Merry Christmas to all!!!

Live in Houston? Get a phone book recently? Check out the back!

iPad

I'm writing to you from my new iPad 2! I am so very excited about this new addition to our lives. We also have an appleTV so it makes this little piece of technology that much more fun. We can actually mirror what is on the iPad to the television. Pretty cool! In fact I just watched Stacy's spitfire grill audition via appleTV. I'm already obsessed and we haven't had this little guy for 24 hours yet!

Also, the new operating system for the iPad 2 and iPhone is amazing. If you haven't downloaded it yet, do it now!

Sip & See

Have you heard of the new trend of having a Sip & See?  It's a get together after a baby is born so everyone can meet the lovely new addition.  I love this idea!  I want all of my pregnant friends to have Sip & Sees after their babies are born.  I think it's an especially great idea for second/third babies, when a traditional baby shower doesn't seem appropriate.  Looking forward to many Sip & Sees in the next year!

NOLA

Pete and I spent this past weekend in New Orleans.  It was so fun to get away to a new (to me) city and to spend time together.  We arrived early Saturday morning, dropped our bags at the hotel (International House) and headed to Jackson Square... and by Jackson Square I mean we headed straight to Cafe du Monde to get some delicious beignets, obviously.  

After a delicious breakfast we walked around the city, went to the Aquarium, took a nap, ate a delicious lunch, and checked out Harrah's.  Sunday we headed back to Cafe du Monde for more nomnoms, roamed the shops and markets, watched the Saints/Bears game over a delicous cajun lunch, made our way to Tropical Isle, Pat O's and the like, took a much needed nap and ate Pinkberry.  I loved the architecture and all of balconies.  I especially loved all of the flowers on the balconies.  All in all the trip was a success and we had a great time. 

Wedding Album

Well... it's almost been a year since our wedding but our album proof is finally ready!!  I am pretty happy with it - and the ten free pages we got for being extremely patient.  If you'd like to see our album see the link below.

http://www.youralbum.org/galView.php?id=31bf6acb6056604d9bb6bdf6a7ce65bc

Labor Day Weekend

Our labor day weekend seemed so short -- which is unusual since we got a bonus weekend day!  Friday and Saturday nights we were are my boss's dog sitting.  I felt like I never left work.  Sunday afternoon and Monday finally felt like the weekend.  Pete and I did a little window shopping and a lot of apartment cleaning.  I am very proud of Pete's cleaning abilities this weekend.  Great job babe!

This week MK is getting her bottom braces put on and both kids are getting their annual checkups.  It inspired me to get a physical which I scheduled for later this month.  Soccer season is in full effect and I spend three afternoons a week sitting in the heat at the soccer fields.  I cannot wait for cooler weather!  MC is doing safety patrol this semester so that makes the parent drive line even more frustrating - if that's possible!  Hebrew school and dance also start this week which makes our Mondays-Thursdays no only booked, but double booked!

When's the next holiday?

Fire & Rain

There are several fires across Texas causing major damage.  In the Austin area alone over 700 homes have been lost.  It's devastating.  My cousin Linda & her family were evacuated from Steiner Ranch.  They are safe in Georgetown at my uncle's.  They were able to get their dog, Cooper, from their apartment which is great.  Their apartment is safe and not in danger of fire currently.  Even greater.

I am so thankful to the firement and volunteer firemen who have been working around the clock to fight the many fires across the state.  I'm espeically thankful to Mandy's stepdad, Patrick, who dispite burning his face over the weekend continued to fight these out of control fires.  That's amazing.  Thank you!

Many evacuation centers and organizations in Austin are taking donations.  Clothing, trash bags, and diapers are especially needed.  Please donate if you're in the area.  

I wish it would rain... and rain hard!  We have been suffering a drought all across Texas and we need rain more than anything right now.  Conserve your water and do a little rain dance for us!

First Week of School

Yay!  It's finally the first week of school.  My workdays are drastically shorter now, which is much needed after this long, hot summer.  However, the kids are so busy that it seems like we have a whole days worth of activities to fit into 3 hours.  Busy bees!  I know it will be easy to keep myself busy this week, but I'm nervous about getting bored.  I need to find a solid hobby.

