The Heffley Hut

Home Sweet Home

2011-03-31T13:56:00.000-07:00

How has it been literally an entire month since I've updated my blog? I'm stinking at this whole "I'll update the blog more often" resolution. I have a big update with photos, but don't have time for that now, just as a teaser in includes the patio/deck that we built ourselves, our home improvement updates, my new vegetable and herb garden, and my trip to Orlando with Morgan to see Justin. So delightful! Well, the Orlando trip won't be updated until I get the pics from Justin or Morgan, who seem to be taking their sweet time getting the pics to me. Also, you might remember I'm still waiting to get pics from Annie from our trip to the rodeo in January (Annie, feel the pressure yet?)! This exciting update has no pictures, but BIG NEWS! My mom and dad bought a house in Fort Worth!!!!!!!!!!! It is less than 15 minutes from our house, and I couldn't be more excited! Their house in Lubbock sold in less than 10 days on the market! Shocking. Their house in LBK is awesome, we just weren't prepared for it sell so quickly. So, they had to move quickly to find a house, but they landed on the right one here!! So fun! I seriously cannot wait for my parents to move here so we can all hang out. My parents rock. I'll update with pictures soon. P.S. Andrew's aunt Julie is coming over for a Happy Hour today, she and her hubs (Andrew's uncle, duh) came last week and we had so much fun! She is a super cool lady!

International Night!

2011-03-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

Alright - so this is a pre-post, we'll see how the post-post goes....

Andrew is in training right now for an airplane he has flown for over a year now - kind of ridiculous, but whatevs b/c that means he is home every night for dinner with your's truly! Anyway - he has befriended the 3 other guys in training with him for the past week - especially this guy Mathias from Germany. Well, a few days ago Mathias brought Andrew some cigars b/c they had talked about cigars....so today Andrew brought Mathias a bottle of Llano Cabernet Shiraz (our go-to). Mathias loved it - mentioned that all guys should come to his hotel to try the wine tonight since they ended ground training today. My husband gives me a call to see if he can just invite them all over for dinner at our house, of course I said yes, so we are now roped in for a steak night for 7!

I'm sure some of you are doing the math, and 3 plus Andrew, plus me does not 7 make. Well, we had invited our friend Dick who invited his friend Armando over too. So - looks like I'm the only hen in the house tonight with an international schmorgasboard of men. Andrew - we know where he's from, Dick's from here too, but Armando (Mexico), Zach (Kansas City Missouri), Mathias (Germany) and Rayner (Guatamala). Let's hope everyone eats STEAK and drinks wine b/c that's about all we have tonight!!! I'll let you know how it goes - menu below!

Apps - assorted cheeses, crudites, etc.
Salad - brussel sprout, arugula and endive salad. Sounds weird, but get over it, it's delicious and I'm asked for the recipe everytime I make it!
Entree - Steakhouse Ribeyes, sweet corn lasagna (it's Giada's recipe, also incredible)
Dessert - some chocolate deliciousness that Dick is bringing and angel food cake.

Mouth watering yet? Let's see how this goes - hopefully people don't go back to their hometown talking about how horrible the food is in FW!

Movin on down....to the East Side!

2011-02-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been waiting to receive photos from sweet Annie from our awesome outing at the Austin rodeo. Her and Austin say they read this blog, so maybe this will peer pressure them to send them this way and I can get going on a blog about the FW rodeo last weekend!

In the meantime - I had a wonderful weekend this weekend in Fort Worth! My parents came in from Lubbuttocks on Thursday night to spend the weekend and look for houses in FW. HURRAH! Kindyle, because she's awesome, took the day Friday showing them around while I was kicking off an event at one of my schools. While they were tooling around cowtown, turns out they found a jewel! Yes, they found a house the really like - and it is only about 10 minutes from our house!!! I'm BEYOND excited, and they are thinking about putting in an offer on the house. It is awesome and it is on Mary's Creek - isn't that funny, our home is on Mary's Lane, and they have a house they like on Marys Creek! Gotta love the Mary's in cowtown! So, everyone keep fingers crossed that things work out - and that my parent's house in LBK sells. Anyone looking for a great house in LBK?

We also had fun just hanging out in Fort Worth! One fun thing - mom went with me to brunch this morning with cousins Becca, Jenny and their mom Tara. It was a BLAST! Becca and Jenny are Andrew's 3rd cousins or something like that, but we are all really close. We are secretly hoping our moms end up bffs b/c they both awesome. I think I've mentioned brunch at Taverna on here before, as it turns out the manager has now taken to hugging me when we come in. Score, it better get us some free stuff!! :) Gotta love a great weekend!

Also, tomorrow Andrew and I are going with Les and Kindyle to Nonna Tata's for Vday dinner!! I'm beyond excited! Nona's is one of my favs, but A kind of hates it....he loves it, just won't admit it. Anyway, Les pulled an impossible and got us reservations there a few weeks ago (I say impossible b/c it seats about 20 people and they don't take reservations) and I couldn't be more excited. I promised to bring a camera this time so this blog will actually have some appeal with pics and such!

Hope everyone has a happy vday!

P.S. I have some awesome schools that are doing Jump Rope for Heart, some of them are really low income and the kids try and raise $$ the best that they can, but can't always raise what they want to. If anyone wants to donate to the American Heart Association, let me know and I'll get you to donate through a kiddo that's really trying so they feel like they're making a difference. It means the world to them.

Pantry Challenge Winner!

2011-01-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Booya pantry, I win! So, I am looking at what I can do for dinner tonight. After working out with my trainer and being home with the pups I really didn't feel like going out again to get something. So, that left it to take out or my pantry. Since I had pizza last night with Les and Kindyle, awesome time btw, I wasn't super for take out.

So, I had pasta, a can of diced tomotoes, mushrooms, goat cheese, wine and garlic. I made gnochi with tomato, mushroom and goat cheese sauce. With a side of green beans! And it is DELISH! Too bad I wasn't thinking it'd be that good, so I was paying too much attention to what I was putting in the mix. It is to die for! It's a shame Andrew's been on a trip all week, he would love himself some yummy gnocchi, he can have some when he gets home - if he's lucky!

Brunch!

