Women of Faith 2009

Today and tomorrow, I will be at the Women of Faith conference in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. I'm going with a big group of women, some of them I know and some I do not (some are co-workers). Mayce and I went together last year and it was a great conference so I'm hoping it's equally as good this year.

The main conference is Friday night and then all day Saturday, but this year we're going to the pre-conference during the day on Friday as well. I hope it's good!

Feed the Fishies

Last weekend, Chris, TJ and I went to Joe Pool Lake to feed the 'duckies and fishies' at the marina. I thought it was going to be this calm little area, but the fish were these crazy, huge nasty carp and they were SUPER agressive!

TJ had a blast feeding the fish and ducks (we went through 2 loaves of bread!) and the weather was great.

Here's Chris!

You can tell where there were people on the side with food - the fish would congregate where the food was being thrown and just pile up on top of each other - coming out of the water and everything with their big nasty mouths!

Such cute pics of father and son playing.........


Here's one of me, but I kind of look out-of-it. Chris was trying to take pictures without me knowing it...

They had a band playing in the restaurant/bar at the Marina - it was a great night!

Just being around boats and lake water reminded me of Dad - that smell of boat gas and lake water is enough to just knock me over with memories of my childhood and Dad. It felt good to remember him and all of the good times on the lakes of Minnesota!

License Plate Drama

Lately, I have been ranting and raving about the new Texas license plates and how I was hoping and praying that I wasn't going to get the new lame plate design on my new car......well, I DID get the new lame design.

Here is Ruby with her "new" Texas plates:

This is what the old ones looked like - WAY better, in my opinion. Also - the new ones are just painted on, not raised metal letters/numbers. But I hear that other states are moving to the 'painted-on' style, so I guess it's just inevitable and a matter of time before all plates are that way. So sad! But why am I so obsessed with license plates anyway?! I'm such a dork.....

And speaking of cars......here are a couple pictures that I took last week that I thought were funny:

This is the truck that I talked about on Facebook - there's a cowbell hanging from the hitch! And yes, I actually took this picture - I whipped the camera out while driving up 360 on the way to work (see - that's why I have the camera in my purse at ALL TIMES - you never know when a "Kodak Moment" is going to happen!). When I saw it, I just HAD to have a picture and I managed to get a good one while flying down the freeway! LOVE THE COWBELL!!

And I thought this bumper sticker was funny - on a pickup truck. HAHA.

You Say It's Your Birthday

Well, this year I spent most of my birthday in the Detroit airport - I know, I know - you're all super jealous. It was great - and I think it was American Airlines' birthday present to make my flight delayed an hour. Yep - they are that thoughtful! But really, I'm the one who booked my flight home from Ohio to occur ON my birthday, so no one to blame but myself.

Anyway, the trip up there to see my friends was a great birthday present and I enjoyed every minute of my trip!

When I got home, there were some other birthday treats for me too.....

This is the cake that Chris made me for my birthday - and it was YUMMY carrot cake, which I LOVE! He even got the number candles - haven't had those in years. It was great!

He also got me a game that he knew I would love: the RODEO version of Monopoly!! It is so cute and the game pieces include a hat, spurs, etc. LOVE IT!!

Among Chris' talents is woodcarving - he made this awesome wood carving of daisies (he knew I liked them) for my house and it looks great in my office! He also made me a Vikings one too - with the helmet and logo. What a sweet guy!

My friend Lindsay sent me a box for my birthday and inside there was a super cool present and I laughed really hard when I opened it........a Paint Your Own Wiener kit!

And Lindsay - here is the finished product. I never said I was an artist, so I just went with the "Texas flag" theme with my resin wiener! Thanks again!

My sister sent me this super cute sign for my house (matches the color of my living room!).

And my Mom sent me this cool water bottle - she is trying to get me to not drink out of plastic bottles because they cause cancer or whatever, so I'm giving it a whirl. It's going to take some getting used to because it kind of tastes metal-y since it's stainless steel....but I suppose it's better for me. I was hoping that since it's called "Sub-Zero" that it would keep the water cold even in my hot car, but that's just not the case......Oh well!

This year I had such a FABULOUS birthday and the days surrounding it!

Pool Fun/Surfing Wiener Dog

For the most part, I keep my dating life off of my blog & Facebook, but I feel like I must 'introduce' two new important guys in my life. The great guy that I have been seeing since our first date on July 10th is named Chris Evans and he has an adorable son named TJ.

Chris is from Pennsylvania originally, but has spent most of his life in Alabama (with brief stints in Wisconsin & Michigan). He lives very close to me in Mansfield, which is nice since the DFW area is so spread out.

We have had a great time getting to know each other so far and I'm looking forward to more fun in the future!

Here are some pics of Chris, TJ and Maggie (surfing wiener!):

BBQ at Beth's

On my last night in Ohio, Beth threw a big barbecue party for lots of friends and family - it was great to see everyone and a nice excuse for Beth's family and friends to get together, as well as the grand opening of Beth's new addition on her house!

Here's Beth and I havin' fun!

Holly and I - up to no good, I'm sure:

And the one-and-only Colleen whose awesome laugh served as the entertainment for the evening!

Of course, there were some games, which included the Ohio State version of Cornhole:

Beth's nephew, Beth and Becca (in town from Fort Wayne, IN):

Chris, Nate, Amy and Beth's new 'friend' David (and the super awesome DJ equipment in the background - thanks to Nate and his mad DJ skills, we had great tunes playing all evening!)

The women and babies hanging out in the new addition:

The food that everyone brought was AMAZING - I was stuffed! And Colleen even made the famous pumpkin log!


More ladies hanging out - in the garage this time:

Colleen and Becca:

And then we busted out the fire pit action - so great!

Becca and I at the fire:

Holly, Michael & Becca (Michael is the one who worked his magic and built Beth's new addition):

It was amazing to be up in the cooler temperatures so it didn't seem obsurd to light a fire and create heat. Actually, I hate to say it, but I was cold out there - had to get my blanket and also move closer to the fire. Maybe I really AM acclimating to the insane heat down here in Texas afterall??

Then the next day, we (Holly, Michael, baby Isaac, Becca, Beth and I) went to Cedar Creek for church and then to Blue Pacific (similar to Mongolian Barbecue) for lunch - before I had to leave for the airport in Detroit to come home. That was also my 32nd birthday - I loved spending time with all of them on my birthday! Thanks, guys, for an awesome visit and I can't wait to see you all again soon!

Home Makeover: BETH EDITION

So many times over the last year, I have posted pictures of my home improvement projects - either ones that I hired someone else to do...or ones that I have done myself. But since I took the summer off after a crazy busy spring (painting like a madman), I am featuring a GUEST Home Makeover - from Maumee, Ohio - Beth's house!

Beth decided to add on to her house with an extra room on the back of the house to serve as a hangout place/porch-type room. Our friend Michael Wise did the whole job himself and he did a BEAUTIFUL job! It was finished just in time for the big barbecue that took place at Beth's house the weekend I was in town. I don't have any 'before' pics, but basically it was a grassy part of her back yard 'before'!

So here is the new addition!

This is during the 'bringing in the furniture' phase....

The wood ceiling looks fabulous and that ceiling fan is going to come in handy during the warm days....
Beth let Michael design the floor pattern himself and he did a fantastic job!

The room turned out just beautiful - everyone loved it!

Way to go, Beth and nice job, Michael! You both have excellent taste!