Love this kid!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
the apartment
Remember when we got our parking spot because we've lived in our apartment for so long?
We never thought we would live in this apartment for as long as we have. Every year when we would get close to renewing our contract we would think about moving to a bigger place, and we even looked a couple times and got pretty close. But we stayed. We've lived there for as long as we've been married (minus 1 week for the honeymoon). In apartment years, that is a long time.
So, you would expect normal wear and tear but there are some serious things that are happening...
...our kitchen counter is painted (yes painted, I never said this is the White House) and that paint is starting to come off. You would expect it to after almost 4 years of cleaning.
...our guest bathroom sink had a hole in it. It is fixed now (a benefit of apartment living) and my plan was to take a picture of it yesterday when I got home from work, but they had already fixed it. (So at least we have a new sink, right?)
...last night our dryer stopped working. This was the 2nd time it has stopped but this morning it started again. Thank goodness.
OUR KITCHEN COUNTERS ARE COMING OFF...
OUR SINKS HAVE HOLES IN THEM...
OUR PETS HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!!!!!!
And I realize I've posted without pictures for a long time now and I promise to have some pictures soon. This weekend is Relay for Life at Baylor and I'm planning on bringing my camera.
We never thought we would live in this apartment for as long as we have. Every year when we would get close to renewing our contract we would think about moving to a bigger place, and we even looked a couple times and got pretty close. But we stayed. We've lived there for as long as we've been married (minus 1 week for the honeymoon). In apartment years, that is a long time.
So, you would expect normal wear and tear but there are some serious things that are happening...
...our kitchen counter is painted (yes painted, I never said this is the White House) and that paint is starting to come off. You would expect it to after almost 4 years of cleaning.
...our guest bathroom sink had a hole in it. It is fixed now (a benefit of apartment living) and my plan was to take a picture of it yesterday when I got home from work, but they had already fixed it. (So at least we have a new sink, right?)
...last night our dryer stopped working. This was the 2nd time it has stopped but this morning it started again. Thank goodness.
OUR KITCHEN COUNTERS ARE COMING OFF...
OUR SINKS HAVE HOLES IN THEM...
OUR PETS HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!!!!!!
And I realize I've posted without pictures for a long time now and I promise to have some pictures soon. This weekend is Relay for Life at Baylor and I'm planning on bringing my camera.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
people watching
During my travels over Spring Break I was in 3 different airports {DFW, D.C., Raleigh/Durham} and I got to do plenty of people watching. I love people watching. It is always fun to see the interactions of people who are traveling and wondering where they are going and why. I also find out some things about myself at airports. Here are some of my airport thoughts, notes about people watching and other random bits.
I saw a young military man dressed in camo.. It gives me chills to think that he was on his way home to his family.
On my flight from DFW to D.C. our pilot was an older male. He had gray hair and was balding but not too gray or balding or old. It was comforting. You could see his wisdom and experience.
and one of the flight attendants on that flight looked just like Jesse Jackson. seriously.
My Tiffany’s bracelet always sets off metal detectors in airports.
As I was sitting at my gate in the D.C. airport (looking at the capitol building and Washington Monument no less) a woman asked (and I use the word “ask” lightly) her husband to get her a Diet Coke. He came back with a Diet Pepsi and she was not happy about it…she let him know it too…very loudly.
Sitting at the gate in Raleigh there was a man I could see who was sitting at a bar enjoying a beer. He was dressed in a suit so I assumed he was a business man. He casually stands up and turns around to look at his gate and realizes that they have already boarded. He quickly runs back to his seat at the bar, downs his beer (he has about ¾ of the beer left) and takes off running towards his gate, Home Alone style.
When I got on the plane for one of my flights one of the first people I noticed was a woman who was already clutching the white complimentary “barf bag.” I sat 3 rows behind her and thankfully I don’t think she used it.
