The Longest Week of My Life...

...or at least since the last time I attempted the big D. You know that nasty little, HORRIBLE LITTLE, NO GOOD WORD?

DIET

Ick. It makes cringe just looking at it. By the way, if you are "one of those people" who have never experienced said word, you can just scoot on out of here and eat a twinkie or something because this post is not for you. No offense, but just a tad bit of bitterness. Sorry.

SO. I've been on "the D word" for a week now and can I just say UGH? Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh. And one more UGH in caps and bold just for emphasis. Thank you.

Sorry, where was I going with this? Oh, yes, I've been on the Big D for a week now and it seriously does seem like it has been SO MUCH LONGER. You see, I am no stranger to "the D word". I have struggled with my weight pretty much all my life and mostly I've lost, not weight, unfortunately, the battle. There have been a few brief (and glorious times) in my life that I have gained the upper hand, but mostly I've just struggled. Not trying to turn this into a sob story or anything, I'm just giving you a little history. To quote the older lady I met in the grocery store line yesterday as we were chatting about parenting, "Let's just say, I know how the game is played.". Isn't that a classic quote? I think it will be permanently added to my repertoire.

I know you all are hoping I get to the point sometime soon. Trouble is I'm not sure I have one. And I'm pretty certain I can't tie this up in a pretty little bow. I'd love to say that I'm super excited about this "lifestyle change" and that I'm feeling so much better with all this "healthy eating", and promise to update you with my progress each week. But it just doesn't work that way for me. As much as I want to be one of those people eating twinkies right now, just as I slide into my size small jeans, I'm just not. It's a strenuous daily battle...mentally, physically, and spiritually. Wow. Look at that. Somewhere among all this rambling, I've stumbled upon the TRUTH. This is an area of my life I have yet to find victory in. A serious stronghold. No, it is not news to me, I guess I just forget sometimes. I know I am not alone in this. So maybe this is where I can draw back in you skinny twinkie eaters (if you didn't heed my warning and run far, far away). Chances are you have another stronghold you are longing to be free from. It's just different from mine. And I can respect that. I guess we're all in this together after all.

So. Tell me. Where do we go from here?

Little Letter

I've been meaning to post this for awhile. This is a letter Richie wrote to his teacher and gave to her on the last day of school...along with this book for her collection. I took a picture of the letter so I could save it for posterity. I just love it. I could never have imagined as I was writing this last year what a wonderful year we had in store for us. Here is a picture I took of Richie with his teacher as we dropped him off on the first day of school, followed by his letter to her on the last day of school.





The letter says, "Dear Mrs. R., I'm gonna miss yuo. Are yuo gonna miss me to? I like when we made the glasses. Did yuo like my good charucter? Love, Richie

Those little things between the letters are hearts :-)

Dallas Debriefing

So. We had an absolutely wonderful time in Dallas! We traveled by car and honestly that was one of the highlights of the trip for me. Just the two of us together without any "distractions" for several hours. We talked, we joked, we snacked, and we took pictures. See?


Here is my self portrait. Not bad, eh?

And here is Rich's self portrait. QUITE the character, he is.

We arrived at our hotel and as we were checking in Rich asked if they would consider giving us an upgrade since we were celebrating our anniversary. And do you know what? They gave us a complimentary (aka FREE) upgrade to a "villa" I know. Ooh la la. Check it out.

Just for the record, we didn't pay for the accommodations. It was covered by Rich's employer as part of the expense of the conference. Don't know why I felt compelled to say that, other than I wouldn't want to mislead you to think this is the norm for us or anything. Moving on. And here is the view from our window. It was on a golf course. FORE!


After we were all checked in, we went foraging for food. And thanks to a tip from my good friend Carissa who told me about Google on the Go, we were able to find one of these fine establishments (see picture below). Yum. I can still say that even after Rich found a screw (yes you read that right) in his rice during our dinner. Apparently this happens about once a year (according to the manager) when one comes loose from the rice cooker. However, since no actual harm befell him we were kind of excited that we received a free (I mean complimentary) meal.
On Friday when Rich was attending his conference, I got to sneak away and meet one of my favorite bloggers of all time! Seriously. She is one sweet and funny girl. We met here. Her kiddos ran around in the play area while we chatted, then we had lunch here, and did a little shopping here. When nap time rolled around we parted ways and I wandered around aimlessly (oh the joy) until it was time to pick Rich up and head to dinner. Isn't this a fun picture? We had such a great time getting to know each other in "real life".