Monday I slept in since it was my first "school day" workday.  This morning I did get up at 5am and go to bootcamp.  Although I hate the workouts and especially hate having to modify everything so I can be by my mat (I HATE putting my hands on the concrete), I do feel sooo good having worked out today.  I'm glad I went.

Pete leaves Thursday night for Dallas for work.  Hopefully he doesn't have to do a trial up there next week.  I'd like him to get to come back on Saturday.

This past weekend we went to Austin to visit my mom for her birthday, and also because Stacy was in town visiting!  Stacy made us a delicious vegan dinner that we got to enjoy with the Keeles and Becca.  It was lovely and I'm so glad I got to see my dear friends.

We are looking forward to a few upcoming trips.  New Orleans (September), OU weekend (October), Alum weekend-- hopefully (October), and Dallas for a wedding (November).  I wish I could announce that we were going on a grand relaxing vacation for our anniversary but sadly we are not.

Hope you are all staying cool in the crazy heat!

I'm not neglecting you, I promise.
Summer is finally winding down.  There are 8 days until school starts again! Yippee!  Shorter work hours will be wonderful.  I am excited to get a little more time to myself.  I won't have an excuse to skip Camp Gladiator (I may have skipped all of last week... Hey, I'm exhausted!) and I will have more energy when I am with the kids. 
Tonight we babysat for MC/MK's cousins.  What a difference!  There are twin 5 year old boys & a 10 year old boy.  It was so much fun playing cars with the two youngings... Not so much fun trying to get the elder off the iPad.  We are also house sitting tonight - hanging with this guy (pictured).must. sleep. now... goodnight.

Just checked out the weather for the next few days. I have to admit I am glad I'm not in Dallas right now! I do wish I would rain and bring some cooler weather. 

I need a dress to go with these new shoes.

Shark Week

Becca would want me to inform all of you that it is
SHARK WEEK!  

Four Crazy Dogs

For the past six days Pete and I have been house sitting for my boss.  Checking the mail, picking up the newspapers and making it look like someone is home is quite easy.  Dealing with the animals however, is not.
My boss has 4 crazy dogs and one semi-crazy cat.  Don't get me wrong we really enjoy them (mostly) but they have had their annoying moments over these six days.  Lily (yellow lab) is hongry... not hungry, hongry all the time!  She jumps on top of you at the first sniff of food and licks anything and everything that food may or may not have touched at some point.  "Lily stop licking," has been said hundreds of times.  Pete is scared of Bear (pit bull) because he makes "angry face."  Duke is normally amazing but ever since he got his haircut he's got a pep in his step and loves to beg for rubs.  And then there's Scooter.  Wednesday night Scooter spotted an armadillo in the front yard and wouldn't stop barking at it... for hours... like until 3am.  It. Was. Awful.  Needless to say we were grumpy the next day.  On top of that, one of the dogs ate Pete's new sandal.  We aren't sure which one it was but we did find the sandal on Scooter's bed...
Fred, the fat cat, is very loving and likes to cuddle... more like he enjoys rubbing is body all over you whether you like it or not.  We usually let him sleep in the room with us when we stay over and the first night we did.  It was the first and last night of this stint that we did.  He meowed tons, walked all over my lady bits, farted in Pete's face and sneezed in my ear.  It wasn't what we were expecting.  But we still love him!
All in all it's been okay.  The extra money definitely doesn't hurt right now so we will do this as often as my boss offers.  :)  Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

French Gel
So I chose to do the French tips with Gelish. Apparently shellac and gel polishes are the same thing, just different brands.  I'll let you know how this one goes.  Now we're off to eat wings (MC's choice) and watch Smurfs!

Shellac day 14
I am obsessed with shellac!  This was my first shellac experience and it was amazing.  I don't know if I'll ever go back to normal nail polish for my fingernails.  It hardly chipped at all for 2 weeks, and stayed shiny.  I was sold after a day with sunscreen & chlorine at the pool that caused ZERO harm to my pretty nails.  My toes however lost lots of luster due to sunscreen.  Boo.
Today the kids & I are going to get mani/pedis (their idea!) and I'm going to get a new shellac color. Can't wait!