And there may or may not have been a woman sitting in the seats across the aisle from me who may or many not have been breast feeding her 2 year old son who may or may not have asked for "more." The son was able to count to 10, ask the flight attendant for juice, and eat a crunchy granola bar, raisins, pretzels and gold fish. Now, I'm no mommy but is that too old? And she didn't even have a "hooter hider." At the gate before we boarded the plane he was also the kid who was attached to mommy with a child leash. They try and make those things cute by putting an animal head on them.
When traveling alone, do you think it is better to sit in the window or aisle? I had a window seat on all of my flights. And coming home there wasn’t anyone next to me. It was wonderful.
The Sky Mall Magazine…does anyone really buy anything from there? And who comes up with that stuff?
Do you have any fun/random/weird/interesting experiences people watching or traveling?
I saw a young military man dressed in camo.. It gives me chills to think that he was on his way home to his family.
On my flight from DFW to D.C. our pilot was an older male. He had gray hair and was balding but not too gray or balding or old. It was comforting. You could see his wisdom and experience.
and one of the flight attendants on that flight looked just like Jesse Jackson. seriously.
My Tiffany’s bracelet always sets off metal detectors in airports.
As I was sitting at my gate in the D.C. airport (looking at the capitol building and Washington Monument no less) a woman asked (and I use the word “ask” lightly) her husband to get her a Diet Coke. He came back with a Diet Pepsi and she was not happy about it…she let him know it too…very loudly.
Sitting at the gate in Raleigh there was a man I could see who was sitting at a bar enjoying a beer. He was dressed in a suit so I assumed he was a business man. He casually stands up and turns around to look at his gate and realizes that they have already boarded. He quickly runs back to his seat at the bar, downs his beer (he has about ¾ of the beer left) and takes off running towards his gate, Home Alone style.
When I got on the plane for one of my flights one of the first people I noticed was a woman who was already clutching the white complimentary “barf bag.” I sat 3 rows behind her and thankfully I don’t think she used it.
And there may or may not have been a woman sitting in the seats across the aisle from me who may or many not have been breast feeding her 2 year old son who may or may not have asked for "more." The son was able to count to 10, ask the flight attendant for juice, and eat a crunchy granola bar, raisins, pretzels and gold fish. Now, I'm no mommy but is that too old? And she didn't even have a "hooter hider." At the gate before we boarded the plane he was also the kid who was attached to mommy with a child leash. They try and make those things cute by putting an animal head on them.
When traveling alone, do you think it is better to sit in the window or aisle? I had a window seat on all of my flights. And coming home there wasn’t anyone next to me. It was wonderful.
The Sky Mall Magazine…does anyone really buy anything from there? And who comes up with that stuff?
Do you have any fun/random/weird/interesting experiences people watching or traveling?
Monday, March 23, 2009
Eating and Shopping in The Triangle
seriously..eating and shopping?
Can life be better than that?
In the words of Brian Regan, "I submit that it cannot."
Beth took me on a tour of "The Triangle" as they call it and all of her favorite places which happen to all be places where you eat a ton of food and then look at amazing clothes that cost too much. It was perfect! We had a fabulous time talking, eating and shopping. We laughed a lot too. Mostly at the fact that we had about 5 conversations going on at the same time between the 2 of us. Despite the fact that we talk/email everyday we still had a lot of catching up to do.
I arrived in Raleigh on Thursday around 2 and after a 3 minute hug we hurried to her car as soon as possible because we had to squeeze in a meal before dinner that night. You will soon notice that we didn't not have enough meal time to eat at all the fantastic restaurants Beth wanted me to experience. So we went to this little sandwich shop and we each had a bowl of soup and a sweet potato biscuit.
We spent a couple hours shopping in a very cute area in Cary, and they even had a peanut shop. Beth got Randy some chocolate covered almonds and I got John some chocolate covered peanuts...his favorite.
