I’m so excited! So check out my photos from my trip to visit pregnant Amanda this weekend….

I had a great time and it was so fun to see my friend so  pregnant. Amanda is due at the end of April and I’m predicting that she is going to have a big boy. Well we know he’s a boy and his name is Logan Jacob, but I think he’s going to be a long baby….which is funny since Amanda is not long! Anyways, check out the pics, and now that I know how to add a photo gallery, look forward to more!

Friday night, my 9th grade girls Sunday school class came over for pizza, cupcakes DDR and Rock Band…we had a blast and Mr. Michael even hung out with us. The girls (the furry ones) were totally worn out after all the petting and loving and attention they got….oh and at least an hour of laser pointer chasing. It was great!

Saturday night, the Communications Plus gang and our fams (including Jason and Ryan) went to the AAF Houston Addys Gala. We had three nominations for our work on the Slack & Co. campaign last year (Direct Mail, Ads and Mixed Media). Well, after anxiously awaiting the results through dinner (and sizing up our HUGE competition…think HP and Texas Children’s Hospital for starters) we were thrilled to win GOLD ADDYs in each of our three categories! It was a great night. I went to bed telling Michael that I couldn’t believe it. And after only 6 short hours of sleep, my eyes popped open and I was still smiling! My mom followed the whole evening on Twitter which was extra fun…Michael was awesome about updating all night with pictures and all for her.

Today, we had a really nice and quiet day. A great morning at church, a lunch, a perfect nap, a little bit of cleaning, then a nice,, quiet and early dinner at RA sushi complete with a quick trip to Wal-Mart. I’m jealous because Michael has off of work tomorrow because every computer engineer should have the freedom to celebrate President’s Day…It’s ok, I’m not bitter

Happy heart day everyone. No matter what  you did today, I hope you felt loved <3

For example, two days ago, I tweeted that Kona was bossy and she is…she literally made me go to bed the other night. Long story but bottom line…Kona likes to parade around in her Bossy Boots…especially when the Alpha is not around. What would DW say if he actually read that tweet? Probably that I haven’t established clear pack leadership or something like that right?

So today, DW posts that if your dog is overexcited when he greets you that he is probably telling you that he is bored and his needs aren’t being met.

This I clearly know since Dixie thinks its a great idea to chew on carpet and other unacceptable things when we are not home. Kona for the most part is fine unless she decides to visit the sofa. Now I know there is so much truth to the theories of DW, but one of the things I love the MOST about my dogs is how they greet me when I get home. I mean seriously. What better feeling is there then coming home to the two happiest dogs you’ve ever seen? Maybe it’s selfish and just feeds my ego, but the excited greeting at the door is one of my favorite moments of the day. No matter how long I’ve been gone…even if it’s literally 30 seconds, if I walk out the door and come back in, my dogs are happy to see me.  Being greeted this way is especially good when your husband is stuck in Lubbock because there are no flights coming in and out due to “fog.” Two flights cancelled. Bummer Continental (even though Mike keeps reminding me it’s not their fault).

But fog? I mean is it so dense that you shouldn’t drive? And no offense to all the Lubbock-ites out there, but isn’t it just a flat grid? Surely there is a pilot that can maneuver through a little fog onto a long flat landing strip.  Take London for example…isn’t there a lot of fog there? Do all flights in and our of London get cancelled every foggy day? Case and point. No more excuses Continental. There are lots of people stuck in Lubbock right now…several of them my family, so how about we get them home stat? thanks. and gig ‘em.

So I clearly don’t actually know the weather in Lubbock nor do I know the perils of piloting a plane of fog…but Kona is being bossy again and demanding that Alpha return…so I’m just trying to keep the peace

The past two weeks have been…trying? I’m not sure that is the right word, but I can’t really think of a better word for it. A week ago, I was taking the trials in stride…in fact, I would venture to say that I was even  rejoicing, sensing that God was about to do something big in our lives. I get these “premonitions” from time to time, before there is a big change. It isn’t always a tough or bad change either…just a change. Actually, on Tuesday night at Bible study, we discussed our faith and hope and joy in the middle of life’s trials, and I would say I was rather optimistic.