Shellac day 1

Jack Black

Forgive my crappy blogging... So, last night Carolyn and I went to Nordstrom.  I usually don't get anything when we go to Nordstrom because the Men's section is so darn expensive.  I decided to look at the men's grooming area to see if they had anything good.  I had heard of the Jack Black product line, but have never used it before.  The products are relatively expensive for shaving creams (i.e. not like $3.99 for a bottle of Gillette).  The woman working in the section gave me all of these samples.

  

Well, long story short her excessive giving of samples made me decide to get the  Jack Black Core Collection.  It normally comes with the Beard Lube, Face Moisturizer and Daily Facial Cleanser.  I almost didn't get it since I already have a face wash that I like, but the woman who gave me all the samples ended up taking the face cleanser out of the box and switched it out for the hand lotion (at a $3 discount).  In Leah's words, "Best Day Ever!"

This morning I used the Beard Lube for the first time.  It was easily the best shaving cream that I have ever used.  It was a little strange to use since it didn't actually lather up it just went on like a lotion or something.  Anywho, I love it and I'm really glad that Carolyn got it for me. 

Now I think that I may be addicted to this stuff and want to get all of their different products. 

Thanks for reading my crappy blog post.

**From Carolyn: If you're looking for gifts for the "man who has everything" in your life, fancy shave products are a great idea!

We just got home from a trip to Nordstrom. Pete is going to blog about the experience... Get ready!

Week in Review

This week the kids attended a Houston Dynamo soccer camp. They have really enjoyed it but I can't say I have. Three hours in the Texas heat praying for it to be noon is not my cup of tea. Although I am thankful for those three hours each day I wasn't doing the entertaining. On a related note, Pete & I are going with the kids to a Dynamo game on Saturday. Should be neat.

On an awful, horrible, no good, muy mal note... MC has lice. His dad treated him last night, washed all of the sheets, vacuumed all of the pillows, boiled the hairbrushes, and hopefully it's take care of. I need to check him again this afternoon. Pete & I are going to check eCh other tonight. I will cry if we got it, too. Horrible.

Wish us luck...

The 4th +

Pete & I had a great weekend at Lake Martin in Alabama with his family.  We flew into Atlanta on Friday and rented a car.  The flight was on a tiny & turbulent plane that kind of sucked.  We were glad to finally land.  The lake was beautiful and the weather was mostly great.  Our flight back on the 4th was delayed by hours and we didn't get home until 1am.  No fireworks for us!  We didn't miss them that much, though.  We are very grateful to Pete's parents for planning this trip!  (Sadly I didn't take a single picture all weekend.)

Tuesday we met Jordan & Sarah for dinner and drinks.  They even took us by their new house for a sneak peek!  It's adorable and I hope they have fun moving in today!

Today I'm looking forward to a haircut!

Hey there!

Hey there, friends!  So sorry I haven't written in a while.  Stacy says I need to update so here I am.  

Earlier this week Pete & I had a awesome 1+ hour Skype session with Stacy.  It was lovely!  She was a little tipsy on semi-free mimosas so it was very entertaining.  We always end up sending each other funny youtube videos to watch.  She introduced me to Drunk Kitchen and I introduced her to Drunk History.  (Theme here?)  Both are highly entertaining.  Look them up.

Tonight Pete is at the Astros-Rangers baseball game.  After work, I came home and took a long warm shower and lounged in my robe for a while.  It was spectacular.  Tonight I also got to chat with multiple friends on the phone.  Love!

Until next time!

Father's Day

Happy belated Father's Day to all of you daddies out there.  Pete & I spent the weekend in Austin.  Saturday we did a little outlet mall shopping, visited my cousins adorable 5 week old, Sophia, and hung out with my mom.

On Sunday we went to a delicious "Tool Time" brunch at the UT Club with Pete's parents & grandparents.  It was really nice to see everyone!

"Vacation"

The kiddos are in Italy so until the 25th, so I am officially on "vacation."  I'm not working for two weeks, but since I have no real vacation planned it's hard for me to really think of it as a vacation.