That night we went to dinner at Twisted Fork. It was delicious! I had crab cakes and they were cooked perfectly. After dinner we went to a mall to do some more shopping because what else is there to do between meals? I bought a cute top at Ann Taylor Loft and then we spent the rest of our time at Wet Seal while Beth tried on 80s prom attire for a bachelorette party. Who knew that you could still buy new 80s fashions? We ended Thursday night by watching The Office and Grey's Anatomy.
Friday we slept in and headed to Chapel Hill. Did I mention that North Carolina is gorgeous? Well it is. Even through all the rain! Did I mention it rained the whole time I was there? Well it did. But that didn't stop the eating and shopping. Nothing could.
Chapel Hill is the home of A Southern Season which is a fabulous kitchen/food mecca. I can't even tell you how amazing this place is. We had lunch at a little restaurant that is attached to A Southern Season called Weather Vane and it was incredible. Knowing how delicious the food was I knew the store would be equally as fabulous. I had a fried green tomato BLT and Beth had an open face sandwich with chicken, mushrooms, caramelized onions and fontina. So good. I'd never had a friend green tomato and putting it on a BLT...well, it was a party for my taste buds.
A Southern Season is not a good place to go if you are not wanting to spend any money. You really can't leave without buying something. And I bought several somethings. After at least 2 hours shopping in A Southern Season we ventured to other parts of the mall. We headed back to downtown Raleigh and went to another cute shop and then ended our afternoon at a cupcake place where I had a red velvet cupcake and Beth had a grasshopper cupcake and we each had a nice hot cup of coffee. Perfect for a rainy afternoon.
After our very full day of shopping we decided to order some pizza to go from a very trendy local pizza place and we rented a girly movie and relaxed at home. It was the perfect ending to a great trip!
Oh, and I didn't have my camera with me and Beth was too busy showing me food to eat and things to buy that we don't have any evidence from the trip. But the cameras probably would have gotten food on them anyway.
Can life be better than that?
In the words of Brian Regan, "I submit that it cannot."
Beth took me on a tour of "The Triangle" as they call it and all of her favorite places which happen to all be places where you eat a ton of food and then look at amazing clothes that cost too much. It was perfect! We had a fabulous time talking, eating and shopping. We laughed a lot too. Mostly at the fact that we had about 5 conversations going on at the same time between the 2 of us. Despite the fact that we talk/email everyday we still had a lot of catching up to do.
I arrived in Raleigh on Thursday around 2 and after a 3 minute hug we hurried to her car as soon as possible because we had to squeeze in a meal before dinner that night. You will soon notice that we didn't not have enough meal time to eat at all the fantastic restaurants Beth wanted me to experience. So we went to this little sandwich shop and we each had a bowl of soup and a sweet potato biscuit.
We spent a couple hours shopping in a very cute area in Cary, and they even had a peanut shop. Beth got Randy some chocolate covered almonds and I got John some chocolate covered peanuts...his favorite.
That night we went to dinner at Twisted Fork. It was delicious! I had crab cakes and they were cooked perfectly. After dinner we went to a mall to do some more shopping because what else is there to do between meals? I bought a cute top at Ann Taylor Loft and then we spent the rest of our time at Wet Seal while Beth tried on 80s prom attire for a bachelorette party. Who knew that you could still buy new 80s fashions? We ended Thursday night by watching The Office and Grey's Anatomy.
Friday we slept in and headed to Chapel Hill. Did I mention that North Carolina is gorgeous? Well it is. Even through all the rain! Did I mention it rained the whole time I was there? Well it did. But that didn't stop the eating and shopping. Nothing could.
Chapel Hill is the home of A Southern Season which is a fabulous kitchen/food mecca. I can't even tell you how amazing this place is. We had lunch at a little restaurant that is attached to A Southern Season called Weather Vane and it was incredible. Knowing how delicious the food was I knew the store would be equally as fabulous. I had a fried green tomato BLT and Beth had an open face sandwich with chicken, mushrooms, caramelized onions and fontina. So good. I'd never had a friend green tomato and putting it on a BLT...well, it was a party for my taste buds.
