It's a Beautiful Life

Ten Truths

2009-07-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Ten Truths

The Rules:

Tell your readers 10 things that are true that they might not know.

Tag 10 other bloggers to do the same (not going to happen in my case cause most everyone has already been tagged but I'll try!)

Ok - Here it goes...

I am INSANE about lotion. You can ask my college roommate, Carrie. After I shower I have to head-to-toe apply lotion or it drives me crazy. I don't like dry skin, what can I say?
I can't completely start my day without my daily dose of Dunkin Donuts french vanilla coffee. If you haven't tried it yet, go get some... I haven't ordered coffee at Starbucks since.
I get really awkward when it comes to talking about money. My parents probably won't remember this, but I was probably 8 years old and we were over at one of my parents friends house from church and at the dinner table I asked one of their kids how much they got for allowance. Well, on the way home my dad told me you should NEVER ask someone questions about money, it was none of my business. I remember feeling embarrassed and I am 24 and still remember that event clearly. So, ever since then I try to steer clear of that topic. Especially as I have gotten older and people have different jobs, when people bring up stuff like salary and other financial stuff, I go into shut down mode. They don't need to know my personal info and I don't care enough to know theirs. :) Thanks dad, you taught me well.
I am starting "another" new job on Monday. When I was interviewing back in Feb. I interviewed for this position, however they couldn't do any hiring at the time. Well, they called three weeks ago and offered me the job and I couldn't turn it down. As of tomorrow, I will be a Client Advocate at CarisDx. Can I tell you how excited I am that I will NO LONGER be recruiting?! I'm very excited about this job and can't wait to get started. I feel like I can finally start my career, I've wanted to get into the "client services" side of healthcare for a while now, so, God is good, we'll see where He is taking me now :)
Alec and I LOVE to travel. I think more about where I want to go next than I do about buying a house or having kids. I get to check Las Vegas and Italy off my LOONNGG list of places I would like to go before we start a family. A few of the other places on that list are: Hawaii, New York, Boston and Switzerland.
I pretty much think Tucker is the coolest dog in the world. I know he is just a dog, but he's always happy to see me regardless of the kind of day I've had. I have to say, I wasn't so sure about having a dog when we first got him, but I'm not sure what I would do without him.
Every time I go to a wedding, it makes me want to re-live our wedding. I mean, I don't want to do all the planning and all that again, I'd just like to replay the day exactly the way it happened. Oh, and go back to Mexico for the week after also.
I'm a nut about cereal. My AM snack is always cereal. I usually switch between Kix (not berry berry because I can't find them anymore) or Trix. Yummmm...
I love baseball season. Don't get me wrong, football season is good too. The thing I love most about baseball is that there are SO MANY games. There is always something to watch after dinner. I'm a Ranger fan, win or lose...
If I could meet any professional athlete it would be Tiger Woods. I think he is awesome.

I think everyone has already been tagged, the only person who hasn't is:

Allie

Maybe I can use this to get you to actually blog for once :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Our Story according to Me :)

2009-06-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Life at the Sowards' house has been fairly quiet lately and Alec, Tucker and I are really enjoying it. So, while things are calm, I want to to tell the story of how Alec and I ended up together. Why now you ask? Even now, I love to look back and read some of my previous blogs, and as time goes by I worry about forgetting some of the details about when we first got together. This might not be something that is interesting to you, but I want to have it in writing so hopefully I can re-read over the next 100 years we are married. :) Enjoy.

Fall 2003:

It was my first semester of school at ACU, I was beyond nervous about leaving my home and starting a new chapter in my life at a new school where I knew NOT A SINGLE SOUL! I also entered this new chapter with a boyfriend in tow, except that he would be attending a different school, but we were going to "make it work." On the first day of classes, I went to chapel with all my new found girl friends and after we headed off to the famous "Bean". I decided to get a sandwich and as I am waiting in line one of the baseball guys I had already met, Ben Maynard, walks up and says, "Chelsea, can Alec cut in front of you so he can eat with all of us?" I look up and there he was. I immediately noticed his amazing blue eyes and thought he was VERY good looking, but that was it. I said of course and that was the end of it. I saw him off and on that first semester. It was always really odd, I would be sitting in chapel looking around and even from across the gym I'd see him. I didn't think anything of it at the time, we really didn't talk. We would both play the same bowling game on our phones during chapel and after we would see who got a better score, but that was it. My first semester of college came and went...

Spring 2004:

The spring semester rolled around and I showed back up to campus a SINGLE LADY! I was so excited about starting this semester and being able to spend more time with my friends and meet new people. The first day of classes I signed up for a MWF 3pm English classes, after the first meeting I decided I needed to switch, so when Wednesday rolled around I went to a 12pm English class and guess who was in there? Alec Sowards. I LOVED that class. I always made sure to try and look really good on those days. I always looked forward to him walking in, he would wear this black baseball hat, the bill on it was still straight and it was cocked to the side a little. Sounds silly now, but I remember thinking he was so cute and shy. If anyone knows me, you'll know that my next comment is weird because as the semester went on I found that I could not talk to him. I would get all nervous and I don't know why. I remember a conversation with my mom, I was telling her that I met this boy but I couldn't talk to him. I liked to talk about him though. Enough so that one of my friends finally said that I could no longer talk to her about him until I talked to HIM. She did some detective work and got his screenname. Our first conversation took place on AOL instant messenger. We talked quite a bit and then he finally asked me out.

I remember that date like it was yesterday. I was so excited. He took me to Lytle Land and Cattle and it was perfect. It was a tough time to go on our first date because it was the end of baseball season and he would go on road trips and it was also the end of the semester so we were both, or he was studying quite a bit. I found myself really starting to like him, but I was afraid with summer so close that we would both go home and whatever we started would have to wait until the fall. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. We probably didn't go more than 7 days without seeing each other. I even went to Cabo with his family that summer. We were stuck like glue... and have been ever since.

It is weird to me because I swore I would never go to ACU and on top of that I didn't want to be like everyone else and meet my husband there, and Alec had never heard of ACU, he was there to play baseball. As we all know, it was all just part of God's plan.

We had such a good time at ACU and I'm glad that I was apart of Alec's life during that time. Some of my favorite memories are of baseball season. I LOVED Friday's and Saturdays. Rain or shine, near or far, I was going to watch my man play some baseball! I loved every second of it, it helps that I love sports, but there is something about watching the love of your life do something they love. I still close my eyes and think back to those days where I would get to the baseball game and see him our there, number 18... it was just this feeling of being so proud and loving him so much. Sorry, that was cheesy, but so true.

I also think about our Sonic/Cajun Cone runs. Every.single.day between 5 - 7 I would start listening for his truck. Once I heard him coming I would put my shoes on (sometimes) and run our to his truck and hop in and we'd go to Sonic or get a Cajun Cone. I always looked forward to that.

I could tell story after story of some the fun times we had in Abilene. Some people think it is crazy that we got married so young, or that we didn't get to enjoy college to the fullest because we were in such a serious relationship so young. I couldn't disagree more. Everyone is different but in our case I love that we got to share all of the crazy fun times together. I got to be there for every stressful paper, hard test, strike out, homerun and sickness and I love that.

I'm so thankful that I am Alec's wife... and I loved getting to re-live some old memories. I know I'll enjoy looking back on this one!

Hope everyone is having a GREAT short week!

Recap: One Year Anniversary

2009-05-31T08:51:00.001-07:00

So, I am a little late but May 25, 2009 was our one year anniversary. Wow, time FLIES! I can without hesitation say that it has been the best year EVER. Alec is an amazing husband and I am so thankful for all that he does. We have so much fun together regardless if we are sitting at a game of some sort or going on our daily runs. He is my world and I love that I get to go on this journey with him. Alec, thank you for being so kind, loving, supportive, motivating and encouraging. I love you.

Now, here's a quick recap of our fun Anniversary/Memorial Day weekend:

The fun started Friday evening. We headed out to Plano to hang out with Brian and Carrie (I LOVE that y'all live here) and Carrie's parents were actually in town so we got to spend some time with them also. We love them and their new puppy Bailey, she is ADORABLE! We ate and hung out for a while before heading home.

Saturday during the day Alec and I both did our favorite things without each other. Alec played golf and I went shopping. He had fun and I got some cute stuff, so I'd say that worked out great. That night he took me to Pappa's Steakhouse for our Anniversary dinner. One word: AMAZING. It really was very good. We both had steak and it might have been the best steak I've ever had. We ate entirely too much but loved every second of it :)

Sunday we went to the Byron Nelson. We ended up at the 8th green and watched all the leaders come through. We both had a really good time. It is just fun to be there and get to see all the golfers up close. I also decided that I really like the golf clap, however, there are times that I think about yelling out or whooping or being "that" person that yells, "GET IN THE HOLE!" haha. We topped off the day with Uncle Julio's with Molly and Andy, it was good to catch up, we hadn't seen them in a while.

Finally, Monday rolled around. We spent the afternoon at one of my FAVORITE places to be on a sunny day, the Ranger game. The lost, pretty bad actually, but oh well. We were smack dab in the middle of a lot of Yankee fans. It's safe to say that if you like the Yankees, I don't like you. I'm kidding, I'm kidding (sort of). They really were awful. I wanted to say, "Welcome to Texas, a friendly state where we greet each other with smiles and don't use the "F" word in front of small children." haha. We ended up having a lot of fun, it was a great way to spend our Anniversary/Memorial day :)

I hope everyone had a great week, this time last year we were headed home from a week in paradise. (Playa del Carmen, Mexico) I could use another vacation like that right about now. We've had another great weekend, we are headed to the Ranger game again today... I love baseball season!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

This One is for Me.