Originally, Pete and I were suppose to house sit/watch the dogs while the kids were gone.  A family member is staying at their house now, so that got cancelled.  Unfortunately, it didn't get cancelled until a few days before the kids left so I couldn't plan any fun trips.  Super lame.  I've just been sitting around the house and running errands.  I've caught up on many a TV show and even gotten my car inspected and it's oil changed.  What am I going to do for another week!?

Last weekend Pete and I went to visit his parents in DFW.  It was great to see them.  I hadn't seen them since the wedding!  We forced them to Top Golf with us, which they ended up loving.  Of course the Monday AFTER we went, Top Golf was on the Dallas Groupon.  Bad timing!

This weekend we are venturing to Austin for Father's Day brunch with Pete's parents and grandpa.  It should be fun, but I am not looking forward to the drive.

I really want a real vacation soon.  Any ideas?  I need an escape.  I;d also like to see my niece and nephew soon.  I feel like I'm missing them grow up.  Thomas starts Kindergarten this year - what?!  I need to hug him before he stops letting me.

Love you all!!
-C

Memorial Day Fun

We had an amazing weekend at a beach house in Gulf Shores, AL with friends! Our friend Jeff's family owns an awesome house/condo right on the beach. Our friends Michael, Jessica, Bettye, David & Tom all came too. Pete's brother, Mike, was also able to drive down for the weekend so that was a bonus as well.
The bulk of us flew into New Orleans and drove to the beach. We didn't get to do much in New Orleans, but we did get to eat a delicious po'boy. I decided Pete & I need to fly back to New Orleans for a weekend getaway. Want to come?
The weekend was full of lounging, drinking, sunshine, getting dominated by waves, ladder ball, can jam, food, & friends. So fun. We can't wait to do it again!

Slumber Party!

On Friday I experienced one of the most fun/ most stressful times this year. I helped MK celebrate her 8th birthday with a slumber party! MK and 10 of her closest friends enjoyed 17 hours of fun-filled excitement including karaoke, a nugget tray, trampoline jumping, cookie cake, cupcakes, nighttime Easter egg hunt, movies, nail painting and donuts! It was an experience that was fun, once! I don't plan on doing this again anytime soon. :)

CG Update

Pete and I are officially on our third week of Camp Gladiator and going strong.  I can already tell my strength and endurance are improving.


This week is free week!  Show up to any Camp Gladiator session in any city and it's free!  Check it out!


www.campgladiator.com

Houston:

http://www.campgladiatorhouston.com/houston_locations.html

AM Camps
-Christ Evangelical Presbyterian (8300 Katy Freeway)
    M - W - F   5:30-6:30am
-Houston Community College (5601 West Loop South Freeway, SW Campus)
   T - Th   5:30-6:30am
-Nob Hill Park (Timberoak Drive)

   M - W  9:15-10:15am

-Spotts Park (401 S Heights Blvd)

  Saturday  9-10am

PM Camps

-Spotts Park (401 S Heights Blvd)

  M - W  6:30-7:30pm

-Stude Park (1031 White Oak Drive)

  T - Th  6:30-7:30pm

Austin:

http://www.campgladiatoraustin.com/austin_locations.html

Dallas: 

http://www.campgladiatordallas.com/dallas_locations.html

San Antonio:

http://www.campgladiatorsanantonio.com/san_antonio_locations.html

Oklahoma City:

http://www.campgladiatorok.com/okc_locations.html

Shreveport:

http://www.campgladiatorshreveport.com/shreveport_locations.html

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to our wonderful moms.  We wouldn't be where we are today without you.  We love you more than words!

Also, a big shout out to our non-mothers that we might as well call "mom."  We love you, too!

Gran

Laura

Pat

Beautiful Mrs. Keele

Mommy May

Tiffany

Aunt Sharon

Ritual Cleanse Update

(1) Sweet Green Juice - yuck.  Although I think this one tasted better than BPC green juice, it still wasn't good.  Pete couldn't stand it.  I could really taste the celery and lemon in this one.  


(2) Seasonal Strawberry Watermelon - yum!  This was delicious!  I really want to try to make this one on my own with our juicer.  So refreshing.  


