Thursday, January 26, 2012
Camp is back!
Camp is coming back again this summer! It was a blast last summer and this summer will be bigger and better:) isn't our flier cute?!? Can't wait for summertime! .... Yep I said it and it is 5 months away!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Our weekend getaway:)
Derrick and I's holiday season was so busy busy we didn't get any down time just him and I to relax. I wanted to surprise him and this past weekend was the day to do it:)
On Saturday morning I woke him up at 8am and he made us breakfast. I then told him to put on some clothes to be outside and 'moving' in and told him to take Mia to the park for 45 minutes. As soon as he left I dashed around the apartment like a crazy person.
I packed a picnic lunch for us and also had to pack for us overnight. I packed PJ's for both of us, outfits for dinner, my shower stuff, books to relax with, and his shower stuff. All of that in 45 minutes plus I needed to clean up and do dishes and put them away because a friend was coming to stay at our apartment to watch Mia for the day/night for me.
Derrick got back and I told him he couldn't come back into the apartment so he wouldn't notice his missing shower and bathroom items. We hopped in the car and away we drove for 1 1/2 hours to Enchanted Rock - a TX state park. I bought a state park pass back in July and want to put it to good use! The day was beautiful and full of sunshine but not too hot.
After our hike and picnic lunch at the top of the rock we got back in the car for a 45 minute drive to our next stop. Derrick had no idea we were spending the night! We pulled into the Bed and Breakfast, got our room, and took a walk around the area. It was beautiful in this small town called Comfort, TX - awesome. We showered and headed into town to a small winery, then another place for a drink, and then to dinner. We headed home from dinner thinking it was 9pm... nope 6:15. Wow! We were so busy!! I think we fell asleep around 9pm after playing a few games of checkers in the room and woke up at 7am to enjoy some coffee outside in the morning fog and then headed to breakfast. Breakfast was amazing. The view was great too - they have a deer feeder that goes off at 8 and 8:30am so the deer came right by where we were eating. We finished eating and headed back to Austin. It was an awesome getaway weekend for us:)
On Saturday morning I woke him up at 8am and he made us breakfast. I then told him to put on some clothes to be outside and 'moving' in and told him to take Mia to the park for 45 minutes. As soon as he left I dashed around the apartment like a crazy person.
I packed a picnic lunch for us and also had to pack for us overnight. I packed PJ's for both of us, outfits for dinner, my shower stuff, books to relax with, and his shower stuff. All of that in 45 minutes plus I needed to clean up and do dishes and put them away because a friend was coming to stay at our apartment to watch Mia for the day/night for me.
Derrick got back and I told him he couldn't come back into the apartment so he wouldn't notice his missing shower and bathroom items. We hopped in the car and away we drove for 1 1/2 hours to Enchanted Rock - a TX state park. I bought a state park pass back in July and want to put it to good use! The day was beautiful and full of sunshine but not too hot.
After our hike and picnic lunch at the top of the rock we got back in the car for a 45 minute drive to our next stop. Derrick had no idea we were spending the night! We pulled into the Bed and Breakfast, got our room, and took a walk around the area. It was beautiful in this small town called Comfort, TX - awesome. We showered and headed into town to a small winery, then another place for a drink, and then to dinner. We headed home from dinner thinking it was 9pm... nope 6:15. Wow! We were so busy!! I think we fell asleep around 9pm after playing a few games of checkers in the room and woke up at 7am to enjoy some coffee outside in the morning fog and then headed to breakfast. Breakfast was amazing. The view was great too - they have a deer feeder that goes off at 8 and 8:30am so the deer came right by where we were eating. We finished eating and headed back to Austin. It was an awesome getaway weekend for us:)
Monday, January 23, 2012
New apartment
Derrick and I are moving... yes... again. Yep... since August 2010 we will have moved 3 times and since June 2010 we will have moved 4... one of them across half of the country!
We love where we live right now... great location, beautiful pool, new, gated, big, great people.... but it is PRICEY. And we really wanted to find a cheaper place - even if it meant downsizing.
It all kind of fell into place very last minute. A friend of mine lives in a small, older, but closer to school and same distance to downtown (amazing), AND WAY CHEAPER. There are only 11 units and don't open up too often. We she told me on Dec 20 she there was an opening. We were leaving the following day and we had to decide by the 27 what we were planning on doing with the current place. We had kind of already made up our mind but then we thought -- hey if it works out lets do it.