2009-05-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a while, I know... and really what I am about to blog about is really for me because I am going to want to look back in a couple of years and read this and laugh all over again.

For those of you that know me, I'm a planner. I love to plan or more so, I love to plan things that I know will make other people happy. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't. Well, this past weekend was going to be a busy one, we were MOVING. Ah, the dreaded move, it was going to take place on Saturday. Saturday happened to also be Alec's birthday.... so what did I do? I plan a surprise party for the Friday before. I sent out the evite to all of our best friends and strangely almost everyone could come and on top of that, Alec had NO IDEA that I had planned a party. The plan was to go to his favorite place to eat, Pappasito's and then head back to his parents house and play games for a while.

Friday came and I told him I was taking him to dinner but we were going to keep it low key since we had to move all day the next day, well, we walk into Pappasito's and tell the girl I had reservations for Chelsea, her response... "oh, table for 14?" Sooo... that is where the surprise ended, haha. Either way, he didn't know up till that point. Jordan, Jenn, Molly, Andy, Allie, Ross, Brian, Carrie, Geoff, Russell, Ashley, Alec and I were all at dinner. We had a great time and around 10pm finally head to his parents house. At this point, we should have just had cupcakes and gone to bed, but instead we stayed up until 3am playing card games..... GREAT IDEA!

We had to be up at 7:30 to get the U-haul, let me tell you, 7:30 was NOT looking good for either one of us. We stayed up too late, we might have had one too many drinks.... great idea Chelsea. The rest of the day sort of went down hill from there. We picked the U-haul up around 9:30 and got to the apartment around 10. Brian and Carrie were going to meet us there at noon so I had plenty of time to get everything ready to go, that is if I were moving faster than a snail. However, we just kept going.

Brian and Carrie got there and we think this is going to be ok. There are 4 of us and we got a dolly and furniture mover, but wait, the U-haul won't fit in the parking garage so we have to go down the hall, down the elevator, down another hall and outside?! Oh, and we aren't all feeling 100%. It started out ok...however, as the day progressed we noticed the sky get darker and darker and that is when the rain started. We were a good 4 hours into the packing process, we weren't about to stop there, so we once again, just kept going. By the end of the loading process we were drenched. Carrie and I looked like we jumped in the pool, that is how wet our hair was, at one point, we were all huddled IN the u-haul because it was raining so hard we couldn't even make a run for it. By the end of it I think we were all a little delirious, this probably isn't all that abnormal but Carrie and I at one point were running down the hall with squeaky feet, singing. I'm sure the residents LOVED US. It's really strange how much fun we were having while being miserable at the same time. haha.

Then, we made the trek to Irving, the U-haul, the mini, and the Jeep, packed full. Allie and Ross met us there, it took us 5 hours to load it, 30 mins. to unload it, haha. We literally pulled the truck up and we all just took off getting stuff out of the vehicles. Needless to say, Alec and I were dead asleep by 10....

only to wake up and have to go BACK out to Garland because the TV wouldn't fit in the Jeep and we still had some little stuff. Russell came to the rescue, he met us out there with is parents van and we got it all loaded up. We finally got EVERYTHING into the townhouse by 4 on Sunday. I did some unpacking, but headed back to the Sowards and went to bed, I was sore and exhausted.

So, here is my shout out portion of the blog. First and most important, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEC! You are without a doubt my best friend and I love that I get to spend every single day of the rest of my life with you. I can't wait to celebrate 100 more birthdays (ok, maybe not 100, maybe 74). There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God that he blessed me with you in my life, as I always say, you are my world :) Hope you enjoyed your party.

Secondly, Carrie and Brian. There isn't a lot of people that would haul all of our stuff down the hall, down the elevator, down another hall, and out through the rain.... I'm pretty sure I tell Carrie this everyday, but I have no idea what I did before y'all moved to Texas. We love y'all and we owe you big time, as you said, I imagine there will be many more moves for both of us, the favor WILL be returned.

I know that probably wasn't as entertaining to read, but I just know I will want to remember it, so sorry! I will post a real one soon. We aren't settled in the new place just yet, have I mentioned I hate moving, there are a lot of boxes still left to be unpacked. I will tackle that this weekend because hopefully my parents will be staying with us :)

Hope everyone is doing great!!! Happy Hump Day!

Whoa, it's been a while!

2009-04-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that over a month has passed since my last blog! I don't even know if anyone still reads this thing, but I will try to catch you up!

We've been VERY busy lately but things are really good. Work is going good for both of us, keeping us busy as usual, but once again, we couldn't be more thankful for the jobs we have. Here is what we've been up to:

SETH AND AMY CAME INTO TOWN! Alec and I haven't seen them since our wedding, so we were very excited to see them. We didn't get to spend a lot of time with them because of work, but it was SO good to have all of us back together again. We went out to Uptown one night while we were there to celebrate Molly being done with her COMPS (which she PASSED by the way!!). We had a great time and wish they would move to Texas :)

Now, if you read Carrie Jo's blog these will look familiar, if not, here is a recap. She found this cake recipe online and we decided we wanted to try it out. Amazing huh?? I've documented it here because it is so pretty! Now, we added one very wonderful ingredient and that is Fruity Pebbles. That's right, we sprinkled fruity pebbles on the outside of the cake. We actually made it for Allie for her birthday party at Kona Grill and even the chef had to come out and get a piece! How cool is that?!

On a side note, this is a Weight Watchers cake. In NO WAY does Allie need a weight watchers cake, we didn't quite realize it till mid-baking. So, the ONLY sugar in the cake is the sugar that comes in the cake mix. There was no eggs or oil and the icing was cool whip (light) mixed with fat free sugar free vanilla pudding mix... and it was delicious. I'm not lying, ask the birthday girl. Nobody would have guessed!

Here are my two wonderful sisters at Black Finn for Allie's bday:

Alec and I recently had a great date night. He took me to Kenichi which is downtown and within walking distance to the House of Blues where the Eli Young Band concert was. The sushi was AMAZING (so was the Kenichi Cosmo) and the concert was probably one of the best I've ever been to. If you don't know who the Eli Young Band is, check them out on itunes, I haven't heard a song of theirs that I don't like. We had so much fun!

FINALLY.... We are moving!!! We have literally spent the last 5 weekends searching for a new place. Once we decided we weren't ready to buy, I got busy looking for places to rent. This place is exactly what we were looking for. It is a townhouse and it is, according to GoogleMaps, 2.8 miles away from work! I've been driving 65 miles round trip and starting May 1st, I'll be driving less than 6. Oh my goodness!! Alec is currently still auditing in the building across the highway from my office, so it will be great for him too. We are excited and can't wait, we will have a guest room so people can visit us! (Mom and Dad, I'm talking to you!)

Welcome to 6839 Verde!

I think we are caught up. I have today off (thank goodness) and I get to spend it CLEANING. Alec and I are waking up and driving to Abilene tomorrow. I am so excited. For starters I haven't seen my mom and dad in too long, I miss them :( We are also going to watch ACU play baseball. They are having a great season and we want to go cheer on the few that we still know that are playing. And finally, we are going to the Beehive for dinner. When we lived in Abilene we would dream about living in Dallas because there are SO MANY places to eat in Dallas, now, we CRAVE the Beehive, Perini's, La Pop, The Homeplace, and Copper Creek. I just miss Abilene and it is going to be nice to get away for the weekend.

Hope everyone is doing well! I'd say I am going to try and blog more, but there isn't a whole lot going on right now, haha! Oh also, I can't believe I didn't post a picture of Tucker. He is getting SO big. He is excited to move too. He needs more space to run around and our new community has a running/walking trail that he will love. He is doing great, we love him! (Just in case you were wondering :) )

Time flies when you spend no time at home....

2009-03-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

I feel like Alec and I have been on the go non-stop for the past month! I won't lie though, it has all been fun and exciting stuff!

I'll start with the most exciting. Alec and I FINALLY said good-bye to his truck! We had been waiting patiently to find exactly what we were looking for and finally took the plunge and bought our first new car. It is a 2009 SRT8 Grand Jeep Cherokee. If you've never seen what it looks like, google it, I couldn't figure out how to put a link in and haven't taken any pictures. If you are into cars you will get why it rocks! This is another time in my life where I have to go back and tell my parents they were right. They were awesome enough to buy me two cars growing up and yet I can still remember asking for a new car and they always told me that it would feel so good to buy our first new car on our own. They couldn't have been more right. Alec and I have been working so hard since we graduated from college and it feels good to know that nobody gave us this car, it is OURS! I couldn't be more proud. :) Don't ask whose it is, we still don't know... we share :)

For more exciting news we have our plane tickets to Italy!!!! The only place outside of the US I have traveled to is Mexico, while I do love it there, I CANNOT wait to get to Italy. We are going September 16 - 23rd. I am looking forward to getting to go with Alec, the FOOD and of course the WINE! We are still in the planning stages for where we are going to stay while we are there but I know without a doubt we can't go wrong. If you have ever been and have some suggestions for places to stay, eat, see, etc. let me know!!