While I still feel my outlook is good, we did face a big change this week. On Wednesday, Michael’s dear friend, Emily Mulkey, passed away. Emily had been battling CF for 27 years, and on Wednesday, the Lord called her home…though it was rather unexpeted for everyone eslse.

One of the things we talked about on Tuesday night was choosing hope…or choosing Jesus…when bad things happen to us. We know that the enemy likes to paralyze us with fear and doubt…so we get planted where we are and never move forward…and often, being planted in our fear or doubt, we sink into this pit. That pit can be hard to get out of, and I’m sure that we all have our stories of being in that same spot. But over the past two weeks…through my 9th grade sunday school class, songs on the radio and through my own times of prayer, I’ve been reminded over and over again about the power in the name of Jesus. That just at the sound of his name, his enemies shudder and that knees will bow and tongues confess he is Lord…just at his name.

The past two weeks, I’ve found myself repeating in my head (and sometimes outloud), I choose Jesus. I choose hope. I choose Jesus. I chooses hope. And at some times this week, I’ve had to repeat it again and again until my heart agrees. Tonight, I was hugging Michael as he grieved over the loss of his friend and his sister’s hurt, and I was thinking about how thankful I am for the Lord. That even in one of the toughest two weeks emotionally, I’ve had in a while, that my heart had hope and my eyes looked up to the Lord. Even this morning, I read through several Psalms looking for the perfect verse of comfort to share with Michael, and what I read again and again is “great is the Lord and greatly to be praise….his lovingkidness is better than life…his love endures forever….the Lord hears my prayer and knows each tear I’ve cried…”

Anyways, I suppose that I don’t really have a point in all of this other than to say, Friends, you will face trials in your life. But my prayer for you is to choose Jesus and to choose hope when those trials come. He is always the salve to your wounds and the sweet relief you won’t even know you are in desparate need of.

On another note, we had a great Christmas! My family was all over and David and Ashley were here too! Much to our disappointment (and a very long car ride to Alvin) Norma’s was OUT of cakeballs. So Ashley, Mom and I endeavored to make our own. Hilarious! But delicious. Ashely and I have big plans for our future cake balls. We may just put Norma’s out of business. Just kidding Norma…I love you and your cake balls, but your bakery is way the heck away!

This years gifts received include new house shoes, snuggies, a new garbage disposal, drying rack for laundry, lots of clothes, Glee soundtrack valume 1 (which Rocks!), Pioneer Woman Cookbook, my first hair straightener, a curling iron and yes…I sound like an old woman! But I love my gifts! One of the coolest gifts this year is the home brewing kit that my brothers and Ashley got Michael. He is very stoked to announce the opening of the Waters Brewhouse in the 1st quarter of 2010. More on that to come I’m sure.

One of the most hilarious things that happened this year was the ruined Christmas day lunch. Let me paint this picture for you. On December 23, the women folk venture to the grocery store which was really poor planning. Mom, Ashley and I each had our own carts as we caravaned through the throngs of crazy people who also waited until the last minute to do the holiday grocery shopping. We split up a couple of time and then ended up double buying several items on our list. However, one key item, a can of creamed corn, did not make it in the cart or bag. The creamed corn is essential to Michael’s favorite creamed corn casserole. Also, we could not find the right sized Turkey. Michael said no bigger than 12 pounds for the fryer. My options were 5 pounds on 12.5. I went with 12.5. However, when the boys went to cook the bird, there was a little misjudgement on done-ness and we pulled the turkey out of the hot oil and it was not complete. So, Michael and I carved the bird and the MICROWAVED it piece by piece…basting it in butter and creole seasoning all the while. It was terrible. I didn’t even eat it! And neither did Michael. And all our plans of leftover turkey sandwiches were thrown out with the trash! Now, back to cream corn. I didn’t realize I had no creamed corn until it came time to put it in the casserole, at which point we tore apart the kitchen looking for it. No where to be found. I improvised with cornbread…it was ok. Oh also, I bought a lot of fresh green beans and forgot to cook them. It was pretty awesome! We laughed though and it was all ok.

