Out with the Old

For those of you that couldn't manage to come visit us the past two years and for my children so they can see our first home together.

Then and Now

This past year has gone by so quickly! Here's some fun pictures to commemorate our 1 year anniversary!!

Then...
Now- our arbor repurposed...

Then...
Now- wildflower garden almost as pretty as last year...

Then...

Now- it may not look as pretty, but it still tastes good...


Then...
Now- had to take this pic ourselves so it looks quite staged...


Then...
Now- more to love...


Then...
Now- trip to Salt Lake City, UT (SL,UT) for anniversary/ASMS conference...

Happy Anniversary!!!

Can't wait to see where we are a year (or 50) from now!!!

You're My Cuppy Cake, Gumdrop

Again, several months late, but couldn't help sharing some pics of my precious nephew. Logan was born on February 14, 2009. This will be perfect when he's in elementary school because there will always be cupcakes and a party on his birthday. Not so perfect when he gets older because all his friends will have to take their girlfriends out for Valentines Day. AND if he doesn't have a girl, not only will he be alone on Valentines Day, but he'll also be alone on his birthday! Anyways here's some of my favorite pics.
I think he looks like a little elf in this pic.
He also looks a little like Popeye the Sailor Man to me too.
Aunt Jessie made his first Birthday cupcakes!
On second thought, maybe it's not such a good idea to give him any more cupcakes.
I love him so much!
He's definitely a thinker.
But every once in a while you get a smile!

Happy Birthday, Cuppycake!

Food Inc. and Tierney's Cafe and Tavern

Ok, now I'm done reminiscing and will start blogging about the here and now.

Saturday, the hubby and I spent a VERY lazy day at home watching movies and catching up on TV shows. We must have run out of material because we ended up watching this documentary called Food Inc. It was about where our food comes from. They talked about feed lots and chicken farms which are horrible, but I already knew that. It also talked about how corn in some way, shape or form is in almost everything we eat and some things we don't eat (like batteries). The government basically pays farmers to grow corn and then scientists have to figure out what to do with all the surplus. Which is how we got things like high-fructose corn syrup and all kinds of engineered sweeteners and starches.

The food industry is pretty much controlled by 4 or 5 huge mega-companies. This wouldn't be so concerning if they didn't treat their farmers badly and if they weren't so protected by the FDA and USDA. I'm not nearly educated enough to make an informed decision on this topic as I'm sure the documentary was very one-sided; however, I do think that supporting local farmers, although a small gesture, might make a difference and definitely can't hurt.

So...in an effort to be locally conscience, Billy and I chose to eat at a local Lewisville restaurant Saturday night rather than a chain.

We found this great little restaurant called Tierney's Cafe and Tavern. I'm sure they get their meat and produce from the same places the chain restaurants do, but we're taking small steps. It's in a cute little house a few blocks away from Old Downtown Lewisville. One of my favorite things is that they showcase local artists on the walls and every piece of art I saw was for sale. One particular artist kept catching my eye, R'Lene Winters.
The place was packed so we knew the food must be good. And it was! I got the avocado salad and a cup of baked potato soup. Delish! Billy got the prime rib rare, but they were out of rare so he had to settle for medium rare. But that was ok because they gave us a free dessert to go to make up for it. We got the strawberry cream pie at the recommendation of the waitress. O...M...G. I don't think Billy cared for it much, but I am still thinking about it. I am determined to find the recipe and recreate it on my own.

Sunday morning we met some friends for breakfast at the Old West Cafe in Denton. Again very very good. Highly recommend both restaurants! Tierney's also serves Sunday brunch which I'm anxious to try.

Oh and on a side note, we also watched a documentary called Walmart: The high cost of low price. I really don't know where we can shop or what will be left for us to eat if we keep watching these documentaries!