A Southern Season is not a good place to go if you are not wanting to spend any money. You really can't leave without buying something. And I bought several somethings. After at least 2 hours shopping in A Southern Season we ventured to other parts of the mall. We headed back to downtown Raleigh and went to another cute shop and then ended our afternoon at a cupcake place where I had a red velvet cupcake and Beth had a grasshopper cupcake and we each had a nice hot cup of coffee. Perfect for a rainy afternoon.
After our very full day of shopping we decided to order some pizza to go from a very trendy local pizza place and we rented a girly movie and relaxed at home. It was the perfect ending to a great trip!
Oh, and I didn't have my camera with me and Beth was too busy showing me food to eat and things to buy that we don't have any evidence from the trip. But the cameras probably would have gotten food on them anyway.
Friday, March 20, 2009
friday musings
Spring is here! I watched the Today Show this morning and saw the anchors anxiously doing a countdown to spring. It was pretty thrilling. It does make me excited to go out and start an herb container garden. We had one a couple years ago complete with tomatoes, onions and herbs and last year had basil only. I'm thinking this year will be just herbs. I think those do the best in containers on an apartment porch.
Anyone see Leno last night? John and I were pretty excited about seeing President Obama make an appearance. We are really big fans of Leno. If we were going to be a guest on a late night show it would definitely be Leno and if we were to go to a show it would definitely be Leno's. (When I asked John these questions last night he looked at me as he answered "Leno" both times like, duh..would there even be another answer?) We like Leno. We love Leno. We will miss Leno. We were thrilled that Leno got to be the first late night show to host a sitting President. I was pretty tired last night and made it through most of President Obama's time on the show and as I was getting heavy eyed John encouraged me to stay awake because some day our children will learn in history class about this historical moment and do I want to have to tell them that I fell asleep because I was too tired? Point taken. I stayed awake. But we did cringe when President Obama made the comment about the Special Olympics. Yikes. They quickly recovered and moved on, but still..yikes.
My heart has really been sad the past couple of days for Natasha Richardson and her family. She seemed to have it together. Family. Career. It is so so sad and my heart goes out to her family.
I burned my thumb on my flat iron this morning and it is getting pretty red. It hurts.
I am working on my post about my trip to go see Beth last week. Maybe tonight or tomorrow.
Happy Friday! Happy Spring!
Anyone see Leno last night? John and I were pretty excited about seeing President Obama make an appearance. We are really big fans of Leno. If we were going to be a guest on a late night show it would definitely be Leno and if we were to go to a show it would definitely be Leno's. (When I asked John these questions last night he looked at me as he answered "Leno" both times like, duh..would there even be another answer?) We like Leno. We love Leno. We will miss Leno. We were thrilled that Leno got to be the first late night show to host a sitting President. I was pretty tired last night and made it through most of President Obama's time on the show and as I was getting heavy eyed John encouraged me to stay awake because some day our children will learn in history class about this historical moment and do I want to have to tell them that I fell asleep because I was too tired? Point taken. I stayed awake. But we did cringe when President Obama made the comment about the Special Olympics. Yikes. They quickly recovered and moved on, but still..yikes.
My heart has really been sad the past couple of days for Natasha Richardson and her family. She seemed to have it together. Family. Career. It is so so sad and my heart goes out to her family.
I burned my thumb on my flat iron this morning and it is getting pretty red. It hurts.
I am working on my post about my trip to go see Beth last week. Maybe tonight or tomorrow.
Happy Friday! Happy Spring!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
happy people dancing on planet earth
This video is pretty incredible. I can't believe all the places he has been.
and I apologize for the title of the video.
and I apologize for the title of the video.
the hole-in-the-wall, the drive-in, and the parks
First of all, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Are you wearing your green today?