So on Dec 26 I called the complex and nothing... no one is opened the day after Christmas. I left a message. The 27 was the day I had to re-sign our current lease. I emailed them for the E copy because they do it all electronic stuff -- well haha on them. While I waiting I got the phone call that yes the apartment was still open, yes we could move in late Feb, yes the price was right, YES YES YES. I immediately said tell me what to do to snag it ... and it all worked out. I submitted my no thanks for keeping this place and was done with it:)
The place is WAY WAY WAY smaller. It's 2 stories which is neat... 2 bedrooms and 1 very small bathroom upstairs and the living room/dining room/kitchen downstairs. No laundry room --- there is a facility on site. It is made of cinder block so it stays really cold from what my 2 friends say that currently live there... yes I know 2 of the 10 other places haha. It keeps our electric super low in price.
We are looking up lots of new ways to use storage to our advantage and are getting rid of yet again a lot of stuff.... I also opted to keep all of my 5 holiday/Christmas bins at school. I have a spare closet and it's not full so why not:)
yay --- We will start our move on Feb 18 and will have 9 days to get everything out and in and cleaned. Whoo hooo!
We love where we live right now... great location, beautiful pool, new, gated, big, great people.... but it is PRICEY. And we really wanted to find a cheaper place - even if it meant downsizing.
It all kind of fell into place very last minute. A friend of mine lives in a small, older, but closer to school and same distance to downtown (amazing), AND WAY CHEAPER. There are only 11 units and don't open up too often. We she told me on Dec 20 she there was an opening. We were leaving the following day and we had to decide by the 27 what we were planning on doing with the current place. We had kind of already made up our mind but then we thought -- hey if it works out lets do it.
So on Dec 26 I called the complex and nothing... no one is opened the day after Christmas. I left a message. The 27 was the day I had to re-sign our current lease. I emailed them for the E copy because they do it all electronic stuff -- well haha on them. While I waiting I got the phone call that yes the apartment was still open, yes we could move in late Feb, yes the price was right, YES YES YES. I immediately said tell me what to do to snag it ... and it all worked out. I submitted my no thanks for keeping this place and was done with it:)
The place is WAY WAY WAY smaller. It's 2 stories which is neat... 2 bedrooms and 1 very small bathroom upstairs and the living room/dining room/kitchen downstairs. No laundry room --- there is a facility on site. It is made of cinder block so it stays really cold from what my 2 friends say that currently live there... yes I know 2 of the 10 other places haha. It keeps our electric super low in price.
We are looking up lots of new ways to use storage to our advantage and are getting rid of yet again a lot of stuff.... I also opted to keep all of my 5 holiday/Christmas bins at school. I have a spare closet and it's not full so why not:)
yay --- We will start our move on Feb 18 and will have 9 days to get everything out and in and cleaned. Whoo hooo!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Winter break 2011
A little behind so it's time to catch up! January is almost over and I haven't even finished blogging about it! Eek!
Derrick and I had a SUPER busy holiday vacation this year. My break started on the Dec 21-Jan 4. We went to bed super early on the 20th and headed to Houston at 3am to catch our 6:30 flight to Orlando. The best part... WE TOOK MIA:) She got to fly with us and come to FL to visit with Derrick's family and it saved us oodles of money to not have to board her. The weather was amazing in FL and we got to enjoy going to the beach and playing a game of family touch football on Christmas Eve:)
I came home on Christmas Day because Derrick had to head to work. I got a ton of stuff done those 3 days being in Austin -- errands galore including last minute signing a new lease for a new place (another post) -- and Derrick came home on the 28. The 29 we woke up BRIGHT AND EARLY again to drive to Houston for our 7am flight (it's easier for us to fly out of Houston on stand by). And yes, we got to bring Mia again with us!!!!! We got into Detroit and my mom picked us up. We enjoyed some (cold) time in Ohio visiting with family and playing cards. On the 31 we drove to Columbus to my sorority sister's new house for a big NY's party with my sorority sister's and friends. It was so awesome to visit with everyone.
I dropped Derrick off on the 1st at the Columbus airport and I headed back up to Oregon to spend the day with my mom for 1 more day. We woke up super early and headed to Detroit on the 2nd.... I didn't get on any flights... my mom had to come back to pick me up... then drive me down to Cleveland to catch a late flight out. I got in to Houston at 9pm and drove the 3 hour drive home to Austin. I had 1 day to relax and get ready for school on the 4th! SHEW! Way too busy but so nice to see everyone!
