It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN: 9 DAYS!

Can you believe that Christmas is 9 days away? I know I say this at the beginning ot 99% of my posts but the past few weeks have gone by so quickly.

Here are a few things that I am looking forward to during this Holiday Season:

1. We are going to pick up Tucker THIS Saturday. So, he'll get to spend his first Christmas with us! I'll have pictures.

2. We are spending Christmas in Ballinger!!!! I haven't been home since the 4th of July. That is ridiculous and I'm looking forward to spending a holiday relaxing and staying in one place.

3. Christmas morning breakfast and dinner. Is it sad that I am looking forward to food? Side note: We don't have turkey and dressing for dinner, we had that for Thanksgiving remember, the Becker tradition is to have steak and baked potatoes! I LOVE that tradition.

4. Alec and I's FIRST Christmas together! I can't wait!

5. Spending time with my family that doesn't include a wedding. haha. We've had two of those this year and while they are SO MUCH FUN! they don't leave a lot of time for good quality family time. Not to mention that my family is growing, so that just makes it that much more fun!

5. TIME OFF! I have a good 10 days off from work, much needed I might add.

6. SKIING/BOARDING! Alec's parents got a house in New Mexico, Angel Fire is getting blasted with snow so it is going to make for some great skiing!

I hope everyone is enjoying this colder weather. I know I am, I won't lie, I was wishing for a little more sleet/snow, it could have gotten me out of some work, but whatever. Ha! I am DONE with my Christmas shopping, the gifts are wrapped and under our tree. I'm just going to sit back, listen to some Christmas music and enjoy the most wonderful time of the year!

Happy Tuesday!

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Bell

CONGRATULATIONS MR. AND MRS. ANDERW BELL!

I can't believe that the wedding has already come and gone, but I couldn't be happier that Brandi and Andrew are married! For those of you who have never had the pleasure of being around the two of them when they are together you are really missing out! They are hilarious and they couldn't be more perfect for one another!

The wedding weekend started on Friday morning. We met at the cutest little Tea Room for lunch. It was adorable. The house was pink! and the food was delicious! After that we went and got manicures and pedicures. It was a wonderful afternoon. That night was the rehearsal dinner. That was THE night as far as I was concerned. As the MoH, I had a speech to do that night. ANYONE who knows me knows that I stress, stress, and stress some more about talking in front of people and this speech was even harder for me because it was to two people I love a lot. I cried, but it came from the heart, so I guess I shouldn't be too embarrassed. We went back to the hotel, played some games and drank some champagne and hit the sack!

Saturday was the day of the wedding. We got up and got ready to go. Brandi was STUNNING. Seriously, she is beautiful all of the time, but Brides just seem to have a glow and she was no different. Her dress was amazing and she looked amazing in it. The wedding was beautiful and the words Rev had for Brandi and Andrew were perfect. It was quick and then... the party began! The reception was awesome and everyone had such a good time. It all just seemed to go by so fast, and then it was time for them to leave. That is sort of when it hit me... the day we've been waiting for for so long is over. My older sister is now Mrs. Bell and I now officially have a Brother-in-law. It was a perfect day and I will always remember how much fun we all had with them on their wedding day :)

Here are some pictures of the weekend:

This is the little Tea Room, Allie and I with the Bride!

My WONDERFUL Family @ the rehearsal dinner!!! We are growing!

Brandi feeding Andrew his Peach Cobbler. He requested my mom's Homemade Peach Cobbler over a grooms cake, he loves that stuff ALMOST as much as I do!

This is a picture of my mother on the dance floor, I needed to share this with as many people as possible. My mom is awesome and Allie and I both had SO much fun with her at the reception!

My hott date!

Me with my beautiful sister!

My new BROTHER! He hates when Allie and I call him that, that is why we call him that! haha

My daddy :)

I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL week. It is Friday, the weekend is practically here!! I cannot believe that Christmas is around the corner. We are spending Christmas in Ballinger with my family and I cannot wait to get out there. We are also picking up Tucker so soon!

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!!! Christmas is almost here!

How the heck is it already December?!

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone. Time has literally been FLYING for us lately.

Thanksgiving was great. I missed seeing my family, but loved getting to spend time with Alec's. We were very busy, but had a great time. We ran our first 5K, the Turkey Trot, and loved it. It was a lot of fun and we are looking for another race to do, maybe a little longer this time. We had great food, did some shopping, and did I mention had great food :) The long weekend seemed to fly by but it was nice for Alec and I especially to get to spend so much time together.

This week has been jam packed. Alec has to work 50/hr work weeks til Christmas, I don't like it, but I'm going to be wishing for 50/hr work weeks come busy season, so I am just trying to enjoy every min. we have to spend together now. Tuesday night we went to Cafe Pacific, a really good restraunt in Highland Park to celebrate Ken and Deb's 30th Wedding Anneversary! How awesome is that, we all had a great time. Thanks again Ken and Deb for inviting Alec and I to celebrate with y'all! Tonight we have a Christmas party to go to for Alec's work and then I have to head home and pack for....

BRANDI'S WEDDING! I cannot believe it is already here! I promise to take lots of pictures. I know Brandi is going to be a BEAUTIFUL bride, her dress is amazing also! I leave for Temple tomorrow morning for a day full of fun stuff and the wedding is Satruday night.

I hope everyone is having a great week, the weekend is almost here!!!

Thanksgiving Top Ten

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope that everyone has a WONDERFUL holiday and enjoys spending time with their families!

In honor of this holiday I made a top ten things I am thankful for:

1. 
   
   My Faith: I know that without Jesus Christ I wouldn't have anything to be thankful for. He is AMAZING and I am so thankful that he died on the cross for us.


2. 
   
   Our Troops & their families: I am so thankful for the men and women that protect our nation. Their families are so strong and I just want them to know how thankful I am for all that they do!


3. 
   
   Health: My family has had quite the year when it comes to health. I can happily say that we are ALL doing great! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OUR HEALTH!


4. 
   
   ALEC HUNTER SOWARDS: He is without a doubt the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. I am so thankful for his patience, support, and love he gives me every single day.


5. 
   
   My parents: God blessed me with two of the most amazing parents and they have taught me so much. I am so thankful to have them as parents, to this day they are still so encouraging and loving, and I love them very much!


6. 
   
   Brandi and Allie: They are my sisters/best friends. I know that no matter what is going on in my life I ALWAYS have the two of them to turn to. I am so thankful for the relationship that the three of us have.


7. 
   
   My In-Laws: I could not have asked for a better family to marry into. Ken, Deb, and Kendell are amazing and I am so thankful to get to be apart of their family.


8. 
   
   My Friends: Alec and I have some pretty incredible friends. I am so thankful for all them. They are all so different but we always have so much fun regardless of what we are doing. God has put some pretty amazing people in our life!


9. 
   
   My Job: I am very grateful for the awesome company I work for. I may complain about work but they are very generous with time off and really stress and value family time. This is the perfect first job for me and I'm so thankful to have a job right now!


10. 
    
    345 River Fern Ave. #2324: I LOVE where Alec and I call home. I am just thankful to have a roof over my head and also feel very safe.

I hope everyone takes some time out of their busy day to stop and remember all of the things we have to be thankful for!

6 MONTHS!

6 Months ago today I became Chelsea Lynn Sowards. I can without a doubt say that was the best day of my life!

HAPPY 6 MONTHS ALEC! You are the best husband in the world and I've loved every min. of the past 6 months and can't even believe that much time has passed. I thank God every single day with you and look forward to celebrating many more anneversaries with you. You are such a blessing and I love being your wife!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week, Thanksgiving is almost here!!

Happy Friday!