Other than that we've been enjoying Brian and Carrie living here and meeting them for dinner whenever we want, spending time with Molly and Andy and hanging out with Russell and Geoff now that Geoff moved back to Texas. All in all, things are good. Busy season is so close to being over (THANK GOODNESS) and I am starting to feel like I've got things under control at work.

Here are a few pictures from the last week:

We've got some fun stuff going on right now, I'm counting down the days till this Saturday though because.......

I GET TO SEE MY PARENTS!!! I miss my mom and dad :( I'm looking forward to getting big hugs from both of them and getting to talk to them without a phone up to my ear. I also get to see Brandi and Andrew, Alec and I don't get to see them enough either. So, I am beyond excited!

I hope everyone has a good week, at least Monday is behind us!!!

Busy Season and the New Job

2009-02-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

Let me just start by saying April cannot get here fast enough. Busy season is every bit as "busy" as I thought it would be and then some. Alec and I are both so thankful to both have jobs right now, so I don't want anyone to think I'm complaining, but it's kind of rough right now. I wake up at 4:30 in the morning and Alec isn't getting home until around 11pm... so, you can easily see that doesn't leave much time during the day to spend with each other. It is a strange feeling to really only spend time with each other on Saturday and Sunday and those days FLY by, but there is an end in sight and we both know it is worth it. He couldn't possibly know how thankful I am for all of his hard work, it is definitely appreciated.

As far as my new job is going, it's going great. I'm learning a lot. I am the one and only internal recruiter, we currently have 19 open positions.... so if anyone has healthcare experience, email me your resume, haha. It's a little overwhelming right now just because it stresses me out to have all of those open positions, but I'm working with a lot of great physicians and meeting a lot of great people, it's going to be a good experience and who knows where it will take me. I'm not going to lie, I'm EXHAUSTED! Last week it was all exciting and so I didn't really feel how tired I was, this week, it set in a little. However, if you read this regularly, before I lost my previous job my New Year's resolution was to workout in the morning, and I'd like to proudly say I hopped right back on it! My goal is to workout 3 mornings during the week and do the other two workouts on the weekend and so far so good. I'm proud of myself :)

As if work isn't enough right now, we are also starting our search to move. I HATE MOVING. I don't like anything about it, packing, unpacking, hauling stuff... I don't like it. However, it is ridiculous that both of us are driving so far away every single day. We are meeting with our realtor on Saturday and she has some places in the Valley Ranch/Las Colinas area to look at. We're really excited to find something new and MUCH closer to work. Our lease isn't up until June, so we have plenty of time to find something we really like.... I will try to keep you updated.

Life is pretty crazy right now, but God is good, I know that we'll make it through our first busy season and find somewhere to live... no need to stress out about it. A few random things:

a. I MISS MY MOM AND DAD! I think Christmas was the last time I saw them, that is terrible. We do have plans to head that direction after busy season to see them, eat at the Beehive, and catch some ACU Baseball. (I still get sad thinking about baseball season)

b. Brian and Carrie living here is every bit as wonderful as I thought it would be! It is seriously AWESOME! Last weekend we met them for drinks and stayed out until almost 2am! We just don't do that. I can't believe we lived in different states for so long, that will never happen again!

c. We might be doing something fun this weekend, I'll let you know next week if we did or not. :)

d. Alec and I are planning a trip to celebrate him being done with busy season, initially we were going to Boston... however, I can't take the day off we had originally planned on, so if anyone has a good weekend trip, let me know, I love suggestions.

Ok, I think I am done. I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL week.... I can't tell you how excited I am that tomorrow is Friday. Have an AWESOME weekend everyone!!

Time for the Good News!

2009-02-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

After hours of praying and more praying, I accepted a job offer today!

It is sort of strange how it all worked out, I did my summer internship for school with them and now I am back. The company is MedSynergies and great things are happening with them. It is going to be a learning experience and I'm looking forward to what God has in store for me there.

This job also changes things for Alec and I. He spends most of his time working in Las Colinas and now, I will also be working in Las Colinas. We live a good 30 miles away, so needless to say, a move will also take place. Our lease is up in May, so we've got to get busy looking for something in that area. We'll see what happens!

I hope everyone is having a great week, it is FRIDAY THE 13TH! Be afraid, if you believe in that kind of stuff.

Exciting Times!

2009-02-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

When I was initially laid off I was really upset. Because I loved that job so much?? Absolutely not, because it was part of my routine, I was comfortable there, and to be honest with you I said I was going to leave after a year, but I'm not sure I would have. I'm not one that adjusts to change quickly and easily, I like being in my comfort zone, even if it means being unhappy every day at work.

Alec said all along that me being laid off was the best thing that could have happened to me. It forced me to get out of my comfort zone and go find something that I could actually enjoy doing. He couldn't have been more right. I'm not going to elaborate too much, but I am interviewing at a couple of places and I'm pretty excited about the opportunities that are out there. I don't like interviewing, it is awkward and uncomfortable, but I've realized that I worked really hard to get my degree, and I worked really hard at Professional Alternatives, and that I am a good employee. I spent the first couple of weeks networking and getting my resume out there, and now that interviews are being scheduled I'm getting really excited. So... I will keep you updated as soon as I feel comfortable or know something more about the jobs I am talking about.

On top of job searching I have also been doing a lot of reading. I am a book nerd, proud of it! I've read three books in the last month and have a list a mile long of books that I'd like to read.

The last book I read was:

I have to tell you why I bought this book. I remember my dad saying he was reading this or had read it, and I think he and I like the same types of books. I'm not about to give a book review or anything, but I'm glad I read it.... it was sort of depressing, but I feel smarter for reading it. hahaha.

My next book was:

I heard soooo much about this book, so I decided to finally read it. It's a great story and definitely worth reading.

My favorite book so far:

I LOVE this book. Seriously, I've thought about just reading it again. It is a true story and it is so amazing how God works in our lives. If you haven't read it, go buy it and read it. It isn't long, but get your tissues, I found myself curled up on the couch bawling my eyes out. It is an awesome story!

If you have any suggestions for books to add to the list, please tell me!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Alec didn't have to work this weekend, so we had an entire weekend to spend with each other! It was great! Spent a lot of time with friends and nothing beats that!

I have to include this, I got a little grief for rooting for the Steelers yesterday. Most of the grief came from the fact that if the Steelers won, they would beat the Cowboys in the most won. Well, lets get one thing out of the way, the Cowboys didn't deserve that anyway, maybe, just maybe this will motivate them to play as a team and win another one. They need something to whip them into shape and make them play like grown professionals. So, here is why I am happy the Steelers won:

1. I had Hines Ward and Willie Parker on my fantasy team, Alec had Ben R. so we spent the season watching all of their games anyway. (If you don't play Fantasy football, you wont get it)

2. Mike Tomlin, he is an awesome coach and seems like an awesome guy. I think it is pretty cool that he won a SuperBowl.

3. As Coach Tomlin said last night, they may not earn "Style Points" but they get the job done... that is exactly how it should be!

4. Who likes Arizona anyway?? Maybe this will make Kurt Warner hang up his XXXXL jersey.

Ok, I'm off of my sports soap box, but I had to get that off my chest!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!

Guess Who's Happy I'm Home?

2009-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

As you all know, I am not working right now, and let me tell you, TUCKER LOVES IT! haha. Poor guys is going to be in a world of hurt when I start working again.

So, here are some recent pictures of our little "child".

He looks guilty, I'm sure he is.

Precious puppy, he loves that bone.

He doesn't get much attention around here.... hahahaha.

If you can't tell, he is ASLEEP. Alec whispers to me, "be quite and come look at this." and he was, out cold.

This is his toy basket, he loves it.

He really is so much fun and I'm not going to lie, it is nice to have him here while Alec works FOREVER.

I've spent the week job searching, spending time with my sister, going to dinner with a friend, and it was a pretty good week. Alec only had to work until 8:30pm all week, a much needed break from the 10:00pm he was doing last week. Alec has really been pretty amazing through all of the recent changes we have gone through. He has been so supportive and I am so thankful for him. I can't imagine working working 60+ hours a week and he manages to do it with no complaints. I say it a lot, I'm a lucky girl.

I hope everyone had a wonderful week, the weekend is practically here!!! We don't have any plans this weekend, hopefully just relaxing and spending some much needed time together. We are bummed, we have to miss my grandparents 20th anniversary, CONGRATULATIONS MIMI AND GRANDPA DON!!! We love you guys!

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Job Search

2009-01-19T07:20:00.000-08:00

I would first like to say THANK YOU so much to everyone who left encouraging words, it is nice to hear other peoples stories of the way that God works through difficult times, I know this is no different. So, thank you thank you!

I wish I had something exciting here to write about on the job front, but I more or less have nothing, which is discouraging to me, but I got laid off a week ago today, so I'm just going to stay positive and know that this is going to work out.

So, in order to help keep myself positive, here are some things I'm really happy about today:

Carrie got the job here in Dallas, they will be living here in LESS THAN A MONTH. I cannot wait!
The Steelers are going to the Super Bowl. Ok... Alec got me into fantasy football this season and even though our league is over now, I had Willie Parker and Hines Ward and Alec had Ben Rothlesburger. So... somehow over the season we took a liking to them. We both really like Mike Tomlin, the coach... and the Cowboys were embarrassing so, we are going for them. I'm not ready for football to be over though.
I got to spend all weekend with Alec, hopefully that will hold me over until Friday because he will be working late all week.
I'm excited about my future job. I know that it will be FINALLY be something I enjoy doing!

That's really all I can think of today... but hey, that is better than nothing.

I have a quick question.... I see everyone's adorable Blog headers, maybe I missed this but do you guys pay someone to do it, or can you do it yourself somewhere?? Help a girl out, mine needs SERIOUS help!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Please keep Alec and I in your prayers, with his long hours, and my job search, it would be greatly appreciated!!

I've had better days before....

2009-01-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

Have you ever prayed about something and had God answer it a little different than you had imagined? Well, I have been praying about my job for quite some time. To say the least, it hasn't been a "dream job" by any means. However, it was a job and I was determined to stick it out until I figured out what to do about it. I had basically been praying, "Is this where I am suppose to be or do I need to start looking for something else?"

Well, He made it REAL clear to me yesterday. We had a financial meeting this past Thursday and management made very sure to let everyone know that we WOULD NOT be doing lay-offs. They lied, yesterday, the two most recent hires got laid off and I was one of them. To say that I was shocked doesn't even do it justice. I'm not sure what happened from Thursday to Monday, but that was what the business thought was best, which means to me, God wants me somewhere else. I have never been fired, and never laid off, so it stung a little... no matter how many times my boss said that it had NOTHING to do with my performance, I couldn't help but wonder what else I could have done.

So, here I sit in my living room, still in my pajamas, wondering what the heck to do. My Mimi has given me a hard time for a long time saying I shouldn't work... well, I was only home a half day yesterday and was bored out of my mind.... not working isn't an option. So, once again I start a job search. When I found Professional Alternatives back in April I sort of just had to settle, I was getting married in two months and needed something ASAP. This time, I'd like to find something I really want to do. I am thankful for Alec's job and all of his hard work, he didn't get home until 10pm last night..... long day! He has been the best husband in the world through all of this, seems to have the right words to say to make me feel like I'm not a failure and it is going to be fine.

I hope everyone is having a good start to a new week and any prayers would be greatly appreciated, once again, I know God has a plan and the hard part is chilling out and not worrying about it till it all works out.

Back to Reality

2009-01-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

The holidays have come and gone, right along with my vacation! To say that Alec and I were less than thrilled about going to work on Monday is a complete understatement! We were enjoying our time off and NOT ready for it to come to an end.... however, here I sit at my desk, trying to get this work week behind me!

Christmas was wonderful! We loved every min. we got to spend in Ballinger with my family! It was a relaxing time spent playing games, talking, eating, hunting, and just hanging out. It had been a while since we had that much time to spend out there, it's always nice to go "home".

The ski trip was also a lot of fun. I was pretty stressed out about the drive. We took Alec's truck, he's had it since he was 16... it is in ok shape, but I did not feel good about driving it all the way out to Angel Fire. However, it made it there and back in one piece, and now I'm ready to get rid of it! haha. The snow was awesome, the mountian was packed, and the new Sowards house in Angel Fire is perfect! We had a great time and I'm looking forward to going back soon!

Now, for the fun stuff!!! BRIAN AND CARRIE ARE COMING TOMORROW! Carrie is my other half. The best friend a girl could ask for and I haven't seen her since the wedding in May! They are coming into town for several reasons, a wedding, job interview, house hunting, and visiting us and other friends. It will be a quick visit, but just a taste of what is to come and soon hopefully! For those that don't know, we have been friends since our Freshmen year of college and have just gotten closer over the years. So to say that I am pretty pumped that she is moving back to Texas, much less the Dallas area, is an understatement. Alec and I are introducing them to Gloria's on Thursday night when they get into town, hope they love it, if not, they have the most awesome $3 margarita's and I know they'll love those! CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU GUYS TO GET HERE!!!

Alec started busy season this week, I hate it. As my mother says, you can do ANYTHING for 3 months. So, I'm going to suck it up and know that March will be here before we know it and we have a trip planned to celebrate him being done :) He has to go to Abilene on Saturday for another inventory count... boo! So, I'm just going to keep myself busy till he gets home.

Hope everyone is having a great start to a new year! Happy HumpDay!

The Best of 2008

2009-01-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a look back of some of Alec and I's favorite memories of 2008 in pictures. Enjoy!!

The year started out with us both in Abilene, this is a picture at Perini's for his surprise birthday party! We had so much fun our last semester there!!

THE WEDDING! This is without a doubt the most fun day of our life! It could not have been more perfect!!

The Honeymoon. We went to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and loved every single second of it. We'll never forget the week we spent relaxing after the whirlwind weekend of our wedding :)

This is at a Ranger game during the summer before Alec started work. We had a lot of fun doing stuff like this all summer.

Allie's graduation! We got to drive to College Station to see her become a Former Aggie. It was a pretty cool experience and we are so proud of her!

We went this fall to Abilene to watch the ACU football play-off game. It was pretty cool to see how many people were there and to go back to see them win!

Our FIRST Thanksgiving as a married couple. We have never spent a holiday together, I'm looking forward to many more!

The Becker/Bell wedding! It was so much fun! We had been looking forward to that day for a long time and it certainly lived up to the hype. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a blast!

Tucker! This is Alec's first dog ever! Can you believe that! It has definitely been a learning experience, he has been a great addition to our little family.

Christmas at the Becker Ranch! Again, our first Christmas together. Alec killed his first deer! Everyone was pretty excited, first deer to be shot on my parents land!

Last but not least, Ski Trip/New Years in Angel Fire, New Mexico. Alec's parents bought this house this summer and it is AWESOME! We had a great time skiing/boarding. The snow was great, most of the runs were open, and it was a lot of fun!!

That is a quick look back on our year! We have been blessed in so many ways in 2008 and I am looking forward to what 2009 has in store!

I have a few "New Years Resolutions" I am going to share (mostly so that I can look back in a couple of months and see how well I have done!):

Switch to AM workouts. When I say AM I mean 4:30AM. I love working out in the morning and being done for the day, so I am setting the goal and we'll see how it goes.
Be more patient! The puppy is helping with this process, I just get in a hurry and set my mind on something that I get irritated when things disrupt it, I'd like to stop that!
Run a 10K.

That's really all I have, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Years!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2008-12-16T08:37:00.001-08:00

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

2008-12-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

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?!

2008-12-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-27T08:56:00.000-08:00

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:

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

2008-11-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

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.....

2008-11-14T06:08:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

"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....

2008-11-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-29T13:28:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

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....

2008-08-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-08-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

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!

Time Flies

2008-06-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Carrie requested an update a week ago... sorry it took so long. I've been busy and for some reason I can't remember what the heck I have been up to.

This past weekend I was in a wedding of one of my friends from high school. She and her now husband have been together since we were all in high school, I think it has actually been 7 years, so I am extremely happy for both of them. I saw sooo many people that I seriously haven't seen or talked to since I graduated from high school. Its pretty cool that they all stayed such good friends, but I just can't imagine going back and living there now. I had a great time in high school and it was fun to retell stories from then (and we DID have some stories, haha) but I was ready to come home by the end of the weekend. I was a LOT out of the loop of things, so I spent a lot of time alone. Either way, I am so happy for Mr. and Mrs. Corey Pierce! Congrats guys!

Other than that I have basically just been going to work and spending time with Alec. And that is where the whole topic of work comes in. I will just be honest.. I am not happy with it right now. I don't know. First jobs are always a learning experience and I know this one is trying to teach me something.... I will just have to sit back and have faith that I am in the right place right now. We'll see how it goes.

I got to see my mom and dad this weekend. That was GREAT! I haven't seen my dad since the wedding and that is about a month longer than I like to go without seeing either one of them. He is a happy man right now. He decided to get a Harley this weekend. I'm not sure how I feel about that. He is a grown man so it doesn't really matter how I feel, but they just scare me. You don't talk to many people that have a bike that don't have some sort of horror story. Oh well, it is an awesome bike, so I'm happy if he is happy :)

I'm pumped because I have a 4 day work week, so I don't even mind going to work tomorrow, lets just get to Thursday and I'll be fine. We are going out to my parents house in Ballinger and I can't wait. Brandi, Andrew, Allie, Ross, Alec, Molly, and Andy are all going to be out there. Family functions are always fun especially now that our family is growing.

Anyway, this is short, but there isn't much going on. Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL week and I will be sure to post pictures from the 4th weekend!

"Remember When..."

2008-06-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

I would like to start off by saying one thing, I LOVE BEING MARRIED and I absolutely love my life... ( I know you are waiting for the but part to come in) but, I have to tell you what was running through my mind this morning.

My alarm went off at its usual 5:30am and for some reason this morning these were my thoughts, "College was awesome, if I were in college right now, I could a. skip class b. go to class and take a nap afterwards or c. well really, there is no way I would have ever been awake by 5:30 during school." Since Alec gets to sleep in, I don't have any music or televisions on while I get ready for work and I'm not kidding you, I starting think of all of the things I loved about ACU and all of the memories I have from Abilene. I will share them with you now... please enjoy the trip down memory lane with me!

1. My first date with Alec. We went to Lytle Land and Cattle... he picked me up and he was wearing jeans, boots, and a brown jacket... I ate chicken strips and mashed potatos and was wearing a kahki skirt with this orange shirt. (Is it sad I remember that?)

2. Hanging out at Jeff Thigpens house Freshmen year after curfew. How did we get there... thats where #3 comes in.

3. Sneaking out of Nelson Dorm. haha. (Sorry Mom) Oh my gosh, running across the yard had to have been priceless to see.

4. Dollar Burrito days! My mouth just watered and my stomach growled, a bean and cheese burrito sounds sooo good, even at 9:30 in the morning.

