Chris and I both have new projects, which is kind of fun.
I'm planning a wedding. I've honestly never planned or even helped someone else plan a wedding in my life. I sort of had a brainstorming session with my, now, sister in law, Sheryl when she was going to marry Brian but I didn't like have to find a venue to accommodate a large number of guests for a ceremony that merges my family with Chris's family as well as a big party complete with food, music, cake, nor have I planned so far in advance what I might wear to such an occasion. At first I felt really overwhelmed with all the decisions that I needed to make. However, I've had a couple of weeks now to adjust and get a few things decided at least.
Our plans are slightly flexible but we definitely want to get married on the beach - barefoot in the sand at sunset. I also want a very "green" wedding. I have this book called The Green Bride Guide by Kate L. Harrison which is really truly helpful. We are not only trying to conserve in our budget but we are making earth-friendly responsible decisions about what resources we use.
We've set the date - September 26th, 2009. Now we just need to find a place along the beach that will accommodate a party of about 60 guests, mostly family members, two of whom cannot climb stairs or walk even short distances, and a reception location for a party. That is seeming to be the difficult part.
We're working on a website.
We've designed our "save the date" cards.
Penny has generously offered to do our mailings and invitations. Thank you, Penny!
Rob will officiate. Thank you, Rob!
I already know what I want to wear.
We've got our wedding party picked out - Chelsea for Maid of Honor & Colin for Best Man.
Carmen & Kevin will perform a guided meditation. Thank you, Carmen & Kevin!
We've decided on a menu.
Chris is building a playlist on his big iPod rather than having a DJ or a band. Chris is awesome.
So, Chris's project is building the greatest, most diverse, most eclectic library of karaoke songs in the world and making it available to his friends and family by bringing a CD of personally picked songs for his Karaoke Jam Birthday Party this weekend. I'm poking fun but this has been an interesting and fun project that he's got going on.
Not only have I recently read the words to scores of songs I never knew the words to but we get to sort of practice and pick the best songs for Saturday. A few weeks ago Chris found this venue called Third Coast Comedy that has a family karaoke night once a month. The four of us went and had an absolute blast. So we're going back for Chris's birthday. We're planning to go as rockers from the '70's / '80's or whatever. I have no idea what I'm going to wear or how I'm going to do my hair.
This past Saturday was our engagement party and it was a lot of good fun. Chris's parents gave us a lovely set of summer glasses with a tray for carrying them outdoors. They are all fun colors - bright blue and lime green and orange. My parents couldn't make it because my dad's isn't doing very well lately. But several of our friends and siblings made it and it turned into a karaoke jam well into the night with the little karaoke machine and all these new songs Chris has now.
I'll get an up to the minute count on songs. One sec...
As of this moment Chris has over 2,000 karaoke songs - it wasn't an exact count after all - but a good rough estimation. He bought a huge package of CDs but he's also scouring the net for others.
Anyway, so yeah, he's obsessed at this point. I still haven't thought about what I might sing on Saturday. I'm more concerned with catching it all on video. Last time we went, Colin stole the show with his dance moves. And I learned that Chelsea can sing just about anything. She's great at karaoke! I told Rhonda that Chris would have just about any song she would want and she named two Melissa Ethridge songs that he did not have.
He's been going through this whole library of songs playing each song so the lyrics are scrolling across his screen and he sings each one for anywhere from a few lines or just the refrain to the whole song. It has been the best fun watching Chris running through these songs.
Then I guess we have a "together" project of cleaning out the empty house so we can get it on the market as soon as possible. We got approved for a home loan and want to move forward but need more of a down payment. We have access to about half of what we truly need. But selling Chris's house would be the best solution to everything. The thing is that we have a couple of things pressuring us - our lease expires at the end of next month and we found two houses that are on the market right now that are gorgeous and perfect for us. I want to grab the one before someone else takes it. The other one is the back up house which is actually on the same street so the location is still incredible, and it actually has a nicer yard (front & back) and a bigger kitchen. But the upstairs lay out won't suit our needs well. So we are buying a house and getting married all in the same year. We need money! Thus our project is fund raising. We're planning a garage sale. We've got several items for e-bay. We are unloading everything of value that we can. We are also interested in any fund raising ideas you might have. Thank you!
much LOVE
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Say it with iPods
Chris and I got engaged over the family vacation from which we just returned! We are both so happy! And now the most FAQs are
1. When's the wedding? to which I have to say, we don't know but are considering either June or September, 2009. It will be a small "GREEN" beach wedding and that's about all we've decided so far.
