Baby Avolyn

Well, the day finally arrived for Mayce to have her little baby girl, Avolyn Grace! Here she is!!

She was born on May 10th, just 2 days after Mother's Day. She is absolutely adorable and Mommy and baby are doing great.

I was able to meet her for just a little while in the hospital the day after she was born, but got to spend some real quality time with her several days later when Mayce was at home. Isn't she a sweet little peanut??

This is my favorite picture of Avolyn so far - I love that smile!!

Here's a cute shot of mommy and daughter....

She was 8lb 2oz at birth, so she was a decent sized baby......but she still just seems so tiny to me!

What a cutie! And look at all of the hair she was born with!

I am really looking forward to playing with her and spending time with her once she is a little older. For now, she is just a tiny little bundle to cuddle with!

List Friday

Top 10 Things I Would Buy With a Random Windfall of Cash

1. LASIK surgery - yay for eyesight!

2. A new fence for my backyard

3. A handgun

4. A gas grill

5. A keyboard so I can start dabbling in piano playing again

6. A vacation

7. Weekly massages instead of monthly ones :)

8. New carpet in my house

9. Allergy testing/shots (Damn $2,000 deductible on my insurance - UGH)

10. A new couch

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for old treasures in antique stores! Recently, April and I went shopping in McKinney and we went into a ton of antique stores. I'm not particularly into antiques per se, but I am both intrigued and enamored with all things OLD and the story behind them.

When I see an old tool, I just wonder about the hands that used that tool and what life was like for them. Were they happy? Did they make an honest living from that tool? Did they use that very piece of metal to put food on their table and raise children?

I know, I'm an old soul and I probably overanalyze things, but I can't help it! Anyway, when we were in an antique store, I told April that I was looking for an old printer's drawer. And whattya know - April came through for me and found the perfect one! It was hiding behind 2 other things on the floor and we almost passed it by! It was only $20 - can't beat that for an antique in mint condition!

I took it home and cleaned it up - lots of dust and dirt in all the little cubbies. Now it is hanging on the wall in my upstairs hallway, and I have already put a few things in it. I'm so excited to fill it with momentos! I will post pics when it's full......

McKinney Madness

Last weekend, April and I headed up to McKinney for the day to just bum around and shop. I had never been there and so I wanted to see what it was about! This was one of the first things we saw......Ummm....can we say "feelings of inadequacy"?? I didn't look at the back - it probably had 'male anatomy' attached to it.....

Here's the courthouse in the little town square. I don't know if all towns in America have this set up, but all of these peripheral towns around Dallas/Fort Worth have the really pretty courthouses and then a square of shops/restaurants around them. So neat!

When I uploaded these pics, I thought they were very washed out and white, but then I realized that my camera was on ISO 1600 and so I let too much light in. Dang it! Oh well - pardon the whiteness.....

Here's April sitting on a bench that was shaped and painted like a lime! Too bad my camera washed out all the cool green color......

I think their motto is cute.......

Haha - I love it - a little reference that reminds me of home in Minnesota.

We had a great afternoon bumming in downtown McKinney. I bought several small things and then I got a big old printer's drawer for $20! I'm so excited to fill it!

Gut Feelings

Lately I have been contemplating what the next chapter in my professional life is going to look like. The company I work for was acquired in February by another company based in San Diego and that event is going to be terminating my job - probably by the end of the year. While I understand that it wasn't anything personal, just a strategic business decision, I have been dealing with a lot of anger and resentment lately. I think I'm finally past it, so I feel it's the right time to start looking for what my next move will be in respect to my career.

I do not want to make any decisions out of fear, panic or desperation, so I feel that I need to begin the process of moving on now, rather than waiting for what may or may not transpire, as far as a possible position in the new company. Although that would be convenient to stay with the new company - won't have to change benefits, would retain my years of service as far as vacation time go, etc. - I honestly just have a gut feeling that it is time to move on and leave the company.

That got me thinking about 'gut feelings' - what really is a 'gut feeling'? Is it God telling you what direction to go or what decision to make? Is it your mind/heart using what it knows to steer you in the right direction? Is it indigestion? haha

I personally feel it is a combination of what God is telling me to do and what my own intuition is feeling. I think that I do fairly well at making decisions (other than husbands!) based on what I know, what I feel, and what seems to make the most logical sense. I guess I need to really hone in on these instincts in the next few months and start the next chapter of my professional life!

Acoustic Awesomeness

A couple weekends ago, I went to a small acoustic show in a tiny theater in Mansfield. I didn't even know it was there, but I found it online and decided to check it out with a friend. I loved it!

Look at the cool old seats!

The woman that was performing was Maren Morris. Here's her bio:

A singer-songwriter who has won numerous awards - the 2007 Songwriter of the Year, teh Female Vocalist of the Year for the last five years, and the 2008 and 2009 Texas Music Artist of the Year by Fort Worth Weekly. Her style transcends Rock, Country, Blues and Indie Pop with soulful vocals, intuitive writing and guitar performances that stun audiences at live shows and shine through in her recordings.

Maren has three Top 20 songs on the Texas Music Charts, including #1, All That It Takes and #5 Dangerous. Her latest album "Live Wire" has received favorable reviews.

And in between songs she grabbed this bottle of Jack Daniels instead of a water bottle - that's pretty much awesome! I wasn't expecting that! But really, she wasn't drunk or anything.

She was down-to-earth, interacted with the audience and had an amazing voice.

I have SO MUCH more respect for artists who write their own songs and are actual musicians, not talking heads up on the stage. She played both guitar and piano during the show - LOVE that.

She was young and beautiful - I'm sure the guys appreciated more than just her music!!

I loved the venue - very small and intimate - and the show was fantastic!

List Friday

Top 10 Favorite Ways To Spend A Random Afternoon Off

1. Massage/spa treatment

2. Taking Maggie & Owen to the dog park

3. Shopping (Sam Moon, Charming Charlie, Hobby Lobby, World Market, etc.)

4. Nap!

5. A good movie (a drama!)

6. A history museum (to channel my inner geek)

7. Go out on a boat/kayak

8. Rangers game/football game

9. Board games/puzzles

10. Happy Hour with my friends!

Thankful Thursday

This week I should've made my grateful day on WEDNESDAY instead of Thursday to honor two friends that I love dearly. Cindy, Ryan and I do lunch every Wednesday and now those days are going to change because Cindy's last day at work was last Friday. She took a new job that is closer to home and will offer her more room for advancement. It was also inevitable since the Finance dept is going to be no longer due to our company's recent acquisition. I knew that this day was coming, but I didn't realize how much I would miss her at work. It's just like there's a huge empty hole now.

At any rate, I have LOVED LOVED LOVED our Wednesday lunches. All three of us bring something unique to the table and we have had some crazy conversations about all kinds of things. Ryan brings the male perspective and the perspective from another race. Cindy brings her experiences as a mother and I bring just a little bit of crazy! haha

Hats off to my two awesome friends and all of the fantastic camaraderie we have had and that we will have in the future!

Fixin' a Flat

About a week and a half ago, I limped off the freeway at my exit with a flat tire. I was only about 1 mile from my house, so I decided to risk it and limp the car home. The next day, my friend Jenks came over to give me a lesson in changing a tire - afterall, it is an item on my 33-list!

Here's my poor sad tire:

I did some pretty bad damage!

I think it's toast!

We got the supplies out - and I knew that blanket in my trunk would come in handy!

Loosening the lug nuts....

I insisted on doing all of the work so that I could learn - here's me jacking up the car....

It really is much easier than I thought it would be!

Here's my supervisor, havin' a Corona!

I was not necessarily enjoying myself, but I was excited to learn - in case I'm in the middle of nowhere and I need to be able to do it by myself.

And up she goes!

Jenks insisted on this picture - just to remind me of who's doing the work and who's relaxing.....lol

All done - lowering Ruby to the ground now.....

And here's my ugly spare! But now it's all fixed and back to normal - changing a tire is definitely not as hard as I imagined. I bet my Dad is SUPER proud of me now - I could take care of this if I needed to!!

New Visitor's Spot

Usually I have a cache of places in my arsenal that I take out-of-town visitors to when they come to Dallas......well, I might have found another one! I went out to dinner with a friend in Grapevine and found it by accident: Uncle Buck's Brewery & Steakhouse.

The inside is gorgeous - lots of wood and stone, super high ceilings, warm atmosphere.

They make their own beer, but I don't really care about that - I'm not a beer drinker.

I bet this place would be crazy beautiful at Christmastime!

Here's their beer sampler (not for me!). I will definitely take my next visitor here!