5. Friday chapel! There is nothing better than getting hundreds of Christians into a single place and praising God. Never thought I would miss chapel but I do!

6. Class w/ Carrie. We seriously wrote notes every.single.day. Like we didn't talk enough? I actually remember when Carrie wrote me a note that she and Brian had booked their wedding venue and this was before they were engaged. I was shocked, I had no idea they were thinking about getting married.

7. Baseball Games! I could cry thinking about it. There is nothing better than watching the love of your life do something they love. Other girlfriends might have dreaded baseball season, not me, that was my favorite part of the year. I loved spending my Fridays and Saturdays watching ACU baseball.

8. The bean freshmen year. I seriously looked forward to seeing everyone in the bean. I hated the food but that always seemed to be a place we had so much fun doing ridiculous immature things.

9. NAPS! That was the great part about college, go to class and take naps so you could do stuff at night and start all over again the next day :)

10. Curfew freshmen year. Being forced to be in the dorms at a certain time led to some pretty interesting activities. Usually we would just find ways to entertain ourselves, cups, tv, movies, talking, talking, and more talking.

11. Meeting Molly and Andy. I remember the first time we ever hung out. It was the night I found out that I didn't get a bid from the Siggies (I'm not real sure what I was thinking anyway).

12. Molly and I cooking dinner for Alec and Andy when they lived together. That was the best set up ever because the boys would come home from baseball and Molly and I would cook dinner and we'd all get to hang out.

13. Baseball roadtrips with Kara. We went all over the place to see those boys play.

14. Living with Chris and Ashley! That was seriously the hardest thing about leaving Abilene. They are pretty special to Alec and I and I am not real sure what I would do without them. We had many many nights of Rock Band, Buffalo Wild Wings, llaattee nights :), and movies.

15. Living w/ Splitty and Mini.

16. My surprise Birthday party that Chris and Ashley threw for me. I was seriously surprised and that very rarely happens. Seriously. They thought I was mad but really I was just shocked.

17. Living close to my parents. They moved to Ballinger and I LOVED that I could go see them whenever I wanted. They would come over and watch Alec play baseball and we'd get dinner and it was really nice. I miss them a lot!

18. My workout partner! That would be carrie. It always seemed to workout so nicely because when she wouldn't want to work out, I would and vice versa. I need my workout partner to live a little closer.

19. On that note, I miss little ole Gold's Gym. I felt so comfortable there and I liked the people that worked there.

20. Alec coming over after baseball. I seriously looked forward to this everyday. He would always be so dirty but sooo happy to see me. I think of living in Morris and I would hear his truck pull up and run downstairs and get the biggest hug.

21. 2107 Ave. F. I LOVED LIVING THERE!

22. Running around school.

23. Hanging out w/ the baseball guys. All I have to say is there is NEVER a dull moment. NEVER.

Ok, that is all for now. Sorry that was long and I doubt anyone read all of the, but I enjoyed thinking back to all of that. As much as I said I would NEVER go to ACU, God works in amazing ways. I met my husband, my best friends, and got to make some wonderful memories. (cheesy I know) Maybe not everyone leaves feeling that way, but I did.

Alright, it is Thursday (thank goodness), the weekend is soooo close :) Alec and I are going to take Sowards' family portrait tonight in Highland Park with the rest of the family and then we are going to dinner. We are also going to try out the Glass Cactus. Everyone keeps talking about it so I am giving in a going on a work night. This might just be a bad idea. If anyone wants to come, call me.

Have a great Thursday!

Wanted: A new addition to the Sowards Family

2008-06-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

When Alec and I first met over 4 years ago one thing I noticed right away was that he LOVED dogs. We got my Dad a black lab not long after Alec and I started dating and Alec couldn't get enough of Harley. The thing that blew my mind was the he has NEVER HAD A DOG! Sad.

For a long time we said that as soon as we got old enough we were going to get a lab. When I think about getting a lab now, I think it would be punishment because they could run for hours and we live in an apartment and don't have a yard. I know how miserable Harley and Maggie would be and I just couldn't do that. So we decided we would wait until we had a house and a yard and then we would get one. However that was before we met Splitty and Mini. They are English Bulldogs and are seriously the coolest dogs I have ever been around. They are the best indoor dog for a couple of reasons: they don't like to be hot or cold, they aren't much for exercise, and did I mention they hate being outside? I bet you are thinking they are probably pretty boring then. So wrong. When I lived with Chris and Ashley that was one of my favorite things about coming home from work. They are so happy to see you (that is any dog) but I don't know, they just have awesome personalities. Not to mention, I love watching Alec play with them. Anyone that spent any time with us in Abilene knows that he LOVED Splitty.

So, the search is on. I am going to find my wonderful husband an English Bulldog. We went and looked last night in Hurst and saw some, but none that we just could not live without. I am so excited. Right now is just a really good time because Alec doesn't start work until September 22, and he is home alone all day. It would be great for him to have some company and also a great time for him to train her.

One more thing, I need some help. We are getting a female and I need some ideas for cute girl names. I told Alec that he gets to pick her out but I want to name her. I like the idea of having a tough looking bulldog with a sweet name. I thought of Ella, he hates it. So, I need some suggestions. He wants something like: Meatie, Jax...I can't think of the other ones he said. So, HELP.

I wanted to show some pictures of what our possible new baby is going to look like:

HOW CUTE ARE THEY! Definitely brings a smile to my face!

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

It's Monday already?!

2008-06-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

Why is it that the weekend goes by soooo fast!? Mine started out by going to the Roughrider's game. It was just Alec, Chris, and I and we had a great time. I had to wake up early Saturday morning to head to Waco, Texas. One of my friends from high school asked me to be in her wedding and Saturday was her "bachelorette" party. We started out at a spa in Waco and we all got Manicures and Pedicures. They were great, we were there from 10:30 till 3:00pm, so it took a while. After that we were going to grab lunch but by then it was almost time to eat dinner so we headed to her future mother-in-laws house where her lingerie shower was. I hadn't seen a lot of those people in over five years, so it was nice to catch up and see how much has actually changed. I stayed for dinner and to watch Chelsey open gifts and around 10:00pm I headed back to Dallas. I'm not going to lie, it was a strange feeling to go back "home". I mean, that is where I grew up and I loved it there, but I started thinking about it on my way back to Dallas, so much has changed. It was also fun for Chelsey and I to retell some of our stories from High School. Oh my gosh, we were so bad. No bad in the sense that we drank and did horrible things like that, we were just so silly, but we had so much fun, that is for sure! It was nice to take a trip down memory lane, but I sure do love my life now :)

Sunday we went over to Alec's parents house for lunch. We hadn't seen them since they picked us up from the airport from our honeymoon. We also had to take more of our stuff, ahh, we have so much stuff everywhere. We had a good time. AFter that we went over to see Jordan's new apartment and watch some golf. Had the game ended differently I might not of had such a good time, but seeing as how Tiger pulled it off, I had a great time! Alec will seriously tell you this, I don't watch golf unless Tiger is playing. I don't know why, I just love him. I mean I guess it has something to do with how good he is, but honestly if he isn't playing, I don't really care. haha. I told Alec the other day, there are two people I would LOVE to meet. 1. Terrell Owens2. Tiger WoodsIn that order. You don't have to comment on that, I'm entitled to my own opinion and it doesn't hurt you for me to like them. So there.Anyway, after golf, we went to check out Chris's new apartment. It's pretty awesome too. I just like that he and Ashley will be sooo much closer. YAY!

I have to get back to work now. A couple of random thoughts that I have on my mind today:
I want a dog. BAD. I've been looking at English Bulldogs online today.... someday :)
Any suggestions for what to make for dinner??? I'm stumped
I really need to workout
I'm planning a trip to Missouri!
I get to see my parents in less than a month! yesss...

Have a great Monday!

Freaky Friday the 13th

2008-06-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

I LOVE FRIDAY'S! The day just seems so much better when you know the weekend is right around the corner. My work has also started this "incentive" program that we do every Friday. It basically evaluates how the Dallas office does and the better we do, the earlier we get to leave on Friday. AWESOME! We left at 3pm today and last Friday :)

We went to BJ's Brewery with Kyle and Jessica last night. For starters, Alec and I shared a pizza there, it was sooo good! Kyle and I grew up going to church together. I'm not even sure I remember how old we were, but for a looonngg time I was the only girl my age in the youth group but I had Kyle and Jason. He married Jessica and they now live in Plano. They are so much fun and it is so nice to have friends so close to us. We had so much fun and are looking forward to hanging out with them more often.

We are headed out to the Frisco Roughrider's baseball game tonight. If you've never been out there you should definitely go. I like any kind of baseball, but Dr. Pepper Park is a lot of fun. There is nothing better than spending a Friday night at the baseball field :)

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Friday night, remember Father's Day is Sunday! This father's day is particularly special to me. So much has changed since last father's day and I just think about everything that happened this past year and thank God for being so amazing. For those that don't know, he found out he had cancer last October. After some surgery and HOURS of prayer he is doing great. I can't imagine my life without that man. He really is one of my best friends and I love him so very much. It really makes you realize how great our God is! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD! I LOVE YOU!

I would like to leave you with a few honeymoon pictures (completely irrelevant to the whole post, but I said I would post them). These are seriously all I have because I forgot my digital camera in the business of the wedding and lets face it, disposable cameras are no good! Enjoy!