As everyone knows I LOVE FRIDAYS! My favorite day of the week because I know I have the weekend ahead of me! Here is what I have to look forward to this weekend:

Tonight:
Premire Design Jewelry Party at the Sowards! Elizabeth Draper is coming over with EVERYTHING out of the catalog to show everyone what is hot this season. I'm looking forward to hopefully getting some gifts out of the way tonight :)

Saturday:

Me, Alec, Molly, and Andy are waking up bright and early and driving to good ole Abilene! The football team is undefeated and their first playoff game is tomorrow at noon. So, we are making a little day trip to Abilene, Texas.

Our first stop is to see this little guy, Tucker, how cute is he!?

Then we are going to watch the Wildcats beat WTAM AGAIN! I love football and I'm pretty excited that ACU is having such an awesome season. Hopefully my parents will join us, I would love to see them.

Hopefully we'll get home in time to catch some of the OU vs. Texas Tech game. NEVER before in my 24 years of life have I ever said the words I am about to say, "BOOMER SOONER!" This is totally conditional and for this week only. I NEED them to beat Tech, so I hope they do!.

Alec has his 4th CPA exam on Sunday, so if everyone will keep him in your prayers, I know he'll be very happy when he is done with all of these tests and is a CPA. I'm so proud of him. I'm sure I'll clean, do laundry, and wait for him to get home.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

How is it Monday again? How, how, how?? The weekend just flew by as it always does. However, there is a silver lining. I only have to work 8 more days until I get some much needed TIME OFF! I'm pretty pumped, I mean I'm pumped that it is Thanksgiving also, but more excited about the fact that I don't have to go to work!


Alec and I had a good weekend. We laid low on Friday night, Alec had to wake up at 3am to go hunting. He amazes me sometimes. I practically have to DRAG him out of bed to wake up for work at 6:45 am, and somehow, he can get himself up and going to go hunting at 3am?? Either way, I think he had a good time hunting with Andy, so I'm sure he'd say it was worth it!


He was gone all morning Saturday, I had plans to sleep in. Sleeping in now looks like 7am. WHAT HAPPENED. I used to be able to sleep till 11, sometimes 12. My body is clearly on schedule and I don't like that. I refuse to think that my sleeping in days are over.... I'm going to work on that. ha. I woke up and picked up the apartment, started some laundry, and waited for Alec to get home. Deb, Granny, and Deb's friend Donna all stopped by that afternoon, they wanted to check out the apartment, it's nothing special, but we love it and love to have guests! They left and we went over and met up with Molly and Andy at the movie theater to see the new James Bond movie. (Once again, I'm going to give you my opinion, I don't think anything I'm going to say will ruin the movie, but that is my heads up!)


I personally thought the movie was VERY good. Great action and a good plot. I'm not big into action flicks, but like I said, I really liked it. Not to mention that I LOVE this J. Bond. He's awesome, and to be quite honest, the past two are the ONLY two that I've ever seen. I didn't like the other guys. So, I give a two thumbs up and say it is totally worth the $19.00 we spent to see a freaking movie in the theaters! :)

After that we went over to the Parkers for some baked potato soup and cherry crunch (or Cherries Jubilee as Andy likes to call it.) We ate and watched some college football. I ended up falling asleep on the floor by the fireplace.... go figure. I'm like a kid in a carseat, if I sit still long enough, I'll fall right to sleep. haha.

Sunday we woke up and went to church. It was a great service. Several people were baptized and Jeff started a new series on the Holy Spirit. It isn't Western Hills, but I'm really starting to like Firewheel Fellowship. After church we went over to the Sowards house to celebrate Granny's birthday. There was great food and it was nice to see everyone. Alec's cousin was there with baby Cayden and I LOVE to hold him. He is precious. Alec and I headed out and got a little shopping done and got home just in time to catch the Cowboy game. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win! We'll see ya Redskins. I cannot stand them and enjoyed beating them.

That is our weekend in a nutshell. It was very nice to actually have an entire weekend to spend together doing stuff. I LOVE this time of the year. I'm sad that I don't get to see my parents next week for Thanksgiving, but we'll be there with them for Christmas and I can't wait! This time of the year is just so jolly and everyone is so happy and I love to buy presents for other people. Alec already has his gift, that is usually the gift I like most to buy. I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday if that is at all possible!

Just one of those weeks.....

Have you ever had a week where you felt like everything that could go wrong, does go wrong? That is the sort of week I've had, and for the most part it has been work related. It is so frustrating to put so much effort into something only to have it come back and amount to NOTHING. I know that once this week is over I will forget all about it, but for the time being I'm going to just be bummed out and irritated.


Alec and I have actually had a pretty relaxing week. We went to our first Mavs game this week. They were playing the Lakers and it was actually a really fun game. We got to use the Wells Fargo seats which were awesome. Something is wrong with the Mavs, they just don't mesh like they used to. I don't know what it is, maybe it was the worthless trade for Jason Kidd or maybe it is because it appears that Dirk just doesn't really give a crap. I don't know, they were leading most of the game and then at the end.... they blew it. Still a fun game, so that is ok. Last night we met Allie at Jakes, which has sort of become a weekly thing for us.

In an effort to cheer myself up on this wonderful Friday, here are some things I am happy about today:

1. The weekend officially begins in 27 mins! yesssss!!!

2. I did get to see my parents last weekend, we met them out at the Homeplace and it was delicious!

3. We got some GREAT news from some of our best friends, I'm not allowed to share it yet, but in the event that they are reading this.... WE ARE SOOOO EXCITED!!

4. The ACU football team is still undefeated and made it to the playoffs. GO WILDCATS!

5. Tucker.... I am pretty sure I am ready to go to Petsmart to start getting stuff for him now.

6. We are going to see the new James Bond movie this weekend with Molly and Andy, can't wait!

7. Alec said we can go look for our very first Christmas tree!!! Yeah, first Chrismas as a married couple. We have been together for over 4 years and NEVER spent the actual holiday together (Thanksgiving or Christmas) We're pretty excited about our first Christmas together!

8. Brandi Becker becoming Brandi Bell!!! This event is going to take place in less than a month!! I'll go into more detail about everything later, but Alec and I are very happy to have Andrew join the family!

We'll that is all I have for the day. I get off of work soon and I'm headed home to workout and make some dinner for my awesome hubby :) Have a great weekend everyone!!

Wanted: A New Addition to the Sowards Family part 2

"So, the search is on. I am going to find my wonderful husband an English Bulldog." - Me (June 17th)

Close to 5 months have passed since I made that post. We casually looked, but figured when the time was right to get one, it would all work out just like it is suppose to. Well... I got in contact with Mini's breeder and started talking to her back in October. She told me that Roxy was due in late October and we could have first pick. We decided when they were born we would drive out to Abilene and see if we could find one we couldn't live without.

Meet Tucker Sowards! He is two weeks old and offically ours!

He's the big chub sleeping on his back.

How cute is he?! You'd think I was pregnant and having a child as excited as I am, but I don't want kids right now, just a puppy. We've wanted one for so long, so I'm just going to be excited! He doesn't get to come home until Dec. 23rd, so we'll get him just in time for Christmas.

Hope everyone is having a great week!!!

I waited a day....

Well, I have to be honest and tell y'all that I wrote a post yesterday with my reaction to the election. I'd just like to say how glad I am that I waited to post it. I told myself yesterday after I wrote it that I would re-read it this morning and if I still wanted to post it, I would. Obviously, I had a little change of heart.