2011-01-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

So - I know that for many brunch is just a girls thing. It was for me forever actually - and occasionally the ladies will get together for a yummy brunch. However, the gals have been busy lately and otherwise engaged, BUT turns out I have a hubby who LOVES brunch. Yes, you read that right, Andrew LOVES brunch. What a lady. kidding.

We tend to go to Taverna for brunch, because it is just yummy and they have $1 bellini's and mimosas. I LOVE our brunches together, and lately we've been able to do brunch almost every Sunday for about a month. It is so much fun sitting with Andrew and our bellinis and just catching up. So lucky for that man! Also, the owner now knows us - so that's fun! So, if you have a hankering for some breakfast/lunch food on a Sunday, come to Taverna and join me and Andrew. I'll even splurge and buy you a $1 bellini, that's right - high roller!

Two more - to tango!

2011-01-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Um, did I seriously forget in my top ten list of 2010 two of my favorite things that happened - yes. Do I have pictures of those two things - UM YEEEEEES! I also want to say, I just love Sara for commenting on the blog, it makes me feel like people read it - even if the people is just you, whatevs, you commented and I'm LOVING it! I'll get you pics of the things you wanted soon.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand - I forgot my 10 year high school reunion and Justin's visit from Orlando! What?!! How could I? I don't know, seriously, I don't. However, the forgetfulness to include the top 10 makes it where they each get a special note!

11. High school reunion - I was able to come home to Lubbock for an AMAZING high school reunion with my besties. Andrew had to fly, but let's be real honest, he wasn't heartbroken he didn't have to sit there and hear us tell stories about high school - never the less, he was missed by me! Anyway - the reunion part was fine, but the stellar part was hanging out with Tawny, Morgan, Justin and Whitney! We seriously transported back to the late 90's. It is such a blessing that I have been able to stay close to my high school friends, and I love that we have all grown into these adults, but when we get together we all melt into these little teenagers that thinking the weirdest things are funny! I seriously had an amazing group of friends in high school that help shape who I am today, and then to reconnect (Mo and Whit live in LBK, I live in FW, Tawny lives in LA, and Justin lives in Orlando) physically it was just unbeatable! I love it! Here are some pics!

Tawny, Reese(Justin's adorable niece) and I under our Top Plainsmen thingy Tawny and Morgan reliving Dance Gallery Days

The five of us at Manna - yum yum

We love each other
We love meeting our friends at Taco Villa
All of us hanging at the best winery ever - Llano Estacado!

Ok - then there was Justin's visit! What a delight! Justin has visited us twice since we've been married. This was his first time to see our house, and unfortunately Andrew had to fly almost the entire time he was here. Boo. But whatevs, we went to the botanical garden where Justin geeked out, and apparently the only place I took my camera. We had friends over for a pizza party dinner, then ended up going out to karaoke. Just so you know, I have a HUGE fear of singing in public, but for some reason when Justin is around, I'll do some karaoke. We may have been booed off the stage, but WHATEVS, we thought we rocked it! Justin also rode with me on my trips to schools one day, he was my good luck charm!

J and I at botanic gardens - there are a lot more of us seperately, but this is one of the only ones together! So there - it was also 108 that day, and I wanted to pass out. The things I do for plant boy.

I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

2011-01-17T13:33:00.001-08:00

Ok - after almost a year off, I'm back to the blogging world! I'm going to be much better in 2011, I just have a feeling! I'm sure the 3 people who read this are thrilled...well, if they even read it anymore! There is absolutely too much to catch up since I last blog, so I'll go from this point forward.

However, below is my top ten list of 2010

Andrew and I bought our first home - yeah, it's awesome
My cousin, who was diagnosed with stage 4 esophogial cancer and given a VERY grim diagnosis/prognosis has been getting some great news so far - he is actually doing an INCREDIBLE job thus far and is getting healthier by the day. Praise God!
Mom, Dad, Andrew and I went to the wine country in October - it was absolutely AMAZING...there is no topping wine country in October! I just love the vacations we have been able to take with my parents - so fun!
I have the most incredible job ever! No seriously. I LOVE working for the Heart Association, love being in schools and love my coworkers
On the same note - I had a summer-esq vacation due to said job - holla!
Andrew is doing a phenomenal job at Executive Air Share, and he even got promoted to Pilot in Command - I've got a HOT pilot husband - holla!
My parents told me they are going to look for houses in Fort Worth - wahoooooo!
I lost 10 lbs in 2010, and going for WAY more in 2011
I went to a Michael Buble concert with Michelle! OMG - seriously, how does he sound better live than on the cd?!?! AMAZING.
Andrew and I have been able to completely remodel our office and our garage...I kind of feel like we should be on HGTV or something. I mean really, if you know someone there, you should probably let them know about us. haha.

Ok - miss catching yall up, miss catching up with yall. And I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

St. Louis/Blake and Stacey's Wedding

2010-04-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Long time coming...

One month ago I met my parents in St. Louis for little Blake Williamson's wedding to Stacey. It was just a gorgeous wedding, I was so amazed at the event space, it was beautiful! It was also a TON of fun to tour around St. Louis with my parents and Laura Kirkpatrick.

Of course there was TONS of dancing at this wedding...Blake is a SUPER dancer, and I found out, so is Stacey. So we had a splendid time living it up, I was just sad Andrew wasn't there to dance like crazy with us. We were grossly sweaty by the end, but I think that just shows what a fantastic evening it was!!!

One fun thing that happened: my parents dropped me off at the airport and I'm going through the halacious security line and I hear someone shouting my name. It was the newleyweds themselves!! Turns out they were on my flight to Dallas before they headed to my favorite country, Costa Rica! It was great getting a little one-on-one with the newlyweds!! I will try to get the entire slew of wedding pictures up somewhere, but for now these will have to do.

My Parents and I at rehearsal dinner

The Arch

Budweiser Tour

Event Space...in my favorite color no less!

The wonderful couple

Sweaty Lindsy and I...told you there was a lot of dancing!

JUMP! For my love...

2010-03-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

I HAVE A NEW JOB!!! Well, some of you may know this, but I am leaving BRIT for a position with the American Heart Association! I will be doing the Jump Rope for Heart/Hoops for Heart programs in Tarrant, Cooke and Wichita Counties!!