This was our FAVORITE place to eat, Maria Marie :)

The view from our front door. I LOVE MEXICO!

The pool, this is from "our spot".

Our balcony... I liked that hammock

The Royal... I want to go back so bad!

Our last day :(

Back in that hammock

Hanging out on the beach... he ended up getting a little more color by the end of the week

(When I say color, I mean DARK red because we laid out for hours our last day and it was cloudy and he fried, literally)

Finally Home

2008-06-10T18:55:00.001-07:00

As most of you know my parents moved from my home in Troy to Ballinger about 3 years ago. I love their house in Ballinger, but it just never felt like home to me. So, for the past 3 years I have definitely not been houseless, I just felt homeless. You know how college is, I went from an apartment w/Brandi to a duplex, then to a house w/ Lacey, to a house w/ Chris and Ash, and finally moved in with Alec's parents 3 months before the wedding. Needless to say, my stuff was everywhere!

Well, I can finally say that Alec and I have a "home". We love it. Me loving it has nothing to do with the things in it or the way it looks, more that it is where Alec and I live. I'm not going to lie, he is a great person to live with. He is home this summer studying for the CPA but he helps with dinner and laundry and is a wonderful husband to me:) I love living with him. I have done no decorating yet, but maybe I will have time to do that this summer. Here are a few pictures:

This is the half bath, it really is used more than I thought it would be.

You can't really tell but the closet is HUGE! Definitely a plus!

This is our bathroom

Our front door :)

The kitchen

The Living Room

The last picture is actually our first piece of furniture that we had to buy as a married couple. Alec's dad lived and worked in California and he let us have all of his furniture from his apartment in California. The kitchen really doesn't have much cabinet space, so this helped with some overflow of cups and pitchers and who knows what else.

Chris and Ashley came to visit us this weekend. As usual, we had such a good time. They got here on Thursday and we took them to Gloria's. For those of you who have never been, you should go. It is pretty good. Chris and Ash went w/ Alec to buy the new TV. It is definitely a GREAT addition to the apartment. The weekend ended up going by so fast as usual, but it really was nice to have them here for a little while. We got pretty used to seeing them every single day for quite some time so it felt like old times in Abilene with them here, even if it was only for a weekend. I just wish that they would move to Dallas, along with Carrie and Brian and Seth and Amy. It would be hard to get any work done, but it sure would be great!

Hope everyone is having a great week. Don't start thinking about Friday yet because it isn't even Wednesday.... boo!

Two days in a row...

2008-06-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

contuinuing from where I left off from the previous post....

We woke up Monday morning after the wedding and Alec's parents picked us up and took us to the airport to head to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico! They also got us first class seats there and back. This is awesome because it is going to be a LLLOOONNNNGG time before Alec and I go anywhere first class, but it was great! I always wondered what was so great for people to pay more, but now I know. I will tell you what Alec I enjoyed most about it: no lines! they serve you warm nuts and they are sooo good, they give you the earphones to watch the movie (how nice of them not to charge you the $2.00) and you get a full meal. The meals were both really good. On the way there we had sandwiches and on the way back we had tortalini and it was good also. Would we give up eating for a week to afford first class tickets, no, but it was pretty cool and we both enjoyed it a lot :)

We got to Playa Del Carmen and took a bus to our resort, it was called the Gran Porto Real. We were so excited, we had a "Ocean View" jr. suite. We thought that was pretty cool! We were on our honeymoon and we were going to be staring off of the balcony at the ocean.....or so we thought. We got to our room and looked out and saw..........the street. Not a pretty pool or courtyard, definitely not the beach, but the street. If you leaned out over the balcony you could get a gimps of the ocean. Alec and I were kind of bothered by this. They lied! They do that to you on purpose, so for all of you who don't know, there is a difference, you don't want an "ocean view" you want an "ocean FRONT view". So, we actually ended up going across the street to the Royal at Playa Del Carmen and it turned out to work better for us anyway. It was the "couples only" resort and there were a ton of other honeymooners. Our room was awesome, we still weren't looking at the ocean, but we didn't care, we were much happier there.

The week started out with us finding our spot at the pool after breakfast and staying there till mid-afternoon. The weather was beautiful and it was so relaxing. Thursday we went on an Aquadic Expedition. We got on a van at 8:30 in the morning and our tour guides, Oscar and Leo, took us to three really cool places to snorkle. The first was in Akumal and it was really pretty. We swam out to a coral reef and it was so pretty. We saw some cool fish and a snake! (My mom would have died) The second place was a cavern/cave. I will start by saying I don't like to jump into swimming pools in the dark, they freak me out, I'm not sure why? Secondly, I was unaware of this "cave snorkling" but I was not about to be the loser that sat out. It turned out to be one of the coolest things I've ever done. God is amazing. It was beautiful. It was fresh water and it looked man made, that is how beautiful it was. We went into places where no light has ever been, the water was FREEZING, but it was worth every second. They made us lunch and then we went to the last place. It was called a "cenote". It was a beautiful fresh water pond, that is what I would call it. Alec jumped off of the cliff there and we looked at all of the fish, they were everywhere! We had a blast. The next day we got massages, they were great! The rest of the time we spent on the beach, we walked through town, and laid out at the pool. I was literally depressed when it was time to come home. I loved every second of the vacation. I wouldn't have changed a thing, and I hope that someday Alec and I will go back to the same exact resort. It was perfect! Oh, and I know you are wondering about the food, because well, you have to eat. Their food was AMAZING. I'm not just saying that. All of their restaurants were very good, they had an Asian place that had sushi and it was really good, they had a very nice Mexican place, and their main cafeteria called "Spice" had the best breakfast in the world. Oh yeah, one more thing, you could order room service 24hours and that was part of the all inclusive. AWESOME!

So, the wedding and honeymoon are over, and Alec and I are just trying to get settled. I love our apartment but I am so ready to have it in order. I am back at work, its hard to go because I think my body knows that it is summer time and I'm suppose to sleep a lot and get a lot of sun and I'm not really getting either. It doesn't help that Alec is at home. It is actually probably harder for him. He is studying for the CPA and I can't imagine how hard it would be to make myself wake up and study for most of the day. He told me last week that 10% of the people that take it, pass it on the first time. His job right now is just to get as prepared as he can. I know he will do a great job, but yall just remember him in your prayers, its a stressful time for him!

Ok, I'm back to work. It is Thursday, one more day and the weekend will be here!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Alec Sowards

2008-06-04T11:11:00.001-07:00

Well, I am married! :) I have to put a smily face after I write that because a smile comes across my face when I type it. It is still weird to be introduced as Alec's wife, but I love it.

I will start with saying, I learned how to post pictures, however, I don't have them yet, so give me a little time and I will post some from the wedding and honeymoon.

The wedding was perfect! The whole weekend was so much fun. It started out Friday morning, my mom, Brandi, Allie, and I all went to favorite spa in Southlake and got massages, they were much needed and felt amazing. Then we had everyone that was in town for the wedding over to the Soward's for a cookout. It was very relaxed and just a good time to catch up with a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time. Just as the night started to wrap up, I get orders from Alec that I have 45mins. to shower because we were going out. One thing should stand out in your mind right now and that is that I cannot shower and be ready to go anywhere in 45 mins. However, I looked like crap, but did pull this off. around 10:30pm the a stretch hummer limo came and picked everyone up (compliments of one of my favorite people in the world: Mr. Chris Wiman) and we headed to Dallas. I'm not gonna lie, I was tired, but we had sooo much fun. For the most part it was baseball guys, my sisters, Ashley, and Carrie and Brian. I'm so glad we did that, it was a lot of fun. Saturday was the bridal luncheon at Blue Mesa Grill, it was very good and I will be going back. We had a lot of fun and once it was over we didn't have much time to change and get to the rehearsal.

After the rehearsal we went to the rehearsal dinner. All I am going to say about that is it is a night that neither Alec or I will ever forget. We are blessed to have the most amazing friends and family and that night will always be very special to me. Sunday was the wedding. It could not have been better. Alec and I had a blast, seriously. We had so much fun talking, dancing, and hanging out with everyone that was there. I won't lie, I cried a little. The only times were when my dad came in to get me, he was just so handsome! And, I cried right as my dad and I got to Alec. I really can't believe how fast it went. I tried to listen for most of the ceremony but I kept looking at Alec and thinking, this is really happening finally. I can't believe I get to marry my best friend. It's probably one of the best moments of my life. It was just so much fun having everyone that we care so much about in one room. After the wedding we went to the Gaylord Texan and left for our honeymoon the next morning....

to be continued.

(I guess I should work now)

That is a fast verision of the wedding recap. I can't say thank you enough to everyone who was there with us. I just ask that everyone continue Alec and I in your prayers as we begin this journey together :)

Chelsea Sowards... Sounds good to me!

2008-05-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Well, 5 days. I can't even believe it, FIVE days. It went by so fast and I am so ready to begin this new chapter in my life.

I'm at work right now, and for some strange reason I thought I would be able to work the week before the wedding. I am now second guessing myself because I get to work and can't seem to think of anything but the wedding. Everything is for the most part done, but I just start thinking of everyone coming into town and I get so excited! I think the only thing I am nervous about is crying my eyes out in front of everyone during the ceremony. Oh well, anyone who knows me knows I cry at commercials, so it shouldn't be a shock.