So now Michael and I are enjoying our week off together. 1:15 p.m. and still in jammies! I love it!

Have a Happy New Year!

This past weekend we had perfect fall weather and are forecasted for the same sunny, cool days this weekend. YAY! I love love love this weather. We only get it like 6 days a year, so you HAVE to soak it up while you can. The cooler weather has taught us two things.
1. We love fresh air but need screens on our doors. If you’ve been to our house you know that none of our windows open (well one in the guest room does). Every other room has doors/balconies. Which is cool, except we have a crazy amount of flies that seem to make their way inside when we open the doors. Like big flies. Which I am apparently good at catching with one hand, Karate Kid style.
2. Kona is an excellent fly catcher as well. One evening, there were 5 flies in the foyer area. Michael and I were running round the landing trying to kill all the flies and Kona was right with us. She would track them best she could then, “Snatch…smack smack smack.” (That is Kona cathing a fly and smacking her lips after she eats it). She is a gifted fly catcher.

Speaking of the dogs, I took them to the vet last week and you would have thought I was taking them to a room full of vacuum cleaners (they HATE HATE HATE the vacuum). Thank God there was slippery floors in the vet’s office. I was dragging those dogs in. Once we got in, Dixie started shaking like she was having convulsions and Kona was whining soooooo loud. Checking in was near impossible as they tried to make a break for the front door every 1.3 seconds. We also had an audience of other pet owners which made me so much more proud of the behavior of my two giant babies! After suffering the glares, eye rollings and laughter (yes people were laughing at the antics they were witnessing displayed by Kona and Dixie), we made it into the exam room where Dixie promptly jumped on the bench, hid her face in the corner, hunkered down and whined and shook. Nice. The vet came in and said, “Is she okay?” No! Look at her! She is NUTS! Kona on the other hand was trying to be Houdini and escape from the vet techs. They finally gave up and let the vet give the vaccines and I had to hold the dog down while she was on the exam table. Once she felt the little prick of a needle, she flipped out and in the chaos, a paw went down my shirt. Superb! And not at all embarrassing in front of the male vet. Oh and did I mention that my dogs shed. When they are nervous they shed even more…like you could make a fur coat out of the amount of fur we left on the floor in our wake. Sweet mother of furry dogs.

The vet gave me a suggestion for the shedding that involves breaking open fishoil capsules and putting it on their food. Hold on. I think I just threw up in my mouth. Have you ever smelled those things? Disgusting. I can’t even imagine what it is going to do to Dixie’s already stellar breath. But if it means I can take one more step in my war against dog fur in my house, I’m going to have to try it out.

Seriously, I should post a picture of the shedding taking place in our house (shouldn’t they be building a winter coat or something right now?) It’s epic.

Alright, lunch break over and back to the grind. In typical fashion, I will promise to try to post pictures soon. Gonna see if I can figure it out when Miguel is in China.

Last night we both went for a run (at different times because Michael got home late) and we did well. I ran about 2.3 miles and Michael about 1.5. Both at a good pace. So, the time is here. We’ve done all we can do and we’re “ready” for the duathalon.

I’m going to try to get Jason to video us throughout the race so we can post it on line. I know you all want to see us in our hot little tri-shorts!

Wish us luck…my tummy has butterflies now just writing/thinking about it. Maybe I should jam that new Miley Cyrus song before the race…

“So I put my hands up they’re playing my song and the butterflies fly away…
I’m nodding my head like yeah, moving my hips like yeah…”

Anyone?