I totally remember doing Jump Rope for Heart when I was in elementary school, and I ABSOLUTELY loved the program, who would have thought years down the road I would be working for them?!?! I will basically be working out of my car, as I get to travel around to schools and visit with PE teachers and principals. sooooo fun!

It has truly been a blessing this past month as prayers for Andrew's and my jobs have been fulfilled. Andrew was put on full-time with Executive Air Share at the beginning of the month, and I will begin work with AHA at the end of the month!! Hurrah!

P.S. I will be posting pictures from this past weekend in St. Louis for Blake and Stacey's wedding soon, such a blast!!!

P.P.S. Happy 28th birthday to Lindsy, my little leprechaun bestie!

Aw, friends award!!!

2010-03-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

Ok - so I LOVE checking on all of the blogs I have on my list! Well, I went to check yesterday afternoon and sweet Meagan Hamblen (Bluebonnets and Blue Bell, isn't that the cutest name?) had tagged me in a friend award blog post!

With this little post I have to name 10 things that make me happy, and then tag some blog friends as well. Apparently you are supposed to name 10 blogs or something, but as stated previously, I don't have a TON of blog friends, so I will tag, but it won't be 10. I love you though, and I only put the ones I love on the blog list!!

1. Having my husband on a weekend has now made it all the way up to number 1, b/c it is SUCH rare occurrence now that he is full time with Executive Air Share. 2. To tack on to that last one, Andrew and I are going to my favorite city in the world - Austin, TX - this weekend to celebrate sweet Baby Beicker's impending arrival!3. Hanging with my parents, and seeing them, plus my best friend Lindsy and her husband next weekend at her brother's wedding in St. Louis!4. Stealing this from Meg, but it is SOOOOOO very true in my life. The Winter Olympics are over, regular TV is on, and tomorrow we get to see "The Office Baby"!!!!!!
5. That my husband just got put full time on his flying job, and we can finally start looking for houses!!! He is such a rockstar!

6. Four Vines Naked Chardonnay! So, maybe you're alchy if you put wine in your top 10, but quite frankly this is AWESOME wine! It wins at every competition I take it to, and it is less than $12. 7. That my dear friend Suzanne had a successful, though very long, labor and delivery, and now we can celebrate sweet baby June's birth!

8. That my other dear friend Jennifer got engaged to her amazing boyfriend Ben recently, and they have asked me to be a bridesmaid in the their wedding! (yes, I know the picture below CLEARLY shows my ghost white skin, as Suzanne would say)
9. That I have ONE piece of frozen chocolate pie left in my refrigerator, and I get to eat it when I get home from work!

10. Michelle got us tickets to see Michael Buble here in DFW for June...CANNOT wait for that little diddy!!And now to tag my blog friends in this fun award:
Sara
Suzanne
Denae
Abby
Monica
Whitney
Sean and Julie
Kenley
Rebecca

Parents

2010-02-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

I know that most people think this, but I have the BEST parents in the world! Andrew has been flying a TON lately, and it seems that it is always on weekends. Which of course is when everyone else wants to fly, so makes sense, but makes me a weekend widow. Anyway, my parents came down this weekend to spend time with me and keep me company this weekend. Sidenote: Andrew is in Las Vegas this weekend, so fun, and we tried to find a last minute flight out for me to join him, but it didn't work. boo. My parents and I had a BLAST doing some new things in Fort Worth, well, new to me at least. Of course I forgot to bring my camera. However, if you live in FW and ever feel like buying some nuts - GO to the Vending Nut Company on Montgomery. It is local, they have great prices, and it is a really neat little store. Then we headed to the Ridgmar Farmer's Market, kind of a dud b/c they were remodeling. Then of course we took our rascal puppies to Fort Woof...the best dog park ever!! I am pasting a picture of my incredible parents, b/c I like to show off.

This is my parents in Chicago

P.S. Next weekend Andrew and I are off to Austin, YAY for Amy's baby shower as well as fun with friends. Then the following weekend it is Blake Williamson's wedding, such fun! Lindsy, his sister and I have been BEST friends since we were 5, so I really feel like Blake is my baby bro getting hitched!

P.P.S. I am SOOOOOOOO excited that my friend Suzanne and her husband Dan just had their baby girl, Lena June Biase, if you want to see the darling thing she is in my block reel as Dan, Suzanne, Vern, Muef'te and Zeus.

Werner Wine Party - Feb

2010-02-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

Terri and Alan threw one of their famous wine parties this past Saturday. It was a perfect Valentines celebration, you didn't have to go to a fancy restaurant and fight crowds for a dinner, you got to celebrate with friends and have delicious food and wine at a fabulous home!

Andrew was called to work all weekend, of course, in Cabo no less. So, being a resourceful lady, I had Dick come as my date! Andrew called Dick prior to heading South and told him he better not be driving tipsy with me in the car, so we had a driver...nice. The party was just a fantastic evening, and I loved hanging with everyone. My $12 Chardonnay won AGAIN in its category, and beat more expensive wines. So, everyone needs to start buying Four Vines Naked Chardonnay...its awesome. Actually, don't buy it, that will probably drive the cost up and then I can't buy it. Forget I said anything!

Below are some pictures of a fabulous evening with friends!

My date and I

Terri and Brent

Christa's yummy deconstructed Sushi
Terri and meDoug posing with food
Michelle and I hanging by the wine tableJeff during the smell competition
Michelle and ScottWerner's cork stash

Snow Day Part Duex

2010-02-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the post about Michelle's Birthday, we had another snow day on Friday. An even more exciting part to that story, our apartment complex was all over the news due to the downed car ports in the complex. There were 11 downed carports in our complex alone. Luckily, Andrew and I noticed two fallen ones on Thursday evening, so we parked my car outside and not under the port, however, ours never ended up falling. Pictures of the bizarre thing below.

Michelle's Birthday

2010-02-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

Yay, celebrating Michelle's birth! Michelle turned 32 on Friday, and we were able to celebrate with a trip to Mi Cocina with a good group.