And
2. How did he do it? Well, we were on the first night of our little river trip to New Braunfels with the family and after settling the kids in for the night, Chris asked me if I wanted to go for a drive. He said he had been looking at the map of the area and there was meant to be some nice scenic overlooks around. We had, earlier, been at the Canyon Lake Dam and watched the sun set over the hills so I was prepped for more gorgeous scenery in the winding river roads of New Braunfels. We kept hitting dead ends and closed roads at first so I was beginning to like the idea of finding a bar and going out for a pitcher of beer but Chris was determined so I just enjoyed the drive and the company. We found a little hill with a great view of the stars and got out to have a look. Chris and I are notorious star gazers anyways so this was simply amazing.
Then Chris told me that he had a present for me and to close my eyes and hold out my hands. I did and he gave me one of the brand new iPod shuffles that's tiny with a little clip on. He had the clip of the iPod engraved with the words "Then it's Love, Yes it's Love" - lyrics from an Echo & the Bunnymen song. I was very happy with the iPod and opend it up all unsuspecting and put in the head phones. The first song playing was that Echo song - What if We Are.
The new iPod shuffle talks to you. You press a button and it tells you the name of the song. So he told me to press the button to find out the name of the song. I did and the little digital voice came back with "Melissa, I love you. Will you marry me?" So I looked at Chris like, Wait, What was that??? and he pulled out the ring and repeated the words from the iPod. I said Yes! It was so romantic and wonderful and perfect.
Not only did I get a gorgeous engagement ring, a wonderful fiance, and a nice star-gazing evening, but I also got one of the new iPod shuffles! Really, though, I couldn't be any happier.
1. When's the wedding? to which I have to say, we don't know but are considering either June or September, 2009. It will be a small "GREEN" beach wedding and that's about all we've decided so far.
And
2. How did he do it? Well, we were on the first night of our little river trip to New Braunfels with the family and after settling the kids in for the night, Chris asked me if I wanted to go for a drive. He said he had been looking at the map of the area and there was meant to be some nice scenic overlooks around. We had, earlier, been at the Canyon Lake Dam and watched the sun set over the hills so I was prepped for more gorgeous scenery in the winding river roads of New Braunfels. We kept hitting dead ends and closed roads at first so I was beginning to like the idea of finding a bar and going out for a pitcher of beer but Chris was determined so I just enjoyed the drive and the company. We found a little hill with a great view of the stars and got out to have a look. Chris and I are notorious star gazers anyways so this was simply amazing.
Then Chris told me that he had a present for me and to close my eyes and hold out my hands. I did and he gave me one of the brand new iPod shuffles that's tiny with a little clip on. He had the clip of the iPod engraved with the words "Then it's Love, Yes it's Love" - lyrics from an Echo & the Bunnymen song. I was very happy with the iPod and opend it up all unsuspecting and put in the head phones. The first song playing was that Echo song - What if We Are.
The new iPod shuffle talks to you. You press a button and it tells you the name of the song. So he told me to press the button to find out the name of the song. I did and the little digital voice came back with "Melissa, I love you. Will you marry me?" So I looked at Chris like, Wait, What was that??? and he pulled out the ring and repeated the words from the iPod. I said Yes! It was so romantic and wonderful and perfect.
Not only did I get a gorgeous engagement ring, a wonderful fiance, and a nice star-gazing evening, but I also got one of the new iPod shuffles! Really, though, I couldn't be any happier.
Chelsea is a Licensed Driver
My daughter got her driver's license on Thursday. Chris has been teaching her to drive for the mental health of all involved. I'm a very nervous passenger and have an unnatural fear of falling off the road into the ditch or over a cliff edge. I have no idea why but I recognize that it is my problem and not necessarily that there is anything wrong with the driving. So when I've taught Chelsea to drive in the past, I have really freaked out and it has, on occasion, ended with both of us in tears, me scared to death and Chelsea wounded as if she couldn't do it. This is all my own fault.
So Chris took over teaching the rules of the road to Chelsea and she took her driver's test on Thursday during spring break. I must say that she is an excellent driver. Way to Go Chels!