Ok, on to SPRING BREAK 2009! What a fantastic week of relaxing, getting a few things done around the house, visiting friends and spending some Q.T. with my husband.
{Disclaimer: Please note that south beach didn't exist too much last week but I am back on track now. I must preface that before I post all of my spring break adventures.}
The first Friday night of spring break we went to dinner at one of our favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants here in Waco...Kitoks. We feasted on Oriental Fries and Lip Lockers {fries that are mixed with onions, carrots and maybe some other veggies, battered and then deep fried and cheeseburgers...seriously good} and then went to Target to get some pictures developed and walked around a bit. We were going to go to a late movie, but it was too late and we are getting old. We watched a couple episodes of 24 that were in the DVR and it was a fabulous night.
Saturday we slept in, ran some errands and got ready for our night at the drive-in with the Broaddus'. I made some queso {we kept it warm in the crock pot that was plugged into the car} and cookies and we met up with Patrick and Courtney and went to the drive-in to see Madea Goes to Jail. It was crazy windy that night which made it very cold so we left after the first movie. It was such a fun night with good friends.
Sunday was probably one of my favorite days of spring break. I think this was probably the only Sunday John has taken off and we were in Waco. We slept in and went to church. It was such a nice treat to go to church and not have any responsibilities. After lunch {at Luby's..one of John's favorites} we changed clothes, went to Academy to buy a kite and headed to Cameron Park for an afternoon of relaxation. It took less than 10 minutes to realize that there was zero wind on Sunday afternoon and the kite wouldn't fly. We spent a few hours laying on a blanket, reading and talking. Later that evening we went to Hewitt Park with Patrick and Courtney and played bocce ball for a couple hours. It was the best Sunday!
And we made it home just in time for Brothers & Sisters.
Ok, on to SPRING BREAK 2009! What a fantastic week of relaxing, getting a few things done around the house, visiting friends and spending some Q.T. with my husband.
{Disclaimer: Please note that south beach didn't exist too much last week but I am back on track now. I must preface that before I post all of my spring break adventures.}
The first Friday night of spring break we went to dinner at one of our favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants here in Waco...Kitoks. We feasted on Oriental Fries and Lip Lockers {fries that are mixed with onions, carrots and maybe some other veggies, battered and then deep fried and cheeseburgers...seriously good} and then went to Target to get some pictures developed and walked around a bit. We were going to go to a late movie, but it was too late and we are getting old. We watched a couple episodes of 24 that were in the DVR and it was a fabulous night.
Saturday we slept in, ran some errands and got ready for our night at the drive-in with the Broaddus'. I made some queso {we kept it warm in the crock pot that was plugged into the car} and cookies and we met up with Patrick and Courtney and went to the drive-in to see Madea Goes to Jail. It was crazy windy that night which made it very cold so we left after the first movie. It was such a fun night with good friends.
Sunday was probably one of my favorite days of spring break. I think this was probably the only Sunday John has taken off and we were in Waco. We slept in and went to church. It was such a nice treat to go to church and not have any responsibilities. After lunch {at Luby's..one of John's favorites} we changed clothes, went to Academy to buy a kite and headed to Cameron Park for an afternoon of relaxation. It took less than 10 minutes to realize that there was zero wind on Sunday afternoon and the kite wouldn't fly. We spent a few hours laying on a blanket, reading and talking. Later that evening we went to Hewitt Park with Patrick and Courtney and played bocce ball for a couple hours. It was the best Sunday!
And we made it home just in time for Brothers & Sisters.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Woods Fam will soon welcome a new addition!!
We are so happy to announce the newest part of the Woods Fam...
Sorry, when you don't have kids and you get a note on your apartment door where you have lived for 3 1/2 years anything can be exciting.
But we are excited! We get our very own reserved parking spot but unfortunately it is only one spot. John has graciously said that it will be mine.
He's sweet like that.
Tonight we went to dinner and a movie with Patrick and Courtney and we "announced" our news to them. I really wish I had a video camera of Courtney's face before she knew what we were really announcing.