Derrick and I had a SUPER busy holiday vacation this year. My break started on the Dec 21-Jan 4. We went to bed super early on the 20th and headed to Houston at 3am to catch our 6:30 flight to Orlando. The best part... WE TOOK MIA:) She got to fly with us and come to FL to visit with Derrick's family and it saved us oodles of money to not have to board her. The weather was amazing in FL and we got to enjoy going to the beach and playing a game of family touch football on Christmas Eve:)
I came home on Christmas Day because Derrick had to head to work. I got a ton of stuff done those 3 days being in Austin -- errands galore including last minute signing a new lease for a new place (another post) -- and Derrick came home on the 28. The 29 we woke up BRIGHT AND EARLY again to drive to Houston for our 7am flight (it's easier for us to fly out of Houston on stand by). And yes, we got to bring Mia again with us!!!!! We got into Detroit and my mom picked us up. We enjoyed some (cold) time in Ohio visiting with family and playing cards. On the 31 we drove to Columbus to my sorority sister's new house for a big NY's party with my sorority sister's and friends. It was so awesome to visit with everyone.
I dropped Derrick off on the 1st at the Columbus airport and I headed back up to Oregon to spend the day with my mom for 1 more day. We woke up super early and headed to Detroit on the 2nd.... I didn't get on any flights... my mom had to come back to pick me up... then drive me down to Cleveland to catch a late flight out. I got in to Houston at 9pm and drove the 3 hour drive home to Austin. I had 1 day to relax and get ready for school on the 4th! SHEW! Way too busy but so nice to see everyone!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Austinites
So funny! My friend posted this to facebook and I had to repost on here. It is truly the definition of Austin conversations! I love it!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Top 12 in 2012!
A little delayed but with much consideration here are my top 12 of 2012 to accomplish:) - no particular order
1. Run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours... initially I would have just wanted to run a 1/2 marathon and complete it but lately but I have been adding more and more mileage to my long runs (ie 8 miles today in 68 minutes!) so I feel like I should set a time goal!
2. Take more deep breaths... the past couple of months I have worked really hard during the week to truly relax during the weekend - it has been amazing. I want to continue it BUT now I also want to try to be more flexible during the week too... will anyone notice if I don't vacuum during the week?
3. Travel to Europe... that is next on my list and I'm looking forward to this summer. Hopefully we can pull it off. I'm ready to vacation in other places than the caribbean/beachy - don't get me wrong - I LOVE THAT - but I want to try something new
4. Keep up with my organization and find a place for everything. If I don't have a place for it... then it doesn't belong. The new, SMALLER, apartment will help:)
5. Limit the shopping. I did so well for about 2 years -- barely shopped at all.
6. Save....save...save.... - but also spend and not feel guilty about it. Because like Derrick says, what are you saving for if you're never going to spend it. True story! I work hard... I should enjoy it!
7. More surprises for Derrick. This upcoming weekend (21) I am surprising him with a trip to Enchanted Rock, a state park here with some nice hiking, but afterwards I also booked a cute B&B room for the night in a small town of Comfort, TX:) He has no idea!
8. Continue to find more ways to save money! It is one of my favorite things. I am obsessed with GoodWill shopping, Plato's closet, and I'm going to look for more consignment shops. C'mon 2nd hand:) With the saving comes my budget -- I've had a budget for YEARS ... I revamped it last night and color coded it (yes.... I am so type A and color coding is my favorite thing in the world.... colored highlighters in my planner in college saved my life) - I'm hoping to keep better track of my spending and STOP spending when my limit has been reached for the month.
9. Read more. Screen time less. I've got a long way to go on that one.
10. Keep in touch better. I'm great with emails so I'll start there:)
11. Push myself to stay up a half hour later when Derrick is here.... it's hard because I'm always so tired but what's a half hour of sleep... I can get up a little later if needed... but I need to be better about remembering that he isn't here everyday. I always get bummed when he leaves and regret turning in too early. At the same time, I know that if I don't get enough sleep I'll get sick - so don't worry... I'm saying going to bed at 10 rather than 9:30. Not too late!
12. Take a class. Last year I took a photography class and LOVED it - what will it be this year? Maybe a cooking class... I'd love to learn how to chop things better with a knife... is that a class? hahahaha. Maybe a beginner's painting class, a gardening class, something. anything. something new!
Think about it... what would you like to accomplish in 2012?
