Sunday, December 14, 2008

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Christmas time is here....

Christmas is here! (Yes, I know, it's just a few weeks off, but it's close enough for me). This week we've been having all manner of merriment, we bought our tree and decorated it and tonight we decorated the outside of the house.

We also got Sally all festive and ready to see Santa Claus for the first time. (She put up with us dressing her up, but just barely). She's surprisingly not been attacking the tree or ornaments, but she's had fun running around the bottom.

I also stumbled upon a website that makes really cool personalized ornaments, so I got one to commemorate our big year, and the wedding!

Yea for Christmas!!!


Our pretty, little tree (before we got our new tree skirt).


Sally in her stylin' Christmas gear.

Our fun ornament with our wedding party.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Pumpkin Pie...mmm....

It's official. November has arrived and thus it is time to begin the fattening tradition of holiday cooking.

This weekend I decided that I NEEDED to break out the KitchenAid mixer for its maiden voyage. It's one of my favorite wedding presents that we received and I'd never even used it!!!

So, I decided I was going to bake. At the request of my darling husband (who is a fanatic for it) I made a pumpkin pie.

I used the pie crust recipe passed down the generations from my Great Grandmother (super easy and I love rolling pie crust!) and followed the directions on the back of the can o' pumpkin.

I haven't made pumpkin pies very often, so I (mistakenly) grabbed a can of HEB brand pumpkin (thinking only of the budget and not of taste) and followed the recipe provided on the back.

Peter liked it, but said it was "really clovey" and it didn't get as solid as other pumpkin pies (like my Aunt Betty's who makes the BEST pumpkin pie). I think my mistake was not going with the tried-and-true "Libby" brand. Everyone knows that's the best.

I found a Paula Deen recipe that I'm going to try out for Thanksgiving. It's so bad, but sounds so, so good. (It involves lots and lot of cream cheese). MMMMmmmmm......

I'll get a picture of the pie when I get home. (Yep, I'm blogging from school).

Happy Holiday season everyone!!!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!!



Happy Halloween from the Te-Tes! Sally was NOT excited about wearing this costume, but she kept it on just long enough for us to take a couple of pictures.

Although we had no trick-or-treaters tonight, we still had a fun Halloween (our first Halloween as newlyweds!).

Enjoy!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Revisiting a past I never knew....

When my grandmother passed away, she left a treasure trove of 8mm family films. (Literally over 150 reels!) My darling sister in law works at a video production studio and told me that she has the capability to transfer them to DVD.

So, my dear uncle (who's been keeping them safe since my grandmother's passing) brought them to me at the wedding.

The DVDs are from as early as the late 60s. My mom's 17th birthday is on one of the reels! It's amazing to look back to a time when I wasn't even a "twinkle in my mama's eye."

Some of the most amazing footage is of my grandparents and great-grandparents. My grandfather and great grandmother died when I was 3 and my great grandfather even before that. Needless to say, I have virtually no memory of them.

These films are like a (soundless) time machine. I've seen pictures, but it's amazing to see them smile and laugh with everyone.


Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Sunday Blues....

As a teacher, I feel like I look forward to the weekend just as much (if not more) than the students. It's nice to have a break after 5 days (as I'm sure it is in every profession).

Since school began I've found that I have the "Sunday blues." I wake up on Sunday mornings happy that it's the weekend, but sad because it's my "last" day before I have to return to the grindstone.

I've tried to combat the feelings today by doing fun and relaxing things. Peter and I cleaned his rent houses. I talked to my friend Amber on the phone for a while about our crazy men and our crazy little (fur) girls. I watched the Sex and the City movie on DVD (with and without commentary, very fun!) And I took a bubble bath. All in all, a good day.

It's nice to have a day to relax and unwind, especially because I don't feel like I get to spend enough time at home with my 106 mile (roundtrip) commute every day.

Any thoughts on combating the Sunday Blues?

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Sally- the Secretary o' Cute











Peter and I have always talked about getting a cat. We didn't want to get one before the wedding because we knew we'd be gone to Cambodia and we'd have to leave him/her in the care of others (and that's no fun).

Upon our return we started researching the "kitten project." The Austin Humane Society was running a summer program for kittens that had their shots, were spayed and had a microchip for only $35!

We visited the shelter twice before we found our perfect kitty. She had to stay for a couple of days and get her "no kitten" surgery and then we got to take her home!

Sally has fit right in with our crazy household. She has taken up residence in our bed every night (with the added bonus being barely 3 pounds but taking up the WHOLE bed) and loves to play outside, which we only let her do for about 30 minutes a day, supervised. We don't have any fences and she's so cute we don't want someone to snatch her. (Not to mention all the other calamities that could befall her).

She's been a nice tiny preview of having kids. Where in the past if we wanted to be gone all day or go out of town we would just pack up and head out, now we have to play ahead for Sally. This dilemma allowed for a trip to Grandma and Papa Bear's for Labor Day. She had fun when she got there (as did her grandparents), but the car ride was an adventure (see pictures).

One of Sally's favorite past times is jumping on the keyboards of computers. We can't figure out if she is trying to catch our fingers, or our attention. She has also become quite the World of Warcraft fanatic like her dad. She tries to attack all the guys on the screen and chases the mouse cursor all over. She's a funny cat!

I can't remember our house before she took it over. She's such a great little girl!

I wanna blog!!

So, it seems that all of our friends are writing blogs so that they can update their friends and family on their daily lives. I guess I think our life is interesting enough to blog about also. So....we'll try it for a while.