Since this is my blog, I am going to go ahead and give my reaction. My intent here is not to offend anyone, so I apologize and hope that you can respect my opinion. I feel that Obama winning paints a very clear picture of the state that our nation is in right now, and the picture isn't pretty. Have you ever met someone and they immediately gave you a bad vibe right off of the bat?? That is what I get from him, there is just something about him that leaves me feeling uneasy. I don't feel like he is honest and I don't know that he loves the Lord the way I feel a president should. I don't know his heart, but like I said, that is what I see. I don't believe half of what he says, and I don't believe that he knows what is best for this country. I am proud to be American, and I always will be, but I'm not proud of the decision that a lot of Americans made. This is the first and last post I will ever write about this. I am not going to be like a lot of people who have spent the last 8 years blaming every little bitty thing on President Bush. I am going to respect Obama as the president because the bible tells me to. I will not complain, and I know that it is all going to be ok. God does have a plan, sometimes I don't get what that plan is, but He may just like it that way, haha. I would also like to say how proud I am to have had a president like Bush, there is nothing like knowing that every decision he has dealt with, he put before God, and that is a comforting feeling, he may have not been perfect, but nobody is. I'm glad the election is over and I'll be glad when the next 4 years are over too :)

Now, for a recap of what is important. Alec and I have had a wonderful week! Monday we invited his parents over and I cooked. We had a good time. It's actually been a while since we had spent time with them so we got to catch up. And then last night, we had Molly and Andy over and I cooked again. I've discovered I love having people over and cooking for them. I dream of someday owning a house and throwing awesome dinner parties. We have some time before then, so for now, I'll stick to having a few people over and cooking for them :)

I'm so happy today is already Thursday and I am looking forward to the weekend. We don't have any big plans. Alec has one of his CPA cram sessions (poor thing) on Saturday. Those last forever, which means I will have to find something to keep me entertained all day. I'm going to bet I end up cleaning and doing laundry. (maybe walk over to the shops or something, haha... ) Sunday we are driving to Abilene to look at some puppies! I don't want to get too excited because I'm not 100% that we are going to get one, so I'll post again on Monday and know for sure then :)

While I'm bummed about the election, here are 5 things that I am happy about today!

1. It got cooler today! I LOVE fall weather and am ready for it to be here for good!

2. My wonderful hubby. He didn't do anything in particular, most people get to hear our morning stories and Alec in the morning will make anyone laugh. (needless to say, he has a hard time waking up!) Love you babe!

3. I might get to see my mom and dad on Sunday!!! Need I say more, I miss my parents... I realize I am 24 and married, but I still get homesick and wish they'd move to Dallas :(

4. I am meeting Allie at Jakes for happy hour tonight!!! Sister bonding time! Maybe we'll talk Alec and Ross into joining us... we'll see.

5. It is almost the weekend and I have things to look forward to this weeked!!!

Have a great day everyone!!

The good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The title of this blog really sums up our weekend. In the spirit of being positive, I'm going to start with The Good.

This weekend was the first weekend in 5 weeks that both Alec and I were in town. 5 WEEKS! We have been pretty busy and it was nice for both of us to be home for once. Since Friday was Halloween, Alec and I decided that we were going to go see a scary movie. (not quite as exciting as dressing up and going to a party, but so nice to just spend some time together) So we had a "date night". We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and then went to see Quarantine. I am going to give you my opinion of the movie below the picture, if you want to see the movie, I wouldn't read that part... I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone.

IT WAS SCARY! I'm not sure why I go to scary movies, I guess in some sick way I love to freak myself out! I watched the majority of the movie through my fingers or with my fingers in my ears. Basically, a group of people get Quarantined inside a building because of an outbreak of a rare form of rabbis that some sick freak invented and spread. It was full of people popping out of places, weird crazy people doing disturbing things, and all sorts of other things that made you jump. If you want a good scare, go see it. Alec even said it was kind of scary! Needless to say, I was stuck to him like glue for the rest of the night, haha. It was a great Friday night. 

Saturday afternoon Alec had his CPA class and I went Shopping with Jessica for her birthday. We all met up at Kyle and Jessica's and went to dinner to celebrate Jess' birthday. We went to a Hibachi steakhouse and it was very good. After dinner we headed back to their house to watch THE football game....

Now for The Bad. I HATE HATE HATE that the Longhorns lost. Seriously, makes me sad. I love exciting, hard fought football games, they are just so much more fun when the team you want to win, wins! Texas just wasn't suppose to win last night, it wasn't in their cards. I feel SO bad for the freshman that had the chance to intercept the ball at the end of the game. Why couldn't he have just caught it??!! I can't imagine how awful he feels, so I'm not about to rag on him, I just wish he would have caught it. I'm a big fan of the Big 12, but I am not a fan of Tech... ever. Under no circumstances would I ever WANT them to win. Either way, HOOK'EM!

Sticking with the football theme, time for The Ugly. Two words, Dallas Cowboys. I realize there are probably some girls out there thinking, "What is wrong with this girl, she can't possibly really care about football." Well, I do... and watching the Cowboys is truly depressing. It is so strange going from being one of the best teams in the nation, to what they have become now. I'd just like to tell Brad Johnson, in the event that he is reading my blog, (hahah) Hang it up man... your football days are over. Perhaps they are just saving up for the opening of the new stadium... just a thought. 

All in all, win or lose, I had a wonderful weekend. I'm going to leave you with what I've had on my mind all day. This morning's sermon was about serving others, not serving in order to be saved, but serving others BECAUSE we are saved. The sermon came from Matthew 25: 31 - 46, "The Sheep and The Goats". And all day I have been thinking about how this message really spoke to me today, especially with the holidays coming up. I look around and think how amazing God has been to Alec and I. We may not live in Uptown, but we have a great home that we love and we are taken care of. I just keep thinking there is so much more we could do to serve others. We were given a charge at the end of church today, to go out of our way to serve someone else this week. Whether it be a coworker, a family member, or even that person standing on the side of the road and I thought, what if everyone went out of their way to serve someone else this week?! So that is my charge for everyone that reads this blog.

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL week, even though it is November and in the 80's!

Time for a Recap

Here are some pictures from our trip to Oklahoma! (They are at the beginning because I added the photo's after I wrote everything and I can't figure out how to cut and paste) 

My sweet hubby has been in Mexico since Thursday and I cannot begin to tell you how ready I am for him to be home.... he isn't flying in until 10pm tonight! So, I have some time to spare so I'll give all my 2 loyal readers a little recap of what we have been up to.

Last weekend we got to visit Andy Parker's home town in Oklahoma. It was so much fun. Out of the 4 of us, his home is the only one we all haven't been to. They live on land and their house is beautiful! They have miniature horses, horses, dogs, and a cat. So you know we had fun playing with all of the animals. Andy's family is big OSU fans so his dad gave us tickets to the OSU/Baylor game. The seats were awesome. 2nd row up, mid-field. Perfect, I was so close you could smell the players! haha. They won and it was cool to add another stadium to Alec and I's list of stadiums we've gone to. Sunday was Andy's birthday and we met some of his family at P.F. Changs and it was so good and fun to spend some time with his family. I can't say enough how much of a blessing Molly and Andy have been to us. They are such good friends and we are very thankful for them. 

We had a really laid back week. Alec left on Thursday so I spent the week cooking dinner every night! Go me!! I also cleaned and did laundry so Alec would have clothes to take. I was less than thrilled that he was going to be gone, but he was in a wedding in Mexico. I can handle being away from him, don't get me wrong, I HATE it, but it is easier to handle when I can at least call him whenever I need to. I have talked to him once for like 3 mins. and have gotten a few facebook messages. There is nothing like going to bed by myself, and not even being able to talk to him! 

