Pieces of Me

Gallagher

2012-02-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Meet Gallagher, the newest member of our family.

We adopted him from our local animal shelter last week and he is really fitting into our home and getting lots of attention. Though, Jake isn't quite sure what is going on and why this cat is trying to be his friend :)

Christmas Decorations

2012-01-07T14:08:00.001-07:00

Things were so busy leading up to Christmas that I almost didn't even care about getting out the Christmas decorations this year. But since this was our first Christmas married and his family would be staying with us before we headed out to Breckenridge, I wanted the house to decorated. This year I changed up the way I decorated the house and really enjoyed the set up.

A few years ago, I decided that I wanted our tree to be only airplanes, so I have been collecting every airplane ornament in sight. I think we have nearly all of the ones from Hobby Lobby and we finally have enough to fill up the tree (except for the small portion that is against the wall). So I think starting next year, I am going to buy only one airplane ornament each year in addition to an ornament that represents us. This year our representation ornament was our first Christmas. I ordered a beautiful flat 2.5" Nickle Ornament hand-stamped with "Our First Christmas 2011." I just loved the simplicity of it. In addition each of our mom's bought us an ornament, his mom gave us a picture holder ornament with the year hanging below it (which I haven't added a picture to it, since I still have not printed off any wedding photos) and my mom gave us a ceramic bride and groom leaving in a car with the words "Just Married" on the back.

I have collected quite a few ornaments from gift exchanges and gifts from work since I moved to Denver. As I mentioned above, I only want to have airplane ornaments hanging on our Christmas tree, so this year I hung the garland over the french doors in our living room that lead to the study and then hung all of my other ornaments from it. I really enjoyed as it spread out all of the Christmas decorations, which normally only reside around the fireplace. Though, next year I am going to have to get more garland and find another place to hang it, as I won't have anywhere to hang any new ornaments.

Even though each year we receive a stack of Christmas cards, I normally just pile them in a stack after I open them and hang the picture ones on our fridge. This year I hung ribbon across the fireplace below the mantle and as we received Christmas cards, I hung them with clips on the ribbon. Brandon was very skeptical of how this would look since he didn't think we got that many cards each year. But our ribbon was full and I actually ran out of space/clips so I had to double up and in the end he was very pleased with it.

Usually our mantle is packed with the few Christmas items that I do have, but this year I wanted it to have a nice clean look. We had picked up a few items after Christmas last year and then had a few items from the wedding, so I moved some items away from the mantle and found new homes for them.

While I was hesitant to pull out the Christmas decorations this year, I am really glad that I did. The house had a very homey feel and pulled me into the holiday spirit. So now it is time to take down all these decorations and put them away until next year.

Click on photo to view album

Fiesta!

2012-01-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

What an amazing season the Oklahoma State football team had this year!! It was a 12-1 year that ended with a win in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. Brandon and I along with our parents were able to enjoy a couple days staying in Scottsdale and watch the Fiesta Bowl in person. We had a nice time relaxing and getting to see a few OSU friends that we don't normally get to see!

Click on photo to view album

Homemade Wreaths

2012-01-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas

2012-01-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

For our first Christmas, we spent it with Brandon's parents, his Aunt & Uncle, and his cousin Kyle in Breckenridge. Brandon and Kyle skied nearly everyday they were able. I came to the party late, since I was out in Atlanta watching my best friend get married, so I didn't ski any. Unfortunately, the mountains are low on snow for the season, so the resorts are having to make a lot of it still which causes it to be a little icy. I don't care of the icy conditions, so I passed on the chance to stay and extra day and get to ski. The low snow did not stop us from renting Snowmobiles for an afternoon and hitting the sights of Vail Pass. Even though it was a little cold (and after the 3 hours and my fingers being freezing, we found out the my heater wasn't working!), we had a great time with only a couple stories to tell :) Once we warmed up by stopping at a little coffee and donut shop in Downtown Breckenridge (the donuts are amazing!), we headed back to the rental house and prepared to have our Christmas Dinner and open gifts. Then it was time to start packing up and head home the next day. It was a fast trip and would have enjoyed more time to explore and walk around, but hopefully we will go back soon.

Click on photo to view album

My Best Friend's Wedding

2011-12-26T23:25:00.002-07:00

My best friend, Katie, got married just before Christmas. I was honored to stand up for her as Maid of Honor just as she was there for me this past summer. She lives in Vietnam, so we don't get to see each other very often, but we can pick up instantly like no time has passed at all. Katie's wedding was in the beautiful Old Courthouse in Decatur, GA and her photographer Michelle Scott caught all of the memorable moments in gorgeous photographs, like the one below:

Click on photo to check out the wedding photo blog post by Michelle Scott Photography

Merry Christmas

2011-12-05T22:55:00.001-07:00

Grandma

2011-12-01T22:47:00.009-07:00

My wonderful grandma, Josephine (1911-2011)

Honeymoon

2011-11-01T22:35:00.001-06:00

8 Day Cruise to Cozumel (Mexico), Montego Bay (Jamaica), and Grand Turk (Turks & Caicos)
Carnival Cruise Line - Freedom

We had an amazing Honeymoon. It was so relaxing that we weren't ready for it to end. We didn't let a hurricane ruin our fun even if it meant not getting to see Costa Rica or Panama.

Activities - Snorkeling in Cozumel, Zip Line & Kayaking in Montego Bay, Sting Rays and Snorkeling in Grand Turk

Click on photo to view album

Jake's Graduation

2011-10-15T23:05:00.002-06:00

2011 Aspens

2011-10-04T21:52:00.003-06:00

A half day off of work to drive up around Evergreen and then a drive out to Breckenridge two days later to view the Aspens changing across Boreas Pass.

Click on photo to view album

Just Married

2011-07-01T21:10:00.042-06:00

June 12, 2011

Photos by Lindsay J C Lack

Bridal Shower

2011-02-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

February 5, 2011 @ 10:00 a.m.

First Baptist Church
214 Highway 44
Burns Flat, Oklahoma 73624

Hostesses:
Barbara Greteman, Cheri Lou Gastineau, Debbie Davis, Denise Harper, Eugenia Hoskins,

Garline Thomas, Kathie Price, Lou Ann Hutson, Margo McIntyre, Phyllis Williams,

Sherry Field, Toni Wilson,

Engagement Pictures

2010-09-10T22:31:00.003-06:00

1 Week

2010-08-08T18:57:00.000-06:00

1 Week...Apparently that is really all I needed to get the majority of the wedding planned (and bought in some cases!) My mom and Brandon's mom came to Denver and for 1 week, every waking moment was spent on wedding planning. They even planned the whole rehearsal dinner in one morning while I worked--and ended up being very late to our lunch because of it :) So here is a quick list of everything that was accomplished...

Wedding Dress
Mother of the Bride Dress
Food and Serving Dishes for Wedding and Rehearsal
Centerpieces
Flowers
Hostess Gifts
Bridesmaid Gifts
Decorations for Wedding and Rehearsal
Found Location for Bridesmaid luncheon
Found Bed and Breakfast for Wedding Night
Floor plan for venue

I know that I am forgetting so much, but that is quite a list!! We were exhausted every night when we finished, but I am so glad that they were able to come up and get so much done and my extra guestroom has become the Wedding Room ;)

Wedding Party

2010-06-12T20:20:00.000-06:00

To Brandon and I, friends and family are the most important thing about our wedding. We didn't want to have a wedding without the most important people in our lives. Each person of our wedding party has helped shape our lives, either as a couple or as individuals. We would not be who we are today (or have some very fond memories) without these people and are truly grateful that they are a part of our lives.

The Officiant--Clay

Clay and Brandon met during their freshman year at Oklahoma State. Since then they have shared many experiences together, from concerts to a three week European backpacking trip. Clay is a professional musician who has been playing in and around Southern Alabama for the last four years.

The Girls

Maid of Honor--Katie

My Best Friend. How else better to describe her? I have known her since we were in Kindergarten and I moved down the street from her. From the moment my brother walked me down to her house to meet and have a play-date, we have been the best of friends. To this day, even though we reside on two different continents (she is currently residing in Vietnam), she is a great friend and someone who I still tell all my secrets.

Bridesmaid--Gretchen

I've known Gretchen since college at OSU where we both worked as Community Facilitators in Bennett Hall. I definitely would not have as many great memories from my Senior year if it wasn't for her. We are very much alike, which can be good (or bad in our case sometimes....lets just say that we have both had our fair share of blond moments and thankfully not on the same time or we would have been in real trouble!!) Because if you can't laugh at yourself or with your best friend because you know it could been you in that exact situation, then what can you laugh at? Gretchen currently resides in the U.K., but will be calling USA home again in the near future (which I am anxiously awaiting!!)

Bridesmaid--Jodi

Jodi and I met in Denver at an OSU watch party in 2006 when we were one of the few young people attending them.Other than OSU, Jodi and I share a love for baking. We have spent many late nights baking treats for Christmas, Bake Sales, Tailgates and any other reason we can come up with to bake something :) With so many of my friends and family so far away, I have really enjoyed having a friend like Jodi close. And late this winter, I will have two more reasons to enjoy her living so close, as she is expecting twins!!

The Boys

Best Man--Chris

Chris is Brandon's second cousin, and they have been friends for as long as Brandon can remember. When they were young they spent a few weeks of every summer together in which they created lots of memories by causing a lot of mischief. They have always had, and will likely continue to have much in common. Chris is married with two young boys, and recently finished training for the Texas Highway Patrol.

Groomsman--Mark

Mark and Brandon have been friends since elementary school. During high school they attended many local concerts on the weekends. Mark is currently a teacher in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

Groomsman--Julien (aka Frenchy)

Julien and Brandon met during their freshman year at Oklahoma State, both were part of the aviation program. They worked together throughout the training process, and still consult each other often. Julien was raised in Paris, France, and led Brandon and Clay around Europe during their backpacking trip. Julien recently started pilot training at American Eagle Airlines.

Usher--Zack

Zack and Brandon met during their Junior year at Oklahoma State, and lived together for the next two years. They enjoyed road trips and hunting together. Zack currently lives with his wife, Karissa, in Tulsa, OK, and they are expecting a baby girl in late Spring.

Usher--Chris (aka Gumby)

Chris and Brandon met at Oklahoma State through the aviation program and Air Force ROTC. Hillary and Brandon were actually introduced through Chris' wife, Becky. He and Brandon attended many OSU football and basketball games together. Chris lives in Oklahoma with his wife Becky.

Usher--Kyle

Kyle and Brandon are second cousins. No one gave Brandon a harder time about not being engaged earlier than Kyle did. He even started introducing Hillary to some of his friends as Brandon's Fiance over a year before we were actually engaged! Kyle is Chris' younger brother, and graduates high school in 2011.

Usher--Canon

Canon is Hillary's older brother. He currently lives in Oklahoma, though he probably spends more time working and staying on Rigs.

The Proposal

2010-06-12T08:22:00.000-06:00

After a long day of driving and hiking Waimea Canyon, spending time at Poipu Beach, and admiring the Wailua Waterfall (from the opening scenes of Fantasy Island), we decided to find a couple local beaches before heading back to our resort. We ended up finding Kealia Beach just off the highway that was mostly deserted in the late afternoon. There were a few surfers trying to catch some final waves of the evening at one end so we started walking the other way where there were just a few people here and there, but were mostly packing up for the evening. We had already changed back into our normal clothing, so we didn't have any intention on swimming which was a good thing because the waves were very constant and kept creeping up the beach. A few times we got hit with a little bit more wave than we were intending. But it was gorgeous. The water was very blue and you could just see on for miles. As we were walking along the beach, I found a stick and decided to write in the sand and let the waves wash it away. I always feel like the beach brings out the inner child, because it is so calming you forget out about any worries or things that needs to be done. I made Brandon draw in the sand too. Even though neither of us are very good artists, it was very enjoyable. We finally made it to the far end of the beach and had it all to ourselves. I showed off my gymnastic skills and attempted a few cartwheels, because I always wanted to do that on a beach and like I said before the beach brings out the inner child. Brandon laughed and when I finished he asked me, "Is this the perfect moment?" or "Is this a great moment right now?" I said, "Yes, it has been a perfect day and been great to just forget about everything for a little while." He told me that he wanted to write one more thing in the sand, stole the stick out of my hand, and told me I couldn't see it until he finished and to turn around. When I turned around he had written, "Marry Me?" in the sand and was down on one knee with just the ring in his hand. At which point, my brain failed me and didn't know what to do (scream, cry, jump up and down). In the end, I got the word "Yes" out and I ran over to him (maybe even tackling him) and grabbed the ring out of his and and just stared at it. I started to put the ring on when my brain finally started working again and I yelled out, "Wait, your suppose to do this part!" So I handed the ring back to him and he placed it on my finger. Then we waited a few days before we called our families and friends and just enjoyed our "Engagement-moon."

He asked....So I said yes

2010-06-04T17:45:00.001-06:00

Brandon proposed to me on April 25, 2010 on a beach in Kauai, Hawaii. It was a wonderful proposal that was not overly thought out, but just when the moment was perfect....

After a long day of driving and hiking Waimea Canyon, spending time at Poipu Beach, and admiring the Wailua Waterfall (from the opening scenes of Fantasy Island), we decided to find a couple local beaches before heading back to our resort. We ended up finding Kealia Beach just off the highway that was mostly deserted in the late afternoon. There were a few surfers trying to catch some final waves of the evening at one end so we started walking the other way where there were just a few people here and there, but were mostly packing up for the evening. We had already changed back into our normal clothing, so we didn't have any intention on swimming which was a good thing because the waves were very constant and kept creeping up the beach. A few times we got hit with a little bit more wave than we were intending. But it was gorgeous. The water was very blue and you could just see on for miles. As we were walking along the beach, I found a stick and decided to write in the sand and let the waves wash it away. I always feel like the beach brings out the inner child, because it is so calming you forget out about any worries or things that needs to be done. I made Brandon draw in the sand too. Even though neither of us are very good artists, it was very enjoyable. We finally made it to the far end of the beach and had it all to ourselves. I showed off my gymnastic skills and attempted a few cartwheels, because I always wanted to do that on a beach and like I said before the beach brings out the inner child. Brandon laughed and when I finished he asked me, "Is this the perfect moment?" or "Is this a great moment right now?" I said, "Yes, it has been a perfect day and been great to just forget about everything for a little while." He told me that he wanted to write one more thing in the sand, stole the stick out of my hand, and told me I couldn't see it until he finished and to turn around. When I turned around he had written, "Marry Me?" in the sand and was down on one knee with just the ring in his hand. At which point, my brain failed me and didn't know what to do (scream, cry, jump up and down). In the end, I got the word "Yes" out and I ran over to him (maybe even tackling him) and grabbed the ring out of his and and just stared at it. I started to put the ring on when my brain finally started working again and I yelled out, "Wait, your suppose to do this part!" So I handed the ring back to him and he placed it on my finger. Then we waited a few days before we called our families and friends and just enjoyed our "Engagement-moon."

Brandon did not have a specific plan for how he was going to propose. All he know was that he wanted to do it early in our trip, so that we could enjoy and celebrate our engagement. He also hid the ring very well as I didn't find it earlier that day when I was searching our bag and his shorts in the trunk of the car for his phone. He carried the ring in a Green Tea wrapper in the small "money pocket" which thankfully was too small for his phone to be in, so I didn't check that one.

We will be getting married exactly one year from today in Evergreen, Colorado. I can't wait :)

House Projects

2010-03-20T12:02:00.002-06:00

Since we have moved into the house we have had a list of projects that we want to get done. Most have been things that you wouldn't notice by walking in the house (HVAC and insulation). But this past weekend Brandon's parents came for a visit and helped us get a few knocked off our list. The major thing is that our odd room is no longer the odd room, it is now the study. The large opening between new study and living room has been replaced by beautiful french doors. This was the major project that Brandon and his dad worked on all weekend and they did a wonderful job. I can't believe what a difference they make. They help define the spaces but do not make the living room feel closed in at all. They also tore down the dog run in the backyard.

Brandon's mom and I spent the weekend searching for the perfect fabric for pillows and curtains in the study to coordinate with what I found for the living room. It took some searching, but we both fell in love with the paisley print we found and ended up adding it in more places than originally planned. We also found some great deals, but our best deal was the wooden curtain rod in the study that we got 70% off. I think it just makes that room look more elegant and I think it is my new favorite room.

House Projects

Master Bedroom

2009-12-11T21:37:00.002-07:00

Six months into living in the house and it is still not 100% complete but we are getting closer. The master bedroom is the closest to be finished. The main thing keeping us from finishing (or even really starting) on this room was finding a comforter. We thought we knew what we wanted but were able to find anything close to it. Then I walked into T.J. Maxx and found not exactly what we wanted but really similar. Then his mom took the reins and made me make decisions and "ta da" the bedroom was 95% complete and we got a wonderful early Christmas present. The only thing we are missing now is a headboard, which is at my parents house in Oklahoma.

Master Bedroom Pictures

Could anything else happen this week?

2009-10-30T17:26:00.004-06:00

Brandon sick...Dad visiting (but mainly working)...it snowed (a lot)...Work canceled...Shovel snow (3 times)...Girl's night at the theater (Wicked)...Installing A/C and new furnace...

That's a lot for one week, I might just go to bed now.

October Snow

London Bridge is Falling Down

2009-09-04T11:10:00.004-06:00

I was constantly singing this song to myself as we prepared for our trip to England back in April (yes, I am a little behind in posting). Actually, I was unable to keep it out of my head as we were walking around London either. It really helped that I got to see the true London Bridge...which was just any old ordinary bridge.

Gretchen, my awesome friend from college, is working over there currently and we were able to stay with her the entire trip. She was a quite amazing host/tour guide. I hope we didn't inconvenience her too much. But I am so glad I got to see her!

Since it was 4 months ago, I don't feel like going too much in depth on our trip, so I will give just the highlights:

Day 1: After spending all night on an airplane (thankfully Business Class), we met up with Gretchen at the airport. On our way down to her house, on the South Coast (?) of England we detoured over to see Stonehenge. It was really cool to see up close, but the electronic tour guide took way to long explaining everything that I gave up and decided that the "rocks" were cool. After we had arrived at her apartment, we walked over to a restaurant for dinner where it took me three tries to order something off the menu that they actually had!

Day 2: Had a delicious breakfast. Went to Bath. Saw some charming small villages around bath (don't think they were large enough to call towns). Loved the architecture and the history in Bath. The electronic tour guide was better at the Roman Baths, but I still gave up halfway through. Loved, loved, loved the quaint villages she took us to see. Sorry, but a lot of the pictures are just random buildings around there.

Day 3: London!!! Have you ever seen London in a day? Half-day? How about 6 hours? Well we did and we got to see everything on my list (though I still have to go back because we were unable to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace). Gretchen is an amazing tour guide. She new the places to go and how and where we should start our tour. We did have one hiccup and that was the unexpected London Marathon that was taking place!!! Good thing we were towards the end and didn't have too much of an inconvenience :) Great tour, Great sights, Great time!

Day 4: Oxford...on our own. Poor Gretchen had to work on our last full day there. So Brandon and I took the train to Oxford. It was actually pretty easy and I am glad we attempted it because we were about to chicken out at one point since it was raining. We took a walking tour of Oxford, though I wish I could have convince Brandon to take the Harry Potter walking tour :( He was grateful that it was not being offered that day, otherwise I would have dragged him to it :) The walking tour was pretty good, though our tour guide dragged on about pointless things and kept showing us pictures from postcards and newspapers instead of what was around us. We survived and still enjoyed it. We were able to have a wonderful Italian meal before we caught the train back to see Gretchen.

Day 5: Goodbye London, Hello USA

London Bridge is Falling Down

White Trash Patio

2009-09-03T19:54:00.003-06:00

That is what Brandon has called our patio since we moved in. We were using our camping chairs as patio furniture and there always seemed to be a box or two hanging out there.

Our excuse was that there were more important projects, but the reality is that we are cheap and were looking for a good deal. So this past weekend we decided to go "look and see" what places had to offer. We ended up finding the patio table, charcoal grill, and some hanging flower baskets to give our patio a comfortable feel.

We still want to add some more things, but we at least have the basics and are not as in a rush for everything else.

I Smell a Skunk (Or Is That My Dog?)

2009-09-02T19:57:00.004-06:00

Jake got sprayed by a skunk last night. In our backyard. Of course, I had windows and the backdoor open so the house got the lovely skunk smell too. And it is still lingering.

Did I mention that Brandon was not home for all the fun? I called him and he laughed.

Brandon did get online to find a remedy for Jake (who I now affectionately call Stinky). At 9 O'clock last night when I should be winding down to go to bed, I headed to the store to get supplies and then gave Jake a bath. Since he was very wet and I didn't know how much he still smelled, he was demoted to sleeping in the garage.

This morning the garage smelled better than the house and I couldn't locate a heavy skunk smell on him, so I figured he was good and he was allowed to come back inside. However, the poor house isn't so lucky. I opened quite a few windows this evening to help air it out, but I have a feeling I will be smelling skunk for a while...if it is truly there or not.

Summer Vacation

2009-08-29T21:45:00.002-06:00

It has been a while since I have had a true summer vacation and after buying a house, moving, and switching jobs at work I think I deserve one this year. When Brandon and I found out that he would have nine days off at the end of August we rejoiced and started planning. We looked into India, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico. Unfortunately for one reason or another these did not work out. So instead we decided that we could have some fun in the States. We hopped on a flight to Las Vegas and spent two days gambling in Sin City. After some ups and downs we ended up basically breaking even or a little up. We really didn't gamble too much and spent a lot of time walking up and down the strip looking at all the different casinos. We got to experience Paris, Venice and New York without ever leaving Vegas! It was a great two days but that is all we could handle, so we rented a car and drove to Utah to visit Zion National Park. Brandon has been wanting to head there for over a year to hike the Narrows. When we arrived late Wednesday afternoon we headed straight to the park. To limit the impact to the environment, they no longer allow cars up the scenic route and instead have a shuttle. This is a great idea, because it is included in your park admission and it is nice not having to fight traffic. In addition, the shuttle drivers give you a great overview of the park as they are driving. We did a couple short hikes that first day since it was later in the day. And because I like to be different, I did these hikes in a dress! We were in a hurry to get to the park that we checked into our hotel and left very shortly thereafter that I did not have time to change. But I figured at least I would be comfortable and I did grab my tennis shoes. On Thursday we hiked the Narrows. For this hike our trail was the river and the water ranged from ankle to waist high (on me) for the portion that we hiked. This was an amazing hike and the walls of the canyon raising up on either side and getting narrower as we hiked deeper in was just gorgeous. I wish we had had more waterproof cameras with us, because one was not enough. This hike ended up being around 5 or 6 hours long. After this hike we drove up the canyon and did a mile hike to an overlook of the canyon. Again just breathtaking. The only thing we were disappointed with was that because of the time of day the sun made canyon very hazy and we were not able to get very good pictures. On our last day we attempted a very challenging 2.5 mile (5 mi round trip) hike. The first 2 miles of the hike was very steep switchbacks. We were wondering if we would make it in time to complete the hike we set out. But we actually made pretty good time up to Scouts Landing. The next half mile hike was to Angels Landing and was not really a trail but rocks with some chains to hold on to from time to time with shear cliffs on either side. It was a very long 0.5 miles and at some points I didn't know if we would make it as Brandon is extremely scared of heights and I am a klutz that I didn't know if we would both make it back alive. But we pushed through (and did not look down) and made it. The view was spectacular and I am so glad we did not turn back. We have some pictures of the "trail" but they do not do it justice. Then it was back down and off to Vegas to catch our flight back to Denver. Vacation over :(

Summer Vacation

Where did the time go?

2009-08-08T08:24:00.003-06:00

It has almost been 2 months since we moved into our house and honestly I just don't know where the time went? On one hand, I feel that we just moved in, but on the other hand, I feel like it was forever since we lived in the apartment. Brandon tells me that my brain is covering up the horrible memory of apartment living. I truly didn't mind the apartment, though after living in the dorms at college for 4 years and then 3 years of apartment living, I was definitely ready to move on and have our own space. We are still loving the house. My commute isn't any worse than it was at the apartment, especially in the mornings.

House

Freedom!!!

2009-07-20T20:47:00.002-06:00

I have my computer back!!! I have MY COMPUTER back!!! I HAVE MY COMPUTER BACK!!!

Now that I have gotten that out of my system, can you tell that I am happy to have my computer back. I feel so giddy and that I have just been given a brand new computer. Three or so months without it has made me really miss it and glad that it really isn't gone. I only have myself to blame for having to wait three months for it, but who cares :) I finally called Dell and requested all my backup CDs, which they provided for FREE, however the information I had to provide was not so easily accessible (I don't remember my order # from 4 years ago, where was the computer delivered?) and they weren't too helpful since I am out of warranty and didn't want to pay $50 to get out of warranty assistance. But I got it and Brandon ordered me a hard drive and then this weekend we put it all together. It has taken us a bit to figure out all the drivers we needed to download, but I think it is almost back to where I need it.

I do have to admit I haven't been completely left hanging without a computer at home, but I can't freely download all my programs, pictures and other random stuff that I want to on Brandon's computer because I don't want to be the person using it when it crashes (which it will soon). But no more complaining, I have my computer back and hopefully I will post pictures from our trip to England back in April (yes, APRIL!). I will also post some updated pictures of the house soon.

Tons of Changes

2009-07-19T18:21:00.003-06:00

The past month has brought about a ton of changes. We got moved into the house in the middle of June and found someone to lease our apartment, so we are completely free from there. Then we decided to make our life a little more interesting by adding a new member to the family. Meet Jake...

He is about 7 years old or so and is so loving. Speaking of love, he LOVES the water whether it is a pond/lake to swim in or just from the water hose...

On top of all that, I completed my year cross-training rotation at work and this past week have moved back into being a Lease Analyst. Even though I have done this role before, I have been assigned a new geographical area to work which has its own unique things that I will have to learn, plus a few processes have changed in the past year. But I am looking forward to the new challenge.

Hopefully we won't make anymore too drastic changes in the next few months, as I am just starting to get used to these. But I love our house and Jake and wouldn't change anything.

We're Moving!!

2009-06-05T21:29:00.002-06:00

Oh, you knew that already? I guess with buying a house, it would be understood. But did you know that we are moving Friday? Yes, this FRIDAY that is 7 days away!! Brandon's mom is coming in Thursday to help me boss around the movers :) and start getting everything organized. I am really excited, but also a little anxious because I haven't really started packing :( But I guess that is what the next 7 days are for!!

What a Difference Paint Can Make

2009-06-04T16:18:00.009-06:00

We fell in love with our ho use immediately, but we absolutely hated the paint choices. So I knew immediately that I wanted to paint the entire house, which I probably would have wanted anyway to give it a fresh coat. Brandon kept asking me, "Are you sure you want to paint the entire house?" and I always said, "Yes." Then he would ask me, "Do you know how big of a project that is?" and I would always reply, "It won't be too bad." Then he would give me a look that I interpreted as "your crazy." Well I admit, I was a little ambitious and am definitely crazy. My mom has spent the past 10 days in Denver helping us paint the entire house and I still have 50% of the trim/windows left to do and a couple places to touch up, which I hope to finish this weekend. It has been a tough job, but I am still glad that we did it. In addition to painting the entire house, we took down the art deco corner decorations in the large bathroom, removed the built-ins from the Master bedroom and Office, and removed the rest of the winter window coverings and moved them to the storage room. I am tired just thinking about it. Plus I have not take a day of vacation the entire time she was here and even had longer days at the office this week (aka 7 am work time). I took some pictures of the house last time for a before and after comparison of the interior paint colors.

Living Room/Dining Room (Before & After):

I love the chocolate walls (the wall with the boxes in front of it is also brown). That is going to be our dining room area while the living area will be closer to where I was standing to take the photo, as there is a fire place there.

Den/Odd Room:

Brandon hated this rose color more than any other or at least that is the way he acted about it. We had picked out one color (Swiss Coffee) but it was too white and not creamy enough for us so we went back and got this color which is also the light walls in the living room. We don't know what this room will be yet, but we have some plans for the future which will be a little while down the road...I think :)

Master Bedroom:

I don't think I would have hated this room so much if 1) the closet without doors was not painted orange, 2) this room was larger, 3) it had more windows, 4) the built in was removed. This room was a cave, but not anymore. As you can see, the built-in is gone and the color is much much lighter. You can't see it in this picture, but the closets are painted white. I love orange, but not in my closet.

Bathroom:

My mom hated this room the most, so it was the first one completed. We tore down those art deco things in the corner and went neutral. It looks pink in the picture, but its really a very light brown. Think of melted chocolate ice cream.

Guest Room:

This is the room I could not get past, I got riled up everytime I talked about the color of the room. I described it as the "baby poop room", but as we started putting the new paint on we could see that the entire room was actually Texas Longhorn Orange. No wonder I hated it so much. The guest room and the bathroom are the exact same color, I think this picture gives a better representation of the true color.

Office:

The room would not have been so bad if the trim had only been white and not a darker green. Brandon and I went back and forth on what color to paint it. We had first picked out either a yellow or a lighter green. Then he got freaked out by the thought of yellow (for some reason he got the idea that I wanted to put yellow polka dots in there). So we shifted gears completely and found this beautiful slate blue.

The colors in our house are very natural and earthy, but we decided to go bold on our front door. And boy did we go BOLD:

We know that the front door is suppose to stand out, but we are still a little afraid of what we chose. I love it from the street because you can see it and it doesn't look so in your face, but when the door is open into the living room, I freak out a little :)

Homeowners!!

2009-05-21T20:16:00.003-06:00

Yep, that's right. We FINALLY closed on the house!! So now starts the fun part...cleaning and painting to start things off and then a multitude of other projects. I am going to have a busy next few weeks. Still don't know exactly when we will move in, but I am content with everything right now. I'll post some pics soon.

Umm...Can you explain that?

2009-05-12T22:12:00.002-06:00

You would think that after dating a pilot for five years I would have the lingo down.

NOPE! I still have a lot to learn :)

Tonight I get a text message from Brandon saying, "Greased my first landing." I read it and think, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" When I think of anything being greased, I think of something slippery and that not necessarily being good. But Brandon usually "forgets" to mention most bad things that happen in an airplane. So I couldn't decide if I should call and ask or just not respond. I called and he wouldn't tell me and when I got home, I googled it.

Well it is a very good thing and I am now one step closer to knowing all things aviation...OK, that might be an exaggeration :)

The Past Week

2009-05-01T13:29:00.002-06:00

In the past week I have...

Travelled to England and back
Moved from my sunny small cube to a windowless big office
Had the new house inspected
Had the new house's pipes cleaned
Flown to Oklahoma for Lynn's wedding

So the week has been a little crazy. But it has been a great time. Hopefully I will get my computer fixed so I can post the pictures from our London trip soon. But the main thing on my mind lately has been house stuff. We did find out that the previous owner took all of the kitchen appliances, the washer, plus the swamp cooler...not cool. But everything else in the house looks great, so we are very happy about that. On Wednesday, we officially started the process for buying the house and had the house inspected. Everything looked great and we are good to go. Then yesterday we had the pipes cleaned to make sure there were no blockages, either from build up or issues in the pipes. Once again things looked good. So it looks like things are finally starting to look up for us at this point--knock on wood.

Under Contract

2009-04-23T07:56:00.003-06:00

Yep, that's right, one month after "losing" the house we are finally under contract!! It was such a relief when we finally got the notice and I think I did a little dance in my cube at work :) The next hurdle we have is the house inspection, which we hope will happen next Wednesday or Thursday. Hopefully all goes well this next month and we close on the house towards the end of May!!

5 months later...

2009-04-17T22:32:00.000-06:00

I started this photo project for the living room back in November and finally finished it tonight.

That is 5 months of sorting through 1000 pictures and narrowing it down to only nine.

That is 5 months of searching for the perfect frames that will each be unique but not take away from the others.

That is 5 months of arranging and rearranging the pictures until I finally get the perfect design...and then changing it again.

That is 5 months of anxiously waiting to finally see the photographs on the wall and it was worth it.

The pictures are of only scenery and are places that Brandon and I have traveled over the last few years. I would like to say that we took them all ourselves, but I have a feeling that Julian is responsible for the majority of them as he was the designated photographer during Brandon, Clay, and his trip around Europe. We have Amsterdam, Hawaii, Paris, Prague, Rome, Seattle, Venice, Vietnam and a random train somewhere in Europe. The pictures are a mix of us and so is the project as we each had a say in the way it turned out.

Originally Posted 4/13/2009

Clarity

2009-04-16T18:42:00.002-06:00

I am searching for some clarity right now. I am tired of all this uncertainty. I need clarity on buying a house. I need clarity on my future. I need clarity on Brandon's career and future. I just need clarity.

Today has been a day of uncertainty. Uncertainty in everything I have been working on the past few months if not years. And the weather outside is just fostering this uncertainty, it has been gloomy and raining all day and suppose to turn to snow overnight. I need sunshine right now to help me get past all this gloom and doom.

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T19:38:00.003-06:00

Brandon and I spent Easter at Jodi's sister's house with some of their friends and family. It was nice to spend the day with everyone and eat so much delicious food...I am still so full.

Brandon and Chris were even kind enough to show Jodi's nephew how to play Guitar Hero on the Wii...though I don't see Harrison anywhere :)

Playing the Waiting Game

2009-04-03T21:24:00.002-06:00

Nothing new. We are still waiting. Carol was hoping to talk to the bank today, but she only got voicemail. She will be calling again Monday morning...

While she and I were talking today, she brought up another potential issue...the guy who was foreclosed on could potentially completely destroy the house. When he was trying to short-sale it he had a reason to keep everything nice, but now he doesn't. We know that he was very angry about them not reversing the foreclosure and I don't blame him. Carol and I have been in some houses that the owners took everything...the kitchen cabinets, fixtures, water heaters/furnaces, and the copper piping. So now I am just becoming more worried about this issue.

Oh, the joys of buying a house.

One Last Hope

2009-03-31T20:31:00.002-06:00

Carol is pulling out all the stops to get us this house. It doesn't look like the foreclosure will be reversed, so we are going in a new direction now. We place our second offer on the house today and gave it directly to the Title Company. They haven't even listed the house, but we are hoping that they will want to get it off their hands fast and accept our offer. We asked that they respond to our offer by Friday, so hopefully by then we will finally have closure on this house--good or bad. At least we will know that we have done everything that possibly could be done. Brandon and I just are just so thankful that we have Carol on our side. She is such an amazing Realtor and is fighting so hard for us.

While the boys are away, the girls will play

2009-03-25T21:15:00.005-06:00

...or at least have dinner.

Brandon was out of town...

Jodi's husband, Chris, was out of town...

So what are us lonely girls to do? Eat and talk, of course!

Katherine and Jodi came over to my place for a dinner last night. It was nice to have some interaction with people other than co-workers in the middle of the week. Plus, it gave me an excuse to clean my apartment and cook, neither of those happen mid-week when Brandon is gone. Plus, the girls finally got to see my apartment. Poor Jodi and Chris always end up with all the happenings at their place. But we decided to start branching out and Katherine has decided that she gets the next event...I can't wait!

PS. Jodi and Katherine are both OSU Grads that I met in Denver--Jodi at an OSU watch party my first fall in Denver and Katherine this summer through Jodi. It's like I have a piece of home here.

Left: Jodi and I in Seattle (yeah, I cut the guys out of the picture).
Right: Katherine and I at our tailgate before the CU/OSU football game

Winter Weather Advisory

2009-03-25T13:50:00.003-06:00

It has been predicted that the Denver metro area could get up to a foot of snow tomorrow. The office is buzzing like a bunch of grade schoolers at the prospect of the office being closed tomorrow. It kind of makes me laugh to remember that yes, we are responsible adults, but we all still love a snow day :) I have to admit I would love to spend the day all by myself doing chores around the apartment, and by chores I mean sleeping in, reading my book, and browsing the internet.

