Doggie Halloween...

Sunday was the halloween party at Molly's Mutt House for all the doggies!
Lola and Teddy won 2nd place! Jennifer's dog Tashi won first! Here are some pictures.Tashi - the Chick Fil A cow!Tinkerbell and Peter Pan (sorry, this is the best photo I could get of them together!)Do you think they had fun? :)

By George She's Got It!

Ok so today I put my thinking cap on and really tried on the eyes and tried using a coffee filter taped over the flash on my horrible 4mpx camera!
I decided that if I was going to take more photos, why not dress them up?? :)
First we have Lola's before:
And After my photoshop beginners skills:Teddy Before:And After:I think I did pretty good!!
I found them out in the yard earlier eating dirt. I am like "But you have to be CLEAN for the contest!"
Now these are some pretty eyes! (no photoshop needed!)

And here is one i took right in Lola's face with the coffee filter (the ones above with blue eyes did not have a filter).She is tired of the camera!
The party is around 4pm, so I will do my best to get pictures up tonight after eating chili!

What a WEEK I'm having!

When i was a kid, my favorite movie in the world was Splash. And I love the part where the little geeky guy was finally fed up and like "What a WEEK I'm having!!!"

That was me this week. We were so very busy, Lee worked late 2 nights in a row, then we had company 2 nights in a row, and work was alittle stressful as well. A little conflict within my family doesn't help either.

Last night was nice though. Lee and I ate dinner and just laid on the couch and I had a glass of wine and just were still. This morning we got up at took the dogs in for haircuts! They look just wonderful...I am trying my hand at photo shop, trying to make the "pet eye" issue go away. Hopefully when we splurge on a new camera that will help. Otherwise, I guess I need to carry a coffee filter around! These are my 2nd try, so I just have to really work on it.

Tonight we are attending a surprise party for some friends downtown. That should be fun! Tomorrow is the Halloween party at the doggie day care. Don't worry, I will have my camera (and coffee filter) in tow!

Fun Day / Night

Yesterday we went up to Tomball to visit with my dad, stepmom, and niece. Then we picked my little Mini up at the dealership, took and nap, and went to the grocery store.
After all that, we met up with Alyse and David (my boss and her husband) to go to the Houston Aeros game. They are a AHL team and really good! They won 8-6. We were in the 9th row, wonderful seats!

Today I finally got a hair cut / color, did a little shopping, then came home and made cookies and did basically nothing. :)

Let's get geared up for a new week!

Friggin Friday!

I had a meeting this morning far far away in Katy Tx. When I was about 5 exits away I heard a noise, kinda like a flat tire noise but not as bad (or bumpy). Then after a minute or 2 of that, one of those lovely warning lights came on. The kind that you think you know what it means but it is pretty ambiguous...

I was determined to reach my destination and not be one of those girls on the side of the road yelling into a cell phone and flailing.

I got to where I was going and looked - the sidewall was pulling away from the tread on my tire! I could see metal and all kinds of things!!! So I called Mini Roadside Service, went into my meeting, and then they towed my little Maggie away.
It is 4pm and they haven't gotten the new tire on yet, so Lee is just going to pick me up and we will go get it tomorrow.

Busy weekend ahead. We are going to see my dad tomorrow and have lunch and get in a nice visit. Then tomorrow night we are going to the Aeros game at Toyota Center.

Sunday is FOOTBALLAPALOOZA but i will be at the salon. I have said many apologies to my hair for it going so long without highlights and a cut. It tangles really badly and I feel like I am ripping out my hair when I am brushing it!

A Schnauzers' Worst Nightmare..

Lee's parents came to dinner Monday night, bearing a gift for my birthday.
Anyone who has schnauzers knows they HATE SQUIRRELS. What did I get for my birthday? A copper squirrel water can from Smith & Hawken!
Teddy growled at it!

Great Grandma

It has been a month since my Great Grandma died.
By some horrible cruel joke, the Hurricane hit at the same time. Therefore, I missed her funeral in Kansas.
I found this picture today of her, holding me, sitting with my Great Grandpa. He died of Alzhiemers about 12 years ago.I will forever remember referring to her chest as "pillows." (she has E's!)
She was witty, lovely, loving, and brave.
I will forever regret that I didn't make it to the funeral, but I will always remember she called me her "Honey Bunny."