So Chris took over teaching the rules of the road to Chelsea and she took her driver's test on Thursday during spring break. I must say that she is an excellent driver. Way to Go Chels!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
House Hunting
Chris and I looked at a house today that I loved immediately. In terms of changes that would be necessary to the house there are only two minor things we could note - a carpet change in one upstairs room and a new fence all the way around. Otherwise, the house was absolutely perfect! It has loads of space! Three bedrooms with extra space between the kids' rooms for a game room, an upstairs office area for the computers and an extra room downstairs for a den/library which we've wanted to have for a while. There are lots of great windows and great landscaping and a nice, not-too-big back yard but with just enough space and a magnolia tree. It has a sunken tub and shower in the master bath and an ironing space in the walk in closet. The kitchen isn't the biggest attraction but it's still nice with enough counter space. The pantry is a little small but it will be fine. It's on a corner lot on a small cul-de-sac with a park on the street and walking distance to a Randall's and little strip center of shops.
We feel like we should look at at least one other house so we don't just buy the first house we see but this one really would be perfect. There is another house on the same street also for sale so we're going to look at that one as well. The location is perfect for us. It's zone to different schools though. Chelsea will have to choose what school she wants to go to - Lake where she is now and I'll sign and out-of-zone form and she'll just drive there or Brook where she was a Freshman and which we'll once again be zone to. Chris and I will be marginally closer to Houston and our jobs. We pass this neighborhood on the way there now.
I'm very excited about the move now. Before it seemed like it would be this daunting task of trying to find a suitable house that meets all of our combined needs but this one nailed it on the first try. I'm amazed.
LOVE
We feel like we should look at at least one other house so we don't just buy the first house we see but this one really would be perfect. There is another house on the same street also for sale so we're going to look at that one as well. The location is perfect for us. It's zone to different schools though. Chelsea will have to choose what school she wants to go to - Lake where she is now and I'll sign and out-of-zone form and she'll just drive there or Brook where she was a Freshman and which we'll once again be zone to. Chris and I will be marginally closer to Houston and our jobs. We pass this neighborhood on the way there now.
I'm very excited about the move now. Before it seemed like it would be this daunting task of trying to find a suitable house that meets all of our combined needs but this one nailed it on the first try. I'm amazed.
LOVE
Friday, February 27, 2009
Lessons Learned from Making a Ding Dong Cake
1. If you go to bed while the almond bark is drying on the cake you could wake up to find the top half hardened into place slightly askew of where you left it and trails of marshmallow ooze dripping down the sides of the bottom half. This doesn't create a complete ding dong look exactly.
2. You can't push candles through a hardened shell of almond bark without first cutting tiny X's with a knife into the top shell of the cake.
3. You need a sharp knife to cut the cake into wedges. But it will fall apart anyway - there's a hard chocolate outer shell and a creamy marshmallow center.
4. This cake tasted just exactly like a ding dong if even more delicious. It was the sweetest most chocolatey most marshmallowy goodness ever. It was, in fact, unfinishable.
5. There is a reason ding dongs come in small packages and this rule of life should be followed. Only one of Colin's guests, out of all of us eating cake, was able to finish his whole piece. The rest of us were incapacitated.
Nerf wars are currently in progress. I've deemed my area a no-fire zone.
We're having fun!
LOVE
2. You can't push candles through a hardened shell of almond bark without first cutting tiny X's with a knife into the top shell of the cake.
3. You need a sharp knife to cut the cake into wedges. But it will fall apart anyway - there's a hard chocolate outer shell and a creamy marshmallow center.
4. This cake tasted just exactly like a ding dong if even more delicious. It was the sweetest most chocolatey most marshmallowy goodness ever. It was, in fact, unfinishable.
5. There is a reason ding dongs come in small packages and this rule of life should be followed. Only one of Colin's guests, out of all of us eating cake, was able to finish his whole piece. The rest of us were incapacitated.
Nerf wars are currently in progress. I've deemed my area a no-fire zone.
We're having fun!
LOVE
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Great Ding Dong
I'm currently making Colin a birthday cake. He likes ding dongs and wanted a cake that was like a giant ding dong. So here's the idea. I have made two round cake halves of a Pilsbury devil's food chocolate cake. Then I melted a package of chocolate flavored almond bark. I've iced the bottom of the cake which is currently setting. Once it's dry I will flip it onto the cake plate and cut out a section of the middle. I will fill the middle with marshmallow creme - the kind of marshmallow creme from a jar that you never really knew what to do with before. Well, I think its for making ding dong filling because I've never really used a jar of marshmallow filling before. Anyway, after filling that hole I will cut out a section of the other half and heap the marshmallow up a little to fit into the hole in the top half. Then I'll pour the almond bark all over the top and sides. It should be set and solid by morning. We will be totally ready for this party by tomorrow! I'm very excited!