Because of all the hoopla and build up for the snow, which we desperately need, I am expecting to wake up in the morning to zero, zilch, nada snow laying on the ground outside my apartment. And if there is any, it is nothing more than a couple inches, I've been through this before, so I just can't get my hopes up.

I guess I will have to listen to Gary England and "Stay with News 9, we'll keep you advised." Oh wait, Gary is in Oklahoma. In that case, I will have to figure something else out.

Baking Queen

2009-03-22T17:01:00.002-06:00

In the past two weeks I have baked my heart out:

A 12 Layer Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Icing (mine actually ended up with 11 layers) for Rush, who EnCana finally allowed to retire. This was an oh so delicious cake and one that will be made again. Baking this cake was a long process (4+ hours), but worth every minute of it. See here for recipe from Bakerella.
A couple nights later I baked Dark Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Icing for a friend and her family as they journeyed to Michigan. I have to admit, this was an easy one...box of brownie mix and leftover icing from the cake above. But it still took some effort on my part, so it counts :)
Then because Brandon got to enjoy none of my specialties above and felt completely left out I had to make him cupcakes. So I made 24 butter yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Again I cheated, but only halfway. I used a box cake mix, but made my own chocolate frosting.

So in a span of 5 days, I made all of the above. At this point, I was sugared out and really tired of cleaning my kitchen (I tend to make a HUGE mess when I cook).

Then last night I offered to make something sweet for Brandon and his roommates at his crashpad in Fresno. So this morning I made a batch of Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies. This recipe makes a lot of cookies and Brandon ended up with a good size tub and I was left with more than I need--I guess work will have a few treats tomorrow too :)

I know I said it last week, but I am definitely tired of all that sugar now. I don't think I will be baking anything this week or I'm not planning on it anyway.

Ups and Downs

2009-03-20T16:25:00.002-06:00

That has been my day.

I woke up today thinking that today would be the day that we finally got the contract for our house. Not only did we not get the contract today, we found out the bank forgot to pull it off the foreclosure list. So the house was foreclosed on March 12. This was not part of the plan. What makes it even worse is the fact that we had double checked with the selling realtor who in turn called the bank to make sure they had postponed the foreclosure until the 17th of April. The banker assured that it had, WRONG!!

So I was so upset about this, because there is no guarantee that we could get the house under the foreclosure. Brandon and I both love this house. It is in a good neighborhood, it is a brick home (a great selling point for these two southerners), not much work required (only cosmetic wants), and it has a great yard. The only thing that could make us think otherwise would be a major issue found during inspection, but that is it. I want this house. So needless to say, I was heartbroken.

But we have a wonderful realtor, Carol. She was ready to try anything for us to get this house. Then she talked to the selling realtor, who was even more furious than us and she was ready to fight for us (and her poor client, who had multiple offers on the house and shouldn't have been foreclosed on). Then we learn that the seller had hired an attorney when all this started.

Oh, the hope starts to come back.

The sellers attorney has had a foreclosure reversed before, so he is taking over dealing with the bank on this issue. Hopefully we hear something early next week (I'm rooting for Monday) if this would be possible and if we have a chance at getting our house. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and am going to try to think positive all weekend.

Maybe I should make something chocolate to help me cope with all this stress. Mmm...chocolate. Yes, baking and chocolate sound like a fine idea :)

Playing the Waiting Game

2009-03-16T21:41:00.004-06:00

Still no contract in hand.

The bank (theirs not ours) is needing some additional documentation from the seller.

Hopefully something by Wednesday.

Have I told you that I am not a very patient person? Good thing our realtor, Carol, understands this and calls me frequently to give me updates. But I would be a much happier person if I had the contract.

5 Years

2009-03-11T07:30:00.001-06:00

5 years ago we had our first date.

We went to Third Place in Stillwater and talked all night--or I talked all night and he probably just nodded :) Sometimes I wonder how he ever asked me on a second date...

So much has changed in these past 5 years...we graduated college, I moved to Denver (alone), he moved to Denver (a year later), and he has finally made it to the airlines and only gets to spend a fraction of the time at home.

Our first picture together (it was his 21st birthday and I was taking him on a surprise picnic) 11/10/2004:

A recent picture:

ACCEPTED!!

2009-03-08T16:40:00.000-06:00

We have been told the bank is going to accept our offer on the house (the house is a short-sale, so the bank must approve all offers). Brandon and I were so surprised to hear back so fast, as we had been told it could take anywhere from 1-6 months to get a response from the bank. Apparently, the bank was starting to review the offers when Brandon and I swooped in. Lucky us :) We should have the contract from the bank in our hands on Wednesday...which also happens to be our 5 year anniversary :) And if all works out, we will close on April 17.

Now Brandon and I are trying to get some things done to make life easier for us once we close. The big thing we have to do is find someone to replace us in our apartment. The rest has just been figuring out what we want to do to the house. We went by Home Depot yesterday to pick up some paint chips and ended up picking out the color for nearly every room. Then we roamed the store looking at every possible thing that we might want to do, even if the existing is in good condition just not our style. But I guess that is what happens when you buy a house :)

Buying a house is stressful....

2009-03-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Brandon saw the house on Saturday and loved it

No word yet on our offer

The closing of another house we had put a bid on fell through this morning (just before closing), so Brandon and I had a huge decision to make. And it took me 2 hours to finally get to talk to him. Decided against going for this house again.

Hoping we made the right choice and the offer on the other house goes through with no back and forth (I know I'm dreaming).

Home Sweet Home????

2009-02-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Could this be our new house? We put an offer in yesterday. Did I mention that Brandon hasn't even seen the inside of the house yet? That will happen Saturday, so hopefully he likes it :)

Let's Go Skiing

2009-02-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I finally made it up to Copper Mountain for our first ski trip of the season. We only went for 1/2 a day, but still had a great day and made it home alive.

Here is Brandon during lunch after he threw my water bottle across the room and broke it. (He was testing it to see if it was unbreakable...go figure.)
Just hanging out..

But I had plans...

2009-02-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

My Friday off plans:

Set no alarm
Laundry
Clean apartment
Cook dinner
Pick up skis for Saturday
Grocery shop for next week
Be in a great mood when Brandon arrived home

My NEW Friday plans:

Get up at normal time.
GO TO WORK!!!! (To work on an important project that at 3:00 PM on Thursday has not been distributed yet!! Did I also mention that my area has already completed this project and we still have to come in!! Plus, we found this out at noon onThursday, glad I didn't have any plans!!!)
Pick up skis for Saturday
Grocery shop (for the bare minimum)
Cook dinner
Try to do at least 2 loads of laundry, because Brandon has to have clothes for his next trip
Be in a horrible mood all day (Sorry Brandon)

New Treasure

2009-02-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Brandon's mom made him this beautiful quilt for Christmas (which we also celebrated with them this past weekend). The monograms signify important times in his life.

Texas 1983-2002
Embraer Brasilia (the airplane he currenly flies)

OSU 2002-2006
B52 (one of his favorite aircraft)

The back of the quilt

What makes it such a treasure...

My Valentines

2009-02-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend. Both my and Brandon's parents came to Denver and spent the weekend. We enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner at Carmine's on Penn.

Brandon and IMy mom and dad

Brandon's mom and dad

Did I mention that I was spoiled by everyone?

Charmaine brought me 3 yellow roses of Texas
My parents got me a dozen antique roses
Brandon surprised me with a bouquet of mixed flowers (my favorite)

Brandon also brought each of our moms a rose
(his mom's rose is the yellow/pink one and my mom's rose is the white/pink one)

I think they might be trying to tell us something...

2009-02-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Aloha, Maui!!

2009-02-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right, Brandon and I hopped over to Maui for a few days and just hung out on the beach. We arrived around 1 pm on Wednesday and then took the red-eye out Friday night and made it back to Denver before 10 am Saturday....perfect.

I do have to admit when we arrived in Maui and it was raining, and I mean pouring down, get soaked in 5 seconds, raining and this made us worry. But we made the best of the day and decided it would be a great day to take the Road to Hana. It was an amazing journey and was gorgeous. We still got out and did some hiking and we found a black sand beach, which was at the top of my list to see.

Thursday and Friday had perfect weather and we were able to get out and enjoy the beach. We were able to snorkel around Black Rock, where we swam with four Sea Turtles!! It was so cool to be so close to everything and to see live coral closeup. January and February are Whale season on the island and we were able to see many from shore. We were even able to do a little surfing and boogie boarding.

It was great to get away and relax for a few days. Now we just have to plan our next adventure :)

Aloha, Maui!

Yum...

2009-01-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

Bakerella says, "Thaaank You, Betty!" and I say, "Thank you, Betty and Bakerella!!"

Bakerella is a blog all about baking. She has some great ideas (i.e. Cupcake Pops). In one post she featured these wonderful Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies from Betty Crocker topped with her Chocolate Ganache.

I made these for work this past week and they were a definite winner.

Does Anyone Want to Sell Me a House?