In honor of my soon to be husband (ahh) I wanted to tell all 3 of my loyal readers why I am marrying Alec:

1. He is the MOST caring person in the world!
2. He has really never been mad at me, he is so patient with me.
3. He loves dogs as much as I do. (and yet we aren't getting one...)
4. He loves my family!
5. He puts the toilet seat down!!!!!!!
6. He gives me hugs, kisses, and holds my hand in public.
7. He gives the best hugs in the whole world, if you don't believe me, ask for one!
8. He is hilarious! I think it is funny when people tell me he is so quiet... NO.
9. He loves to make other people happy.
10. He thinks it is HILAROUS when I'm not happy to tickle me, and somehow I always end up laughing.
11. He likes to help me cook.
12. He always knows when something is wrong.
13. He has been there for me through some really hard times, and he has a way of knowing what to say or not to say to make me feel better.
14. He is my best friend.
15. He laughs at me. I like that. :)
16. He lets me get the wrinkles out of the sheets. hahaha
17. He loves me exactly the way I am

There is a short list of the reasons why I can't wait to be married to him.

I really am the luckiest girl in the world. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful fiance, family, and soon to be in-laws. They are the most loving and supportive people in the world.

I ask that everyone keep Alec and I and our families in your prayers this week as we all begin this new chapter in our lives! I can't wait to see everyone at the wedding!!!!

Holy Cow!

2008-04-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

I got a sweet message at work this week from my sweet friend Carrie and all it said was, "Could you please update your blog, thank you." While I realize she may be my only blog reader, Carrie, this is for you.

Life is CRAZY right now. And by crazy I mean WONDERFUL!! I will start with my job. Professional Alternatives is great. I think I am really going to like what I do and I really like the people I work with. There are 5 people in the Dallas office right now so it is really like a small family. They are great and they have really made me feel welcome and that is a good feeling. It is taking me some time to get used to waking up early and staying busy literally till I finally get home at 6pm. It is a little difficult right now because I'm living in Colleyville and it is a good 35 miles away. For those of you who are in Dallas, yall know that this does not mean it takes me 35 mins to get to work. Rather, on a good day I can get home in a little over an hour. Needless to say, I'm working on my road rage. Right now, I hate every other driver on the road and I'm learning to use that time to chill out and enjoy the sunrise.

Wedding planning is really coming together also. There are a few loose ends, but we are really wrapping things up. I took my bridal portraits last weekend and it really made things feel real. I got to put on the dress, shoes, do my hair, and make up and it hit me, I really do get to marry Alec. Life is wonderful. It is hard right now because he is finishing grad school and is SWAMPED with school work, but I know that it will all be worth it in the end. It is sometimes just hard to know that when you spend 24/7 in the library working on paper after paper. I'm ready for him to be here with me. I miss him a lot. We didn't see each other for almost two weeks, and I started thinking about it and I think that is the longest we have ever been apart in the past 4 years. Thats crazy. I know that he will be so happy to be done on May 10th and I just hope he knows how proud I am of him. He really is amazing.

I will try and summarize the exciting events that have taken place in the past month. For starters we found an apartment!!! I LOVE it and can't wait to move into our first home. It is located in Garland or a little community called Firewheel. It is awesome but i'm stressed out about having to move all my stuff yet again. Secondly, my sisters and Molly threw me the best bachelorette party ever. It really was better than I could have ever imagined. We started out Friday night with dinner and then a pj party/lingerie party. We had a blast and I ended up trying on everything I got. haha. I got some great stuff too. Then Saturday we laid out at the pool and hung out. Then, a limo came and picked us up and took us to dinner. It was some place called El Tiempo Cantina? It was sooo good. We then went to two other places and I had so much fun. The fact that they went to all of that trouble to make sure that I had a great time makes me realize how blessed I am to have two sisters that I absolutely adore and best friends that I couldn't live without. And finally, I had my last bridal shower yesterday. It was at my mother in law's house and it was a lot of fun also. I'm not sure what to do with all of these wedding presents but I suppose that is a great problem to have.

Time is flying by and I'm just trying to enjoy every second of it. I just want to say that God is pretty amazing. I have always known this but I have realized it more in the past year. By no means has it been the best year but my family has gone through a lot and I think that it has made us stronger. I am so blessed to have such an amazing family and am so thankful for all that they do for me.

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL week!!!

I've got a big girl job now!!!

2008-03-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

Pro Alternatives, Dallas, Texas. That is where I will be working for the next couple of years. I decided not to blog about the interviews for this job since the last one I blogged about didn't turn out to be a job I wanted. I officially start April 9th and I could not be more excited. My job title is a Junior Recruiter. Pro Alternatives is a staffing agency that hires crediters. I am really looking forward to starting this new job.

In other exciting news, Alec and I are getting married in 65 days! Whhhaat? Where has the time gone? Everyone told me all along that time will go by so fast and I didn't believe them. Well, I do now. Honestly, I'm pretty much done. There are a few loose ends here and there, but for the most part, I'm done. When Alec and I first got engaged I would think about the wedding and get so nervous and overwhelmed. I was excited then, but there was just a lot of nervousness that went along with thinking about it. Now when I think about it I just smile. I guess I was just nervous and overwhemed thinking about planning it all, but now that it is mostly finished I can just think about what the day really is. I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend, there is nothing to be nervous about there. I have realized in all this job searching, wedding planning, apartment hunting, grown up business that Alec is pretty amazing. I am a lucky girl.

Anyway, Alec and all my roommates are out of town till Saturday (bummer) so I don't have much to do this weekend. I'm going to work a little at Bed Bath and Beyond on Saturday which is how you know I'm bored. Either way, I'm enjoying my down time before I enter the working world.

I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL week!!!!! The weekend is in sight.

Interview #1

2008-03-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

I have a job interview! It is with a company called Bullet Marketing Enterprises and they have offices in Dallas and Ft. Worth. I'm nervous, excited, anxious and did I mention nervous. I always get so nervous about interviews. I even got nervous for my interview at Bed Bath and Beyond, and that wasn't even a real interview. I just have to remember to be my self and that if it is the right job they will want me exactly how I am. I want to impress so bad that I get myself all worked up and it takes me a good 20 min. into the interview to finally chill out. I'm having to take tomorrow off of work, which is my last week, so everyone is pretty mad at me. Oh well. This is my future, I don't know what else to say. Everyone, wish me luck. Say a little prayer please.

On a lighter note, I had a WONDERFUL weekend. It would have been better had Alec been there, but I think he was having a pretty good time in Kingsville with the baseball guys. They did really good this weekend too. 3-1. Ashley and I drove to Colleyville on Friday evening and had dinner with Alec's parents at a place called Saviagno's ( I have no idea how to spell it, but it's itialian and it is amazing. It is one of my favorite places to eat.) Saturday we both had wedding things to do. I'm not sure either one of us accomplished exactly what we went there for, but that doesn't matter. Sunday we were suppose to just go to Stone Briar mall to get Chris a lovesac, but that little trip ended after a good 5 hours of shopping and lots of damage to the wallets. Oh well, we had fun. That is all that matters, right? There is nothing like a good road trip with one of my best friends. I'm not sure there is ever a dull moment when you throw Ashley and I together.

I'm going to finish my laundry and get myself worked up about this interview tomorrow, haha. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!!

Two Weeks Notice

2008-02-26T19:18:00.001-08:00

Well, I did it. I finally did it. I turned in my two weeks notice to Bed Bath and Beyond on Monday. I was so nervous and it ended up working out great. My dream scenario would be to get a job that doesn't start until mid-June. That gives me time to get back from the honeymoon and settled in as a married couple. In the event that I get lucky and that happens Shaine, my boss, said that I could come back and work some at Bed Bath and Beyond. That makes me feel so much better. I was worried about what I was going to do with all of that time if I don't begin my job till June.

I had this conversation with Carrie today, but out of the entire 4 years at ACU I realized today that they failed to tell me how to do this whole jobs hunting thing. I have my degree which is great, now what the heck do I do. I have been talking to everyone I know in my field and that has been so helpful, but I still am a little unsure how this all works. I suppose I should just relax and enjoy this ride. Hopefully, before I know it, I will be looking back on this blog and laughing at myself for not knowing how to find a job. But, if you think about it, it isn't like finding the little jobs you've been doing for the past 5 or 6 years. Oh well, I will figure it out soon enough.

Besides this whole job thing, life is WONDERFUL. I have been pretty busy with wedding stuff, but for the most part everything is done. Alec and I are waiting to figure out where my job will be and then we will be looking for our first home somewhere in the Dallas area. The past 4 years I have been looking forward to the day I left Abilene, and now, when the time has finally come, I don't want to go. I think it is just because of the people that I am going to miss so much. Chris and Ashley have seriously kept Alec and I sane for the past year. I'm not exactly sure what we are going to do without them, but hopefully they will be headed to the Dallas area soon too. While we will have to leave them, we head to Dallas where Molly and Andy, Russell, Jordan, Allie, and Ross will all be. That gives me something to look forward to. Jordan has already informed me that there will be family dinner night at the Soward's house. I luckily like to cook and love this idea. We will have Allie, the little chef there also, so it will be great. There are two people missing in this scenario, that is Carrie and Brian. Well, this is for you Carrie Jo.... while MO may be "more pleasing to they eye" and maybe it does have "seasons" all I can say is that it is not Texas. I have Brian to have my back on this next comment, Texas is the best place to live. There is no where else anyone should want to live. (Until Alec and I head to Chicago, then you'll have to go there, but for now...) Anyway, life isn't right without my booshy and I'm ready for her to be back in TX.