28 years...

Well today I am 28 years old. Below is a photo of myself that cracks me up.

I just like the expression on my face and my hands.. Why am I wearing a whistle? What am I saying? Am I being bossy? I imagine a little Jersey accent "Hey! Whaddya want? I'm workin here!"... the whole deal.
Isn't it funny how as we grow older, we really don't change all that much?
I still make this face:I had a pretty good day and now I am home to check on my sweet Lola, who was restless all night with a tummy ache (couldn't lay down very long, moving around alot, tummy felt tight to the touch), finally gacked around 4am and we all slept peacefully for 3 hours after that. I hope she didn't spend all day puking, but if she did, I will be heading to the vet ASAP!

Celebration Cake!

I made a Brown-Sugar Chocolate Bundt cake today and it turned into a Celebration Cake!
The Texans won!!!
And so I ate a piece of this:YUM-O! I bet it is even better (A) warmer and (B) a-la-mode!!

My Birthday Dinner

(Warning, Lots of pictures!)
Last night was my birthday dinner at La Vista. My real birthday is on Tuesday but I figured more people would want to go out on a Saturday than a Tuesday. I was so extremely excited and honored at how many people were there to celebrate with me! Even my boss, Alyse, came and she is newly pregnant and not feeling very well!
In all we had 13 people. I didn't get a picture of everyone, but I tried!
Tony and LuluTony is my co-worker and Lulu is his girlfriend (but I hear a ring is in the works!)
Jimmy, Kyla, and David:Jimmy works in our office as our Office manager, Kyla is our newest Designer addition fresh out of SFA! And David is Alyse's husband (she is next to him but didn't want a picture!)
Donald and Don:

Donald is my famous best friend, and Don is his new boyfriend, and we really really like him! Alot!
Also there, Jen and Dave, always the life of the party!And last, but not least, lee and me!
I had already had a few glasses of wine at this point!
Here is a picture of my haul:See the TV? That is from Lee! ATT is coming today to install a box so I can watch tv in my kitchen! I have missed that. I used to hang out after work with my tv on while I made dinner and read the mail. Donald and Don got me the wonderful cook book and a schnauzer necklace. Coby and Jimmy got me the mixed colored Latte Bowls, Jen and Dave got the all red (6) latte bowls, Tony and Lulu got the pasta machine and large measuring cup, Kyla knows I love the Starbucks and got me a gift card and Jimmy got me a schnauzer t-shirt and apron!! I was not expecting all this at all!!

Poor lee, yesterday playing frisbee golf, he pulled his lower back and now is barely getting around the house. We are testing the limits of our ice maker for sure, making him ice packs. I am making a bundt cake and marinating some chicken. Today is a low-key, football watching day for sure.
I hope the ATT guy comes soon!

The Spice of Life

I love fall.

Fall represents to me pretty colors, cooler weather, and food with happy flavors to it.
Yesterday I was out in a meeting far far away in Katy, TX (about 30-45 minutes from our house.) It took me only 30 minutes (speed demon) and I got to the meeting early. Once finished, I decided to check out this place that I normally don't go to because it is so far away. It is called Sandy's Market. It is right at Dairy Ashford before the Beltway (for any Houston person reading this.) This place is simply a delight. Wonderful people working there, and 2 walls full of fresh spices and herbs. EVERYTHING is organic. Organic noodles, sauces, canned goods, produce, and bins and bins of nuts, granola, oats, flax, etc.
On top of that there is a whole wall of healing herbs and teas. One was called "Colon Tamer" and I just kinda laughed and kept looking around.
I grabbed a few things, eager to go back again. The prices are very reasonable and I am ready to make some fall desserts with all my cinnamon!I have been a busy bee this morning. But it only started after Teddy worked on us for over an hour to get up.
7AM:
Teddy: Hey! Morning! HEY!
Us: *grumble*
Lola: shhhh! *burrows deeper*

8AM:
Teddy: HEY HEY! Morning! Squirrels to chase! Sticks to gather! Hey!
Lee: ok ok ok.
Me: *grumble* noooooo
Lola: UGH. fine. I need to pee anyway.

