutch. I LOVE the dining room table! It has 8 chairs and a leaf that we can add for special occasions. The upholstery on the chairs is burnt orange!!! Gotta love it! :) The lady's son-in-law is from Austin, TX! What are the odds of that? Her daughter & son-in-law had Longhorn sweatshirts and t-shirts on. That was nice to walk up and see at the yard sale. :) Oh, and the man & his wife who sold us the patio furniture used to live in Houston, TX. He used to run marathons and he would go up to Huntsville (where my parents live) and run in the Sam Houston State Park sometimes. It's such a small world...

We got a really beautiful bedroom set that has 5 pieces. We also bought 2 pretty chairs that match the pillows on the couch. Also, we got 2 very comfy rockers for the entertainment room upstairs. It's very exciting!!!

We are planning on having the furniture delivered on Friday. I can't believe it! "Bachelor paradise" is turning into a real home! ;-) Our backyard will be beautiful and the inside of the house will be beautiful! I can't wait to see it all!

New recipes...

Last night, I made Brandon a special dessert for his birthday. He didn't seem enthusiastic about a birthday cake so I found something better! Brandon loves peanut butter and chocolate. So, I found a recipe in one of my cookbooks for chocolate chip-peanut butter bar cookies with Hershey Kisses on top! :) They turned out great!


Also, I used my brand new slow-cooker for the first time last night. I have a slow-cooker recipe book with a recipe in it for barbecue beef sandwiches. I cooked the meat overnight for 7 hours and it was so tender and delicious!


The first picture is from the cookbook and the second picture is my sandwich.


Brandon's dad came over to eat lunch with us today and they've been working in the backyard ever since. We have a big yard project going on. It's going to take several weekends.

Brandon's birthday :)

This is one of my favorite pictures of Brandon from our honeymoon. We were in Las Vegas at the Venetian before we saw Phantom of the Opera. This display for the Blue Man Group was in the atrium. It makes me laugh every time I look at it. :) He's just so cute... I love the look on his face (click to enlarge it).

Today is my honey's birthday. Poor thing, he has to work 10 hours and then go to his masters class. So, I got to talk to him a little bit this morning around 5:45, but I won't see him again until around 10:15 pm tonight. Long day! He's not a birthday diva like I am. :) ha,ha

Brandon is 37 years old today... I will be 37 in a month and 3 days. All the cool kids were born in 1974! :)

The high today is 65 degrees. Last night our low was 51 degrees. We don't have an air conditioner, so at night, we open some of the windows upstairs. It's so nice with the breeze coming! We're having a beautiful summer!

More Chicago Pics

Chicago Trip- June 2010

I can't believe it's been a year since my good friend Kristin & I flew to Chicago to visit our good friend Marley. I've been friends with these chickies since 4th grade! We had a super-fun week! :)


We took the tourboat ride out into Lake Michigan and got a gorgeous view of the Chicago skyline. Heaven knows I love a boat ride!!!


We had dinner in the top of the Hancock Building (the tall needle-point building that's really recognizable). It was awesome! We had the best table in the restaurant, with a view of Lake Michigan, Navy Pier and Downtown Chicago.

Father's Day Weekend

We celebrated with Brandon's family yesterday. The family voted to have snacks instead of a meal. I volunteered to make all the appetizers. I made a lot of stuff!!! Here are pics of my mini-key lime cheesecakes and festive frank roll-ups. I used hardwood smoked turkey wieners. They were deelish! My snacks were a big hit. :)




Also, our brother-in-law's mom is visiting from Dubai. It was very nice to meet her yesterday.


Finally, our nephew, Ethan, had us ROLLING yesterday. Brandon's sis turned on an exercise video and Ethan was trying to do the moves. It was HILARIOUS! And without his pants... so cute! :)



Happy Father's Day to my dad! :) I am blessed!!!

More random things...

It's a gorgeous, sunny 71 degrees today. But tomorrow, our high is going to be 61 degrees. That's crazy, because in Huntsville, TX (where my parents live) it's supposed to be 103 degrees tomorrow.

This is the view from one of our guest rooms. I took it this morning. I don't know where my cows are. I haven't seen them all day. I love this pasture/field behind our house! :)


This is the view from the wash room. I love looking out the window when I'm doing laundry.



I've been uploading pictures from our wedding week, honeymoon and various other trips to the Walgreens website today. It takes awhile to sort through everything! I'm printing 4x6s for all of the empty photo albums I received as gifts. I love photos & albums! Brandon can't believe how many plastic tubs of photo albums I have. :) He's just starting to realize who he's married to... ha,ha. You guys already know!!! I'm a picture freak! Especially since iPhone has a camera and I always have it with me.

I got some MAJOR deals yesterday. I went to a different BB&B in Vancouver and just walked around, checking stuff out. I found the clearance rack. For whatever reason, they had our 8x10 frame that we registered for marked way down. I was really excited, because that particular frame was $31.99 at BB&B and $26.99 at Kohls. Yesterday, BB&B had it marked down to $14.99. I also had a 20% off coupon with me. So, I was feeling pretty good.