Plus, I got to meet her ADORABLE children. Here is sweet little Goo.

And her cutie big brother, Big H.


(Insert awkward transition here)

Because there is just no good way to segue from that picture to this next one. This is a picture I took of Rich after we spent some time lounging at the pool on Saturday. I'm titling it Sunbathing 101. Can you see the perfect rectangle of a white spot on his chest? That's from a magazine.
You guys have already seen this picture, but do you know where it was taken?


This little pot should give you a clue. It was our first time eating there. And we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.


On Sunday, we checked out of the hotel and went to lunch here. Because Janelle has RAVED and RAVED about their Tomato Basil Soup. And let me tell you. It did not disappoint. I was kicking myself for only getting the cup of soup and not the bowl.

After lunch we headed to downtown Dallas because Rich really wanted to go to the Nasher Sculpture Museum. Really cool place. We took this self-portrait in front of my favorite sculpture there. This picture doesn't do it justice, but trust me, it was very cool. Anyone seen it before?


After the sculpture museum, we headed over for a quick look at the Dallas Museum of Art because there was an arts festival and all of the museums were free that day! After that we went across town to see my sister and stay the night with her. I so wish I had a picture to show you of our visit, but we kind of crashed when we got to her place and didn't take any photos. It was so great to see her, though!

The next morning we made one last stop before heading home. We purchased some lamps for our bedroom. Oh I forgot to tell you that I did find my way to Sam Moon, but didn't end up purchasing anything as the scene there on Saturday mornings was a bit too intense for me. Some people are can be VERY serious about their jewelry and bags ;-) YOWSA. And now on that lackadaisical note, I shall close.

For My Sweet

Today marks our 12th anniversary. 12 years! I have been sitting here reading some of our old love letters from times past. They are mostly from the summers we spent apart in college. I have had a few good chuckles over our just how lovesick we were for each other. I wrote things like this...

"My sweet boy, do you know that I love you? Only you? I do."

"Did you know that yesterday was December 22nd? Only 6 months until our wedding and then we will start our lifetime together! Isn't that exciting?"

"I've had a very bad morning. I wish you were so here so that I could cry on your shoulder. Yours is my favorite to cry on."

"I am missing you like crazy and wishing we could be together right now. How wonderful that would be. I am thinking of you constantly. I love you so much. I live for your letters and calls and for writing you letters so I can feel in some way that I spend some time with you everyday. I miss you so much, Rich. I really do not like being away from you. The time seems to be going so slowly."

And you wrote things like this...

"Seven days from now you will be in my arms where you belong. I am very excited and anxious. I love you my sweet, wonderful, talented girl. I miss you so much."

"Guess what? I love you! Forever and forever. God has blessed me with a priceless treasure and I thank him many times daily for you."

"I thought about you so much today. I also thanked God for you numerous times in prayer. It seems that the more time I spend with you the more I fall in love. Everything about you is just wonderful to me."

I know we may not take the time to write or whisper sweet nothings to each other very often anymore, but I am comforted at the thought that (by the grace of God) the feelings communicated in that precious state of "young love" still do hold true today, even 12 years later. The feelings have matured, but the foundation is still there and I am so thankful to God for that!

Happy Anniversary, my love! I look forward to many more.

Not Quite Back...

I am back, but not quite back in the swing of things yet. I did come out of hiding long enough to post this for a friend. Exciting times in B-town!!

And We're Off

We are taking off today for our trip! Disclaimer: I am really far behind on blog reading already and I don't know how much time (if any) I will be spending doing that while I'm gone. So, I'll catch up with you guys when I get home. I considered not taking my computer at all, but the mere thought almost sent me into hyperventilation. I know. If only the same thing didn't happen when I think of paying the service fee the hotel charges for hook up.

SO. If you think of it, pray for us (safe travel) and my parents (sanity) as they take on two very energetic (albeit cute) young boys.

Lastly, I'm feeling led to end this post with some sort of "y'all". I reserve the right to do so only when I am traveling to or am residing in one of the great southern states...which may be reason in an of itself to write at least one post while I'm away. Hmm. We shall see. So on that note, I will say...