2009-01-17T22:25:00.000-07:00

It must meet some modest (outlandish) criteria and must be for something, like, dirt cheap (for Denver standards anyway).

Why does Denver property have to be so out-of-this world expensive? Was Denver built on Holy Land and someone forgot to tell me? I just want to runaway and buy a house in Houston, and I do NOT want to live in Houston (but I do want a house, so maybe).

Today I spent day #3 with the Realtor and I am exhausted. We only started the search a week ago and I am already exhausted!!! What are the next 8 months (hopefully less) going to be like??

Ugh, it smells like wet dog food...

2009-01-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

That is a real thought that occurs many days as I am leaving work downtown.

Disgusting, right??

There are only a few smells on my radar that are worse than wet dog food, but I think because I get this scent quite often it annoys me the most.

So you are probably asking, "Why does she smell wet dog food quite a bit?"

I assure you it is not by choice. Just north of Downtown Denver is a Dog/Puppy Chow factory and more often than I like, the scent is carried to the heart of downtown. I really only notice it when I am leaving work, which is just a great topper to a long day at work. So my only hope is to crinkle my nose and grumble all the way to my bus stop, as I try not to gag.

TGIF

2009-01-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

I hope that this first full week of the new year has no indication of what the rest of the year will hold for us. Needless to say it has been a very long week.

Brandon's been sick all week and couldn't go back to work on time.

Work is a little crazy from everyone being on vacation the past two weeks.

I joined the gym and now work out during lunch with girls from work--my body hates me because every inch of it is sore. Plus, I have to work later to make up for my longer lunch :(

And finally, I am looking at everything that needs to be done in the apartment and I just want to run away.

Ok, So I'm a Litte Obsessive

2009-01-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

So I know Christmas was over a week ago, but I love baking cookies and I didn't get to this year. Since Brandon and I postponed Christmas, I figured I could still get a way with baking Christmas Sugar Cookies. I made the cookies on Thursday (my exciting New Year's Eve--but it made me very happy) and I finally frosted them tonight. I was a little obsessive and had to get the coloring just right and now my right arm is paying for all the stirring required to get enough food coloring mixed into the frosting. But the final result was worth it.

Now to my next obsession...

I bake most of the meals that Brandon eats while he is out on a trip. I put together meals in fold-top sandwich bags to keep each food separate and then I place a full meal in a Reynolds Vacuum Bag and vacuum-save the meals. As Brandon eats each meal, he keeps the Vacuum Bag and brings it home for me to wash and reuse. Well, when I wash them, I have my very small kitchen counter covered in these bags. With being gone, I had a large pile needing to be cleaned and I have been trying to find a more convenient way of drying. I didn't have to look far. I have had this drying rack for years (thanks mom), but I never use it...until now. It works perfectly for drying the bags and I won't have to fight with the bags anymore for my kitchen space.

I know that was a long blurb about baggies, but I am really happy with my ingenuity and plus I did warn you that I was a little obsessive :)

It's Starting to look a lot like Christmas

2009-01-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Christmas has already come and went. I just was not ready for it this year, so I couldn't get in the holly jolly spirit this year. I think part of that was because of my wonderful trip to Vietnam. It just wore me out and took me more days than I expected to recover. Plus, I was unable to do my annual Christmas baking for work.

The beginning of my Christmas holiday didn't start out as planned. Brandon's cousin, Shelly, passed away and we flew out to Houston for the funeral. It was nice to spend time with his family, we just wish it wasn't under this circumstance. Brandon's family reminds me a lot of my mom's family. The extended family is very close knit and love to include more than just family in any get together. Brandon and I are planning to make it down to Houston to see them more often this year.

On Sunday I flew from Houston straight to Oklahoma, where my mom was waiting for me. This was my first trip home since the 4th of July weekend, which was my longest stretch between visits yet. However, I have seen my mom and dad twice each since then. Though, I can't say the same for my animals :( My family did Christmas on the 23rd, since we were driving to Houston on the 24th to see my Grandma. This Christmas I only asked for things for my kitchen and got some wonderful things. I can't wait to try the recipes out of my new cookbook, Pie in the Sky. I also received my first Le Creuset pot in lime green (or Kiwi to be official). It has taken my 2 years to decide on which color I wanted to see in my kitchen for the rest of my life, so hopefully I don't change my mind :) My brother got me a NintendoDS with Brain Age 1 & 2. This is something I would have never bought myself but it was a perfect gift. I love having it on the bus and one game gets me from home to work and the second gets me home from work. During my visit we went to Houston and spent Christmas with some of my dad's family. It was a wonderful Christmas dinner organized and cooked by my dad's Cousin Sue at my Uncle Jim's new house. My Great-Aunt Willou and Grandma enjoyed the time together and we all enjoyed the time with them.

All the while, poor Brandon spent Christmas all by himself. He actually worked Christmas Day and made it back to Denver late that night. When he found out he was making it back to Denver, I received the following message: "I'll b home for Christmas but no one will be there with me." He knows how to make me feel bad for him. He left before I made it back to Denver, so our Christmas would have to wait. We started the new year off right by celebrating Christmas and 2009 on January 1. I couldn't ask for a better way to start off the new year. He was happy with all the presents and even liked my attempt to play Santa with filled Stockings: Candy, Library Card, Instant Green Tea (to add to bottle water), Starbucks gift card, travel toothpaste, and toothbrush. Though, he did ask if I was trying to tell him something with the toothbrush and toothpaste.

Plus, I was able to bake my Christmas cookies this weekend, so even though it is January, "It's starting to look a lot like Christmas" to me at least!!

Christmas 2008

Vietnam Vacation Pictures

2008-12-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Below are all my pictures from Vietnam. I have them divided into four albums based on areas that we visited. Enjoy!!

Hanoi -- November 23 & 26

Hanoi

Halong Bay/Cat Ba Island -- November 24 - 26

Halong Bay -- Cat Ba Island

Saigon -- November 22 -- December 6

Saigon

Mu Nei -- December 1 - 3

Mu Nei

Halong Bay/Cat Ba Island

2008-12-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

Halong Bay Tour group

Cat Ba Island Beach 1

Katie hiking

Me falling

Me hiking

Halong Bay

Katie and I on the boat

Kayaking

Katie in the cave

Fish for lunch on the boat...and dinner...and lunch again...it never ended

Our boat tour

Hanoi Pictures

2008-12-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

Water puppet show

Our $17 a night hotel !! Woo Hoo!!

Saigon Pictures

2008-12-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

Uh oh, we're lost in the Vietnamese countryside. Suze, can you call someone to get us out of this????

Reunification Palace...ta da!!

Katie on her motorbike

Ben Thanh Marketplace

Opera House

Saigon Post Office

Notre Dame Cathedral

Hanoi

2008-11-23T00:30:00.000-07:00

Katie and I made it to Hanoi this morning. The airport is about 45 min-1 hour outside of the city, so we got to see some farming areas. I am still overwhelmed with everything and still don't know what to think. It is all very interesting. Everyone is very "pushy" here (in both Saigon and Hanoi) and we have to tell them that we are not interested many times and they will still follow us a little ways. But it is nice to observe their culture. I did not know that the French had such a large influence in Vietnam. It is a little strange to hear fluent French being spoken by a Vietnamese person in the street. Hanoi is different from Saigon in that there are a lot more trees along the streets, so much so that some of the sidewalks are taken over by the roots. Katie keeps pointing out other differences and I guess I will understand more once we tour Saigon more. We are staying at a hotel in Hanoi tonight (US$ 17 for a clean room with 2 twin beds). Tomorrow morning we leave for a tour to Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island. It is about a 4 hour bus ride east of here. Pictures of it are gorgeous, so I hope that it lives up to that. We will stay 1 night on a boat and 1 night in a hotel before returning to Hanoi on Wednesday to catch our flight back to Saigon.

Oh, Saigon

2008-11-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

Well I made it on my first overseas flight. The flight really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I did sleep the majority of the time, but I made sure that I stayed up more in the second half of it, so that I would not have trouble sleeping. No major hiccups along the way. Though, since all my flights were either on time or early, I was praying that my luggage made it. If you didn't know, I have the worst luck when it comes to flying. I know I may be speaking too soon, but if anything happens on my flight home at least I will be back in the United States. Once I got through customs, I went searching for Katie. At the international terminal here, everyone must wait outside for their party. I saw her before she saw me and I just started waving like crazy to get her attention, which I did. Then we both went running to the closest opening and gave each other a really big hug. I am sure some people thought we were crazy, but we are best friends who have not seen each other in over a year :) Next we were in search of a taxi from a reputable company. All the taxi and motorbike drivers were really pushy and wanted us to use them, but Katie kept telling them no and we tried to walk away from them as fast as possible. Once the taxi was found and we were on our way, it was a surreal experience. Motorbikes out number cars by quite a bit. I saw up to 4 people on one bike (2 adults and 2 small children). Also, they drive very different here. Lanes and stop lights do not matter. Katie tried to point out many landmarks along the way, but it was dark so I didn't get to absorb too much. Once we got to Katie's house, she took me on her Motorbike for a little quick tour and to find her food. The weather was warm and very humid, but to her it was cool. It was a nice quick tour and I can't wait to see more later this week. Now we are headed to Hanoi and Halong Bay until Wednesday.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

2008-11-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is here. I leave at 6 am in the morning and SuperShuttle is suppose to be here to pick me up at 3 am!!! There is still so much to do, but I am sure it will all get done. I hope to post more while I am gone, but it is still uncertain. Pictures will definitely come when I get back. So tomorrow just think that at 6 am (Mountain Time), I will be leaving Denver for San Francisco where I will leave at noon (Pacific Time) for Ho Chi Mihn City with a stop in Honk Kong. I can't believe that I am doing this, but it is a chance in a lifetime. When else would I have a built in translator and tour guide :) As much as I am looking forward to seeing Vietnam, I am more excited to see Katie!!