I walked up to the checkout and that frame scanned for $6.99!!! And with the coupon, it only cost me $4.61!!!!!! Brandon was so excited! This was his favorite frame. And he loves bargains! He was impressed with my good deal. $4.61 instead of $32, people!!!! That's amazing!

Here it is... we have the other 2 frames in the collection. We received 1 as a shower gift and we bought the other one with a gift card.


Brandon's mom bought him a really pretty purple tie before Christmas. He hasn't had a shirt to wear with it. I got him a beautiful shirt yesterday with a coupon at Kohl's. There were 5-6 shades of purple shirts. I had a hard time matching the tie, but I finally got it! :)


Here is my honey before work this morning. He has to handle the technology for the graduation at the college tonight. He looks sharp!

Random things...

First of all, our marriage counter at the bottom of the blog says we've been married 2 months and 2 weeks today! :) Yay!!! Time is really flying...


I got my birthday present early from my parents this week. A BEAUTIFUL University of Texas diploma frame (I capitalized BEAUTIFUL for my 2 close girlfriends who graduated from texas a&m univ. They will enjoy that... ha,ha!). It really is pretty, with a burnt orange suede matte and a gold longhorn head. Nice! My old diploma frame had been damaged several times in my moves. So, after 14 years, I decided to ask for a new one. :)

Next on the list of "things"... Brandon's birthday is June 23rd. Yesterday, I got to shop for a "Husband Birthday" card for the 1st time! Yay!!! :) I'm having fun!


Another random thing... My parents keep a very clean house. Their favorite cleaning tool is a Swivel Sweeper. Normally, they buy one for $40 at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I found it at Ross tonight for $25!!!! I bought 2 for that price! :) I love deals!


And lastly... I can't get over the weather and conditions here. For instance, the sun doesn't completely set until around 9:45 pm. It's so crazy to see light in the sky until almost 10 pm. Brandon & I both comment on it almost every day. It still amazes him, too. :)

This morning when I woke up, it was 49 degrees outside and our heater was running. Brandon leaves the heater on 64 and never moves it. Seriously... I can't believe how cold it was today on June 16th. The high reached 69, but it was still kinda chilly in the shade at school today. There's always a strong wind/breeze here, especially at our house and B's parents' house because we both live on hills on the edge of the gorge.


I took this picture this morning. It's the view out of our water closet window. You can see our neighbor's roof. Sunny & 49 in the Evergreen State... Gotta love it!!! :)

Our Fax Anniversary!

One year ago today, June 14th (Flag Day), I attempted to fax my job application to the school district where Brandon worked. The fax didn't go through and the secretary alerted Brandon (Technology Director) to the problem. He called me and left a voicemail on my cell while I was working out at the Wellness Center in Beaumont.

:) Brandon & I were talking about it last night. I can't explain it, but when I heard his voice on the voicemail, I got giddy and so excited! At my job, I received business calls from men on my cell and office phone all the time. I never got excited by the voices on those calls. But I did get excited when I heard Brandon's voice. I'll never forget that moment- where I was standing, the way the sky looked, everything. I told him, "I think my soul knew." :) Something magical happened and all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Finally! My Love appeared on the scene... :)

Tomorrow is the 1-year anniversary of our first phone call. :) Life is good! Wow... what a difference a year makes!!!

Fun Sunday with my Hubby! :)

Yesterday morning, we went to our church and out to lunch to a really cute pizza place. Then, we went to Walgreen's (something we enjoy doing :). We came home and B took a nap while I talked to my mom. Later, we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond to finally complete our wedding registry. Yes... my showers were 3 months ago and we are just now getting the rest of our stuff. Anyway, BB&B held a special wedding event for couples who have gotten married in the last 3 months. We got extra discounts and refreshments. There was also a drawing for a set of pots & pans. We didn't win, but that's ok because my pots & pans set is one of my FAVORITE things we got yesterday! Love my Cuisinart pots & pans!!! :)

Here I am... a very happy girl in the parking lot with 2 baskets full of our stuff! :)



We also went to Kohl's (in the same shopping center) and finished our registry stuff there, too. Afterward, B & I had a little date at one of our fav places in Vancouver. It's called "Big Al's". I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it in at least one other blog post. Their restaurant is a sports grill. There are fun games (sort of like Dave & Buster's or Jillian's in Houston) and there is a bowling alley, all under the same roof.



Anyways, we got to see the end of the NBA championship on the big screens. We got to sit side-by-side, facing the big screens in this really comfy, circular booth. We had so much fun sitting close & cuddling. It's like we were 17 or something. And the food was deelish!



After that, we went to play games for a little while. Here is a picture of the 2nd love of my life... SKEEBALL! :)



Then, we came home, unpacked our BB&B/Kohl's goodies and watched a movie on the couch. :) It was a great day & night with my honey!