Just Checking In

Just like to say "hi" at the start of the week. Not much to report on, however, I am really looking forward to a three day weekend! We are debating about going back to the lake with Brad & Lindsey but our little kitties are having surgery on Friday (more on that later). So we might just stay back to keep an eye on them. I can't mention our babies without a few pictures! This is how I found Yogi one afternoon in the study but it doesn't look like he's getting much studying done...
I almost didn't even see him there! He blended right in.

Snuggled under his favorite blanket.

This past weekend was pretty uneventful. Ryan & I were going to have a date night Friday and see a movie but nothing spiked our interest. I really wanted to see The Time Travelers Wife because I LOVE Rachel McAdams, but I've heard it wasn't very good. I'm not sure why. Bummer.

We did a little bit of shopping and tried out a new church on Sunday which we both really liked! This was very exciting to us because we really wanted to find one close to where we lived. I had given up on finding one in our area, but Ryan kept researching and found a Methodist church not too far away. We will definitely go back. The best part is they have small groups for young married couples! That's hard to find. :)

A quick update on our living room furniture, because I know you are all dieing to know. We did sell our leather couch & love seat! So we are now using our chase lounge from our bedroom as our couch until the one we ordered arrives in 6 to 8 weeks! How will I survive?? I really hope it doesn't take that long, because I am really excited about it. We are still working on a few other things in our living room, but I will post pics as soon as I can.

I am going to leave you with a pic I took of KC while I was cleaning away on Sunday. You can tell he was a huge help! (You can even see Yogi in the background.)

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Showers

I didn't join in last week for Show Us Your Life - Baby Showers, because I really haven't been to very many. When it's my time to throw a baby shower I will definitely hit up that post for some great ideas!
This week on Kelly's Korner, everyone is sharing their wedding shower themes. Back before I got married I was awful at taking pictures! So I don't have very many to share with all the neat theme and decor ideas. I was lucky enough to have had four showers thrown for me by my friends and family. This first one I am going to share was thrown by my loving mother at her house.
The table was beautifully laid out with all the nice serving platters, china, and flowers.

My mom even had my bridal shower cake made by the same lady who did my wedding cake! It was so gorgeous I didn't want to eat it, but I couldn't resist the melt-in-your-mouth cake. :)

This shower mainly consisted of my side of the family and my mom's friends. I got a lot of goodies. Look at how long my hair was then!!

Ryan showed up at the end to say hi to everybody.

I also had a shower in Ryan's home town hosted by the Ebright's family friends. The theme was Kansas/Texas! It was great because we were about to move from Kansas to Texas, and the decorations consisted of maps and items we could actually use once we moved there. You may even recognize the letters on the wall in our home. They were part of our gift as well.

Those ladies absolutely out did themselves. So creative.

The delicious food that was served.

Judy, Cynthia, & Judy were the amazing hosts.

Me, Kara (maid of honor) and my mom

Susan (Ryan's mom) threw a gorgeous kitchen shower for me with one of her good friends in Kansas City, but I have no pictures from it!! :(

Lastly, my best friend, Kara, hosted my lingerie shower AND bachelorette party on different nights. She is the best! Kara is one of the most talented and creative people I know. Just look what she did with the table scape. We were even still in college!

The roses were my wedding flowers and she incorporated my favorite colors.

Some of my friends that were at the shower. Unfortunately, I didn't get everyone in the group shot.

This actually wasn't a shower but was my bridal luncheon the day before my wedding. I just thought I would throw these pictures in because they are so cute! All my bridesmaids (expect Suz that was coming in from Wichita) and my mom & mother-in-law.

I think this cake is called Lady Fingers. It doesn't sound appetizing but it was soooo good. I had never see one of these cakes before, and it was so unique!

That about wraps it up. Hope you enjoyed my walk down memory lane. Can I throw another shower that I can register for?? :)

Heart Walk

Unfortunately, too many of us have a loved one affected by heart disease or stroke. To help stop this, I will be walking in this year's Start! Heart Walk benefiting the American Heart Association.

