Busy Week/Weekend

We've been super busy since I posted last, so here's a few of the highlights: 

On Wednesday I fixed dinner! That may not sound like a big deal to most of you, but cooking doesn't come as naturally to me as it does to others. I'm not bad, mind you, but I have to really read directions and follow them closely. None of this "a pinch of this, a dash of that" stuff. Not yet, at least. You'll have to check with Brian if dinner was good, but personally, I thought it was fantastic! :) 

Thursday night I went to a Ginny Owens concert at Park Cities with Rachael Clark. (Rachael and Matt Clark live in our apartment complex and are in our sunday school. They got married in December. Rachael is Aubrie's cousin. Aubrie is Jake's girlfriend. Jake is my younger brother. Got it? Good.) Last Sunday they made an announcement in Sunday School about the concert, and I got so excited! I was a big fan of hers in high school. In fact, I used one of her songs for the background music of my senior slideshow video. She also came to Baylor my freshman year and performed at Waco Hall for chapel. Anyways, she plays the piano and has a wonderful, unique style of singing. She writes most, if not all, of her songs - and her lyrics are meaningful and often clever. One of the most interesting things about her though, is that she's been completely blind since she was two. I bought her 2 newest CD's (1 for $15, 2 for $20 - Mama didn't raise no fool, so I got two) and have loved listening to them in the car. 

Friday's are my day off, so I usually do stuff around the house and run errands. I did some of that, and then went to babysit the Porch girls. They were great (as usual), and made me hope that one day when we have kids they go to bed as easily as those girls do. What a blessing!

This weekend we've been in Austin. It was a great trip! We went down there for Sarah Seidlits' wedding, and so that Brian could ride a specific mountain bike course. He's doing a triathlon there next month, and wanted to pre-ride it so that he's more familiar with it on the race day. Sounds like cheating to me, but he's promises that it's not. :) The wedding was beautiful, and we were glad that we went. We were just glad to be in Austin. Neither Brian or I have been there many times, so it was a learning experience for us both. Brian's great with directions, though, so he had his bearings pretty early on. I love that about him. Austin is such an out-doorsy town and very dog-friendly. Oh, did I not mention that we took Mia with us?! We found a hotel that let your pet stay in the room with you, and offered doggie spa services if needed (we didn't need them, Brian would want me to point out). While Brian was biking on Saturday afternoon, Mia and I went to what we thought was going to be a dog park. This was so much cooler, though. In Austin, they have what's called "Off-leash Areas". Basically this one was a nature trail all through the hills, and your dogs are allowed to wander along with you, off of their leash. I was a little worried at first because I wasn't sure how well Mia would do staying close to me, but I was very pleasantly surprised! She stayed within 20 feet of me at all times, and every few seconds she would turn around and make sure I was still behind her. A few times, I hid behind some bushes to see what she would do, and after she realized she couldn't see me, she came back looking for me. I was so proud! :) Needless to say, I couldn't stop talking about how much fun we had, so Brian came back with us on Sunday. I wanted him to be able to experience it too. The pictures didn't do it justice. We had a great time hiking for a couple of hours, all three of us... happy little family! :) 

Last but not least, to top off our weekend, we drove back from Austin this afternoon so that we could make it for our Sunday School class' cookout. We were so exhausted, and for a second, considered not going (Mom, don't be mad..I was embarrassed because I was supposed to take a dessert and realized I wouldn't have time to make one), but then decided to tough it out anyway. And, we're really glad we did. We love the people in our Newlywed class, and it was great to catch up and laugh with several couples we haven't seen in a few weeks. 

Well, I think that sums up our weekend. I need to post more often so these entries don't end up so long! Lesson learned.

*** Here are the pictures I promised! Enjoy! ***

This is the front of the hotel where we stayed:

The Mansion on Judge's Hill

Brian before the pre-ride

Mia and I posing on the nature trail at Emma Long Park

The beautiful bride and me

See?!?!

I knew I wouldn't be able to control myself... Oh well! I'm just going to embrace it!

Tonight we went to dinner with 2 couples from our Sunday School class. I was put in charge of planning it, so we went to Mi Cocina. :) It was so much fun and the food was great, as always! (Side note: Try the Sunset style Fajitas - Matt and Rachael Clark got us hooked) I really love how the leaders of our class encourage us to do things together outside of Sunday morning. Every two months, they send out a list of "supper clubs". Usually it's 3 or 4 couples, with one couple being responsible for getting it together, who go out to dinner. This was our third one since we joined the class back in January, and every time we've really enjoyed it. On Sunday mornings its very easy to be superficial, and ask "How are you?" or "How was your weekend?" without really listening to the answer. But the supper clubs are a great way to find out more,  and make other couples feel involved. Tonight I think I realized that God has blessed Brian and I with the ability to connect with people, and we need to use that gift more often. It's selfish of me not to put forth the effort to make sure that newer couples feel included in the group. I think I'll work on that.

Alright, gotta go take Mia out... 

Our First Entry

Well... it's finally time for my blogging experience to begin. I feel like I have been putting it off only because I know that once I start, I most likely will become obsessed with it. Hopefully I will be able to maintain some self-control, though. I've encouraged Brian to post too, but we'll see how that goes... I think I'll just start with a summary of our married life to this point.

Brian and I just celebrated our 1 year anniversary last month.. Crazy! We are loving married life and are learning so much about ourselves and each other. We have a two-bedroom apartment near the Galleria, and we love the area. We are somewhat preoccupied with our dog, Mia, but I've been told not to feel bad about it because most people are the same way about their pets until they have kids. So, Mia, enjoy it while it lasts! Brian has been working for TI for about 2 years now, including his internship, and feels like he's found a good fit for him. He works hard, but the hours are relatively flexible, so that's nice. He works for DLP (like HD Tv's), in the front projection group. Basically, he does hardware design and customer support. I am in my last semester of grad school - graduation: August 23rd! I started January of '07 and can't believe I'm almost finished. I am currently looking for a job, but I'm sure there will be more on that later.

Brian loves road and mountain biking; he does several triathlons a year; and he is very handy around the apartment. I regularly babysit for a family in University Park, who have 3 girls: twin 15 month olds (Annie and Emma Jane) and a 4 year old (Mollie). Also, we go to Park Cities Baptist Church and love our newlywed Sunday School class!

We feel very fortunate to live close to both our families, and get to see them often. Sometimes Brian questions why we live in a place as flat and ugly as this part of Texas, but we enjoy being surrounded by our loved ones. It's easy to take that for granted, but want them to know we really appreciate their encouragement and support as we begin our lives together.

I think that does it for a brief synopsis of our life at the moment... Until next time...