My nephews are coming to the sleep-over party which should be fun. I like the idea of Michael and Justin getting to know Colin better. They need to hang out more. They will essentially be like cousins sort of. Anyway, Chris is picking them up first thing tomorrow after he gets off work which he's leaving early. Then, with the boys, Chris is going to pick up Colin from school so they can be home by 3:30ish to wait for the other guests. I'm leaving work a little early tomorrow - like 4:30 so I should be home in time to join the fun.
We're ordering pizzas for dinner and having ding dong cake and ice cream. The boys will all have a nerf gun war using the nerf gun arsenal that Colin has collected. In the morning, I'll make pancakes for breakfast which is Colin's favorite breakfast. Colin's friends from school and after-care program will leave around 10 - 11 and then we'll take Colin and my nephews out to Jack Brooks Park for disc golf. I think they'll love it!
I formed a team at work to raise scholarships for kids going to UH's Bauer College of Business. It sort of fell together so if you have any fund raising ideas or items to donate for sale on our online auction - please share. We haven't come up with a team name yet. Maybe we'll auction off the naming rights to our team. That should be fun. So anyway, we'll be raising money for scholarships for the next couple of months - till the end of May. Anything helps!
I gotta go check on my ding dong cake. I'll take pictures.
My nephews are coming to the sleep-over party which should be fun. I like the idea of Michael and Justin getting to know Colin better. They need to hang out more. They will essentially be like cousins sort of. Anyway, Chris is picking them up first thing tomorrow after he gets off work which he's leaving early. Then, with the boys, Chris is going to pick up Colin from school so they can be home by 3:30ish to wait for the other guests. I'm leaving work a little early tomorrow - like 4:30 so I should be home in time to join the fun.
We're ordering pizzas for dinner and having ding dong cake and ice cream. The boys will all have a nerf gun war using the nerf gun arsenal that Colin has collected. In the morning, I'll make pancakes for breakfast which is Colin's favorite breakfast. Colin's friends from school and after-care program will leave around 10 - 11 and then we'll take Colin and my nephews out to Jack Brooks Park for disc golf. I think they'll love it!
I formed a team at work to raise scholarships for kids going to UH's Bauer College of Business. It sort of fell together so if you have any fund raising ideas or items to donate for sale on our online auction - please share. We haven't come up with a team name yet. Maybe we'll auction off the naming rights to our team. That should be fun. So anyway, we'll be raising money for scholarships for the next couple of months - till the end of May. Anything helps!
I gotta go check on my ding dong cake. I'll take pictures.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Time Gets Away from Me
Eight days into February before a post. Argh! I'm not meeting my goals at all.
I've added Carmen's new French Blog to my roll and removed Chris since he hasn't posted in more than 6 months. Check out what is happening with Carmen here.
Below are some shots from Christmas that I finally got from Chris; some shots of Carmen, Kevin, and Carmen's Aunt Linda who we partied with at Christmas time; and some random shots from disc golf games we have recently played. Oh and perhaps a shot of Chris with his new Prius.
Chris told me a week or so ago as we drove along in his new car that the Prius truly suits him and he feels very at home as a Prius owner. He went on to explain how it fits in with his Go Green mentality and plan as well as his high-tech geek personality and the secret compartment loving stasher he fancies himself. It's also quite nice in terms of a family car and he feels better about being able to drive all of us around in his own car as it has a lot of space. The Prius really is a nice car. I have to agree.
Colin LOVES him some Granddad! I think that Granddad is definitely Colin's hero. AND he always gets just what Colin wants for Christmas every year. So here he is getting thanked in Colin's favorite way - the big squeezy hug.
Carmen and Kevin.
Ah! La amour.
This was the night they stayed with us in Clear Lake.
Here's an action shot of Chris chunking his frisbee at Jack Brooks Park on hole 11.
Here's Chris in action again on Hole 12 at Spring Valley Disc Golf course.
Here's a pic of me and Honey girl at hole 13 at Jack Brooks Park. What a gorgeous day in January in the great state of Texas.
Here's Chris with the new Prius out at Jack Brooks Park in January right after he bought it. It was actually here that the car got it's first ding. A white car apparently opened the door into the Prius. Chris wasn't too worried about it.
