Beautiful day

Not a cloud in the sky today, if you can believe it. Living in Houston gives one a weird sense of the seasons. It stays unseasonalby (sp?) warm until Oct-Nov. It cools down a bit for a week or two but then warms up again in December. And the rain start in January. And it does stay cooler. Under 60 or 50. But it doesn't really stay cold for a long period of time. Just long enough for me to want to buy a new winter coat that I only wear once or twice. Good thing I haven't in the past year (maybe two, but I think Joe got me a cute pink corduroy jacket from the Gap last year). I have also tried to refrain from buying more sweaters, because again they are only worn a few times, at most, throughout the winter.
I got my Heidi Swapp calendar today! Fun fun fun! I am just waiting to get my photos from Snapfish so I can finish my January layout. I am definitely on scrapping mode lately!
Friday tomorrow - thank goodness. Unfortunately Saturday is a work day too, but the week always seems to go by faster when I am off on Monday. Laters.

bad blogger!

The weather has been damp, cold, and dreary. My mood has not, but I have definitely been in chill out mode, especially after this past Sunday. We were ridiculous and spent it out at Berry Hill, JR's, The Mine and Kirt and Mike's. Any of our usual Sunday spots. We had much fun, though!

I have been inspired to scrap lately. I am just eagerly stalking Fed Ex for my Heidi Swapp kit!!

Nothing exciting to report. Over and out.

Whew!

Last week one of my favorite boys ever turned 40!! 40!! We don't seem like we should be that age. I guess perception and reality are 2 different things.

Anyways, we're having a belated party for him at Heather and Karolos' tonight. Happy birthday D! Love you!

We're going to party like it's a snow day

{accompanied by requisite cheesy dance}

So the weather has been pretty cold and rainy here. Almost freezing. I guess freezing enough for work to be cancelled! Woo hoo! I love a free day off! I am inspired to scrap so am going to work on darryl's album and maybe a few pages of my own!

P.S. Idol just started last night. I was crabby until I realized what night it was. The first city was Minneapolis. Prince's home did NOT have a lot of talent!

I {heart} Heidi!

One of my scrapping goals this year is to do 50 layouts before buying anymore scrappin' stuff (i.e. paper, embellishments, etc. Tools such as stamps or punches don't count - a girl's got to live a little, after all!). So our assignment this week for YTR was to scrap our goal for the year. Mine is to decorate the house, but I have not taken any pictures yet. But I was inspired to use her techniques to make a scrapbook page about our friends. And I love it! Ahh, I wish I could be a SAHS (stay-at-home-scrapper)!

I got sucked in

By the TV tonight. I am a sucker for Law & Order: SVU and then I stumbled on my old favorite, SITC. So I spent the evening watching while playing sudoki. Oh well, there are worse things I could do. It's nice to veg and not think about anything.

Eugene, on old family friend and orthopedic surgeon, prescribed a Medrol dose pack. I'm hoping this will help with the pain.

Off to bed. I really need to start writing more - I think I missed my year anniversary of bloggin'!!

It's cold today! I ran for about 30 minutes in running pants, a long sleeved dri-fit AND a windbreaker. And my hands were STILL cold! I love the way crisp cold air feels, though. Somehow cleaner than the muggy air that's the norm here in H-town.

I am inspired to decorate today. I love being able to go online and scope out what I like so that I can find the things in store. I think it's going to be a crate and barrel day after my doctors appointment.

Well, I'm off the enjoy the day. Gotta take advantage of my days off because work is going to be CRAZEEE the rest of the month. (We're already behind!!)

A week already over

Here's to a great week. We had a productive and fun filled first week of January. We are in the process of trying to rennovate and rent out our upstairs unit as well as the garage apartment. The new coat of paint did wonders as will some new carpet. I have a feeling the garage apartment will rent first.

Alan and Patrick are visiting this week as well. We are going to dinner on Tuesday.

Here is a just a fun pic of me and my boy on NYE. I gotta start taking more daily pics.

5 reasons that I want to finish decorating the house:

1 - we've lived here over 1 year and it's still not done

2 - i am tired of looking at blank walls

3 - i want to tidy up the clutter

4 - i want to be able to lounge on the floor more comfortably

5 - i want an excuse to buy some new stuff!

i am going to take some before pictures of each room this week. and will slowly make each room into the after that i'm dreaming of! woo hoo!

Words to live by

Found this on the BPS website. I love that they have a new quote every day. I really need to take this to heart.

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

My happy colors

Found this from a link thru Stacy J's blog. I love bright, happy colors. So I guess I'm not the most sophisticated person in the world. I'm ok with that. I'd rather be happy :)

I am so looking forward to my haircut today, although I'm not sure what I want to do with it. And this afternoon Joe and I are doing a spring cleaning. We definitely need it!

Motivation

Lorna, our renter upstairs, moved out over Christmas so now we are renovating before the next potential tenants move in. We got it ready to be painted tomorrow and cleaned as well. A very exciting Friday night indeed!

I have lost my scrappin' mojo and I am looking for inspiration. I guess one thing at a time: my goal for Heidi's class. At first I just wanted to finish decorating the living room, but I think I can work on the whole house with a target date of the weekend after Thanksgiving. I would like to have another early holiday cocktail party so having a finished house by then would be fabulous. So now it's time to save $$, since we got to spend some on the apartments as well as some for new furniture.

Tomorrow is hair cut day! I am in dire need!