Friday was also a snow day, so fun, so Andrew and I spent the morning working out and having fun, then at lunch Andrew got a call to fly to Cabo San Lucas. So unfair. ha. The man who owns the plane was without power due to the storm, so he decided he and the fam would go to Cabo. Which meant that Andrew would miss Michelle's party, and the Werners party on Saturday. That was a bummer, but I am SUPER grateful that we had a snow day Thursday, b/c Andrew and I had a terrific day just hanging out and being together. So, thanks for the snow God, we appreciate it!!

Back to Michelle's bday. We wavered for a while on where to go and how to celebrate, but in the end we decided Mi Cocina, b/c Mexican food is awesome and it was close to Scott and Michelle and me and Andrew. I made a chocolate on chocolate cake for her to celebrate with, and we enjoyed many a marg and Corona. Michelle then ended up coming over for some girl time as did Keri and we had a blast. Once again our intentions of watching a chick flick ended up, us falling asleep by about 10pm, but whatever. Great celebration for a great friend!

Michelle blowing out candles

Michelle and KyndleKeri, me and MichelleMichelle and Scott

SNOW DAY!

2010-02-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

I LOOOOOOOOVE snow days more now as an adult than I think I did as a school kid. I especially love them when they come after Andrew has been away on a four day trip, and the two of us just get to hang out all day. We had a leisurely trip to the gym and met Michelle, then grabbed some lunch...then just hung out all day with our dogs!!

I was able to test out the new camera my parents got me for Christmas with Andrew and the dogs in the snow. There were having the time of their lives! I'm excited to note that on Sunday I am taking pictures of Jennifer and Ben as a pre-engagement picture practice session. Though I love shooting pictures of my dogs, I am really excited to have new subjects.

Gus hanging in the snow

Huck probably not happy we were out as long as we were

Andrew with the boys!Handsome Hubs

My Husband - Phil Dunphy

2010-02-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

I LOVE the new show Modern Family! It is so stinkin hilarious, and Andrew and I love watching it on Wednesday nights. I will even re-watch immediately after if Andrew came in late from flying or something. So hilarious. Anyway, once the show started, I began getting comments from a lot of friends saying, "the Phil guy on Modern Family is SOOOO Andrew." At first I kind of laughed...then I noticed Phil says a LOT of things very similar to my husband. Main one of note...word for word mind you...is one about swim wear. Andrew always maintains it is fine for him to wear boxers around people, he even jumped in the San Marcos river in boxers on the way home from school one day, as they are the same as a swimsuit. Well, in one of the first episodes Phil comes out in boxers, gets scolded, and he says "what's the big deal, the cover the same thing as a swimsuit." Hmmm, definitely similar. Well the other day there was an episode where Phil tried out a mustache for fun...Andrew did this on Halloween. When Andrew had the stache on it changed his whole personality, it was really funny...anyway, Phil's stache had the same effect. I LOVE it. It's like looking into the future...

Apparently here is my husband at 40....ah swoon.

Jewel Charity Ball

2010-02-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

That's right, I'm making up for not blogging for an entire month by posting two blogs in one day! This one even has pictures!

One of our friends invited Andrew and I to be her guest at Jewel Charity Ball. Her name is Leanne, she is a FABULOUS graphic designer, and she designed the invitations for the Ball. JCB is a great organization that does fund raising throughout the year for Cooks Children's Hospital here in FW. It all culminates in January at their HUGE gala ball...seriously, there were 2,000 people there. Basically it is like the fun part of a wedding...dinner, dancing, drinking and an all around good time. It was held at the Omni this year, the food was great, the wine was great and the dancing, oh the dancing. I even got to wear a floor length evening gown I bought from Neimans!!! (on HUGE sale mind you)

Andrew made me proud again, he ended up on stage with the band at one point in the evening dancing. I just LOVE that I have a husband who loves to dance and really gets into making a dancing evening a fun time. We ran into our good friends Doug and Julie Renfro as well, and Andrew and Doug found props to wear during the dancing. Leanne and her husband John were out on the floor with us the entire time...just a great time! The band even played Lady Gaga...hilarious.

Leanne and I during dinnerAndrew and I on the dancefloor

Andrew and Doug with their festive props!Andrew on stage with the bandA little decaf at the end of the evening

Christmas

2010-02-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm over a month behind, but I have my Christmas update complete with NO pictures. Boring.

This year was an interesting Christmas. It actually made me REALLY hate the Bing Crosby song "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." I will never dream of a white Christmas, in fact, I will only dream of a white Monday morning in January when work might possibly be canceled. Anyway....I digress. This year Andrew and I had a GREAT plan as I blogged about in my last post (yes, I know that was a month ago, no jeering).

To start, Andrew and I had an incredible Christmas just the two of us on Christmas Eve eve...lots of fun, we loved our gifts, and our tradition of watching Christmas Vacation by the fire!!

The morning of Christmas Eve worked out great! It was wonderful having his family over for brunch, and we had a great relaxing time together. However, the snow was starting to fall, and I was getting slightly nervous about the drive to LBK. Anyway, we went to Uncle Julio's for lunch, and that was so fun as well, but decided that we should skip Andrew's grandmother's Christmas Eve night due to the weather, and begin our trek to LBK. We were caught in the horrible snow, it took us 2 and 1/2 hours to go 20 miles and back to our apt. I cried. A lot. First Christmas morning without my parents EVER. Anyway, Andrew had a flight the morning of the 26th, and couldn't come to LBK with me when I left Christmas Day, b/c he would have to turn around and head back. So our second Christmas together was spent apart. Not that fun. However, after my 7 hour drive to LBK (usually a 4 1/2) I got to head straight to my dad's parents house with my parents and just see and love all of that family. Then, my mom's side graciously agreed to move our Christmas with them to the day after, so I got to have that feast with them as well in LBK. Other than my husband missing, it was GREAT!

So you can see why I am not wishing for a white one next year. Clear as a bell pretty please!!

Blog Fail

2009-12-18T07:04:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I am totally failing at this whole blog thing. Well, December has been jam packed with fun and exciting things, which is probably why I've fallen behind so badly on the blogging.

Super condensed version: The first weekend in December we had the Werners (Terri, Alan, Scott and Michelle) over for a Christmas feast. Michelle and I cooked our little hearts out, then showered them all with gifts!! Such fun! No pictures to share.