Chris bought me a new disc golf bag at the pro shop on the Spring Valley course. It's exactly like his new bag only pink! And I love it!!! My favorite part about it is that it holds my drink (up to a liter size bottle of water or gatoraid so that I don't have to hold it separately. I can also carry a lot more discs but the first day I had it, I did not see this as all that advantageous. The ability to carry a host of discs begets actually doing so and my bag was considerably heavier as I went from 4 discs to 9.
Today, Chris and I walked the new course at Jack Brooks Park. It's still a little under construction but is being built to be a world class course with a lot of challenge. This year the World's Biggest Disc Golf weekend is happening in Houston, Woot! but like ON my birthday weekend - so not so woot maybe. Shouldn't it all be about me?
Anyway, while walking the new course today Chris and I carried 2 frisbees each - a new Oddessy mid-range and the wheel for both of us. The course was treacherous and we decided we need new shoes to do those hills. But here's the fun part - Chris found this block of wood that had been marked on three sides by some disc golf buddies but the 4th side of this block said this. We loved it and left it near the hole where we found it.
So that's it for an update.
I found a good price on a new wind shield that I'm going to have installed soon. I did my taxes and I'm getting a nice refund which will go entirely towards my debt. I'm still trying to reduce debt. Chris and I are going to be house hunting and spending the next few months cleaning out Chris's old house and putting it on the market. There's lots of busy-ness all around us.
much LOVE
I've added Carmen's new French Blog to my roll and removed Chris since he hasn't posted in more than 6 months. Check out what is happening with Carmen here.
Below are some shots from Christmas that I finally got from Chris; some shots of Carmen, Kevin, and Carmen's Aunt Linda who we partied with at Christmas time; and some random shots from disc golf games we have recently played. Oh and perhaps a shot of Chris with his new Prius.
Chris told me a week or so ago as we drove along in his new car that the Prius truly suits him and he feels very at home as a Prius owner. He went on to explain how it fits in with his Go Green mentality and plan as well as his high-tech geek personality and the secret compartment loving stasher he fancies himself. It's also quite nice in terms of a family car and he feels better about being able to drive all of us around in his own car as it has a lot of space. The Prius really is a nice car. I have to agree.
Colin LOVES him some Granddad! I think that Granddad is definitely Colin's hero. AND he always gets just what Colin wants for Christmas every year. So here he is getting thanked in Colin's favorite way - the big squeezy hug.Carmen and Kevin.
Ah! La amour.This was the night they stayed with us in Clear Lake.
Here's an action shot of Chris chunking his frisbee at Jack Brooks Park on hole 11.
Here's Chris in action again on Hole 12 at Spring Valley Disc Golf course.
Here's a pic of me and Honey girl at hole 13 at Jack Brooks Park. What a gorgeous day in January in the great state of Texas.
Here's Chris with the new Prius out at Jack Brooks Park in January right after he bought it. It was actually here that the car got it's first ding. A white car apparently opened the door into the Prius. Chris wasn't too worried about it.
Chris bought me a new disc golf bag at the pro shop on the Spring Valley course. It's exactly like his new bag only pink! And I love it!!! My favorite part about it is that it holds my drink (up to a liter size bottle of water or gatoraid so that I don't have to hold it separately. I can also carry a lot more discs but the first day I had it, I did not see this as all that advantageous. The ability to carry a host of discs begets actually doing so and my bag was considerably heavier as I went from 4 discs to 9.
Today, Chris and I walked the new course at Jack Brooks Park. It's still a little under construction but is being built to be a world class course with a lot of challenge. This year the World's Biggest Disc Golf weekend is happening in Houston, Woot! but like ON my birthday weekend - so not so woot maybe. Shouldn't it all be about me?
Anyway, while walking the new course today Chris and I carried 2 frisbees each - a new Oddessy mid-range and the wheel for both of us. The course was treacherous and we decided we need new shoes to do those hills. But here's the fun part - Chris found this block of wood that had been marked on three sides by some disc golf buddies but the 4th side of this block said this. We loved it and left it near the hole where we found it.
So that's it for an update.
I found a good price on a new wind shield that I'm going to have installed soon. I did my taxes and I'm getting a nice refund which will go entirely towards my debt. I'm still trying to reduce debt. Chris and I are going to be house hunting and spending the next few months cleaning out Chris's old house and putting it on the market. There's lots of busy-ness all around us.
much LOVE
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