I tried to make the best of him being gone. Thursday, Allie and I met at Jakes for happy hour. Yummy $2 Appletini's :) I can't say enough how much I love that she lives here, I miss my sisters!! Friday I went shopping after work and then met Russell at Gloria's. Saturday I had a to-do list a mile long and got it ALL done! I love days like that, I ran around like  a crazy person, but at the end of the day I felt like I had gotten so much accomplished! I ended up going over and having dinner and spending the night with Molly and Andy. Thank you again!!! 

One last thing.... yesterday was Alec and I's 5 MONTH anniversary! The past 5 months have honestly been wonderful. I could not be more thankful for Alec. He is so supportive and am so lucky to be his wife. He is my best friend and I love him more every single day. Alec, thank you so much for the past 5 months, I love that I get to spend the rest of my life with you!!! I love you. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has an even better week!

Random Thoughts for a Happy Friday!

HAPPY FRIDAY! I have decided that this is my favorite day of the week. I realize I have to work, but once I am done for the day I have the best feeling knowing I don't have to work for two whole days!!! I am not kidding, Carrie and I start our Monday morning emails looking forward to Friday.

So, here is what has been on my mind all week:

1. I'm so ready for this election to be over with. I've decided to stop worrying about it and just pray that God will put the right person in office. I'm tired of hearing people in the office talk about it, I'm just ready for it to be done. I personally truly hope that McCain will win... God has it figured out though, thank goodness!

2. I'm so stumped about this puppy thing. I want one, and then 5 mins. later I change my mind. We puppy-sat for Allie this past weekend and it was a lot of fun to have a puppy around, but reality sat in when sweet Bella chewed the power cord to the computer in half. So, $85 dollars later I got a new one, (Thanks Apple, as if the computer didn't cost enough to begin with) It was totally my fault, I was just happy she wanted to sit still for a min. and thought she was chewing her bone... wrong. Starting in Jan. Pricewaterhouse has given Alec a heads up saying that he'll probably be working at least 60 hours a week, they provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for them for crying outloud! I guess that is why I really want one sometimes, at least I'd have some company around the apartment. But, it is going to be a lot of work... I just don't know. I wonder if this is the thought process I am going to have when Alec and I start thinking of starting a family....

3. I'm really starting to enjoy my job. For a while there I wasn't so sure but some changes are about to happen and I think or hope things will start to get better around here!

4. I miss my best friend! I am in such a "pickle" as Carrie calls it because as most know, she and Brian are going to build a house (yay! So happy for them) except... that means they won't be moving here. I guess I just always imagined us living in the same city, being pregnant at the same time, and I'm not sure how the heck we are going to pull that off. Alec and I have considered Chicago, which is a lost closer, but I'm not sure about St. Louis. (We're Cubs fans!) haha. Either way, God has blessed me with a WONDERFUL friendship with her and I'm so thankful that it doesn't matter where either one of us live, we have a special bond :)

5. I LOVE that I live closer to at least one of my wonderful sisters! I got to have lunch with Allie twice this week, it doesn't get any better than that!

6. I love being married more and more every single day. Alec is my world.

7. Finally, What the Heck Cowboys?! I'm very bummed about their situation and hope things can turn around for them. There may have been too much hype about them... I kind of wish they just would have laid low and then BAM, beat everyone! Too late for that now, I'll think positively, there is a lot of football left to be played!

If you actually read though all that, bless your heart! haha. I don't really have much to say, we've had a pretty laid back week. We are going to visit Andy's hometown this weekend and go to the Oklahoma State vs. Baylor game....Andy's family are big OSU fans,. Luckily the UT game is at 7, so we won't miss that! I'm not going to lie, I'm looking forward to a weekend where Alec and I can just stay in Dallas and not go ANYWHERE. That isn't going to happen until mid November. Gah...

Have a WONDERFUL weekend everyone!!!

The Bachelor, the Emergency Room, and a busy week to follow

I feel like this week has gone by faster than normal. We've been pretty busy so I'm sure that is why. I feel like I am running on fumes, I've been running around like a crazy woman since last Friday. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) a more relaxing weekend!


Brandi's bachelorette party was last weekend and let's just say, we'll all remember this one! Allie and I drove down to Austin Friday night for the lingerie shower at the hotel. That was a lot of fun, she got a lot of really cute stuff! We actually got to bed fairly early (late for me, but I go to bed at 10pm every night, ha) which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.


Saturday was the day we were going to go out at celebrate her last night as a single girl! We went to dinner at Z Tejas, which was wonderful as usual. We got to watch a little of the UT game so that was fun. After that we headed out. Shame on me for not knowing this, but apparently, The Bachelor, Brad, from last season owns some places in Austin. I don't really have a lot of time for TV, so perhaps that is why I missed it. However, after going to a few other places, including meeting Brad's (we are on a first name basis, ha!) twin brother! He was very nice by the way! We decided to head over to Molotov to meet Brad. I'm married, so I may have not been quite as excited as some of the single girls that were there, but either way I was excited to check out his place. We got there, he took pictures with the bachelorette and honestly is really nice. (and yes, good looking!) We were having a great time.... were having, you caught that right?


Well... some guy weird guy bumped into a table full of glasses. I heard a crash and thought nothing of it. Well, then I hear someone say, "Oh my gosh, Brandi is hurt!" I walked over there and she had blood running down her hand. Broken glass = a cut... NO BIG DEAL! I pull her to the back where it is a little lighter and she holds her hand up and EWWWW!!! He pinky finger is DANGLING. She has zero control of movement and you can see her bone. I'm pretty proud of myself because I once thought I wanted to be a nurse, this was while I was a lifeguard, and one day a little boy came and showed me that his toenail was ripped off and almost threw up! Anyway... Brandi is calm, she tells me her finger is broken and we need to go to the ER... so we get someone to call us a taxi and Brad comes down to check on Brandi. He escorted us out the back and after having to kick a few girls out of the taxi because apparently they are only allowed to have 4 passengers, we made it to the ER.


Here is where my shout out to my big sis comes in. For those of you that don't know, she works in the ER in Houston. We were in Austin, on a Saturday, at 2am. Use your imagination. We saw it all. Seriously, it was really sad. I joke, but I am very thankful for people like Brandi because I coudn't work there.... I remember a girl coming in crying so bad she could hardly breath and I wanted to cry with her, from what we heard her friends were in a car accident and one of them didn't make it. After about 4 hours of waiting we come to find out that Brandi will need surgery, her finger wasn't broken, but she severed the tendon or ligament (I ALWAYS get those confused!!) and it has to be fixed if she ever wants control of her finger. They stiched her up and we got back to the hotel around 6am. EXHAUSTED!


All in all, we had a great time... the finger just kind of makes it a fun story to tell! I got to hang out with BOTH of my wonderful sisters and my adopted sisters Michelle and Lindsey and had soo much fun!!


Alec and I have just been very busy at work. I feel like all I do is wake up, work, workout, cook dinner, shower, and go to bed. An endless cycle that doesn't break until Saturday. I'm not going to lie, it is going to take me some time to adjust to Alec working, but I said all along it would. I miss him. I see him every night, but he gets home later and we are both so tired... but that is what the weekends are for!


We are dog-sitting Allie's puppy Bella this weekend, I am excited about that. We are also going to the fair tonight! Yay! I've been looking forward to that for a while! Saturday we are throwing a UT/ou watch party at the Sowards'. I KNOW! I didn't go to UT... but I can still root for them, right?? Colt McCoy is from Tuscola, TX and I used to eat dinner there all the time, does that count for anything??? I like all of the Big 12 Texas teams! (minus Tech, sorry!) and Sunday is Brandi's shower in Temple... so I get to see my whole family :) You have no idea how wonderful that is!