(3) Spicy Lemonade - ugh.  I was so looking forward to this one because I loved the BPC one.  I wasn't a fan of this one, as it had a very weird taste to it.  Not my favorite by far.  


(4) Cashew Milk - I honestly didn't get to try this one.  It expired before I got the chance.  Sorry Stacy!


(5) Post-Shred - This one is much like the BPC cashew milk, but made with almond milk instead.  It is designed to drink post-workout.  It was pretty tasty and less grainy than the BPC cashew milk.  


Will you try the Ritual Cleanse?

Ritual Cleanse

Last week I won a one-day Ritual Cleanse on Twitter.  After the Blue Print Cleanse debacle I was glad to get the opportunity to try another cleanse free of charge.  I only ordered a one-day because I just wanted to get to taste the juices without spending a lot of money. 

Ritual Cleanse is nice because you can customize the juices for that day, it doesn't have to be the pre-set ones.  So I ordered juice (1) Green Juice, (2) Seasonal Strawberry Watermelon, (4) Spicy Lemonade, (6) Cashew Milk as well as two post-workout drinks.  I didn't get juices 3 and 5 because they are green juices as well.  One is usually enough to get the taste.  :)

Here's how it arrived! 

Outside package

To keep it cool

Cute little tote lined to keep juices cool

The six juices

I'm going to go bike a little in the gym and then have a post-workout shred.  I'll let you know how it is!

Brain Egg

Check out this dyed, hard-boiled egg I had for breakfast.  After I de-shelled it I found this awesome vein pattern on it. So cool!  Instagram made it cooler too:  

Brain egg!

Push Present

Have any of you heard of a Push Present?  It's a gift mommy gets for pushing her baby out.  Usually diamonds.  What?!

I've been watching the new Bravo show "Pregnant in Heels" obsessively.  The show makes me want to steal all of the babies from these crazy ignorant moms!  They don't know anything about babies.  These moms are more concerned with what their push presents are going to be than with preparing for their unborn babies.  It makes me sad.  I just want to save all of the babies of the world from crazy moms.

Camp Gladiator

Last Friday Pete and I started a new Houston boot camp called Camp Gladiator.  My childhood neighbor, Ally (Kelly) Davidson, competed on the last season of American Gladiators - the recent revitalized show with Hulk Hogan.  And, she won!  After winning, she came back to Texas and wanted to do something great to get people in shape.  She and her husband started Camp Gladiator in Austin and Dallas.  Since then they have spread CG all across Texas and into parts of Oklahoma and Louisiana.  Now CG is in Houston!

We have been going M/W/F at 5:30am.  Getting up that early is so brutal.  Pete and I know that the sacrifice of sleep is really an investment in our health.  We feel awful during the workout and amazing afterwards.  Well, minus the soreness.  My butt is killing me!

If you'd like to try Camp Gladiator, you can visit their website and go to any of their sessions for free to try it out.  I can also give you a discount code for $100 off.  If you join, please mention my email address when you're setting up your account - you get credit for referring people!  

Gorgeous.  And hot.

I won a free one day cleanse from Ritual Cleanse. After my BPC experience this should be interesting! I'll keep you posted on when I receive it!

Drinking some spicy lemonade at the Hebrew school. Yum.

Confession: this might be the last juice I drink.

-C

Pete- update

10:38. Maybe today was a bad day to do this. I'm hungry and stress isn't helping. Stressful job + extra stressful day + no food stress = unhappy Pete. I'm about to have P.A.M. which can't be worse than green. Well time to crack it open. Cheers!

12:22. Just finished P.A.M. It wasn't bad. I mean I wouldn't want it regularly but it was pretty tasty. I think it got better tasting the warmer it got. I'm dreading the second green juice I have coming up.

Pete - BPC Update

Pete's words....

7:45 am. I'm about to try cleanse #1. Not excited. Maybe it's because I'm tired and grumpy or maybe I'm tired and grumpy cause of the cleanse. This is going to be hard, I already want food. Juice sound not be green. Whelp here I go. I'm expecting 16oz and 130 calories of hell. Hmmmm...it doesn't taste good. I can taste the cucumber. It leaves a terrible aftertaste. 2 chugs and I'm 2/5 done. Burped, it was gross.