I have set a personal goal to raise funds that are needed for critical heart disease and stroke research and education. You can help me raise funds and protect those you love by making a donation online. Heart disease has personally effected my family so this is something near and dear to my heart. My only living Grandparent, Maxine, is struggling with congestive heart failure and has suffered heart attacks in the past. Click on the link below to visit my personal donation page where you can make a secure online credit card donation. The American Heart Association's online fundraising website has a minimum donation amount of $25.00. If you prefer a smaller amount, you can do so by sending a check directly to me.Your donation will make a difference in the fight against our nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers-heart disease and stroke.

Thank you for your support.Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support American Heart Association - Houston,TX

Trail Creek Farm

I have to give my mother-in-law, Susan, a shout out because she is the most creative woman that I know! She owns her own business where she creates one-of-a-kind gifts, pillows, cross-stitch patterns, screen printing, coasters, etc. You name it, she can make it! (http://www.trailcreekfarm.com/) Last time I went to see her, she taught me how to make curtains. (see here and scroll down for pictures)

Here are a few pictures of her adorable studio where the creative juices flow.

She even employees her architect daughters so help her with some of the designs and production.
She makes designs for every season and event. You can purchase the design to do-it-yourself or the already completed version, which ever fits your fancy.
One of her newest additions are these awesome coasters. Each one is unique! What's great about these beauties is that you can pick out what fabric you want for the coasters. She even makes her packaging creative and unique!

If anyone is looking for a creative gift idea, check out her website at http://www.trailcreekfarm.com/. Susan is always happy to give advice to any do-it-yourselfers. ( = I am going to put up a link to her website on left side bar of my blog. Feel free to shoot her an email with whatever questions you have. Even if you just want to drop by and leave her an encouraging note. Show my talented mother-in-law some love. <3

Captain PROclean

Who is the mystery man behind Captain PROclean???

It's my husband! This past Friday was "Bring the Future to Work Day" where all the parents could bring their kids to work with them to see what they do. There were all sorts of activities, games, prizes and even Captain PROclean to take their picture with. The kids LOVED him! Poor Ryan was sweating in this suit for about 2 hours, but I think he had a lot of fun. He was a huge hit with the kids.

Even our friends stopped by to get a picture with him.

Katie & Ellen

Mark

Jeff

(another) Mark

Time for Captain PROclean to jet!

This was voluntary on Ryan's part if you were wondering. ;) I was also involved with this fun day, but I did not get to dress up like my hubby. My involvement included a little presentation and game for the kids plus taking their pictures behind a figure cutout of a NASCAR driver. It was a fun day to say the least.

Weekend Lake Trip

This past weekend our friends Brad & Lindsey invited us to their family's lake house on LBJ Lake outside of Austin, TX. Lindsey's Aunt & Uncle have a gorgeous lake house right on the water. We LOVE the lake and couldn't wait to go boating. Unfortunately, Ryan just so happened to get a crick in his neck right before we left. So that kind of stunk for him but still managed to have a blast.

Lindsey even made us all breakfast both mornings and they were delicious! If you know Lindsey, then you know this was nothing short of a miracle. :)
Right after breakfast we wasted no time hitting the water. Lindsey's uncle had given us a night tour on the boat the evening before to see all the beautiful houses lit up.

Their boat is like a Cadillac on water!

I love this picture of Ryan. He looks so modelesque. I know he could sell me this boat if this really was an ad. :)
I had so many pictures of us tubing so I narrowed them down to a few below.

Even with all the boating we managed to get in three games of Canasta that weekend.

Brad, Lindsey, Susan & Sid on their back deck. Me, Ryan, Brad & Lindsey

On Sunday we decided to take it easy since none of us could really move from the intense soreness from all the activites the day before. So we decided to take the boat out one last time and just take a dip in the lake. The water was the perfect temperature to let our sore muscles relax. Getting our last minutes of sun before heading back to H-town.

We saw some interesting art while floating along the lake.

We couldn't have asked for better weather or a more perfect weekend. It included almost everything we love! Thank you so much Lindsey for inviting us to your family's wonderful lake house and entertaining us to no end. Plus, how could I have missed your debut into the cooking world??