Hope everyone had a great week and an even better weekend!!! Sorry that was really long!

The Random Six

I saw this on Sarah's blog and decided it looked like fun and that I would also do it. (and I need a quick break from work).

Here are 6 random things you should know about me.

1.) I am a FREAK about making the bed. My sweet husband can vouch for me on this one because he has finally learned to not even offer to help me make it. I'm going to have to go ahead and say I got this from my mom, but I HATE wrinkles. I cannot stand them! Call me strange, but every single day before I get in bed I have to smooth everything out. Sorry, God made me that way :)

2.) Carrie Howard, my roommate in college, my best friend that now lives in St. Louis, had to teach me to brown meat my Sophomore year of college. This is not a lie. I am pretty sure Alec was a little worried about all this because I didn't know how to cook. I also am going to blame this one on my mom (sorry). But, she took really good care of us growing up. We were busy kids and she is an amazing cook, why would I waste my time learning to cook when she did such a good job. What I wouldn't give for some of my mom's food tonight! In case some of you were wondering, I LOVE to cook now! And, the other night Alec said (this is true), "You are a really good cook babe". I didn't make that up, ask him!

3.) I WAS NOT going to go to ACU. Obviously I did end up going there, but ask anyone that knows me well they know that I made a huge deal about not going to "that place". My mom and dad, a set of grandparents, older sister, cousin all went to ACU. I can remember going to SingSong and thinking, I'm not coming here, mark my words. Ha. I laugh now because I LOVE Abilene and I LOVED going to ACU. (You know this if you read my blog often!) I think back and that is when I can truely see that God really does have a plan for all of us. I know I didn't plan on going to ACU, that was his doing. He placed me there and I can't imagine my life any differently. I was blessed to be able to go there and am very thankful that my parents gave me that opportunity.

4.) I'm obsessed with my parents! I kind of tear up thinking about this one because honestly I love living in Dallas, but I miss my parents... a LOT! I know everyone thinks their parents are the best, but I can't say thank you enough to mine. Both of them have always been such a great example, not just as parents, but as Christians. They have made me who I am today. They've given so much and they are the most unselfish two people you will ever meet. They are awesome and I miss being able to jump in the car and drive over there for the afternoon, or meet them at Homeplace for dinner. I love them and feel so blessed to have the two of them as parents.

5.) Brandi and Allie used to gang up on me... when we moved into our new house in Troy, that was the first time that I had my own room, Allie and I always shared a room. Well, Brandi and Allie thought it would be funny to put crickets in my pillow. Not funny! We are best friends now and I'm not sure what I would do without them. We always have fun together, definitely never a dull moment when you have the whole family at home.

6.) I'm silly. I'm 24 years old and I seriously feel like I'm just a 13 year old trapped inside this body. Don't get me wrong, I have my moments when I'm not real happy or I have to act like an adult, but for the most part I love to laugh and just be goofy. Silly dancing, jokes, all of it, I like to make others laugh too. Life's too short to take things too seriously... I should probably take that advice even more than I do now, but I try to keep that in mind when I am get all worked up about something.

There are my random six. As Sarah said in her post, if you have some time and blog, tell us your random six!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Weekend Recap

Sorry, still no pictures. We didn't really do anything picture-worthy I guess you could say. We did have a pretty good weekend though. Alec and I just hung out together Friday night, went to Fuddruckers... it was pretty good. I hadn't been there since my parents moved away from Temple. We used to go there after church a lot, sigh, how I miss Temple :( I love Ballinger, but it doesn't have the memories that Temple/Troy has. That will always be my home.

Saturday I woke up at 7am to make my wonderful husband breakfast before going to his class (and because I get to watch my Saturday morning shows!) So I made him some waffles and spent some time with him before he left for his cram session. He left I got real comfy on the couch to watch my 3 episodes of old 90210... but wait! There is a Dirty Sexy Money marathon on today. WHAT.THE.HECK. I love Saturday mornings and the Soap network just really messed it up! ha. So, starting at 8 in the morning I cleaned and cleaned and did laundry. It felt great! By noon I was about done, I went and ran a few errands, worked out, and then went SHOPPING! I had to get some make-up and something to wear to Brandi's bachelorette party this weekend. It was a success, I found the cutest black shirt! Alec came home and we went and had dinner with Molly and Andy... it was a great time as always. We finished the night by sitting outside around their fire pit and made s'mores. So good!

Sunday was suppose to be a PERFECT day.... however, the Cowboys lost and my fantasy team lost. Ugh. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings with Chris, Ashley, Jordan, Russell and had some wings. It was a bummer that they lost by 2, but I suppose life goes on. I mean it does, I'm here today.

Alec and I have a BUSY October, some fun, some not so fun, but either way the end of October is what I am looking forward to the MOST. This is not set in stone, but if all goes as I hope hope hope it does the puppy is going to be born on Oct. 24th! We'll get to pick her out and won't be able to bring her home until Dec. 15th but I don't care. We've been looking for so long! Hope it all works out.

Hope everyone had a good Monday if that is possible... it's almost over, so that is good. One final note.... I want to move to Chicago. I just think it would be really cool for Alec and I to move off. I love our friends and family here but I think it would be awesome for the two of us to move somewhere and make new friends and live somewhere else before we start a family. That's just been on my mind a lot today for some reason....Have a good week!!

One Word Answers

This is to demonstrate how BORED I am at work. This will give me something to do for a few mins! :)

Your hair? Blonde
Your mother? loving
Your father? Hugs
Your favorite thing? Shoes
Your dream last night? none
Your dream/goal? Business
Your favorite drink? VDC (Vanilla Diet Coke)
The room you're in? office
Your hobby? running
Your fear? death
Where do you want to be in 6 years? mom
Where were you last night? Colleyville
What you're not? Sad
Muffins? blueberry
One of your wish list items? Puppy
Time? slow
Where you grew up? Troy
The last thing you did? Phone
Favorite weather? Fall
What are you wearing? pants
Your favorite book? Gardian
Your TV? BIG
Your pet? none
Your computer? Mac
Your mood? ugh.
Missing someone? parents
Your car? old
Something you're not wearing? earrings
Favorite store? Dillards
Love someone? Alec
Your favorite color/shade? Green
Last thing you ate? Granola Bar
Your life? Happy
What are you thinking right now? shopping
What are you doing at this moment? not working
Your summer: nonexistent
Your relationship status: married
What do you do when you can't sleep? never a problem
When is the last time you laughed? today
Last time you cried? weeks

I hope everyone is having a good week. My week is actually going by pretty quick. Alec started work and he is adjusting to waking up earlier. I think it was just time for him to start... he's had stuff to go to a couple times in the evening, but it hasn't been too bad. So, not much going on in our lives besides work. Something I have been thinking a lot about lately, is there such thing as a job that you enjoy? Are there people out there that look forward to going in to work? Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a busy body, I like to be doing something, moving around. So, while the company I work for is awesome, and we are very very busy, its just that I spend the majority of my day on the phone and on the computer. Maybe this is life, this is what it is like to be an adult, a responsible adult. I just think it is a shame that I only enjoy 2 days out of the week. Just to clear one thing up, I am very thankful for my job right now, so I'm not meaning to sound like I am complaining, just more of a thinking outloud type of thing. There are a lot of people that need jobs right now, so I am very thankful for the one I have, I just hope that someday, I can find something that I can enjoy a little more than this one.

It's Thursday everyone! The weekend is so close. We have no plans and I like it that way! Hope everyone has a good one!

The BIG 24!

Well.... I am 24 years old! My oh my how time flies!! Feels like I couldn't wait to be old enough to drive and now... i'm 24. Life is good and God has been so good to me the past 24 years.