Last weekend we went to Terri and Alan's for their annual Christmas wine party. Let's just say that last year, Andrew and I had to take a cab home...this year, I was cautious with my drinking so I could be a DD. However, the BIGGEST news of the night came when I won not one, but TWO of the competitions for the evening!! They have a blind wine tasting in 3 categories and everyone brings a competition wine, Andrew and I won for our patio white!! We brought Four Vines Naked Chardonnay, it is fantastic, and only 11.49 a bottle, and happened to beat out everyone else's bottles that were WAY more than that!! Then I won the sniffing competition! Basically, you just write down the smells in this one bottle they choose and if you are correct, you win the bottle to take home. SO - we won $60 for the patio white, and a bottle to take home. AWESOME. Andrew of course partook in the hot tub...while no else did mind you...and we had a jolly good time all around. The photos below are ones I yanked from Michelle's facebook.

I'm a big winner!
Andrew - the only one in a swimsuit, and so proudThe ladies who make it so fun!

Also, we are sending out Christmas cards this year (hopefully) and I just love the picture. Our dogs hate this, but don't worry, they get revenge EVERY Saturday morning at 6am when they wake me up to go out. And also when they shred everything I've ever owned. I'm excited about a Christmas schedule. This year, since Andrew's mom is working on Christmas Eve afternoon/night we are having his immediate family over for brunch and present opening on Christmas Eve morning!! So fun! Then we go to Uncle Julio's for a bit to see his extended family, then to Granbury for his grandmother's traditional Mexican food Christmas Eve dinner, then we fly out to Lubbock that night. Wake up Christmas morning in LBK with my family, open those presents, then mom and I become cooking machines prepping for her whole side of the family to come over for Christmas lunch. After that, we head to my other grandparent's house for Christmas dinner. Whew...I'm exhausted and getting fatter just reading that. Yikes. I'll try to be better about blogging and posting pictures this round!!

You Say It's Your Birthday....

2009-11-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOOOOOOOOOVE a good birthday celebration! I am the person who would love for it to be a birthday month as opposed to one stinkin day. Unfortunately for Andrew, who doesn't believe in even celebrating his birthday, it makes it hard having to constantly celebrate the birthday for a week.

However....this year Andrew wins a GREAT prize! With the help of Michelle and Terri, Andrew threw me a surprise party this year!! It was just so fantastic. Complete with Werner fajitas, fabulous New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, Dancing on the patio, and hot tubbing! What a great night with great friends!

My actual birthday is November 15th...so don't worry, more celebrations to come!!

Andrew pleased with the surprise

Michelle, one of the mastermindsMe with some of the ladies, Brooke, Becca and Jenny
Andrew and I ready to load up on fajitasSeriously dancing a jig (and snapping, yikes)
Andrew's Scary Shorts

Good and Evil Halloween

2009-11-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

Well, our friends Tiana and AJ threw a "good and evil" themed Halloween party this year. It was smashing. However, I tend to be slightly cheap at Halloween, when it comes to costumes, and I don't get in to the skanky fill-in-the-blank costumes, so sometimes have a hard time. This year was great though! Michelle and I went as "The Night Before (good)" and "The Morning After (bad)." It will obviously take you one look at the picture below to realize I was the bad. Well, I hope you realize that's a costume anyway.

We had so much fun, and on the way over, Andrew decided he wanted a mustache for the party. So we stopped at Party City - THE DAY BEFORE Halloween, fought ALL of the monstrous crowds and wrangled him a mustache. Turns out all you need is a $4 mustache, and you have the best costume ever! It even turned him into a beer-pong player!! However, the best good and evil costume of the evening had to be Brooke and Jason. Brooke came dressed as a lobster, in a costume she designed herself! Jason was the Lobster Fisherman topped off with the wharf hat. Awesome.

Michelle and I ask "Night Before" and "Morning After"Andrew and his mustache and me and my eye make-up
Scott and Michelle - amazing Scott face
Brooke's amazing costume, Andrew, and Jason's Lobster Fisherman
End of the Night Exhaustion

Pumpkin Carving!

2009-10-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Andrew, Michelle and I tackled the task of carving pumpkins. Well, we had a pumpkin for Michelle that turns out was as hard as wood, and since Michelle gets grossed out by the goop, she turned picture documenter of our carving.

Andrew went the free-hand route, well sharpied on pumpkin route, and designed it all in his head. I cheated for a bit, but it was harder than expected, then did a free-handed mouth...didn't turn out as cute as Andrew's. The dogs loved the smell and were really curious about the new jack's in the house. I really appreciate my fantastic husband that goes with my weird whims, such as carving pumpkins on a Wednesday night!

The beginning, yes dogs are on table, but newspaper is below them

Gus interested in the smellsAndrew Free-handing
My cheat sheetHappy CarvingThe jacks in the light
Jacks in the dark

Whew, auction over!

2009-10-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

As you know, I am an event planner for BRIT. I have many small fund raising events throughout the year, but I have two HUGE events each year that just about wipe me out. This past Friday was our Fete du Vin Wine Auction and Dinner, and if I do say so myself, it went off splendidly!!

My parents are the most awesome parents a girl could ask for, I think I've mentioned that before in this blog, and they came in on Thursday to help Andrew and I out with our dogs (he was flying a lot Thursday and Friday) and help me set up my auction. I mean really, my parents drove 5 hours to work for me for free. See, awesome. It was great seeing them, and of course Huck and Gus loved having their friend Tucker to run around with.

The day of the auction is spent putting up displays, deciding we don't like the way it looks, taking them down, then re-doing them. Whew...by the time the guests arrive we are ready for a nap. Haha, but this year was just awesome, and I even had a seat to sit and chat with some of my dearest friends. Not to mention try a spot of their wine! ;) I am posting some pictures of the event that my friend Tiana took below for those of you who haven't seen it because you don't travel 5 hours to Fort Worth to work for me for free...which really you should reconsider, I'll give you a bottle of wine. Come on, you know you want to come next year....

The Hallway - when guests arrive it was supposed to feel as though they were entering a vineyard!Oh the yummy cheese display
Tiana, myself and Becca after they modeled designer gowns for us
Terri and Alan, some of our dearest!