Orange Power

2008-11-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I miss being in Stillwater and going to OSU football games. I have been lucky enough to go to 2 football games this year. As you know, Brandon, Jodi, Chris, Chip, and I traveled to Seattle over Labor Day to watch the opening game. Then this past weekend, OSU traveled to us to take on CU (University of Colorado). We have been looking forward to this game for a while, especially with how well OSU has played this year (GO POKES!!). Chip got the tickets for us and Jodi planned the rest, she really takes care of us and makes sure that everything is in order :) On Friday after work, the Alumni Association planned an event for the Denver Alumni and Alumni traveling from out of town for the game to network and get excited about the football game on Saturday. Jodi, Chris and I bailed on this a little early, but we had a good excuse....COOKIES!!! Jodi and I had to get the cookies baked for our tailgate. So we baked and we baked and we baked some more and then we decorated. We ended up making 3 different batches of cookies...Chocolate Cookies Sandwiches with Orange Frosting, Chocolate Chip, and "O"-shaped Sugar Cookies. As if you couldn't already figure this out, but Jodi and I are the bakers of the group :) We ended up staying up until 2 am baking and decorating cookies. We might have gone slightly overboard, but it was a blast and everyone had a variety of cookies to eat (not to mention, more than plenty). Despite the late night, I was up early on Saturday to make Tortilla Cream Cheese Pinwheels (because I got lazy on Thursday and didn't do it then). We then all met up at Jodi's before heading up to Boulder, where the rest of the group would meet up with us for the tailgate.

Colorado has been having some beautiful weather lately. Saturday was no different. I had a turtleneck with a t-shirt over it and a light jacket when I got to Jodi's and I was a little warm. But in Colorado, it doesn't matter how nice the day is, it gets really cold when the sun goes down. So we arrive at our tailgate spot at 3 pm, which you would think would make for a couple hours of nice warm sun...not so much. The sun started setting 15 minutes after we arrived and that is when the freezing started. Since the game was at night I had packed a sweatshirt, jacket, blanket, gloves and hat, but I had not planned on putting any of this on until I got to the game. We were all in our sweatshirts within no time and the gloves soon followed. At this point we all became really stubborn and didn't want to put anything else on until we got to the stadium, for fear that it would not be enough. So after are wonder tailgate ended we were off to cheer on our Cowboys.

Our Cowboys won, though it was not pretty. We had a great time at the game and it was warmer in the stadium, which made all of us happier.

Oh, how I miss our Cowboys.

Now We're Even

2008-11-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

Brandon turned 25 on Monday and so I am no longer "older" (Yes, I know I am still older, but I am not being technical). It really doesn't bother me being a whole two months older than him, but I do have to give him a hard time about dating "an older woman" :) Brandon's parents flew up for the special occasion and we had a wonderful time. Brandon was able to come home Friday night and wasn't called back to work before he was officially off on Sunday night!! Brandon's parents came in on Saturday and were a little surprised to see Brandon so soon. As soon as we got back from the airport, we headed downtown to watch OSU take on Texas Tech and that is all I will say about that. The good thing of the night was that we were able to introduce Don and Charmaine to a few of our Denver friends and we had a delicious dinner (Hawaiian Pizza on the Chicago-style crust...yum). On Sunday, we lounged around awhile before heading up to Boulder to have a late lunch, window shopping and driving in the mountains. For Brandon's actual birthday we drove up to Allenspark and went ATVing. This was the first time I had ever been on an ATV and I was a little nervous that I would fall off it and break something...I am a pretty clumsy person, so it could happen. I did not fall off and I actually had a fantastic time. There were a couple occasions in which I was a little scared, but overall I enjoyed it. It was a cool day with a few snowflakes and snow on parts of the trail. I think this made it an even better day. For Brandon's birthday dinner we went out for a scrumptious dinner at Joe's Crab Shack where Brandon was humiliated by everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him while he played the "drums". (He had a good time, even if he doesn't want to admit it). It was so nice to have a few days off work and spending time with Brandon and his family.

I am an American

2008-11-06T23:19:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, I voted in my second Presidential Election. This was much different than my last voting experience, because I actually voted the day of the election at a voting booth. Woo Hoo!! The last election I was in college and had to vote by absentee ballot. I thought that it was really cool to go to vote, which I believe makes me an even bigger geek :) Anyway, I got up really early on Tuesday morning, so that I could leave my house by 6:30 A.M. to get to my voting place. I was really lucky and it was just a short walk 3 blocks away from my apartment. I arrived 20 minutes early and was number 9 in line. (During the last election, Denver had really bad lines and issues on voting day, so I thought it best to be an early bird). When the doors finally opened, I was off to vote. But being me, it wasn't without some glitches. First, I only received page 1 of the ballot. I probably would not have noticed this had Amendment 58 not been on the first page. So I had to ask for page 2, which luckily they didn't hassle me at all. Then as I am voting, my pencil breaks. Should I have taken this as a sign? I got a new pencil and finished voting. In and out in 15 minutes. I wore my "I Voted" sticker proudly all day (even out to dinner at Olive Garden with Brandon). Not all the election results went in my favor--I only got 1 of the 3 things/people I wanted, but I will not let this discourage me from voting in the next election for what I believe in. So I am an American and I have a say (good or bad) about how I feel the government is taking us because I did my civic duty and voted.

October

2008-11-01T23:35:00.000-06:00

Well October has come and gone and I feel like I am still trying to keep up. I just don't know where the month went. It has been a very eventful month. At the beginning of the month Brandon and I got moved. So I had to get things unpacked and in its place before my mom, my aunt and his mom showed up a week and a half later. I basically killed myself trying to get as much done as possible and it turned out pretty well but I still have a lot to do. As mentioned, I had an apartment full of visitors which was wonderful. This was the first time for our moms to meet and I think it was a success :) We spent most of the weekend shopping and eating. Poor Charmaine probably had no idea what she got herself into when she agreed to come. This has been an annual event for my mom and aunt since I moved to Denver two years ago. We had a great time and each came away with some good bargains. Charmaine came to Denver bearing a gift for Brandon and I--an OSU Christmas Tree!! I love it and already have it up in my apartment in support of my OSU Cowboy Football team. As I was writing those words, Toby Keith's "Should've Been a Cowboy" came on my radio. For those who are not familiar with OSU tradition, this song is played after every home game (football and basketball) and is our unofficial school song. (I am sure that Toby is not happy about this as he is a huge OU fan). So I am going to take this as a good omen--GO POKES!! Speaking of the Pokes I have spent many of my Saturday's of this month at Old Chicago's in Downtown Denver with my fellow OSU Denver Alums cheering on our Cowboys. We have been very proud of them and have probably run a few people out of the restaurant with our loudness :) It has been great to hang out with Jodi, Chris, and Chip again. We have added a few more people to our table this year and have begun planning our assault on Boulder when OSU play CU on November 15th. I have also had some fun this month. I spent the Friday before Halloween carving pumpkins at Brittany's house. I cannot remember ever carving pumpkins before (I think we painted a few), so I had a lot to learn and my poor pumpkin looked like a 5 year carved it :) Unfortunately, none of our pumpkins survived the warm weather we are having and had all collapsed inside themselves before the Halloween party, this was probably a good thing for mine. Brittany's Halloween Party was great. Everyone had great costumes and was super nice. Brittany and her sisters were great to me and lent me a costume (at 10 am yesterday I did not have one). I was a pirate and Brittany was Young Elvis. Her costume was so good that she was hardly recognizable.

So October has come and went and I know November won't be much better. I leave for Vietnam on the 21st, so I have better get busy getting stuff together!! Hopefully I will be much better at keeping everyone updated.