Then we all got back in bed and Ted just kept on. He wakes you up by putting all his 26 pounds of weight on you. He just leans right on your kidneys until your bladder protests. He walks all along your head and stands on your boob (it hurts!) and doesn't stop until you are up. He is such a morning dog, almost like every morning is Christmas. Lola, on the other hand, is like me. She will get up when she is good and ready. She would sleep until 10 if we all stayed in bed.
But Teddy - he is ready to go when the sun comes up.

With the cooler weather I left the back door open while bacon was on the stove and I was washing dishes (coffee travel mugs, precious bowls I won't put in the dishwasher). Teddy kept bringing me sticks from outside. It was a constant walking back and forth and gathering. I would politely take the stick away and he would just turn around and go outside to get another.

Once breakfast was done I cleaned and cleaned the kitchen. Then the living room. Then I made the bed and started laundry.

I have only been seriously awake for about an hour and 1/2, but I feel accomplished.

Tonight is my big birthday dinner! I will take pictures for sure. This here is an upfront warning of the amount of wine that will be on the table and how very much will go in my gut.

And straight to my head.

Mine! Mine! Mine!

MINE!

What are you hungry for?

Thanks again Sara for the AWESOME recipe!

Too many thoughts, One little brain...

My 30 minute drive home gave me too much time to think today.

What does this recession / crisis mean to our person lives and finances? How badly will it be felt in Houston, which always seems to have this bubble around it. People around here are pretty wealthy and just keep spending no matter what. That's hard to not follow.

I have been reading Nie's and her sister's blog daily, more than once, and i thought alot about Nie on the way home today. What an inspiring person. She is a mother of 4 little kids, but never once in her blog is she like "UGH! Kids are so hard! Kids are so dirty!!" She only writes happy things. yes, I realize that she had bad days too, and probably chose those days to just stay away from her blog.
But mostly, I think about her faith. She is so so very strong in her faithand you have to think about how that is pulling her through her ordeal. So, those who are not strong in thier faith... what happens? These days, I do find that hard. I used to be a church-goer, but the older I got, the more I became the Christmas/Easter church person. I can't say that any one thing happened to make me move away from it. It just happened. And nowadays, you are almost poked fun at if you flaunt your strong faith. I am not saying in any way that i don't believe in God. But I don't turn there first when I am hurting or mad or need help.

I speed, run yellow lights, curse in traffic (and most of the time after that), I am self-conscious which makes me poke fun at others. Am I a bad person? I don't think I am. I will help anyone that needs it. I am a really good friend (i hope!) I will do anything to make you like me and want to be my friend.

I am rambling. So full of thoughts.

I always so scared I will offend someone. I have always been the people pleaser. I need to go see my family more. We use the 2.5 hour drive as an excuse, but there are people who live cross country from each other, so I am lucky. I don't remember the last time I saw my dad and he lives about 45 minutes away. Shameful. (my excuse, he works for the railroad, i never know when he is home.)

Pumpkins and Punkins

A day in the life of me.