P.S. I think Andrew and I will be carving a pumpkin in the coming days...so expect to be blown away by awesome pumpkin pictures. Well, actually, I told Andrew we could download all of these cool designs to carve, to which he responded "no, we'll just do a regular jack-o-lantern." We may be carving two as a competition now! :) Also, it is getting colder, so it is totally acceptable to jam out to Christmas music in my car now...leave me alone.

Oktoberfest

2009-10-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

It has officially been over a month since I last posted. Man, I'm not very good at this blog thing!

So, Andrew and I had the fantastic opportunity to go to Munich for the real Oktoberfest at the end of September...what an unbelievable time!! Our dear friend Dick joined us with his friend Mary, and we met up with the Werners and Pinkstons who had been in Italy for the past two weeks. What a crew! If you want to see all of our pictures click here. I guess I'll break it down into days...

Day 1
Andrew and I arrived on a Friday morning, and had about 8 hours to explore the city ourselves. Well, as they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and I planned out our 8 hours just as my mother has always done to a "t" for our family vacations! Andrew was a little nervous about the amount of activities I had planned. Turns out, I was pretty over-zealous, and come noon-time, we were both OUT! However, we did enjoy a nice tour around Marienplatz, were able to see the Glockenspeil and really loved walking around the outdoor market! There were so many neat foods, tons of sausage, and wine and beer. It was really fun seeing the culture like that. Munich is just a gorgeous city! Andrew and I did grab a bite to eat around Marienplatz...he picked best and ordered a weinerschnitzel. Oh man, how yummy!!! However, after the tour of Marienplatz and lunch, and with a side a jet lag, we were pooped. We went back to the hotel and rested until the rest of the crazy Americans got into the city. That night Dick, who speaks German and has been to Munich many times, organized a dinner for all of us at his favorite Bavarian restaurant, Spatenhaus. OH. MY. WORD. That food is unbelievable!! I had the goulash, and Andrew had pork knuckle, and there just wasn't much left on our plate. We then took a walking tour around the old city, and Marienplatz, then ended with beers at Augustiner.

Andrew in MarienplatzMe at lunch and with first German beer

Andrew and I at SpatenhausSome of us at Augustiner

Day 2
We woke up ready and raring to go to the tents at Oktoberfest. Andrew and I had run into a couple on the airplane, then in our hotel, who happened to have reserved tables at the fest. Actually at the most popular tent, where they tap the first keg, the Schottenhamel tent. He let us use his name in order to get into the tent...apparently an impossibility on a Saturday. However, every table in the tent was reserved, and you can't get a beer unless you are seated. Well, our friend let us use one of the tables until his other friends got there. We got some big ole' beers, stood on the tables, sang to the oompah band and relished the fun. We hung around a while after being kicked out of our table and danced with some fun friends from Zurich. Andrew loved making friends with everyone. Oktoberfest outside of the tents is a lot like a HUGE fair...Dick and I even rode a ride. Which was probably a mistake as it seemed to last 10 minutes! The ones in the States, if you get on, you ride for 20 seconds, then are ushered off.
After the fest, we went to a little nook the Werners had found and munched and salad and relaxed, so pretty. Then Dick, Mary, Andrew and I went walking and shopping around the city. After freshening up at the hotel, we scooted off to the Hofbrau haus so some beer and laughing at Italians, we happened to be there during Italian week, where all Italians come to Munich for the fest. We then enjoyed a nice dinner at another Bavarian restaurant Dick liked, and then crashed hard!

Andrew and I with our beers in the tent

Our beer maid in the tent

At our resting place...and switching to wine

Mary, Dick, me and Andrew at Dinner

Day 3
On our third and final day, Mary, Dick, Andrew and I went to Schloss Nymphenburg...what a gorgeous castle. King Ludwig built it as one of his four castles, and it had gorgeous rooms, beautiful carraiges and lush grounds that were HUGE. We spent most of the day touring the home and the gardens, it was just perfect. The really neat part is that you don't have to pay to use the grounds, so there were a lot of Germans walking their babies through the grounds, or running or just hanging out. Really cool. After Schloss we went and got an Italian pizza, in honor of Italian week, and rested and looked through our photos. We met up with the Werners and Pinkstons for dinner, as well as two of Dick's German friends. It was a perfect end cap to a phenomenal weekend.

The next morning (yes, I'm throwing day 4 in here b/c it doesn't really count) we woke up at 3 am and headed to the airport. Dick managed to save Andrew and I each a row, so I was able to lay down and sleep on the way back. Andrew and I also caught up on movies, and turns out he like the Proposal just as much as I did! Yay, a fun movie for us to watch on cold nights!!

Andrew and I in front of SchlossAndrew and Dick in forest at Schloss (notice those jackets)Andrew and I on the grounds at Schloss

No One Puts Baby in a Corner

2009-09-15T07:25:00.001-07:00

Um, so I came to work today with an adorable little dress...however, getting dressed in the dark makes for some mistakes. There is a hole in back!! What?!?! I think Andrew is going to have to learn to deal with lights in the morning...b/c currently I'll be sitting all day until lunch. Could someone grab me a snack and a water?

On another note, I'm sad about Patrick Swayze's passing. The first movie I ever really loved is Dirty Dancing, and it is a movie I watch almost every time I am sick, cleaning, or just wanting to be mindless. I used to crave that pink dress and shoes she wears at the end of the movie. Anyway, he and his wife have a place that is near my grandparent's cabin in Las Vegas, New Mexico. It is gorgeous! Right when we found out he moved to that ranch at the basin of where you drive to the cabin, it was mayhem! I even have an aunt that rode on the TOP of an Escalade with binoculars in hand as my other aunt drove as slowly as possibly just to get a glimpse of the man. He will be missed. He was a good one.

Also, Andrew and I just got a new computer, so it will take a few days for us to get pictures loaded, so this post will only have one picture...and it is a picture of my family's cabin in NM, wish I were there right now reading a book!!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2009-09-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

Is ball-game one word or two? Should I change the title since I don't know? Oh well, I'm rolling with it.