7:56 am. Got distracted in the office. Forgot I had to drink this thing. 1/3 left. Coughed and almost puked. Another super nasty burp. I can't believe that I'm going to have to do this again later.

8:08 am. My stomach is full. I don't want to drink the rest.

8:11 am. Done. I want to puke, if I did it would be real gross.

Vom.com 
 - Pete

8:00pm Juice #6, cashew milk. I was really looking forward to this one because Stacy raves about it.  It's better than 4/5 but spicy lemonade is my favorite.  The cashew milk is grainy and the vanilla bean in it isn't mixed well (despite frequent shaking). 

Honestly I'm not a fan of BPC  taste-wise.  I like that I feel pretty good, but just slightly better than normal. On to my second/final day...

Call Me a Quitter

I'm lacking motivation for this cleanse.  I am having a breakdown and I just want to eat some real food.  Pete & I talked it out and decided that since we have 2 days worth of cleanse juice left, we will both do a full day cleanse tomorrow.  I don't think I can handle 2 more days, and I now Pete couldn't do 2 days.  Seems like a pretty good solution to me.  And Pete will know why I am so miserable right now.  He said he would blog about his experience with the juices as well.

I'm already feeling better knowing that I only have 24 more hours of juices until FOOOOD.  (This is why I'm fat.)

FOOOOD

7:15 pm. I need to chew. BPC discourages cheating, but gives a few suggestions if you're going to cheat. One of the recommendations is 1/4 avocado. I'll be partaking in that... Right now.

BPC #5

5:55 pm.  At the soccer fields with the kids having juice #5.  It is overwhelmingly beety.  I'm not really a fan of this one either. Not sure how much I'll be able to force down the gullet.  Looking forward to cashew milk though!

BPC #4 yum!

Tuesday March 29th 3:40pm.  Day 1 juice 4.  Spicy lemonade!
This is the first one I really love. I think I'm going to crave this bad boy.  It's water, lemon, agave nectar & cayenne.  Yummm!  Both kiddies just ate a banana and I wanted to cheat and eat one but I didn't!  One step at a time.

Update: I am hungry for the first time today. I want to start juice #4 but will have to wait until the kiddos and I get home from school. I am looking forward to the spicy lemonade!

Was feeling like I couldn't do it after juice #3 but I got a pep talk from Stacy. She's a good friend!

Things I could eat right now:
French fries, the birthday cake Pete bought last night that's sitting in the fridge, chips, stuffed avocado from Trudy's, anything that goes "crunch."

Another green juice.  It's running errands with me.

P.A.M. - Blue Print Cleanse

Tuesday, March 29th, 11:20am.  Day one, juice two.  Juice number two is called P.A.M.  It is pineapple, apple and mint.  I actually quite like this one.  The pineapple and the mint stand out to me.  It's tasty.  I found that it took me a while to drink the first juice.  I need to pick up the pace!  I also had a full glass of water between juices one and two.  My body isn't use to all of this liquid and my bladder can't keep up!  I have to tinkle A LOT!

I know you're suppose to "prepare" before these cleanses but last night was my birthday.  And this is nothing compared to the scallops I had at Truluck's last night!

It's here! - Blue Print Cleanse

Well, it's here folks.  My Blue Print Cleanse arrived today, the morning after my 24th birthday.  My goal for my 24th year of life is to try new things, explore, do more.  So, I am embarking on a cleanse journey.  I'll give you a detailed account of my findings.

The juice arrived in a jumble of sorts with about 8 ice packs thrown in.  

 I quickly moved them to the refrigerator and sorted them by day and number.  On the BPC (Blue Print Cleanse) you are suppose to drink the juices in order 1-6 throughout the day.  There should be at least one hour and plenty of water between juices.

Tuesday, March 29, 9:50am.  Day one, juice one.  I open my first juice.  The ingredients are romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley and lemon.  I don't think that's one I have ever made (or ever will make) on my juicer.  At first, I don't find the delicious.  I can, however, taste all of the unique flavors.  One flavor doesn't stand out above the others, although I wish the apple did!  

Until juice 2...