The Honeymoon

We went to Cozumel for your Honeymoon! I would recommend Cozumel to anyone. It's cheap and beautiful! When you're in Cozumel there's two things you should do: Snorkel and go to Coconuts! Here's some pics. (Unfortunately my photographers didn't come on our honeymoon with us so excuse my disposable camera pics.)
Honeymoon T-shirts! We had a fruit basket and a bottle of wine as well!
Mostly we laid on the beach or by the pool, reading. Whenever we got hot, we got in the water. Whenever we got thirsty, we just swam on over to the bar.
We rented a jeep to visit the ruins and of course... COCONUTS! Look at my hot husband!
Pretty beach on the way to Coconuts and the ruins. Half the island is undeveloped. This stretch of beach is by far the prettiest of what I've seen and not a hotel in sight!
At Coconuts. This restaurant is a hut on the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It's called Coconuts because girls are supposed to flash their boobies. Or girls flash their boobies because it's called Coconuts. Not sure. Booby flashing is not required or I would not be eating here! As soon as we were seated the waiter brought Billy a photo album to peruse for his pleasure. Definitely need a sense of humor to eat here. We recommend the shrimp ceviche if you ever make it there though.
These little guys were everywhere. While trying to get closer for this photo I ended up stepping in his house.
Which lead to the cankle curse, I think. Those iguanas cursed me for destroying their home. I'll post more about the cankle curse later.
Doing the tourist thing on top of ruins. Funny thing... I came to these same ruins years ago with my friend Lindsay and our guides said completely different things! Like what the meaning was for all the buildings and the symbolism of the architecture. It was like we went to two different ruins. So not sure what to believe.
About to go snorkeling! We saw a stingray, a sea turtle and a baracuda! Side bar- Not so good at the self picture taking. But we got better!
Love this pic! Love Cozumel! Love my husband! Can't wait to go back!

So we had the best wedding EVER!

I know I'm several months behind on starting this blog, but I wanted to share some of my favorites from our new life together. And my number one favorite.... OUR WEDDING!

I wanted a "simple" backyard wedding just like my mom and dad's. My mom and dad got married in my grandparents backyard... We got married in my aunt and uncle's backyard. Mom walked down the aisle to John Denver's "Follow Me"... I walked down the aisle to J.D.'s "Follow Me". M and D got married on May 31st... We got married on May 30th. Mom's flowers were from my grandma's garden... My flowers were from my mom's garden. My parents had a handful of people at their wedding.... and that's where the similarities stop. It becomes a lot less "simple" when your talking about 150 people in a backyard! But my family (and friends) was a amazing and really pulled together to make the day PERFECT! And I do mean perfect. The weather, the flowers, the music, the food, the lights... PERFECT! Here's some pics to convince you!


Remember what I said about the weather? Not too hot, not too cold! An amazing feat for Texas!
My cute little cousins like little fairies! They were so excited!
Perfect time of day! No sun shining in anyone's eyes! Side bar- Our pastor, Ken, had lung transplant surgery about 3 days after he married us! A very risky surgery, but he pulled through and is recovering nicely! We had Brenda, an amazing family friend, do most of the ceremony just in case Ken got the call early and couldn't be there to marry us. Ken did the "official" part and Brenda did the "personal, helps-to-know-the-bride-and-groom" part. End side bar.
Here comes the bride!!! Bouquet of wildflowers from my mom's garden, arranged by my mom's good friend from high school (who also sang "Follow Me" at my Mom and Dad's wedding).
If you're not jealous of our wedding yet... there's something wrong with you. :)


We threw birdseed on our way to the reception so people wouldn't feel obligated to stay till the bride and groom left. Made for GREAT pics in the daylight, but also made for birdseed in my hair and down my dress. So worth it!
First Dance to "God Bless the Broken Road". If you know us and know our story, you'll know how perfect that is! Not gonna go into it in a blog of course. :)

Oh, by the way, all my pics were taken by my new step-father-in-law, my cousin or my very talented college roommate previously mentioned.

Nowadays, everyone has awesome cameras and digital makes everything easier! Also, it doesn't hurt to have extremely artistic family and friends.
















We had a photobooth set up out in the middle of the wildflower garden! This was one of my favorite parts of the whole wedding!The Hotesses! My mom and her sister, Laura. The actual ceremony was in Laura's backyard and the reception was across the street in my parents backyard.


Notice how the cake is leaning. It was melting! But we ate it up anyway! My mom's friend from high school also baked the cake. Not sure what we would have done without her! And the "Love Birds" on top... carved by my grandpa. Like I said it REALLY helps to have talented and artistic friends and family. And speaking of artistic friends...


Meet Cathy!
Not only is she the best friend ever and the most amazing photographer, but she also bakes! She supplied the most amazing sugar cookies. She even designed a cookie cutter for us! That's a J and B and a BUTTERFLY! She knows me so well! Go to her blog to see just how talented this girl really is. If you look far enough back, you'll even see the making of the JB cookie!












More talented family members! Meet my cousin, Chef Bubba (Boo-bah) aka Erik. He and his friends catered the event. I didn't get to eat, but everyone went on and on about how good all the food was. I don't have a good pic of the buffet line, but it was in a big blue boat! Awesome!

So, as you can see, our wedding was AMAZING! The best day of my life so far! Thanks to everyone that made it that way! I know it was a lot of hard work, but it was sooo worth it to have such beautiful memories to go along with such an amazing experience.
Thank you and good night! This blogging is tiring business.