So, anyone who knows Andrew knows that he is a devout Rangers fan. Since this past January he has been touting that "this is their year" to anyone who will listen. As always the Rangers did well up to the all-star break....then, in a shocking turn of events, they actual did well AFTER the all-star break as well. Sidenote: I am not certain it is called the all-star break, I am a football fan, not a baseball fan.

Well, we had the good fortune of getting some incredible tickets from one of his flight students...we were two rows behind home plate! It was great to watch Andrew and Christian, as they both LOVE those Rangers...and Brooke and I enjoyed $1 hot dog night. Such a great Wednesday...and to top it off, the Rangers won!

Andrew and Christian at the Cuervo Club

Brooke and I at Cuervo Club with field behind us
Andrew and Chris from our seats
The hubs and I during 7th inning stretch

I'll Tumble For Ya

2009-09-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Mmmmmm Fall! I can seriously feel it coming...we are down to 94 as opposed to 104 for about a week now. I love when the leaves tumble down, it is my dream to go to the North East during fall to see all of the leaves turning. I'm hoping that my mom and I take a trip to do that someday, b/c she has also said she wants to do this since I was about 15.

Anyway, I had to go to Garden Ridge yesterday to grab some stuff for a work event...they are setting up for Christmas already!!! The early set up just about kills Andrew, as he could take or leave Christmas (I think mainly take or leave the pressure of gift purchasing...which has now dwindled for him as I take care of all the gifts for his family as well, and he only has to purchase gifts for me). However, the Christmas trees just about sent me into a tizzy! I cannot wait until it is socially acceptable to have Christmas music playing in my car when people get in!

One of my favorite parts about fall, and I'm not kidding, are the candle scents! Seriously...I could blow a ton of money on fall candles. I don't love scented candles most other times of year...but if it says cinnamon, pumpkin, or dead leaves (who knows, they could make one) I am SO in! Maybe that's a Christmas gift hint for Andrew...or rather birthday hint since that is November. Maybe that's a little bit why I like fall too...I love my birthday, I look forward to it like I'm 5 every year and pretty sure I won't care if I'm turning 100, as long as it means I get to have a birthday party and CAKE!

Such a pretty picture of fall....

Oh Heavens!

2009-08-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I knew it would happen, I am already lapsing on my blogging! Yikes! There are many things going on that have updates...but I don't have the pictures just yet. As a tease...I helped one of my dearest friends, Whitney, take pictures for one of the coolest couples, Keri and David, at their wedding this weekend. Whitney is the talent, I was just there in case her flash didn't work and we needed to use mine. I borrowed her bf's Nikon d90, I think that is impressive to photographers, and shot away...mind you, never leaving the "automatic" position. When Whit has gone through them, I'll post some on here as well. On another note about the fantastic Whit-Bit...her 27th bday was Friday, and she drove in to FW for the wedding...so Andrew and I took her out in style. Our first try was for sushi and martini's, around the corner from our place so if stumbling home was necessary we were well equipped, but the ridiculous line thwarted us, and off to Mi Cocina and their fabulous margaritas we went. Here is a picture of the lovely bday girl!

Sunday was also Andrew's first overnight flight! Yay! He flew to Omaha and returns today...he is so cool!

Another fun thing that happened this weekend...my parents called me Sunday after church and asked if I had plans for Sunday night. They surprised me and drove to Fort Worth for the night!! Really I think they were just bringing their dog Tucker for a 300 mile play-date, but whatever.

Also, Michelle let me know that everyone can't comment on the blog...I think I fixed it. So now I am expecting some UNBELIEVABLE comments from ALL of you. You can't see, but I'm giving the "stink eye" to those who refuse to comment.

I'll be back later with a more excited post that also includes pictures.

Marnie and Thomas are Hitched!

2009-08-20T08:35:00.001-07:00

Hurrah! Hurrah! The day finally came! Ever since Thomas called us in January saying he was proposing to Marnie, and we had the privilege of hosting a little engagement congrats at our house, I have been looking forward to seeing my beautiful sister-in-law and Thomas' wedding.
Marnie is such a sweet spirit, and I really have come to drop the "in-law" after sister when I think of her, and Thomas has such a gentle soul, but can be absolutely hilarious and surprising. They had a fun rehearsal dinner at Grump's burgers in Granbury, and it reminded Andrew and I of our rehearsal dinner at our favorite burger joint Dutch's (seriously, if you live in Fort Worth, go there - it is half priced burgers on Tuesdays). There were funny stories and speeches all around.

Marnie and Thomas at Grump's
Andrew and I at Grumps

Mouth Watering Fries

The wedding day was great - Andrew was able to golf with the guys that morning, and I was able to hang out with my parents (a SUPER added bonus). For those of you who don't know, I'm ridiculously close to my parents, hate that we live 4-5 hours away, so I love when they get to come down or we get to go up. We even braved the dog park with our two dogs and my parent's dog...good times. Anyway, we got the wedding and it was so great. Thomas and Marnie have waited 9 years for this day...so it is no wonder there was a ton of crying going on! I didn't cry, but that was b/c we had a person sitting next to us with one of those wind up cameras who insisted on taking quite a few pictures, and I was trying not to laugh at that.

Happy Couple RIGHT after the ceremony

The reception was great - that is where my husband's dancing shines! The Heffley's got Llano wine, for those that don't know, that's my family, so that was so sweet that we got to drink that at the wedding. Everytime Andrew and I get ready to leave for a wedding he notes - I will not dance too much at this one, and despite that he is almost always shakin it the entire time on the dance floor. This time was NO different! I love that I married a dancer...and a great one at that. One of the incredibly generous things that happened at the wedding, which backs up my Marnie and Thomas are the sweetest comments, is that half-way through the reception they announced that Andrew and I had just had our first anniversary, then proceeded to play the song we danced to as our first dance, Van Morrison's These Are the Days. Isn't that nice?!

My fabulous parents and I at the wedding

Anyway, it was a great wedding, we had a BLAST with Andrew's cousins, and on the dance floor. Andrew's cousins (I use the term loosely as they call their 100th cousin 5th removed simply "cousin") and their husbands have become great friends to us, and we hung out all night. Coincidentally we were also the most popular table, as we did bring in some reinforcements...but since the Bride, Groom and all attendants partook in our *water* bottle, we figure we're forgiven!
If you would like to see all of the pictures from the wedding and rehearsal you can click here.

The "cousins" and troublemakersSome odd dancing begins with Travis and Jason

Andrew's building up to something great!

Water Dogs

2009-08-16T13:39:00.001-07:00

Well last Saturday night Andrew and I met one of my besties, Michelle, over at her in-laws for some swimming, pizza and wine. We decided to bring our pups along with us this time. Andrew has dreamed for a while that our dogs are in-fact water dogs, and we just haven't given them the opportunity to showcase their skills. I have never believed they are water dogs, as they fight everytime they are near water. Andrew remembers when Huck was a baby puppy and we were at the lake, according to Andrew the story of Huck's time there was he was so thrilled about the water he just up and jumped into the lake. My story is quite different, and the actual account of what happened. Poor Huck thought he could walk on the water as Andrew was floating on some floating, he stepped off the boat, panicked, swam as fast as he could back to the boat and sat moping (at least in my mind) the rest of the trip. Anyway, we tried to ease them back into water life last Saturday, and they were not having it.

Michelle and I with babies keeping them from panic

Howdy Yall!

2009-08-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Cowboy Stadium and Stockyards

Hurrah for those Cowboys! Hurrah for our friend Dick! Andrew's and my great friend Dick Steed called with an offer we couldn't refuse last weekend. Dick is a season ticket holder to the Cowboys, and he had some tickets for the open house for season ticket holders to preview the stadium and the food. The food was half off, still shock-inducing pricey, and we could roam freely around the stadium. The huge jumbotron was incredible, and I am afraid that when Andrew and I go with my parents to the Tech/Baylor game there, we might not be able to pay attention to the actual people on the field, as we will be watching them on the jumbotron. We also walked all the way to the top, and I was overcome with a slight bought of fear of heights. My goodness that is one steep section...and I'm just hoping if we're near there for the game, that no one around me jumps or drinks...is that asking too much? Probably, but if we all cross our fingers, I think our powers will produce a VERY calm crowd...as though they're at the opera. That's what I'm hoping for!

Cowboy stadium from Dick's parking spot

Dick and Andrew in the "Party Pass" Section

Me terrified of the top while Dick insists on taking a picture

After the tour we had the brilliant idea to go grab a burger from the Love Shack in the Stockyards. Um, well brilliant until we found out that they had the not-so-brilliant idea to make an entirely open air restaurant in Texas. Seriously. I mean, I can't eat a burger in 100 plus heat, and those misters aren't going to do much to cool me, but will make those fries super soggy. So we scratched Love Shack, but we had already paid for Stockyard parking, and Andrew had never been down there, so we grabbed some food at H3 and then toured the place. Lots of screaming kids, and some people all dressed up in old time cowboy gear. MMMMM, breathe in that good ole' step back in time! Wait, that's horse poo. Oh well, we got a picture there, and hung out at a neat Fort Worth tourism highlight.

Andrew and Dick in the stockyards, while trying to take a picture of the folks behind em.

Happy Anniversary

2009-08-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

We've Made it a Year!

Well, Andrew and I made it to the elusive paper anniversary!! We made an entire weekend out of the celebration. Friday night we went to Mi Cocina for some fantastic margaritas and fajitas, then on to the movie Funny People. The movie was pretty good - but soooooooo long. I embarrassed Andrew and made our waiter take a picture of us at the restaurant...he loves me.

Embarrassing Picture

Saturday night some of our dearest friends, Terri and Alan Werner, invited us to their home for a 5 course dinner! As Andrew says - "you turn down anything to eat at the Werners" - they are PHENOMENAL cooks! We had chilled cantaloupe and white grape soup, scallops with homemade vinaigrette, melt in your mouth sea bass, and some fantastic creme brulee. The Werner's invited Scott (their son) and Michelle (his wife and one of my besties) as well as their daughter Christa! It was a fantastic time!! We ended the evening with Andrew's favorite activity, wine in the hot tub!

The Crew Minus Scott

The Happy Couple

Andrew and Terri in the Hot Tub

Sunday we went to brunch at Taverna. It was so delicious - and nice to celebrate on our actual anniversary! Andrew had to do training Sunday evening, so squeezed as much out of the morning that we could. We also took Huck and Gus to the dog park - Fort Woof - which was fun and they didn't try to hump anyone! Small victories.

Gus Making Friends

Huck Tuckered Out

Marnie's Bachelorette Bash

2009-07-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

We had Marnie's Last Big Fling before the Bling Bachelorette party on July 11-12th at my aunt and uncle's place near Brownwood. It was such a fun time, I love being girly and getting hang out with girls for an extended period of time. The party planner in me usually gets the best of me during events like this - so of course I went overboard making an entire booklet with games and outlining what all would happen. At least Marnie liked it!

We played some classic relay races, that included sticking a broom in toilet paper - while blindfolded! Marnie went first, and maybe it was because she hadn't seen anyone else do it, but she seemed to need a little help and we let her go "un" blindfolded for a while. Still proved slightly difficult. ;) Love you Marn! The next game I thought would be extremely difficult and I was beyond wrong! We tied pantyhose around the players waste, and in the leg hanging down there was a lemon. They had to use hip thrusting prowess to knock over water bottles. Apparently all of the ladies are skilled in the hip thrusting area.
All in all it was a great weekend and we had tons of laughs and hopefully made a great memory for the soon-to-be Mrs. Rist!! Love you Marnie!

Ms. Marnie with her Hottie Soon-to-Be

Marnie doing fantastically with the broomstick game

Marcie working her skills in the lemon game

All the Ladies

Another fun thing for me this weekend: a friend from work loaned me his uber awesome camera as I am considering purchasing one. I was able to play around and take some neat pictures of the scenery out at my aunt and uncle's place!!

2009-06-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

And We're Off...

So, against Andrew's better judgment, I am starting a blog. This is more of an excuse to catalog and digitally scrapbook information about our lives than anything else. Really I need something to motivate me to take pictures of our outings, as I no longer have my 11th grade Social Studies teacher making me turn in my "life history" scrapbook on a regular basis. I am quite sure most of our friends won't read this, so I'm going to say Hi Mom to one person who probably will! So here it goes...we'll see how we do.