Happy Birthday to My Scott

Today is my sweet husbands 29th birthday! I have noticed by some of his reactions and comments that this birthday is kind of a big deal to him, but he will not admit to it fully. I think he is having a hard time with turning 29 years old because it is his last birthday in his twenties before he hits the big 30!

In honor of my husbands birthday I thought I would blog 30 reasons why I love him; 30 reasons because what is a birthday with out 'One To Grow On'?

1. He chose ME! He chose me to be his wife and mother of his future children. He chose me as his best friend and partner in life; all which mean the absolute world to me.

2. I love all the ways he loves me. He shows me his love in his own special ways, especially when it is just the two of us at home doing our everyday stuff. His names for me, 'darling and sweetheart' and the way he looks at me. He always makes me feel good.

3. He is the most honest and trusting man I have ever met. If you ask him his opinion, he will tell you truthfully and it will not always be sugar coated. If you tell him something confidentially, you can trust that he will keep it a secret.

4. When he gets home from work everyday, he comes to me first and gives me a hug and kiss. I look forward to this all day. I am not as good at it as he is but I am working on it.

5. I can't help but love those baby blue eyes of his.

6. I love how he sends me random text messages throughout the week; They all mean so much and I will never get tired of getting them.

7. I love how he always looks after me and takes care of me. He always has, since the day we met and then started dating.

8. He helps me with my projects; whether it is painting, hanging curtains, or putting a piece of furniture together, he helps me and does not complain.

9. We talk; we talk about everything. He confides in me and wants to know what my thoughts are on issues and it sometimes seems like he wants some sort of approval from me, which I think is great because it shows how much he cares about my thoughts.

10. He adores our dog Dakota and shows so much love to her. I know he will be such a great dad to our real babies one day just like he is to our furbaby.

11. He has such a passion for babies and kids and becoming a father. There is no doubt in my mind that he is going to be an absolute wonderful dad!

12. He is a hard worker, dedicated to his job and wants to do the job right the first time. I know he doesn't like waking up in the morning to go to work, but he does and I want him to know how thankful I am for that and the benefits it provides for us.

13. I love when he helps me around the house with chores and doesn't make a fuse about it. Some men just don't do that.

14. He is so freaking handsome! To me he still looks the same as he did the day I met him, 8 years ago today (Yes, we met on his 21st birthday).

15. Whenever I ask for a back rub, he gives me one.

16. He brings home to me fresh flowers for no reason at all; he even puts them in a vase with water and arranges them so nicely.

17. He cares about his family and his friends wholeheartedly.

18. He helps me with the laundry and putting it all away because he knows how much I hate this one chore. He truly saves me on this one.

19. He is who he is! What you see is what you get!

20. He can hang out with just the girls (any of my girlfriends). He can carry on conversations and really enjoy himself.

21. He supports, believes, and encourages me to do greater things in life.

22. He cares about the way our home looks and feels.

23. He has a very soft and tender side to him that only few get to see. I feel lucky to be one of them.

24. He is the sweetest Uncle Scott to our little niece; And Oh, does she adore him!

25. He is great with his hands--working on cars, working at home on projects or in the yard. And I do love his hands, they are very masculine and strong.

26. Scott can put together a puzzle like it is the easiest thing to do; it truly amazes me the patience he has with them.

27. He loves to have fun, is very social and enjoy life to the fullest.

28. He is so smart when it comes to putting things together and following directions.

29. He reads the newspaper almost everyday and brings me home articles that he thinks I will enjoy.

30. **this one is the one to grow on** I really hope to make him a daddy by the time he is he is this age. This is my wish for him and for us.

Scott, I love you and am so proud to be your wife. I look forward to sharing a lifetime of birthdays with you! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Chocolate Confession...and the Weekend

I eat chocolate everyday! A piece here, a piece there, that's all. I just thought I would get that out of the way and in the air now. Chocolate and Peanut Butter combined together are my ultimate favorite! Yep, that just about sums it up.
Oh, and on a side note, I am so happy to have my hubs back home. He was out of town in Appleton, WI all last week, Monday-Friday for work and classes and he came back home this past Friday night at 11pm. We spent the whole next day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo; seeing all the animals, seeing two baby calf's be born, shopping, eating great BBQ, drinking cold beer and watching the Rodeo Finals where they gave $50,000 each to the Cowboys and Cowgirl who won in each of the 7 categories! Brooks and Dunn performed and had a great show as always. Afterwords, we went to a late night Crawfish Boil at some friends of ours house. Sunday we worked around the house and yard all day! It was such a great weekend!

