Day at the Races

The Hansens invited us out for a day at the races a few weekends ago and we had so much fun! We didn't place any actual bets, but it was fun trying to figure out how to pick winning horses and rooting for our favorites. If you've never been, it is a lot of fun just to watch the beautiful horses.

St. Patrick's Day Party Pictures...At Last!

I had the greatest intentions of taking pictures of all of my carefully and meticulously planned decorations, food, etc...but it didn't happen. The party started and then was going and then I remembered to snap some photos...so here they are!

We cleared out all of our living room furniture (there isn't much anyway!)
and had seating for 50 people. My mom had sent these great St. Patty's Day dishes and tablecloths and even made cute shamrocks for my centerpieces. I bought different candle holders and candles to add to the centerpieces and accented them with cute beads and candy. I used paper goods for the place settings, but bought pretty gold chargers to make it look a little more formal.

The Jacobs, Krista Hanvey and our awesome realtor Becky Bochniak.

The Walkers, Preeces, and the Farmers

Kevin's cousin Mike Bell and his wife Jessica (live here in Dallas) and Kevin's aunt and uncle Liz and Jim (live in Tyler, Texas)

It was quite the adventure cooking and serving for 50 people, but I think it was a success
(despite the fact that my cornbread muffins were as hard as a rock!) and we can't wait for next year's St. Patty's Day bash!

No...It Didn't Just Snow in Dallas - These are Just Really Old Pictures!!

We had several "big" snow storms this year in Dallas...while the rest of the East Coast was stuck under 4 feet of snow, we were boasting our own snow fall record - 1 foot! In TEXAS!! It was really neat...and here is the evidence if you don't believe me!

This is the lake near our house

I love this red barn! It looked gorgeous covered in snow!

This is the view from our 2nd story back windows...see the barn? It's the same one in the picture above and do you know what? They filmed several episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger there...so, yeah, we practically know Chuck Norris!

Ol' Bessy

This is the only warning you'll ever get:

• Don't come stalking around our house at night or you may get shot
• Don't set off our alarm system in the middle of the night or you will be shot

You see...Kevin and I have a shot gun lovingly referred to as Ol' Bessy. It isn't fancy, but it will do the job you need it to do. We bought it for home defense two summers ago when Kevin left me for his 13 week internship - and before he left, he made sure I knew how to use it - up until a point. I never learned how to un-cock the gun. But why would I ever need to un-cock a loaded gun?

Well, one summer night the wind was really strong and knocked over some of the plants I had outside on my porch making a sort of banging, crashing noise that in my half-asleep-freaked-out-because-I-was-awoken-by-a-big-bang-noise state I interpreted as someone trying to break into my apartment. I have always had a healthy fear (okay...it borders on paranoia when I am sleeping alone) of home intruders and rapists (yeah, I know, imagine that!) that makes me extra careful whenever I am alone in and out of public. You can never be too careful.

So, back to the story. I heard the crash, jumped out of bed, grabbed the shot gun, loaded it, and expecting a big scary man to walk through my bedroom door at any moment, crouched behind the bed with the shot gun aimed at the door. With adrenaline coursing through me and my heart pounding so hard it hurt my chest, I then cocked the gun and waited. If the big scary man was going to get me, he was going to have to go through Ol' Bessy first! But he didn't come...after waiting without hardly breathing for who knows how long, I willed myself to calm down enough to call Kevin because I didn't know what to do with the loaded gun lying on my bed.

Poor Kevin...I probably gave him a heart attack! He groggily told me that I had to hold down the cocking thingy and pull the trigger - PULL THE TRIGGER!!! Crying, scared, and tired, I did what he said and it worked. After an inspection of my apartment aided by the butcher knife I kept at my bedside, I discovered that plants were to blame. And to think I could have blown a hole through the wall!

Fast forward to last night, or rather early this morning. Sleeping soundly, a loud beep, beep, beep noise coming from our alarm system panel wakes both Kevin and me up and before I can even understand what is happening, Kevin is simultaneously screaming "Get the @#$% out of our house!" and leaping to where we keep our gun, loads it, and goes off seeking our intruder with frightening intensity. Blinking and trying to process everything, I realized that our alarm was not set off (we heard beeping, not the tell-tale sirens and did not get "the call") and waited for Kevin to come back from his search.

It turns out that it was actually our smoke detector letting us know that the batteries needed to be changed, but in the middle of the night any noise that wakes you up is automatically a burglar, rapist, or murderer.

Thinking we were under attack from a sinister source, Kevin literally leapt to my protection. We heard something go "bump" in the night and he was ready to shoot to kill. If this was a test, he passed - he would have saved me from whatever was coming. I am so thankful it wasn't necessary, but there is nothing more reassuring than when you are put in a situation where action and violence is not only necessary but warranted (thank you Castle Law!), you not only have a husband ready to be the knight in shining armor, but he has a trusty "sword" (AKA our gun) he can take into battle.

Consider yourself warned :)

The Soup

Ahhh...The Soup...how I love thee! Please tell me you guys watch this show!

The Soup basically makes fun of all the crazy shows and people on TV. Joel McHale is the sarcastic host that "watches it all for you." He shows clips of reality shows, daytime talk shows, morning news shows and lots and lots of Jersey Shore!

That show is just begging to be made fun of with its overly tanned, bouffant-ed, self proclaimed "guidettes" and disgusting greasy haired guys pumped up on man-juice and roids. Like it or not, this show is part of pop culture and although I would never actually watch a full episode, I am glad I know what it is and can make fun of Snookie and The Situation with the rest of them!