6:30am - Alarm goes off. Lee turns it off, I grumble and hide in the covers.
6:45am - Repeat above.
6:50am - Lee starts telling me I need to get up. Lola starts grunting and rubbing her face, acting just like I do because we don't want to get up yet!
7:20am - Pour coffee into travel mugs. Start making our way into the living room to gather bags (purse, work out bag, shoes, keys...)
7:30am - Out the door. Did we leave a check for the lawn guy? Did we remember that paper for the person?
8:00am - I arrive in my parking garage at work. I only live 8 miles away. At least I have talk radio and coffee for entertainment.
8:05am - Greet Jimmy, talk for 10 minutes.
8:15am - Sit down at computer and hit these buttons: AIM, Outlook, GoogleTalk, Mozilla.
8:40am - Finish reading websites (Blogger, Dogster, MySpace, HoustonIst, Chron.com, and MSNBC)
8:45am - Start answering emails (if they were emergency, I wouldn't wait 30 min to answer.), checking voicemail, digging into my to do list (made before I left the previous day)
9:00am - start asking everyone where we are going for lunch.
9:00-10:30am - Chat through IM and Email with peeps (while working. I am an amazing multi-tasker)
10:30am - start complaining that I am so hungry I will die soon.
10:59am - Start making my way to the front desk so we can all leave for lunch. It's like hearding kittens into a box.
12:15pm - back from lunch. Time to stare out the window in a food coma.
1:00pm - Start complaining that I ate too much and may die soon.
1:00-3:00pm - Chat through IM and Email with peeps
3:00pm - Begin thinking about going home.
4:30pm - Leave work. Probably forgot coffee mug on desk.
5:00pm - Home! Let screaming dogs outside, change immediately into non-work clothes.
5:10pm - Watch Ellen and/or Rachael Ray recorded from that day.
6:00pm - Start dinner.
6:30pm - Lee arrives home. Dinner almost ready usually.
7:00pm - Eat dinner. Complain that there is not a tv in the kitchen.
9:00pm - Start thinking about going to bed to watch tv.
10:30pm - lights out.

Fun huh?

My Asian Me...

Today I went to Verizon with Jimmy to buy a new phone for work. I am now on the work plan exclusively instead of carrying around 2 phones all the time. And that saves me money since I won't have a cell phone bill every month.

While I was there, this girl walked in and Jimmy said "Wow, she is the Asian you!"
Here are things we had in common:
Same length hair
Same bag (although I wasn't carrying the same one, I own the same one)
Cardigan over a white T
slacks
flats with a bow
big necklace

Pretty wierd! Although we were in totally different color schemes, we were dressed very alike! I have on a purple cardigan, hers is pink. I have on black slacks, hers were dressy denim. But still, woah!

I like my phone, just trying to figure it out. I had a song as my ring tone from Dan in Real Life and I just have to figure out how to get that song onto this phone.... we shall see.

Looking forward...

Today was our first Sunday back in the house since the Hurricane. I ran to the store this morning (i know!) to get more stuff for today's football day. I made 6 layer dip (no one around here likes olives!), lee made HOT chicken wings, and we watched 6-7 straight hours of football. I need to count how many beers were consumed between the 3 guys. Kyla came over and we just watched and laughed. I also made Chocolate Chip Cookies - which I love to do on Sunday. I smiled as I put them away in Halloween baggies...

This week looks to be a busy one.

Monday: Free passes to pre-screen the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie. I have to figure out how to fit dinner into that equation because eating at the movie theatre... no bueno.
Tuesday: Just me and Lee. I will be making Edamame and a steak stir fry.
Wednesday: Jenn and Dave come over with Tashi for dinner. I am making mozzarella-stuffed-meatballs, tomato basil sauce, roastes Broccolini, and smashed peppery-cheesy potatoes. And mini chocolate cakes too.
Thursday:Dinner at Donald and Jimmy's.
Friday: We usually leave Friday's up in the air, we like to go out, or I may cook something.
Weekend: NOTHING!

Last night was active in our 'hood. 5-7 cop cars showed up at the Biker guy's house and arrested him. We are still fuzzy on why they showed up (we think yard nazi called) but took him away because he was on Felony probation (selling weed) and was in possession of firearms, etc. We don't know if we will ever see him again. We will miss the Harley guys for sure!

Lazy Busy Saturday

How can a Saturday be lazy and busy at the same time? Let me tell you...

Friday morning I noticed Teddy was closing his eye so I looked at it and it was pretty red. He was still holding it closed that night so I called the vet and they said I could walk-in and get worked in.
Saturday morning I was up off and on around 6:15am and finally left with Teddy to the vet (with coffee and a book!) at 7:30. We actually got in an hour later! She couldn't find a scratch on his cornea, but it was very red and inflamed. We have eye drops to give him the next few days until it clears up.
When I got home (around 9:15 or so) Lee was laying in the hammock in his boxers. After I laid with him a minute or so he said "I want to take a nap."
A nap? at 9:30am?
so that is what we did, until almost 11:30!