Have a Little Bit of Respect, Please

I was not going to post about the recent election or inauguration of our new President but I feel I really want to since this is however a place for all of my thoughts, opinions, suggestions, concerns, etc...and I will try to be as brief as possible.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009, I was completely engrossed in watching all the Inauguration events that I could while still being at work and doing my job. I have enjoyed watching previous inaugurations for our former Presidents backing up to being in elementary school and all the way through college. I was fortunate to grow up in an outstanding school district that knew the importance of exposing and teaching us 'kids' about these historic events.

I am a proud American and feel very blessed to live in this wonderful country with all the freedoms we have from which many hundreds of thousands of men and women have lost their lives fighting for. I did not vote for Obama nor am I a Obama supporter, but I was anxious as he too took the oath of office to become our 44th President of America. With this said and yes I know we all have the freedom of speech, but I was appalled and saddened though at this Inauguration when Former President Bush was announced during the ceremony and when he went off in the helicopter at all the booing, negative and rude remarks that were made. Have a little respect please!!! Come on now, grow up and show some decency and have some class. Any and all people who live in this country should have respect for the President and any Former President no matter who they are. People do not have to like Bush or agree with his stance and policies, but have respect for the title in which he held. I would never boo or stoop that low to our President whether it be Obama or someone else. President Bush has had a rough past couple of years with all that is going on in this country and the world. He has been faced with a lot of very tough decisions to make especially with the terrible tragedy of September 11, 2001 when our country was so viciously attacked. I believe to the best of my knowledge that everything Bush has done has been for the greater good of this country, our lives, safety and well being. I hope and pray too that Obama has the same, good intentions of keeping this Country on it's feet. Any person who becomes President and takes on the responsibilities and stress of that job should have their country's respect if anything. I respect President Obama because he is my President.

And being the Proud Texan that I am and always will be, a very heartfelt Welcome Back Home to Texas former President Bush.

A Clean and Cozy Home makes for Happy Guest

You will soon come to notice and realize (once I post pictures--coming soon) that I am a complete neat freak, very clean and organized; everything has a place where it belongs kind of gal, it’s my OCD, I was born like that. So for me, it is very easy to keep a clean, organized and cozy home. There are just certain things that I do everyday in my home to keep it that way. For instance the bed is always made, the living room is always picked up and the kitchen is clean and clutter free. It really only takes a few minutes, fifteen minutes at most, each day do these easy task. I always want my home to be open and cozy to any and all family and friends that come to stay on a planned visit or just drop by un-announced. Here are some things that I do to make it a non-stressful time when company does comes over.

1. Don’t just clean your home for company

The title says it all. Don't wait to clean your home until you have company coming over. Come on now, you live there and you should be proud of your home, the way it looks and the way it feels. You are worth living in a clean environment; just do a room at a time if that is what works best for you. Then when your guest does come over, you are not running around mad crazy trying to clean the entire house at one time.

2. Leave a room picked up and clutter free

Pretty much put things back where they belong and leave a room as if it were a room in a model home. Don’t get me wrong, the hubs and I do get comfy in our home and ‘veg’ out on the couches with blankets, couch pillows, food and drinks scattered around the living room. We too want to enjoy our home as much as any guest. But I make it a priority to fold back blankets, pick up couch pillows and return all drink and dinnerware items to the kitchen before I go to bed at night. It makes me feel good to walk into a picked up room in my home and enjoy the way it looks. If we take just a few minutes to put everything back where it goes when we leave, we are not only ready for company but we should also be less stressed out.

3. Leave unused rooms "ready"

Most people have rooms in their home that aren't used daily also known as guest rooms. It seems that a lot of people use these rooms as extra storage space or ‘catch alls’. Designate a closet in the house for all ‘catch all’ items and keep your guest room, a Guest Room. This is actually one of the simplest things you can do to keep these rooms guest ready. Make sure the beds are made, have extra clean sheets, towels on the dresser or in guest bathroom, clear closet for guests hanging items, and have a place to lay luggage down on. When this is all done, you can be sure your guest rooms are ready with confidence!