He also loves to pick on Tyra Banks and both her talk show "Tyra" and "America's Next Top Model"....all I have to say is that Tyra is one vain, crazy, girl! Some of the topics for her shows are just out there! Most recently, Joel McHale made fun of one featuring 5 women supposedly born with 2 vaginas...the tag line was "5 women - 10 vaginas!"...really? Is that what you've stooped to? And, furthermore, what woman is going on TV to share that? I mean, WOW! If I had a freak 2nd vajayjay I certainly would not be on national TV talking about it with Tyra Banks of all people. And how do they find these women? Just WOW!

Moral of the story: watch The Soup on E!

I Love My Stories....

Well, they aren't really "stories" (soap operas), but can't you just imagine a little old lady talking about watching her "stories" when you hear that phrase? I do...a little Betty White.

In fact, come to think of it, my own grandmother was a big fan of Young and the Restless and I remember distinctly watching it with her one summer day when I was staying with her. I was probably 8 or 9 and I had been out swimming in her pool and at 11:00AM she brought me inside so she could watch her stories (not sure if she used that term...but I'd like to think that she did).

I should have given a tangent alert! Oh well....back to the subject at hand - my love of certain TV shows (past and present).

Here are my favorite TV shows (in no particular order):

1. Arrested Development

If you have not fallen in love with this show, please go out and buy it (or borrow it from one of your cool friends that owns it). I just love GOB (played by Will Arnett - the hilarious husband of Amy Poelher)... "illusions" +"The Final Countdown" = hilarious! The writing is clever, witty, quick, and original. A very quotable show!

2. American Idol

The show that has produced some of my favorite singers: Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, Daughtry, and of course Kelly Clarkson. I have been watching American Idol since the very first season. I discovered the try outs while flipping channels one night and was hooked! I TiVo'd it and hooked my whole family...I vote for my favorites and buy my favorite songs on iTunes. I love Simon's acerbic opinions and wit and am going to miss him next season. I am still debating on whether to watch the show without him...I just don't know if I can do it. I miss Paula - she was all kinds of crazy and Kara just annoys me.

3. Community

Gosh this show cracks me up! I have loved Joel McHale ever since I discovered The Soup (to be discussed another time!) and this show just gives me more time with him. The show is about a cocky lawyer who has to go back to school to complete his undergrad degree because the Bar found out his degree was fake. He starts a Spanish study group and then hilarity ensues! The ensemble cast is great! I LOVE Senior Chang, the Asian Spanish teacher - youtube clips of him and you'll be hooked!

4. Glee

This show rocks...literally! The singing is great, the show is well cast, and the storyline is entertaining. I love Sue Sylvester and her unexplained hatred for the glee club - she is so perfectly evil! The musical numbers are all covers of great songs that I love anyway and they have made a great addition to my "cleaning the house" iPod mix!

5. Project Runway

I love watching creative minds at work - mix that in with Tim Gunn's oft repeated anthem of "make it work," Heidi Klum's ever-pregnant and beautifully fashionable self, and witchy, dramatic, and emotional designers and you have a combination that keeps me watching season after season just to see what they come up with next!

6. The Office

Oh, the awkward humor that is Michael Scott...he is sometimes the villain, the idiot, the pitiable, lonely, fool, the punchline, and the punching bag - he makes the show and is the heart of what The Office is - cringeworthy, laugh out loud, quote-it-after comedy!

I even have a Dwight bobblehead!

7. Biggest Loser

This is such an inspiring show! I always want to work out afterward, but for some reason I always eat junk food while I watch it! Seriously! Pizza, hamburgers and fries, donuts, ice cream...all consumed while watching the Biggest Loser - what's up with that? Jillian and Bob are serious hard A's, if you know what I mean! I hope either one of the grey team wins or Stephanie from the purple team...down with red team! The wife drives me bonkers!

PS - Bob was doing a promotional work out thing at the downtown Dallas 24 hour fitness center last Saturday and I wanted to go and meet him, but I didn't want to sign the waiver to allow the cameras to capture the moment (which would probably be embarrassing! They were filming him giving "inspiration" while people worked out and neither do I look cute while I work out nor do I want to be on TV - ever! I guess I missed my chance to meet Bob :(

Loves...

I have a lot of loves. Of course Kevin is at the top of the list, but I am pretty sure you are all pretty sick of me talking about how much I love my husband. So, since it is February and Valentine's Day is fast upon us (and in an effort to get back into blogging!) I thought I would post about some of my favorite things.

I LOVE to read...but I won't read just anything. I am very particular about the novels I read, but they all have one thing in common - a love story. I LOVE a good love story. I don't care if the story is seemingly corny, predictable, or sappy or if the male love interest is a rich Englishman from Derbyshire, a glowering teenage vampire, the ever-reliable childhood friend, a poor farmboy turned pirate, a werewolf, a bad boy on the run, a beast, or an aristocrat bent on saving people from the guillotine in revolutionary Paris; if there is a love story, a little bit of suffering, an interesting plot, and a happy ending I want to read it.

So, if you have anything that fits my ideal mold, please let me know! I am constantly searching for new books to read and would welcome any and all suggestions for lovey dovey books.

Also, what are your favorite types of books? And, if you are like me and you love a good love story - who is your favorite male lead?

*Please note that I am NOT interested in romance novels...just want to be clear about that!