After that we showered and I made a grocery list. We went to the Verizon store so I could look at phones. I am on T-Mobile now, but I am going to go onto the company plan to save money (why not?) and wanted to check out their phones. I am thinking the LG Voyager. I looked at the Dare that everyone is freaking out about, but it is 100% touch screen and the keyboard (much like the iPhone) was really hard to type one. The Voyager has a full (quite large) keyboard. I would prefer a slide phone, rather than one that opens up (the screen gets smaller) but I will take what I can get!

Then we went on another painfully expensive grocery trip. This is the second one and I think we are pretty well stocked at this point. Comes in around $300 to get us back to normal on food!! But we are also grilling wings and stuff tomorrow for football, so that comes in the price as well.
When we got home, Iron Man (yay!) was in our mailbox so we watched that, then dusted, swept, and picked up around the house. More hammock time quickly ensued.

New awesome product: Swiffer Duster Spray. DUDE. I used it on the coffee table AND the granite! Anyone who has granite knows that is doesn't shine very easily unless you clean it, then Windex it. I have trouble thinking of ammonia-based windex on my counter. Swiffer made the counters shine and cleaned them as well. Heaven! And is smells really good!

Tomorrow I am looking forward to hanging in my kitchen. Helping Lee with the food (wings, chicken sausage, etc), making dip, and making cookies. It's my first Sunday back in the house! We are having a few people over as well.

Have a great weekend!

Rag-Top Day

Man o Man. Today is a day where I wish so badly that we had gotten an convertible Mini! The sky is free of clouds. The air is crisp and not humid. The sun is bright but not glaring. GREAT DAY!
This weekend lee and I plan on taking advantage of such weather and playing frisbee golf. He played yesterday and he now is obsessed, as he tends to be. So off we go to play in the park. I wish we could take the pups, but that doesn't seem to be an easy thing to do. Which is why i want bikes! We could get that carrier attachment that is this little mesh cart looking thing that they can ride in and be safe and get to be outside while we bike them around.
That takes money.

We have zero plans this weekend. I want to sleep in tomorrow if I can.

I made the best/easiest/most satisfying thing ever for dinner. I sauteed chicken (cut into small pieces) in a skillet with olive oil and shallot, a little pepper and garlic powder. I boiled whole wheat penne and then tossed it with basil pesto. Add it all together and it was just earthy and satisfying. YUM!

Classic Lola

Lola's First Sweater

Happy Hump-Day!

Don't worry, this post doesn't need to be censored!
Tonight I cooked a very large dinner consisting of Beef Bourginon (Beef burgandy). Now, I am not very good at taking pictures of food but here is the beef simmering in a sauce of Chianti, Beef Stock, Tomato paste and seasonings. Also, pearl onions, carrots, bacon, and mushrooms!
(maybe i should have taken a picture of it on the plates...)
I also served a big salad. I tried the new Kraft Balsamic dressing made with olive oil. It was YUMMY!I got home today and started picking up around the house and decided to put out some fall decor. (see the pumpkin on the table above?)Last but NOT least... Puppy Dress Rehearsal!
Here is Miss Lola Tinkerbell! Or as she is called around the house- Tinkerbean!! And where would Tinkerbell be without her best buddy, Peter Pan??
This is the only one we got of them together (you can see my feet behind them!) but I will get more at the party at daycare.

I'm back!

Monday at 4:30pm - our power was turned back on. That means we went 15.5 days without power in our home. 8 of those we spent out of our house!

Last night I cooked dinner (after a $150 trip to the store!) and found that someone had placed the honey in the fridge. Let me tell you, unless you need a creative way to work out, do not do this! I needed 3 tablespoons!! So I groaned and squeezed and grunted my way through. Then I look at the bottle: Please do not refrigerate. Thanks, Donald or Lee, for doing that favor for me.

Today is just gorgeous. We can see fall on the horizon. I am hoping to leave the backdoor and some windows open while I am in the kitchen tonight. It will just be so nice.

Work is going great. It has been a tad slow but things are picking up. I have 3 sizeable projects that are going into construction document phase (meaning I have to draft the blueprints for the contractor) and one that is due out on Friday to the contractor.

Tonight is dress-rehearsal for Halloween for the pups. I will post pictures tomorrow of them plotting my death!