4. Make a cleaning schedule

Now, I will admit, I am not as good at this as others are, but I do try. I do clean all living parts of my house every week, but I do not necessarily clean them on the same day every week. Try and make some type of schedule that is going to work for you. For instance, have a schedule Monday-Friday or even Saturday and do one room each day, or do certain tasks in each room on certain days and laundry on certain days. By doing this you are making cleaning not so much of a hassle and a drawn out process but instead a small daily task which ensures that your home does stay clean day end and day out.

5. Keep a stock of ‘Inventory’ items

There are just certain items that I make sure that I have on hand at all times. The most common stuff that comes to mind for me in our home are, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, straws, bottled water, wine, guest toiletrie items in bathroom, extra candles, tea lights and the certain foods that I cook with all the time or easy meals. By having these inventory items, you never have to worry about having to rush to the store at the last minute or make your guest feel uncomfortable, non the less yourself.

6. Follow the 15min rule

I love this rule. Never have anything in your house that has to be done, cleaned or organized that is going to take more than fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes is just enough time to vacuum or wipe counter tops down or dust certain areas or make the bed, etc. Hopefully you will also have at least fifteen minutes notice before any guest arrives and if not, just simply say, “I was just finishing up tidying up this room…”

7. The Extras!

Fresh flowers, light candles, homemade goods or cooking are always a plus for any guest that comes to visit. If you get a chance, do any or all of them and your guest will be sure to feel very welcomed and happy!

8. Enjoy your guest

Be a happy hostess and enjoy the time you do have with your family and friends and be thankful that you have a home that people want to come to. And always make sure your guest are happy as well!

Reality TV

OK, so I have this thing, not really an obsession, just a thing for reality TV. I really enjoy reality television; not all reality tv shows but a good handful of shows. I am not sure what it is about them that I like, but I do. It may be because these are real people (not actors) broadcasting their real life and real situations to millions of people, or because of the horrible strike that happened in the beginning of this year that caused there to be slim to none shows to watch on tv, or because I just find it very entertaining to be caught up in these peoples lives to make me seem more normal! My favorite reality shows to watch are:

-The Bachelor/Bachelorette
-Jon and Kate plus Eight (LOVE!!!)
-The Housewives of...(in which ever city they are in; although Orange Country is my favorite)
-17 Kids and Counting (WOW, that's about all I can say)
-House Hunters (I consider this reality, they are not actors)
-What's My House Worth (same as above)
-Deal or No Deal
-Wipeout (the hubs and I laugh our asses off)
-Nanny 911 (watch this sometimes and find it amusing)
-The Hills (oh my, to have that life.....not really)
-Iron Chef (occasionally watch)

I probably missed a few, but see, I do like me some reality TV. I am sure I am not the only one out there that does but just felt the need to blog about it and it gives you an idea of how random my brain works, LOL.

Fabulous Friday

Ahhh...I love Fridays; they truly are Fabulous for plenty of reasons! Fridays for me are the end of the work week, payday, trying to remember what happened on Grey's Anatomy the night before because I most likely drank too much wine, the weekend is here, happy hour is calling my name (I can taste a cold Budlight already), dinner with friends or family and knowing that I get to sleep in the next morning! I do love Fridays!

On this particular Friday, I am especially excited because tomorrow I am going to the Nutcracker Market with 2 of my very good girlfriends for a Saturday filled with shopping, shopping and more shopping and laughing and eating good food! Below explains what the Nutcracker Market is all about.

Over 65,000 attendees with a strong passion to shop visited more than 300 national and international merchants, offering unique items for the entire family, including home décor, gourmet food, apparel, accessories, toys, garden items, and much more just in time for holiday shopping! Houston Ballet 's Nutcracker Market has become an annual tradition that kicks off the holiday season in Houston. Since 1981, the Nutcracker Market has contributed over $26 million to Houston Ballet Foundation to support its academy and scholarship programs, which nurture and develop young, promising dancers who have and will become the backbone of Houston Ballet. Currently more than 50% of the dancers in the company have received at least part of their training at Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy.