Backyard

A few months ago, we got a deck put in the backyard and did some landscaping to go along with it. I has really transformed the entire atmosphere from a boring patch of grass which consisted of a doggy mine field, to a nice, aesthetically appealing doggy mine field.

This is the bottle brush we planted in the corner of the yard, along with the joys of diggin in Central Texas. We were going to put another plant in the hole we excavated this limestone from, but since we worked so hard to remove it from the ground, we decided to keep it as decoration.


Here is the bed along the back of the house. Crepe myrtle, roses and salvia. All of which are thriving so far.


This is the other corner of the yard. Our little live oak tree and some dwarf yaupons. These plants were doing okay, but the recent hailstorm seemed to have set them back some. We are watering the tree like crazy in an effort to save it, but we might be in the market for a new tree soon.


Some purple and white Alysum along the side of the deck. These little plants also sustained quite a bit of damage from the hail and wind, but have since bounced back nicely.


And here is the deck. There is a Texas sage on each corner and 4 Indian hawthornes in front. Also, on the side is a bush daisy.

It is nice to sit out on the chairs (when it's not 100 degrees outside) and read, talk, or just relax and watch the dogs patrol the yard. I'm sure we will get even more enjoyment out of it once fall rolls around.

Guest Bath Remodel

Allow me to introduce you to "Tavern Taupe":



It's a nice enough color but, let's face it, when it's on every wall in the house it gets a little monotonous. So we began our effort to infuse a little color in the house. First project - the guest bathroom:



This is my least favorite part of painting any room:







We also decided to change the towel racks and light fixture:







We had picked a color that went with our existing accessories, so we didn't need to go out and buy anything else. And here's the finished product:


Maggie seems to like her new dining room :)

Is anyone out there?

Probably not.

I'm back! I have yet again neglected this poor little blog, but the good thing about not blogging for 5 months is that there is no shortage of material to blog about. So the next few posts will be old news, but maybe catching up will get me back in the habit (was I ever "in the habit"?) of posting.

First topic: Our vacation to Egypt.

Or was it France?

China maybe?

No. I remember now... VEGAS!! Below is the Bellagio, famous for the water fountain shows (like in Ocean's Eleven). We watched it a couple of times and it was really neat!

We stayed at the Wynn, saw a couple of great shows (Phantom and Wayne Brady), didn't lose too much money and had a great time! I guess that pretty much sums it up :)

Next catch up topic: Bathroom Remodel (I know, the excitement is just too much, isn't it?)

Long Time, No Blog

So, I'm sure no one has been looking at this thing lately (except for Jason, who checks it everyday then says "No blog?" as if he's shocked) :)

It has been a while. And, while not necessarily intentional, I suppose I have taken a break from blogdom. I think it would be quite difficult to cover everything that has happened since the last time I posted, but I'll try to cover some of the major events (not necessarily in order).


Of course, there was Christmas -- absolutely wonderful! I really enjoy spending time with family, playing games, eating yummy food... it's hands-down my favorite time of the year. It reminds me how incredibly blessed we are with wonderful family. And the 2 weeks off work was nice too!

Oh! And Mom made Jason a stocking! She made me and my brother stockings that we've had forever and now all the kids, kids-in-law and grandkids have one. They are really special! (Jason's even has an extra special something on it)



Before we headed out to visit family, Jason and I took in some impressive light displays in the area:


Although our street didn't really have a theme or anything, I was excited that 10 houses in a row on our side of the street had lights!! woohoo!!

I have cooked in the crock-pot again since the last post and it turned out really tasty. I did a "cowboy" pot roast from a crock-pot cook book my parents got me for Christmas and it was yummy! In fact, tomorrow we're having another slow-cooked meal. Eating more at home is saving us time, money, calories and the oh-so-painful "where do you wanna eat" "i dunno, where do you wanna eat" discussions. Plus, there are usually leftovers that I can take to work for lunch, thereby saving even more money!

Before Christmas we re-financed the house and had a pleasant surprise at closing. Instead of the 5.25% we were expecting, they had re-negotiated and got our rate down to 5% even.

Just yesterday, Jason and I got library cards from the public library. I checked out two books. First, I'm reading "The Secret of Lost Things" by Sheridan Hay, which is pretty good so far. And even though he didn't check anything out from the library, Jason was inspired and read half of "Prey" by Michael Crichton that he had here at the house.

We were taking one dog for a walk each evening, but we got off track and haven't been doing that regularly. Maybe we can start that up again.

We've got some exciting things coming up. I can't wait to see my nephew's play this week. Then, it's off to Las Vegas for a little vacation.

I have a desire to do somewhat of a "spring cleaning" and get everything de-cluttered and organized. And I've also got the sudden urge to paint!! Maybe there are some renovation photos in the future of this blog?!?! Who knows. But I will try not to wait over a month before the next update. :)

Crock Pot Take 1

Today I tried out my new Crock Pot! There's good news and not so good news...


The good news is:
1) The house didn't burn down
2) The dogs didn't find a way to get on the counter and get into the crock pot
3) The house smelled pretty good, and dinner was ready when we got home (well, it only took a little while to get the green beans and biscuits ready)
4) That brown stuff on the side of the pot was actually pretty easy to get off :)


The not so good news:
1) The chicken tasted kind of funny (I think it may have been the wine... perhaps I should have gone with a "cooking wine"... I'm not sure)
2) The chicken was kind of dry and chewy


But, all in all, I am excited about starting to use the Crock Pot! I just need to find a better recipe, I think.

Here's the recipe I used:
6 Boneless skinless Chicken Breast
Black Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Lemon juice
1/2 cup Garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon Seasoned salt
1 teaspoon Poultry seasoning
2 dashes Tabasco
1 cup White wine

Generously pepper chicken breasts.

Combine with other ingredients in Crock Pot.

Set on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Anyway, in other news, we had a good weekend. Rented a couple of movies (Hancock and No Reservations). Got some shopping done. Went to church. Jason washed the cars and aired up the tires :) What a sweetheart!

And now, because I can't think of anything else to write about... here's a random picture from my phone:

Only in Texas...

...can it be 81 degrees at lunchtime and be snowing by bedtime.


On Sunday, Jason took me downtown to Spaghetti Warehouse for my birthday dinner. We had planned on going on Saturday, but we were stuffed from lunch and cake! We had a great time and then walked around downtown for a while. Jason decided Sunday is his new favorite day to go out to eat because it's not as busy. Isn't he handsome :)


This is not what I wore to my birthday dinner:


We finished decorating the house. Here is our tree in all it's glory:


And we managed to get the lighting just right in the living room and get all the dogs to look at the camera at the same time! Good enough for Christmas cards :)


Tonight we found a pretty good place for tamales.


Even the tamale aficionado approves!


We also got all the aforementioned Christmas cards addressed and ready to mail!

What a great birthday!! :)

First, I found my hat! Then, since Jason was in the other room doing secret birthday stuff, I had to celebrate by myself. So, I ended up taking a million photos of myself on my phone in celebration (actually, the total ended up being 28, coincidentally). Hooray hat!!!


Then , my sweets came in and we took a few pics together:


Then we went over to my brother's house and got to celebrate with my parents and nephews and niece! Mom and Jason took most of the pictures over there, so I'll have to post some of those later. Plus, Jason got a few pics of the kids that are cute, and I don't want to post them without asking my bro and sis-in-law (they are getting back from their cruise tomorrow).

We had lunch, played "Ticket to Ride" (Jason won!!), ate cake and ice cream and enjoyed the visit!! Mom and Dad got me a crock-pot, which I am totally excited to start using!! Need to go look up some recipes...

Then, when we got home, I got to open the cards and gift that my sweets got me. The dogs got me a card and reminded me that I'm 193 in doggy years (which makes 28 seem REALLY young) :)

And Jason had ordered a customized jigsaw puzzle that we put together together (that makes sense, right?). I love it! It's one of my favorite pictures and I can't wait to get a frame for it and put it on a wall!!!


It was a great birthday! I love spending time with family!!

Here's a picture of Jason's new hair-do (I'm the stylist). I'm still not sure he likes it, but he's being a good sport about it. He's a cutie, isn't he?


That's pretty much it for the day. I was hoping for a Missouri win over Oklahoma, but pretty sure it wouldn't happen. I was prepared for the OU win, but it really does make me sick that they were ahead 55-21 with 5 min. left in the game and their starters were still in. Seriously? Classless. Something about being the first team with so many games over 60 points... which translates to the team with the least class of all time. Bleh. Hope the Gators win the National Championship!!

Oh, and I don't have to act my age yet, do I?