1. Run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours... initially I would have just wanted to run a 1/2 marathon and complete it but lately but I have been adding more and more mileage to my long runs (ie 8 miles today in 68 minutes!) so I feel like I should set a time goal!
2. Take more deep breaths... the past couple of months I have worked really hard during the week to truly relax during the weekend - it has been amazing. I want to continue it BUT now I also want to try to be more flexible during the week too... will anyone notice if I don't vacuum during the week?
3. Travel to Europe... that is next on my list and I'm looking forward to this summer. Hopefully we can pull it off. I'm ready to vacation in other places than the caribbean/beachy - don't get me wrong - I LOVE THAT - but I want to try something new
4. Keep up with my organization and find a place for everything. If I don't have a place for it... then it doesn't belong. The new, SMALLER, apartment will help:)
5. Limit the shopping. I did so well for about 2 years -- barely shopped at all.
6. Save....save...save.... - but also spend and not feel guilty about it. Because like Derrick says, what are you saving for if you're never going to spend it. True story! I work hard... I should enjoy it!
7. More surprises for Derrick. This upcoming weekend (21) I am surprising him with a trip to Enchanted Rock, a state park here with some nice hiking, but afterwards I also booked a cute B&B room for the night in a small town of Comfort, TX:) He has no idea!
8. Continue to find more ways to save money! It is one of my favorite things. I am obsessed with GoodWill shopping, Plato's closet, and I'm going to look for more consignment shops. C'mon 2nd hand:) With the saving comes my budget -- I've had a budget for YEARS ... I revamped it last night and color coded it (yes.... I am so type A and color coding is my favorite thing in the world.... colored highlighters in my planner in college saved my life) - I'm hoping to keep better track of my spending and STOP spending when my limit has been reached for the month.
9. Read more. Screen time less. I've got a long way to go on that one.
10. Keep in touch better. I'm great with emails so I'll start there:)
11. Push myself to stay up a half hour later when Derrick is here.... it's hard because I'm always so tired but what's a half hour of sleep... I can get up a little later if needed... but I need to be better about remembering that he isn't here everyday. I always get bummed when he leaves and regret turning in too early. At the same time, I know that if I don't get enough sleep I'll get sick - so don't worry... I'm saying going to bed at 10 rather than 9:30. Not too late!
12. Take a class. Last year I took a photography class and LOVED it - what will it be this year? Maybe a cooking class... I'd love to learn how to chop things better with a knife... is that a class? hahahaha. Maybe a beginner's painting class, a gardening class, something. anything. something new!
Think about it... what would you like to accomplish in 2012?
Monday, January 9, 2012
Top 11 in 2011
A little late but my favorite 11 moments of 2011 in no particular order:
1. Our trip to Costa Rica - picture of us on the beach:)
2. Enjoying the royal wedding --- heavenly
3. Finishing my first year teaching at my new school - my first day moving into my new classroom
4. Finding out I'm becoming an aunt - Nikki's baby shower
5. Adopting a puppy... even though I gave her back - sweet Paisley
6. Learning a ton about buying a house/condo - the entrance to the condo we were supposed to buy
7. Learning how to sew - 3 pillows made by moi
8. Starting up and hosting a summer camp - so much fun! looking forward to round 2 this summer!
9. Running - and loving it - 1st pair of shoes and my 3rd place run
10. Moving closer to downtown - love our apartment , even though we are moving
11. Having Derrick with me to make new friends, explore a new city, and enjoy each and every moment! - hook em horns!
I loved 2011 -- for the most part -- looking forward to 2012! Look for my recap of each month of 2011 for my ups and downs post!
1. Our trip to Costa Rica - picture of us on the beach:)
2. Enjoying the royal wedding --- heavenly
3. Finishing my first year teaching at my new school - my first day moving into my new classroom
4. Finding out I'm becoming an aunt - Nikki's baby shower
5. Adopting a puppy... even though I gave her back - sweet Paisley
6. Learning a ton about buying a house/condo - the entrance to the condo we were supposed to buy
7. Learning how to sew - 3 pillows made by moi
8. Starting up and hosting a summer camp - so much fun! looking forward to round 2 this summer!
9. Running - and loving it - 1st pair of shoes and my 3rd place run
10. Moving closer to downtown - love our apartment , even though we are moving
11. Having Derrick with me to make new friends, explore a new city, and enjoy each and every moment! - hook em horns!
I loved 2011 -- for the most part -- looking forward to 2012! Look for my recap of each month of 2011 for my ups and downs post!
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