For my birthday, Professional Alternatives gives you the day off! What a great present! So, for my birthday Alec and I decided to go to Abilene. Abilene, really? I know that is what some of you are saying, but there were a couple of reasons. 1. I cannot part ways with my hair girl, Kim Shipp is amazing and I'm not ready to find a new girl here in Dallas (that may be lame to some of you, but that was one of the reasons, haha) 2. Alec wanted to take me to my MOST FAVORITE place to eat for my birthday and it happens to be in Abilene. The Beehive. I've talked about it on here before, but that was also a reason. and 3. I miss it. I have to clear that last one up a little bit. I don't miss it in a, want to move to Abilene, kind of way. Just miss what life was like when we lived there. I miss the people that were there when we lived there.

So, we woke up bright and early and headed to A-town! We got there and had La Popular! I had two bean and cheese burritos and they were AMAZING as always! Then we headed to Dolce to get my hair done, and Alec went and had my car maintenanced. I miss Kim and I miss being able to schedule an appointment whenever I want. She does amazing work and has really become one of my good friends. She also drove to Dallas to do my hair for the wedding, she's great and it was nice spending some time with her. Then we had some time to spare before dinner so we sort of just drove around. We went to the school, it looks really good. It's growing, so that is always good. I guess you could say we took a trip down memory lane, cheesy,yes... but Abilene has so many memories and I'm thankful for all of them. We then went to the Beehive. I had my usual, Mexican Rasberry Martini (SO GOOD!) Potato skins, their amazing ranch salads, and a New York strip with a baked potato. haha. And for dessert... yeah right! I was stuffed! Then we headed home.

We had a great day! Thank you Alec for taking me there for my birthday!! I had a great day with you and look forward to celebrating MANY MORE birthdays together!

Hope everyone is having a great week! The weekend is almost here!!!

Lazy Weekend

Well, here's a quick recap of what we have been up to lately. Time seems to be flying by! Alec and I had a great weekend and as usual I wish it didn't have to end.

I got off of work at 2:30pm on Friday because our main office is in Downtown Houston and most of them had been gone since noon on Thursday, but there were a few straglers that finally left at 2:30 so we got to go with them. I got home and Alec and I went to the gym and decided that it was time to finally get our own cell phone plan. We have had great parents that have lovingly continued to pay for our cell phones until Alec started working, but we decided it had been long enough. We knew we wanted to to switch to at&t and to say that Alec has been wanting an iphone is an UNDERSTATEMENT! haha. So... we switched to at&t and got us some iphones. It was a great day for me because Alec was seriously the happiest person on the planet. Mine was an early bday present and I love mine too, but he has been wanting one for a while, so it made my day that we FINALLY got to get them. I love you babe! Glad you got your new phone :)

After that we met Molly and Andy and Molly's cousin, Courtney at our usual spot, Gloria's. It was amazing as usual. We ate and had a fair share of their famous margarita's and really enjoyed hanging out with them as always :) Alec and I both got up Saturday morning and Alec went off to class and I proceeded to lay on the couch and watch One Tree Hill and 90210 on the Soap Network. Ridiculous, I know. But, I love them still. I then got off the couch and cleaned, there is nothing better than a clean apartment with all the laundry done... ahh. Alec got to come home early becuase of the hurricane and we had a great rest of the day. We didn't do anything exciting, we actually stayed in just the two of us. I'm not going to lie... probably my favorite part of the weekend :)

Sunday we got up and went to church. We are going to Firewheel Fellowship here in Garland and really like it. I think it is always going to be pretty hard for me because I had such an amazing church growing up. If I could, I would take Western Hills and put it in Garland, I miss seeing everyone's face and all the hugs. I probably compare every church we try to Western Hills, but I guess it is true, there is no place like home, and that will always be my church home. Either way, we enjoy going here, there are a lot of great people. After church we came home and I cooked bbq chicken burgers and we had people over to watch the football games. Molly, Andy, Jordan, Allie and Ross all came over and we had a great time. There is nothing better than a lazy Sunday with the people you love. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend :)

We are going to Champs to watch the Cowboy game tonight, I hope they win, the Eagles always show up to play though, thats for sure. We'll see. GO COWBOYS! (Go T.O. he's on my fantasy team).

Finally, this is Alec's last week before starting work. I'm not ready. As I have said a million times, I love coming home to him. He's always so happy to see me and waiting with a big hug. Once he starts working I will without a doubt be beating him home, but I guess I'll just have to be the one waiting with a big hug for him. If you all will just keep him in your prayers, its always nerve racking to start a new job, I hope he really enjoys it. I just pray that we can adjust to spending a little less time with each other and he can adjust to waking up before noon :) Love you babe! haha.

Have a great week everyone!!!

ps: Tomorrow is my mother and I's birthday!!!! I LOVE sharing a birthday with my mom. I have without the best mom in the world, so if you are reading this mom, I love you and hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday!!! Thank you for being you, I don't know what I'd do without you :)

Look at me!

Look! I said I was going to come back and post some pictures and here I am! Here is a little recap of the past couple of weeks for Alec and I:

The group at dinner for Chris' Birthday :)

Alec and I at the N9ne Steakhouse, I'm posing with my S'more.

This is how we entertain ourselves on road trips! :) haha.

 Love of my life!

This is a picture from the new place in New Mexico, the kitchen is huge and I can't wait to cook in it!

The part of the house you can see, the rest of the house is hidden by trees!

God is AMAZING, this is beautiful!! Angel Fire, NM

Well, obviously I did not talk Alec into blogging about New Mexico... I know that you all are very surprised by this. NOT! Either way, at least there are a couple of pics.

Here's a little recap of Labor Day weekend for us:

We went into Labor Day weekend with no plans. I went to bed Thursday night and I didn't feel good but was hoping that I wouldn't spend the weekend sick. Molly and Andy came over Friday night and we went to Chipotle and came back to the apartment to make homemade ice cream and played cards. I lost, as usual! ha. We LOVE living so close to them because we literally see them a couple of times a week, sort of feels like the good ole college days :)

Saturday Alec ended up not having class so we woke up and I cleaned like a mad man while he filled some stuff out for Pricewaterhouse... it took forever. I finished cleaning with plans to hit the gym with Alec but soon realized that I did not feel good. We laid around all day Saturday, went to church on Sunday but then came right back home and laid around for the rest of the day. We were both just dragging, which isn't normal for either one of us so that is how we knew maybe it was a sign that we needed to slow down and chill out! 

Labor Day we woke up and got a good workout in and headed to Colleyville to spend the day with our friends and family. It was a lot of fun! However, there were a couple of people missing, with my parents being at the top of the list :( I miss them so much and wish that I could talk them into moving this direction. I know that they are happy out in Ballinger and we love visiting them, but I just got used to seeing them all of the time, I would have loved to have had them there. Brandi and Andrew would also be on this list and also Carrie and Brian. Don't get me started on Carrie and Brian. Carrie: MOVE TO TEXAS PLEASE! I know it isn't going to happen, but I would love it! Molly and Andy, Kyle and Jessica, Allie and Ross, Russell, Jordan, Granny, Ken, Deb, Alec and I all hung out from 1pm till around 9pm. We cooked out, played in the pool, and watched football. (and the girls talked of course!) We had so much fun, it was really hard to go back to work. God has blessed us with so many wonderful friends and family and we are so thankful for all of them, we love you guys!

The week is going by pretty quick, we are busy at work and Jameson is staying with us so he and Alec are getting to hang out. I'm sorry this is so long! Hope everyone is having a great week, the weekend is almost here!!!

It's been a while....

Well, the last time I blogged I was complaining about Alec being gone. I ended up having a pretty good week, spending time with friends and family made the week go by pretty fast. Thursday came around before I knew it and I knew it would be a long weekend without him, but he'd be home Sunday.... so I thought. I got a text from him at work on Thursday and it said, "Book me a plane ticket home Friday night ASAP." What??!! He and his dad decided that it would be best not to miss his CPA class on Saturday and he would be home Friday, not Sunday :) Needless to say, I was a happy girl!

He did have a GREAT time in New Mexico though. I asked him to blog about his trip and post the pictures that he took... we'll see if I can talk him into it or not. He's not much of a writer. The house looks awesome and I can't wait to get out there to check it all out. He spent all day Saturday in class while Molly and I got pedicures and laid by the pool. It has become part of our Saturday routine. We better enjoy it while we can.


Saturday night was Chris' birthday celebration and we had so much fun! We met Chris, Ashley, Lauren, Mark, and Lauren's parents (also Chris' boss and his wife) at the N9ne Steakhouse. It was probably the best place I have eaten in a long time. I had the Halibut and it was amazing! After that we walked across the street to the Ghost Bar. Since we were all dressed appropriately! The bar downstairs is really cool! I am not going to lie, the Ghost bar is a) smokey, b) packed! c) dark. It was really cool to go up there and see the view, but would I ever wait in line to get up there? Heck no! We stayed there for about 20 mins. and then headed to Glass Cactus over in Grapevine. I like it there a lot better. We stayed till it closed and headed home. We had a lot of fun and HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS. We hope you had a good time!


Sunday we had a Fantasy Draft Party. My team is AWESOME. Ok, I don't know, but I really like it and hope they are good. My team name is, "Getcha Popcorn Ready" and of course, TO is on my team. We will see, either way, GO COWBOYS! I'm pretty pumped that football season is about to start especially since the Rangers went and choked on us. Oh well.

I have some really good pictures, I'll have to post them when I get home today. I have been under the weather for the past couple of days so I'm trying to fight off some sort of sinus something.

We had a really great Labor Day weekend too, I'll have to update that at another time, I guess I should get back to work.

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL long weekend and enjoys their short work week!!!

2 down, 4 to go

So, here is an update after my first two nights home alone. Monday I came home from work and went and worked out like Alec and I always do and I came back and ate left overs. I did get to see the Season Premier of The Hills. I've caught a lot of heat at work that I actually watch this show. Ok, I know it is dumb...ok actually, I don't think it is dumb. I know that its not complete "reality" but you know what, I don't care. It is entertaining and I enjoy it. So what? ha. My initial thoughts are that:

a. I knew Stephanie Pratt was NO GOOD all along... she is related to Spencer, duh.
b. I'm glad that there may be some new drama besides Heidi and Lauren.
c. Based on the quick preview of the whole season I think it will be good!

Tuesday I went to work and boy was it exciting, please catch the sarcasm. Came home and worked out and came back and made myself some scrambled eggs and toast for dinner. I watched a little of the Olympics and was glad that there wasn't really anything else on because I got to see Shawn Johnson win the gold! I'm so happy for her. I am sooo glad that both Nastia and Shawn are on team USA but I won't lie, I like Shawn better. Nastia has a very artistic gymnastic style, which is beautiful, but I think I like Shawn's style better. I thought she deserved the all around gold medal and also the floor routine gold. She is young, I hope we see her in London at the next Summer olympics.

Even though for the first time since Alec and I have been married and lived in that apartment I had complete control over the remote and got to watch more than ESPN (which I do love, don't get me wrong), I'm tired of him being gone. I'd rather watch Baseball Tonight reruns over and over again. haha. On top over everything else, his phone doesn't really work out there so I don't even get to talk to him. I'm complaining a lot, I'm sorry to the few that actually read this, but I'm just going to complain today. I am so happy he is having fun, but now I am wishing I just would have taken the week off, paid or not, and spent some time away from Dallas. Too late now, haha.

Anyway, I am going to meet Alec's mom and granny at Saviano's for dinner tonight and have stuff planned for the rest of the week, maybe that will make the week go by faster!

I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL week. The weekend will be here before we know it!

A Lonely Week Ahead.

Well, Alec and I had a pretty good weekend. It went by too fast as usual. Friday night we went to Gloria's with Molly and Andy and played catch up with them. They had been gone for what felt like forever, but it was really just 3 weeks. (I think.) They told us about their trip and it was sooo good to finally hang out with them. They live pretty close to us, so we are used to seeing them at least once a week.

We evidently had A LOT of fun, because I felt awful all day Saturday and spent the majority of the day on the couch while Alec studied. I finally decided I would get up and workout and I felt much better. We went out to Las Colinas to hang out with Chris and Ashley at Cafe Italia (I think that is what it is called). Chris described it as a Cheers bar and it definitely is. Everyone knows everyone and you just walk across the street to get to it, does it get any better than that? We had a good time and Chris and Ashley decided they wanted to head to Dallas to go out, so we went home and got some good sleep. Alec had to study all day Sunday, so I cleaned and did laundry and we just tried to spend as much time together as we could.

As we speak he is downstairs taking the second part of the CPA exam. I hope that he is doing great and I know he is going to be so happy once it is over. After his test he is taking me to lunch and then leaving for New Mexico. Alec's parents just bought a house out there and his Dad is driving out there to close on the house and get things situated. Alec starts work in a little over a month, so this is a great time for him to get away before he won't be able to. I'm sad because he is going to be gone for a week, and because I want to go too. I know he will have fun. This is actually the longest we have been away from each other in a lonnngg time. I've haven't stayed at our place by myself before and if it wasn't for my ridiculous imagination, I would be fine. ha. I'll be fine anyway, his mom is less than an hour away and Molly and Andy are less than 20 min. Either way, if everyone will please keep Alec and his dad in your prayers as they drive 12 hours to Angel Fire. And, if anyone is in the Dallas area and is bored, give me a call, I would love to see you!!

Hope everyone had a WONDERFUL weekend! I can only hope this weekend can fly by!

We've been busy!

Our past few weeks have been packed full of fun things! We've gone to several Ranger baseball games, concerts, graduations, and had a great time with our friends and family!

Alec and I are big Ranger fans, always have been. So this season is especially fun for us. We are used to going to the games to watch them lose yet again, this season is different. This team is different and the games have been a lot of fun. We've gotten to use Ken and Deb's season tickets, met my Dad in the suite and Ken and Deb in the suite also. There is nothing better on a summer night than going out to Arlington to watch them play. Alec is a lucky guy when it comes to sports because going to all these games are not torture for me, I LOVE sports and love going to games with him!

We also went to a Fair to Midland concert at the House of Blues. If you've never gone to The House of Blues you need to go. It is a really cool venue and the bands they have playing there are always good. Alec's parents got us the tickets and Chris and Ashley met us up there after dinner. We had so much fun! The band was awesome, they were clearly on something, but still very entertaining and talented! After that, they decided we should go to the Ghost Bar. I have to preface this story a little bit. Chris and Ashley ate at The Nine and by eating there got a "free pass" type thing so that we wouldn't have to wait in line. They were dressed for a nice dinner, Alec and I were dressed to go to a concert.... jeans, nice shirt.. not really going out clothes. Well, I'm not going to lie, I didn't want to go, I mean I want to go to the Ghost Bar, but I HATE feeling underdressed. We walked up and there was a LINE a long one. Full of girls dressed to empress and we walk up to the front of the line like we can because we have a free pass.... you can probably guess how this ends. The bouncer looks at us and says, "NO FLIP FLOPS". For starters, it was Alec and they weren't like rubber flip flops, they were leather flip flops... he is a guy, who cares! Either way, we didn't get in. It did make me think though, Do these people waiting in line get all dressed up to simply wait and HOPE that they might get in?? It just seems sad to me. Dallas is huge and there are plenty of places that don't stand some retarded bouncer at the door regulating who can and cannot get in. We are going to go back, but only because we have a free pass and I'd like to see what all the fuss is about.

Yesterday we drove to College Station to see my baby sister GRADUATE from A&M. I am so proud of her. Allie has worked so hard while she was in college and all her hard work paid off. She's moving to Dallas and Alec and I are soo excited!!! Congrats Allie, We love you so much!

Here are some pics from the past couple of weeks:

Alec and I on the way to the Ranger game :)

The Fam at the Ranger game

(See story below)

Allie walking across the stage!

She's officially a graduate!!!

So, on a final note I am going to be a little cheesy and brag on my husband. (Still feels weird saying that, haha). He starts his job at PWC on Sept. 22. So for the time being he has to study for the CPA. I can't imagine how hard it would be to make myself study all day, but somehow he does it and I'm so thankful for him and appreciate him more than he knows. I came home from work Wednesday and he had bought me those flowers, they are California Sunflowers and I love them! Our Kroger has really good flowers and I always walk by them and say, "I'm just going to get them", but I never do. Well, he went and got them for me and they MADE MY DAY! I know he is so ready to start working, but I am loving every day that he is there when I get home because that will not be the case once he starts. God blessed me with an amazing husband and I thank Him every day that I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. 

He has class all day today, so I'm home alone left to workout, clean, and get ready for a wedding we have tonight. I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL weekend. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm looking forward to the fall... cool Texas off please!!!!

SuRpRiSe DaTe SuNdAy

Ok, its been a while since my last post, but things have been pretty uneventful around the Sowards' house.

We had a great weekend however. We got to see Alec's parents Friday night. We went to Joe T. Garcia's in Ft. Worth. If you have never gone, definitely go, was it the best mexican food in the world.... not really. However, the atmosphere was awesome and they had great margaritas:) Saturday my wonderful layout partner Molly came over while Alec was in class. The great thing about living in an apartment is having the pool. This has come to be a normal Saturday activity for us, we get out there around 11:30, convince one of the guys to bring us Sonic drinks and that holds us over till about 3:30. I love summer! We had a dinner party to go to Saturday night at Russell's house. His parents were out of town so he and his girlfriend made dinner, it was delicious! We haven't seen Russell and Jordan in a while, so it was nice to get so spend some time with them... we live too far away I guess and miss out on a lot!

Now for the title of the post: Surprise Date Sunday. One day this week one of my co-workers told me about one of her friends and her boyfriend that have Wine Wednesdays... something special that they do every week together. Alec hates wine, so that really would never work for us. So... I started thinking of something fun for Alec and I to do once a week and ended up with Suprise Date Sunday's. Basically, I just planned a date day for the two of us and he didn't get to know what we were doing till we got there. I hate surprises, so I'm not real sure what I was thinking, but oh well, I think it will be fun. Either way, this Sunday was our first ever Surprise Date Sunday. I was in charge and I think Alec really liked it.

Our first stop was at Pappasito's. It is one of Alec's favorite places to eat and we haven't been since we've been living in Dallas. He loved it, I was happy. After that we went to see "Dark Knight". I will be honest, I knew Alec would be surprised by me taking him to see this because I told him I would not see it. I really had no interest in seeing it and I'm not real sure why? Knowing that, I LOVED IT! haha. (that is usually what happens). It was just a good movie, worth buying the tickets and waiting an hour in line. I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone so I won't say much, this is just for all of you (women most likely) that don't want to see it, it is good. Heath Ledger was awesome and not because he is dead... I heard so many say that everyone was saying how good he is in the movie just because he isn't alive... not true. He played the Joker great, I laughed, I cried.... it was great! Alec is in charge next Sunday....stay tuned :)

I have no pictures to post because my camera battery was dead, bummer. I need this week to fly by, not because I have anything great to do this coming up weekend, just because I don't enjoy Monday-Thursday.

I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend and makes the most out of the work week!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

I want to start by saying that this was by far the best 4th of July I have ever had. There is nothing like spending the long weekend with my family and friends. Alec and I are so blessed and I couldn't be more thankful for times like this past weekend.

It started out Thursday afternoon. I got off at 1:45 and Molly and Andy (and Boots and Baily) came and picked Alec and I up and we hit the road. I love road trips and this one was no different. We had SEVERAL hours to spend in the big burb and it was a lot of fun. Brandi, Andrew, and Allie were not too far behind us, and Ross was headed to Ballinger also. My parents had a house full. The "married couples" stayed out in the old house so it all worked out really well. 

Friday, my mom made everyone breakfast and the boys helped my dad plant some things around the house...I'm not sure if he planned on doing it while he had so many helping hands around, but I'm thankful that they were there to help. The guys then loaded up and went to San Angelo to play golf. I can't even begin to explain how excited my dad was. I think he has dreamed of the day that he could take his son-in-law (and soon to be) golfing. They had a lot of fun and I'm glad they went. My mom made her famous BBQ and homemade peach cobbler for dinner before the fireworks. It was sooo delicious and I think we all ate entirely too much. We had bought a lot of fireworks and Allie, Alec, Ross, Andew, and Andy put on a little show for everyone. It was actually really good. My favorite goes to Ross, he brought something called the "Screaming Coyote" It sounded like a dying animal.. horrible noise. Saturday we all just hung out. Some of us went to the pool and Alec and Andy went fishing. It was really relaxing and fun just spending time with everyone. My mom cooked again for dinner and made homemade icecream for dessert.... it was really good and everyone once again, ate entirely too much. We went to church in Winter's with the parents and then we headed back to Dallas. I was really sad to leave. I miss my family so much and it was really nice to have EVERYONE there at the same time. Saturday night everyone was just sitting outside, either playing with the dogs, or watching the sunset, and I looked around and thought to myself... God is amazing. I am so blessed with a wonderful family and wonderful friends and I can't believe this is my life. I have just imagined for so long what it would be like to have our family grow and I looked around and realized that it has happened, the Becker family is growing and I couldn't be happier. Time just flies by and you really have to take in every single minuet you get with the people you love.

We drove back to Dallas and Alec and I couldn't spend the holiday without seeing Chris and Ashley. I had heard a lot about a place called "Sherlocks". I pass it on the way to Dallas and one of my co-workers talks about it, so we tried it out. We had so much fun! It was karaoke Sunday. At first there was nobody there and I thought, who would come out for karaoke on a Sunday?? Wrong. There were a lot of people and Ashley and I were DANCING QUEENS! I know you are thinking to yourself... they have a dance floor? No... they don't, but there was dancing and we loved it! I was glad that we got to see them before the holiday weekend was over.

Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend:

My hubby and I at Sherlocks :)

Me and Ashley!

All the guys before they left to play golf

Me and my beautiful sisters, I LOVE THEM!

My mom with her new son-in-law and soon to be son-in-law

My precious parents

Best friends! I am so glad they came to Ballinger with us!

I hope that everyone had a WONDERFUL 4th of July! Now I have to get back into the swing of things at work... no more holidays for a while. 

One more thing, Alec takes the first part of the CPA exam on Monday!!! He has been studying so hard and I am so proud of him. Honestly, there is no way I could have sat at home all summer and studied, but he has done it. If everyone could just remember him in your prayers! He is so smart and has worked so hard, I know he'll do great!!! I love you babe! Just stay positive!!

Have a great week everyone... the weekend will be here before we know it!