I hope that you all will keep me in your prayers as I begin this search for a job. It is stressful! I would also ask that you keep my dad in your prayers. He is having a little surgery tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL week!!! It's only Tuesday, so I won't mention the weekend just quite yet. :)

98 Days and Counting

2008-02-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

It is official, I have less than 100 days before I get to be Mrs. Chelsea Sowards. It took me a little bit to get used to the idea of no longer having my last name, but I love the way that sounds. Chelsea Sowards. I'm so excited.

I spent the entire week in Wichita Falls. To say that it was horrible is an understatement. It was the most awful experience I have ever had and it really made me appreciate the fact that I have a degree and I'm going to use it. I hope to never work in retail ever again. We worked 12 hour days and all we did was count. Literally, like one, two, three.... you get the idea. We counted ever item that is in their store. I hated it and was miserable, while at the same time felt a sense of accomplishment when it was done.

I came back on Valentine's Day around 6pm and Alec told me he would be picking me up for dinner at 7pm. It gave me just enough time to shower and get ready. He showed up with pink and white roses and took me to The Beehive in Abilene. (Here is a short shout out to the Beehive... it is my FAVORITE place to eat. Not just in Abilene, but anywhere. If you have never been, you have to try it. They have the best steak and I love the atmosphere.) I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. It reminded me how lucky I am to have such a wonderful fiance. Friday night we went to dinner with Chris and Ashley at Abuelo's. We had a great time. We always do with them. We really don't do much without them. We then went back to the house and played Rock Band for hours. There is no better way to spend a Friday night then playing Rock Band. My favorite band member to be is the singer. For those of you that have heard my mom sing, I will tell you that I sound nothing like her, but sure do have her love of singing. hahahaha. People usually laugh at me, but that doesn't stop me.

Saturday I went out to Ballinger to work on Save the Dates. They turned out really great and I can't wait till we send them out. I also ended up going through old pictures with my mom and dad. It made me think how fast time goes by. Especially looking at high school pictures. That really does feel like it was yesterday and yet, I'm already a college graduate. It's crazy and it makes you truly value every single day we have. I have one thing to vent about. While I have been doing my job searching I have found a common theme. A lot of places think I have great work experience, a great gpa, and educational background, but they can't hire me because I have a lack of the "right" kind of experience. AHHHHH. I'm so sick of hearing that. I can't figure it out, how will I get the "right" experience if nobody will give it to me. It's annoying. There, I'm done.

I have a week full of getting up at 4:15am, so I hope everyone else enjoys sleeping in later than that. One week, one week, one week. I can do anything for one week. I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week!!!

Busy is an understatement

2008-02-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I am almost all the way over the flu. The doctor gave me tamiflu and it really worked quite well. I can say without a doubt that I WILL be getting a flu shot next year, I don't care how much it costs, it will be worth it.

This past weekend was great. The baseball team had their first games and Alec's parents and my parents came in for the games on Saturday. I love that our parents love each other. I really never worried about it, its hard not to love my parents, and his parents are pretty amazing too, its no surprise they get along so well. Alec "coached" and I watched some, it was different. That is the word I am going to use. I love sports, and I love ACU baseball, but it is just not the same without having my #18 out there to watch. It really made me appreciate the past four years that I did get to watch him do something he really loves. I hope the guys have a great season and plan on catching a lot of the home games.

I got to go back to work on Monday and I was soooo behind. I have been playing catch up all week, however, it did make the week fly by. I can't believe that tomorrow is Friday. No complaining here though. Now for the busy part to begin, (hence the title of the post) Tomorrow, I have to work till 3 and Alec has to coach a game at 1 and then we are headed to Austin, Tx for the weekend. The minister that is marrying us is there and we are doing some of our premarital counseling with him. I'm excited to get this part underway. We have been doing a premarital workbook for the past couple of weeks, but its not the same. I'm also really excited because that means the wedding is that much closer. We are heading back to Abilene on Sunday morning and then I head to Wichita Falls for the WEEK! Good ole Bed Bath and Beyond is sending me out there to help with the inventory "crew" out there. Ridiculous. I'm not happy about it, but my options were go there or lose my job. I shop way to much to lose my job. Anyway, my days are going to start at 5am but its only a week, my mother always says, you can do anything for a week. I'm ready to get it over with. I've got save-the-dates to work on while I am there and Gold's gym gave me a travel pass, I can keep myself busy for a while.

I hope yall are having a wonderful week! The weekend is almost here, that will put a smile on anyone's face!

Sick and tired of being sick and tired

2008-01-31T11:26:00.001-08:00

Every year I think to myself, "maybe I should get a flu shot this year" Then, I begin to think back on the fact that never before have I even had the flu. So, I every year I talk myself out of getting a flu shot. Well.... this is the year I should have reconsidered because around Monday morning, I felt bad. I thought at first that maybe it was just a sinus infection or something like that, I usually get those when the weather goes from hot to cold. I attempted going to work on Monday, but ended up leaving at 11. I didn't decide to go to the doctor till Wednesday and after waiting in a minor emergency clinic's nasty waiting room for over two hours, I found out that I do in fact have the flu.

It is now Thursday afternoon, I feel better, but with all the meds that I have in me, I'm not going to lie, I am feeling a little loopy. I have realized that the worst part about having the flu is that nobody wants to be around you. A. Because they see how miserable you are and definitely do not want to get it and B. Because all I really do is eat, sleep, and watch tv. Its hard to carry on a conversation because it is either interrupted with a coughing attack or because my voice is partially gone away. Who wants to be around someone like that? Alec has been my nurse as my mother calls him. And, a good nurse at that. He makes sure that I am getting enough to drink, eating before I take all my medicine, and anything else that I may be wanting at any given time. On top of everything, he has not complained once. I'm a lucky lucky girl.

Enough of that, I am hoping that I can go to work tomorrow, i'm bored out of my mind. I'm looking forward to a good weekend. Alec's parents are going to be in town to see the first baseball games of the season. Its going to be a little different without my #18 being out on the field. I just have to remember all the great memories I had of him playing baseball and move on. This is just the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. I hope everyone is having a great week. Hang in there, the weekend is almost here!

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

2008-01-23T18:42:00.000-08:00

I ask myself this question a good 20 times a day. I am stuck with the decision to either stay here and not find a job until after the wedding OR leave Abilene and head to Dallas to find a job. Sometimes the answer seems so clear to me, what is the hurry, I want to be close to Alec right now, a job can wait. Then, reality hits and I realize how much the "real world" costs and how much more I could be making starting my big girl job. It's really quite stressful and the most annoying part of it all is that it is MY decision. For so long I have been doing things because I was suppose to. For example, after middle school you go to high school, after high school you head off to college, and after college.......? The thing about it all is that I know that everything is going to work out exactly like it is suppose to, I just wish sometimes that God could make it a little more clear to me what direction he would like me to go now. Either way, I need to start thinking about interviewing and finding a job in Dallas, let the search begin....

On a lighter note, today was a good day. Alec and I found out that our honeymoon is planned! I'm pumped and wish we were leaving to go next week. It doesn't help that it is FREEZING here. The way I see it is if its going to be cold, it better be snowy and icy too so I can at least get out of going to work. If those aren't the conditions, give me the 80 degree weather. I worked all day, went to the gym, and came home and cooked what Alec and I like to call, "Ross's Chicken Stuff" I'm not sure what the real name for it is, but that's what we call it and we love it. I'm glad Wednesday is over because that means it is one day closer to the weekend. I am actually going wedding dress shopping for Brandi this weekend... I can't wait!

I hope everyone had a great hump day!

So... I'm a blogger

2008-01-21T08:02:00.000-08:00

I have always said that I would NEVER create a blog, however, that was before I graduated from college and my friends and family were spread out across the nation. So, here I am, I have a blog. I'm not sure anyone will read it, but I like the idea of thinking someone might read about what is going on in my life.

Where do I begin? For starters, I am getting married on May 25, 2008. AHHHHH. I'm so excited I wish that it were tomorrow!!!! He and I started dating at the very end of our Freshmen year at ACU and the past 3 years and 8 months have been incredible. For those of you that don't know Alec, you are missing out. He is my best friend and I am so blessed that God put him in my life. I am spending my time now working at good ole Bed Bath and Beyond about 40 hours a week and spending the rest of my time doing wedding things, visiting my parents, and spending as much time with Alec as possible. Alec is taking 18 hours and also assistant coaching the Wildcat baseball team. He is busy busy, but we are both trying to enjoy our last spring in Abilene, Texas.

Now, for the rest of my family. My parents are in Ballinger, Texas and LOVING it! The house is finally finished and I love it too. My dad recently had surgery, but God is amazing and he is doing very well. Brandi is getting married in December! I am so excited for her. It has been a long time coming, but it is weird how perfect everything always works out. I'm looking forward to having a "brother." (Andrew loves for Allie and I to call him that :)) So, there is a LOT of wedding talk going on with the Becker crew these days. Allie is finishing up at A&M. She will graduate in August and there will be no more girls in college. As you can imagine, Dad is pretty pumped about that one.

That is a quick overview of what is going on in my life right now. I will not make the promise to write religiously, I will promise to keep you posted about what is going on. I hope everyone has a happy monday!!!