Florida State of Mind

2008-10-04T23:26:00.000-06:00

I spent about a week in a "Florida State of Mind" at the end of September. This started out as a work trip and ended with a great visit with family. Each year a few Analyst from my department are selected to attend the national conference (NALTA) and this year I was a lucky one!! I was especially excited because it was to be held in Orlando, Florida this year and I have never been there and I really wanted to see Micky. When we found out I was going, Brandon planned to join me out there and we would spend a day at Disney World then travel to Fort Meyers, FL to spend time at my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sandi's house. Unfortunately, our plans did not work out and Brandon had to work and would not be able to make it out and there would be no Disney World for me :(

It ended up being an awesome trip anyways. We ended making it into a girl's only week (with the exception of Elaine's husband, Mike, but he was so sweet and just went with the flow that we will take him anywhere). It started out with a very long 4 hour flight. Good thing Brittany and I sat next to each other because I didn't know if that flight would ever end. Plus there were a good amount a little kids on the flight who enjoyed to scream back and forth. I don't know why I didn't remember to bring the earplugs that Brandon is always giving me when we fly together (I guess I should listen to him more often). But once we landed, we were off and going. As soon as we got checked into the hotel, we had to check into the conference and head to the opening reception. At the reception, you knew that this group was trouble because when a group of women stole our table (with all of purses and stuff laying below) we all started giving them the "evil eye" and Elaine wanted to put them in their place :) When the reception ended we headed to a Mexican Restaurant for Margaritas. Instead of each ordering our own, we decided we would try the "Mug-O-Rita" which was huge and perfect for the 4 of us to share.

The next day the conference started a little too early for all of us, but we made the best of it. We were like a bunch of school girls passing notes. But for the most part we had really good classes over the two days. The only thing that we could complain about was how packed together everything was. It was class after class and then events, so it didn't leave us anytime to sit by the pool and enjoy the beautiful weather. During each of our breaks the pool kept calling us, so it was torture not to get to enjoy it.

Our first night's activity was a Pirate Dinner Theater. It was really cheesy and the food really wasn't great, but we enjoyed ourselves by laughing at the cheesiness and trying to catch the Green Pirate's attention for Brittany. The next night we headed to Downtown Disney so that Tiffany could find purple Micky Mouse ears for her daughter, Kendall. I flew out to Fort Meyer this night, so I had to lug my luggage all around that evening. Downtown Disney is right outside Disney World, so I at least got a taste of it. We had a great time chatting and having a drink before heading to dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Restaurant. I had an excellent Pumpkin Ravioli (makes me want to learn to make my own pasta, but then I think the better of it).

That night I flew out to Fort Meyer's to my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sandi's house. They just built this house and have only lived there a year, so this was my first time visiting. So when I arrived I got a tour of their beautiful house. I was so jealous of her kitchen, it was huge and open with dark wood cabinets, everything I want. The next day we headed up to the club for lunch and then off to the beach. This beach was very different from the beach at Port Aransas in that there really weren't any waves, it was clearer (but more green), and there were sea shells everywhere. On Sunday, it rained so Charlie took me on a tour of his campus (which is so close to the house) and then Sandi and I went shopping and on a tour on the city. It is a nice little city and I loved so many of the little houses. Since I had a mid-afternoon flight home on Monday, Sandi and I did more shopping at the Outlet Mall. I was able to find some good bargains on stuff for me and some Christmas presents. Oh, how I enjoy bargains :)

Overall, I had a great trip to Florida. I do wish it could have been a little longer and Brandon would have been able to join me. Maybe next time.

Life's a Beach

2008-09-08T19:42:00.000-06:00

Another weekend, another trip, another great time. This past weekend Brandon and I spent the weekend with his parents in Port Aransas, Texas. This was basically my first time at the beach (Brandon calls me sheltered for this). Our condo had a great view and the beach was just wonderful. I did learn a few things about the beach:

Salt water is really really salty and tastes disgusting
I am not as coordinated as I thought I was, especially when it comes to trying expend less energy and use the wave to my benefit.
The highest SPF sunblock should be applied every 15 minutes, because I am now a sore lobster :)
The moment I finally caught a wave on the boogie board was awesome and it completely made up for the 5o tries before.
You are never too old to play in the sand and build a sandcastle (or a Sand Sea Turtle)

While we were on our trip I had my 25th Birthday and Don and Charmaine made it really special. They woke me up singing "Happy Birthday" and bringing me breakfast in bed--a girl could get used to that :) Charmaine made me a wonderful Lemon Cake with Cream cheese Lemon icing that she decorated with fresh flowers that she picked from around our Condo. I am trying to savor the piece she sent back to Denver with me. When we got back to San Antonio, we went out for Mexican Food to celebrate which Brandon and I so enjoyed because Colorado just doesn't compare to Texas when it comes to Mexican food.

Seattle

2008-09-02T20:04:00.000-06:00

Brandon and I spent this past Labor Day weekend in Seattle with our friends Chip, Jodi & Chris. I had been wanting to go visit Seattle for a long time and when we found out OSU football would be playing their season opener there, Jodi and I used it as our excuse. Jodi, Chris, Brandon and I all arrived on Thursday night, but by 4 separate flights--could we make anything more complicated? It was a very busy weekend, but it was wonderful and we were able to see quite a bit (though I was wishing it was slightly warmer, but I guess a girl can't have everything.) Our first stop of the trip was eating at Alki Cafe overlooking Puget Sound. This place had a wonderful breakfast and I think Chris and I picked the best breakfast of the bunch...The Cafe Benedict (English Muffin, Crab Cake, Poached Egg, with a Swiss and Asiago Cheese Sauce...Yum!!) Afterward we headed to the beach for some pictures, though unfortunately it was too cold to hop in the water. After all the pictures had been taken, we finally headed to Downtown Seattle to start all the site seeing which I have summarized below:

Friday

Pike Place Market and watching the fish fly!! The Market was so cool and there was so much more than just the fish. My favorite part was all of the flowers. They were everywhere and they were so cheap ($5 for a decent size bouquet). Jodi and I wanted to move there just to be able to have the flowers every week. Sadly, I was unable to convince Brandon to buy me any :(
The Seattle Public Library is a very cool modern building inside and out. While looking around I sometimes forgot that I was inside a library.
Seattle Underground. In 1889, Seattle was destroyed by a fire and had many infrastructure issues. To help ease some of the infrastructure issues, the decided to regrade the city from 45 degrees to 18 degrees. Since it would take time to regrade the city and buildings needed to be rebuilt before hand, Seattle was left with sidewalks and buildings still intact (for the most part) under the city of Seattle. It was really cool to learn some history about the city.

Saturday

OSU vs Washington State @ Qwest Field--OSU Wins!! It was a wonderful game and we were sitting in the first row. It felt slightly like college cheering for OSU. Only having the OSU band there could have made it better.
Walking the Piers--Brandon and I headed down to Elliott Bay and walked along all the piers. We had dinner at Ivar's Fish Bar and ate with a lovely audience of Seagulls. Even, though I am not a big fan of seafood, I have to admit that the Clam Chowder and Fish and Chips were delicious. (Thanks Gretchen for the recommendation!!)
Experience Music Project--This is basically a museum of Music, but it also has an area where you can learn to play different instruments. We spent more time in that area than actually looking through the museum.
Space Needle--I had to see this thing up close, though Brandon and I decided not to go up. I think Brandon was happy that I didn't think it would be worth the $20 a person to go to the top, since he is terrified of heights :) But I was still completely satisfied with just seeing it and taking tons of pictures.

Sunday

Sailing--Brandon and I spent part of Sunday afternoon sailing on Elliott Bay. I think this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We got a beautiful view of the city and it was just very peaceful out there. Brandon was able to steer the boat for a good amount of time and I think he had a great time. Especially when we were on the way back to the hotel and he said that we should just buy a sailboat and live on it. Though when I asked him where we would park the boat he decided that maybe there were a few things to work out still :)

Overall it was a wonderful trip and I wouldn't mind going back. We ate some wonderful food got to experience most of Seattle. Hope you enjoy the pictures, sorry there are so many of the same thing, but I couldn't decided which ones I liked best.

Family

2008-08-19T19:46:00.000-06:00

So this past weekend was all about family for me. I flew to Houston to see my Grandma and attend a baby shower for Baby Rainwater.
My visit with my Grandma was wonderful and I got to find out so many things I never knew about her and my family. She told me about how she met my Grandfather...

Her friend was driving a member of a band to a BBQ and had invited her to join along. When she got out of the car the BBQ organizer greeted her and then called my Grandfather over and asked him to help her get food. My Grandfather replied that he would make sure that she never went hungry for the rest of her life.

We also spent time looking through very old family pictures and what I call her "box of treasures" that included her Wedding Ledger. Which has put me on a scavenger hunt to find the table cloth used at her wedding (which she was the 4th Generation to use).

While I was in Houston, I stayed with Brandon's cousin Chris and his wife Tammi. Tammi is expecting their first child the end of September/beginning of October, so while I was there I was able to join in this celebration by attending the Baby Shower for Baby Rainwater. I really enjoyed the time I spent with them along with the other members of Brandon's family that were at the shower.

I love spending time with family (and those who are technically not family) and I can't wait to make another trip to find out more stories that my Grandma has to share and spend time with everyone.

Blogging for Beginners

2008-08-17T21:00:00.000-06:00

Hello, my name is Hillary and I am new to blogging. So now that I got that out of the way, I guess it is time to get blogging. Many of my friends have blogs as a way to keep their family updated on new additions to their family or on their travels. Since I live so far away from many of my family and friends, I decided to start a blog to share what I am up to in Colorado and as I travel (which will be quite a bit in the next few months). So please enjoy...

RSVP

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Under Construction

The Wedding Party

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Under Construction

The Registries

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Under Construction