Bye Y'all!

Dallas or Bust

Big News! A few days after Nana and Papa leave, my parents are coming to love on their grandchildren while Rich and I go away BY OURSELVES for a few days.

Yahoo!

Our destination? Dallas!

Rich will be attending a conference and I will be tagging along to do...well anything I want to do. Doesn't that sound heavenly?

Now that is where you come in. I know several of you have Dallas connections. So, what should we do and where should we eat? That last one being the most important. Naturally. I plan do a good bit of just hanging out by the pool and sleeping in, but we'll want to get out a little as well.

Help? The conference will be at The University of Dallas in Irving if that helps.

Dull as Dishwater

Sweet Teri tagged me for this meme. Remember Teri? It was awhile ago. But if you try really hard you might be able to pull it out of the deep recesses of your memory.

Here we go. One word answers only. And I'll just warn you in advance. My answers are about as (see Title of this post).

1. Where is your cell phone?
purse

2. Your significant other?
troweling

3. Your hair?
highlightless

4. Your mother?
Prayerful

5. Your father?
Selfless

6. Your favorite thing?
Food

7. Your dream last night?
non-existent

8. Your favorite drink?
Coke

9. Your dream/goal?
thinner

10. The room you’re in?
Living

11. Your hobby?
blogging

12. Your fear?
rejection

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
Here

14. Where were you last night?
Tball

15. What you’re not?
loud

16. Muffins?
Yes! (#6)

17. The last thing you did?
groceries

18. What are you wearing?
c.l.o.t.h.e.s

19. Something you’re not wearing?
shoes

20. Your mood?
mellow

21. Your summer?
fast

22. Person you tag?
Anyone who actually finished reading this post.


So what do you think? Which is duller?

On second thought? Don't answer that.

Whodunit? A Real Life Mystery.

The most strange and wonderful phenomena has been happening in my house this past week.

Let me set the stage for you.

I am going about my daily business and stop off at the clothes dryer to fold the load of laundry I last put in. But lo and behold, the laundry has disappeared! Where did it go?

So I mosey on to the dishwasher because it will surely need unloaded. And miracle of miracles, the dishes are gone, too!

I spin around in a state of confusion to find the beds are made, the toys picked up and the children dressed.

I hear one of the children calling because they want their apple peeled (a dreaded IHC), but by the time I get there the apple is already peeled and sliced. Hallelujah!

After my shower, I think of finding something productive (maybe even educational) to do with the children, but as I'm pondering the possibilities I see that they are already being read a book, or are planting flowers, or are being shown a real live Mockingbird nest.

Have you figured out the mystery yet? Your probably thinking it is a dream and that I'm about to open my eyes to a VERY rude awakening, right? Nope this is real life my friends. Because Nana is in town and I am enjoying the benefits even as I write this.

And don't think Papa has been left off the hook, he's been working HARD downstairs with Rich on the new bathroom being finished in the basement. I'll take some pictures of their progress and post them soon.




A big thanks to Nana and Papa for all you do!

Bloggy Flip Flop CARNIVAL!!

Okay, the time has FINALLY come for us to see those cute flip flops! Hopefully most of you have received your flops by now. If not, let me know so I can hunt down your flop partner and give them a firm talking to, or at the very least a bit of a guilt trip for being such a SLACKER ;-)

I ended up not participating in the exchange because there were not an even number of participants. I had actually planned to give myself a pair of flops anyway to picture here on this post, but alas, I never found the perfect pair. I was hoping to find a pair in pink and brown to match the blog, but I searched and searched to no avail. Of course I realize I can hardly host a flip flop carnival without posting a picture of some cute flip flops, SO I decided to show you the pair I received from the original flip flop swap that inspired all of this. Because they really need to be shared. My sweet friend Dawn bought these for me and I think they are SO STINKIN' CUTE! Don't you agree?

They have wedge heels!

Also, I want to give a special thanks to Tara who sent me these earrings to thank me for hosting the flop swap. She is one sweet girl and she has impeccable taste. I love them, Tara. Thank you!

(Bad picture, I know, but trust me they are cute!)

SO. Now it is YOUR TURN! If you've received your new flops, take a picture and put up a little post on your blog. Then post the link here so we can see all of the floppy cuteness!

I hope you guys had fun with this!