A year to remember

My Heidi Swapp class started today. Our assignment this week is to set an attainable goal and when we want to reach it. Off the top of my head I can think of the usual - lose 10 lbs, eat healthier, etc. etc. But I think my goal is going to be to finish decorating our living room! We need a rug, coffee table and decorations - namely photos - for the wall. This should be done within 6 months. There, it's in writing and I can't take it back!

Happy 2007!

The past 2 days have been a whirlwind. We started at little Berry Hill for afternoon drinks; I came home early and watch a marathon of Law and Order until the party at Kirt and Mike's. We stayed there until well past midnight and then danced the night away at Habitat.

Today we spend by the pool and Kirt and Mike's. A very relaxing day, but I am exhausted and will be going to bed shortly. Here's to a great new year!

Here's to another great year

Wow - I can't believe the last day of 2006 is here. Like I always write, where does the time go?

Costa Rica was a wonderful getaway. We really didn't do much. Lay out by the beach. Read a few books. Eat Mom's great cooking (and some not so great food at nearby restaurants). Open Christmas presents. Take lots of pictures. Canopy in the rain forest. Drive for hours and hours. I just really enjoyed spending time with my family! And I can't wait to do it again! Pictures will be posted in the new year (most likely).

Joe and I have been laying low since we got home on Friday afternoon. We saw Dreamgirls with Marc and Darryl on Friday. Afterwards we ate a late lunch/early dinner at Barnaby's, went to the grocery store and rented a documentary about Tupac and Big E.

Yesterday I had to work, but fortunately we weren't crazy busy and we already hit our target so the mood in the office was relaxed and happy! I do have to see one day post-ops today but it should only take about an hour or so.

I am also happy that although my butt and back have really made me hesitant about working out so I haven't been, I haven't gained any weight, either. In fact, the 132.4 lbs I weighed this morning is the lightest I have been in a long time! This supports my theory that your body like a certain weight and will keep it around there, as long as you are in some kind of shape and not eating everything in sight. I would like the eat more healthfully in 2007 and lose a few pounds - or really lose a few inches - which is one of my goals for the new year.

That's all for now. I am going to try to post some more before the day's over.

Our casa next week

We are staying at this place in Flamingo Beach, Costa Rica. It looks awesome!

Early morning run

I still love working out in the mornings...when I actually get up. Matt, our noisy neighbor, was having a party last night so we didn't get to sleep as early as we usually do. Then he had people over starting at 4 AM (or at least that's when they woke us up!), so my sleep last night was spotty, to say the least. Joe got up around 5:30 and I was going to try to sleep until 6:30 but my guilt and the noise was too much. So I ran from the house for about 30 minutes. The sun is not quite up yet so I am probably not being as safe as I should, but I run in well-lit, well-trafficked areas so I was ok.

I also hate when I can't think of good come backs until 5 minutes later. A couple of partiers were on Matt's balcony smoking and the guy was like "you're making me feel uphealthy," when he saw me coming in from the run. I should have been like "I'm sure smoking cigarettes at 6 in the morning adds at least 10 years to your life" instead of just nodding and saying "true." Stupid!

We really should start calling the po-po more often, especially on school night!

Tonight I have a happy hour with my Met friends at Cafe le Jadeite. And tomorrow is Kurt and Mike's party. And we leave for Costa Rica Friday! I am looking forward to getting away!

Only 3.5 days left

until we leave for Costa Rica! Woo hoo - I am looking forward to getting out of dodge! I am pretty much done with our Christmas shopping - I may look for a few small things, but I really have what I need.

I can't believe the end of the year is almost here. Seems like we were just celebrating the new year a short while ago. I guess time flies when you're living your life!

Out of shape

Goodness - I ran for an hour and a half today and I am tired! What a difference a year makes. Last year this time I would have been able to run this without a problem. This year, with my foot surgery and back problems, I am lucky to make it to the gym a few times a week! One of my goals for next year is to definitely get back into shape. I hate being out of breath when I have barely even run for 20 minutes!

We had James, Val and Lori over for dinner last night. After the initial awkwardness, we ended up having a good time. We took a picture for the family, which I am getting printed today. Gotta love the digital age!

Bulging discs

Ugh - the discs in vertebrae L5 and S1 are bulging and the spine is pressing on them, which is causing my pain. I thought it was just an inflamed piriformis muscle, but it's so much more. My doc has me on the 3x/week program and I had my first visit yesterday. Right after I felt better, and they gave me a stretch to do, but I definitely will need more help before I am 100%. This totally stinks because I feel limited as far as exercise. I really haven't been able to do yoga very well because all those forward bends are really painful and I think kind of bad for it. But at least I have been running again. I am in such bad shape right now - I am just hoping I can make it for the half marathon in January. My plan is to run 1.5 hours on Sunday to at least build up some endurance before we leave for Costa Rica.

I had dinner at little Berry Hill with Matt and Rob last night while Joe was at the Galleria Christmas shopping and getting his hair done. That boy is almost more maintenance than me!

I am off to enjoy my morning until work starts at 10.

Monday off

I feel like it's been a long time since I've been off on a Monday. Which is a good thing because it means I've had regular weekends off as well. Today is a rainy and dreary day, which is good because it reflects my mood. I amy trying to finish my BPS Year in Pictures project, but am having trouble with the journalling. At least I have all day to work on it!

We are going to see the doctor tomorrow about my behind. I am hoping the MRIs turned out and he will be able to help. I have been in pain for over 2 months now - not fun!