Sorry, Court!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Friday Thoughts
Praise the Lord it is Friday! This week has dragged and I couldn't be more excited that today is Friday because that means next week is Spring Break! I work at a place {Baylor} where the students are off for Spring Break but the university is still open! So I've taken the whole week off and I'm looking forward to my break and being able to spend some time with my husband {more on him in a second} and some sweet friends.
So, speaking of John...he has been a champ this semester! He is crazy busy but is working so hard and is about 2 months away from graduation! If you do the math he's done 4 years of undergrad at Baylor and is finishing up his 4th year of grad school at Baylor. {8 years of school at Baylor!} He's crazy and I love him!
OK, so for those of you who have asked. I've been doing the South Beach Diet. I mostly eat at home and bring my lunch to work, but when I go out or don't bring my lunch I can find something to eat pretty much anywhere I go. I don't have to worry about counting calories or points. The first 2 weeks are the hardest part and really it's only the first few days when you have to get used to giving up the sugar, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc. but you get used to and stop craving it. Plus there are so many online tools now and the food list of what you can eat is pretty extensive.
And, if I am going to be completely honest here I will say that I have not exercised enough. I have gone to the gym a few times at the very beginning but I have since cancelled my gym membership. I have done some walking and got the 30 Day Shred DVD that I did for a couple weeks. But lately I haven't been working out or exercising as much as I should and I'm going to use Spring Break to get back on track.
So there you have it. If you have diet/eating healthy/working out/exercising tips please share!
Happy Friday and Happy Spring Break to those who are off!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
resolution update
Can it really already be March? Really? I am looking forward to spring though. And Spring Break...only a few more work days!
Anyway, back in January I posted about my New Year's resolution to loose weight and read more. (Specifically, read at least 1 book a month.)
Well, I'm here to tell you about how I'm doing so far. The book thing took off great. I finished one book in January (that I started in December) and read Ana's Story which was very compelling. Let's just say that February wasn't as successful. I started reading Chasing Harry Winston and I'm going to be honest here and say that I haven't finished it yet. My goal is to finish it this week. It's not like it is a deep story line. I should be able to do it. So I'll finish that this month and read another book. But I haven't given up on this resolution yet!
My other resolution was to loose weight. I can happily report that as of today I have lost 20 pounds! This really hasn't been hard at all and I haven't felt deprived. I'm really excited and I'm really looking forward to the next 20!
PS: Is anyone else thinking that Jason Mesnick is a total turd? I "knew" what was supposed to happen but was still shocked and I really felt like the whole thing was really fake acting.
Anyway, back in January I posted about my New Year's resolution to loose weight and read more. (Specifically, read at least 1 book a month.)
Well, I'm here to tell you about how I'm doing so far. The book thing took off great. I finished one book in January (that I started in December) and read Ana's Story which was very compelling. Let's just say that February wasn't as successful. I started reading Chasing Harry Winston and I'm going to be honest here and say that I haven't finished it yet. My goal is to finish it this week. It's not like it is a deep story line. I should be able to do it. So I'll finish that this month and read another book. But I haven't given up on this resolution yet!
My other resolution was to loose weight. I can happily report that as of today I have lost 20 pounds! This really hasn't been hard at all and I haven't felt deprived. I'm really excited and I'm really looking forward to the next 20!
PS: Is anyone else thinking that Jason Mesnick is a total turd? I "knew" what was supposed to happen but was still shocked and I really felt like the whole thing was really fake acting.
Monday, March 2, 2009
here we go...
We are moments away from the big finale. Let's see if RS {Reality Steve} was right.
This sure is a guilty pleasure of mine.
PS: I love his paisley tie. Have I mentioned before that I LOVE paisley? It's true.
This sure is a guilty pleasure of mine.
PS: I love his paisley tie. Have I mentioned before that I LOVE paisley? It's true.
