New Hairdo

I've loved having long hair, but all of a sudden it was just too long and started driving me crazy!! You know that feeling when you wake up one day and suddenly you can't wait another minute for a visit to the salon?? Well, I reached that point...and made an appointment to see my fabulous hairstylist Jennifer ASAP!

Before

These "after" photos are especially for you, sis...

After - Not the greatest photo of me

And from the back

A little history here...before the wedding I had a horrible time deciding how to wear my hair...everyone was giving me lots of advice, but all I knew was that I just wanted to look "like me" that day. I made many trips to visit my hairstylist Jennifer for practice hairdos. After each session, I would somehow manage to take photos of my hair by myself - I didn't want to ask Mike for help because I didn't want him to see anything related to the wedding day, but I wanted to email photos to my mom and sister for their opinions. Well, after many rounds of photos, I realized that I needed to see what the hair styles would look like with my strapless dress...I didn't have a tube top handy, so I did the next best thing...I didn't think anything of it until I sent them the photos and their only response was - "ARE YOU NAKED??"

Can I keep her?

Landri and Alison

At the baby shower in Houston, I met this adorable little girl. Landri is 2 1/2 and just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Her mom and I hit it off right away and had lots to talk about. Landri and I played outside after the shower and she even sang me a few verses of "Deep in the Heart of Texas."


Mike, can I keep her...please??

I mean, she is named for Tom Landry after all!

H-Town

Babies, babies, everywhere! We had a fun trip to Houston last weekend. It was a quick trip, but we had a great time visiting Mike's old haunts and seeing good friends!

The first stop of the trip was a baby shower for Mike's longtime friend Jessica, who is expecting her first bundle of joy in July. Mike's parents also made the trip for the shower and Mike and his dad were happy to make a stop at Fry's Electronics while his mom and I were at the shower. The guys did come by at the end to pick us up and say hi to everyone. We loved being there to celebrate with Jessica and Matt!

Alison, Mike, Matt, and mom-to-be Jessica

This weekend was also our first time to try using Hotwire to book our hotel reservation. We had great luck and scored a room downtown at the Hilton.

View of the new baseball stadium from our room
and the beautiful new park they are building.
On Sunday, we had the chance to stop and visit my good friend from college and her husband. Leah and Adam have two adorable kiddos now and we had so much fun visiting them. Adam cooked burgers and hot dogs on the grill and we had a fabulous lunch - the weather was so nice we were even able to enjoy it on their back patio. Sydney was a little shy at first, but by the end we were like old friends...she was a little skeptical of Mike, but eventually they were friends too! She even put sprinkles on his ice cream cone!

Alison, Leah, and Sydney
We essentially ate our way back to Dallas on Sunday afternoon...after a stop at Starbuck's on our way out of town and a delicious Expresso brownie, we stopped in Corsicana at the new highway location of Collin Street Bakery and sparks flew. World famous for their fruitcakes (and one of my former clients), we discovered that they also make delicious cookies and were remodeling one of their counter areas...I'm not sure, but I don't think cutting metal that throws sparks everywhere is a good idea while customers around. I think the cookies were gone before we hit the Dallas city limits!

Gummy Hunter

So I know we post a lot about our dog, but I had to share this story about something that happened yesterday...

As part of our easter gifts Al and I both received gummy candies. I got gummy octopuses (octopi or octopodes) and Al got gummy cherries. I'd been thinking about my gummy octopi all day long (yeah my work day is sad) so as soon as I got home I went for them. This prompted Al to eat her gummy cherries too. Much to the changrin of poor Kitty we started sharing by throwing pieces back and forth to each other. This turned into an unintentional monkey-in-the-middle session that drove her CRAZY! Then Al lazers a cherry to me only to have it ricochet off my hand and go behind the couch. DOH! I see this as the perfect opportunity to put our little vermin hunter to work. So we pull the couch out from the wall, coaxed her over (didn't take much coaxing) and sent her in. We were going to put the headlamp on her, but the batteries were dead. The gap between the wall and the couch was just wide enough for her to make it to the cherry, although I'm not sure it would have mattered. She was highly motivated and would have clawed her way to it if need be. She quickly scarfed it up and proceeded to back out (which is hilarious in itself, wish I had a vid of that). So happy ending for all involved.

Words Men Use

1) Fine: Literally means that's just fine.

2) Five minutes: Five minutes, but please understand that the clock stops for incomplete passes, time outs, etc.

3) Nothing: Most likely, nothing

4) Go Ahead: Permission granted

5) Loud Sigh: Long efficient breath taken to more adequately oxygenate the blood

6) That's Okay: Perhaps not perfect, but that will do

7) Thanks: Thank you

8) Whatever: I have no preference, but thanks for asking

9) Don't worry about it I got it: I will take care of it and do not require any assistance

Words Women Use

I got this from a friend the other day and just had to laugh because unfortunately this is so true!

1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it!

5) Loud Sigh: This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' ... that will bring on a 'whatever').

8) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

Date Night

By Friday night Mike and I both had a bit of cabin fever after being home all day long, so we decided to brave the weather and venture out. The roads weren't bad, so after stops at Target and Bed, Bath, & Beyond (or Blood, Bath, & Beyond as Mike calls it) we headed to our favorite pizza place - Campania's. Our friends Claire and Ron introduced us to this place awhile back and we just can't get enough of it!

It is true Italian style pizza and is delicious! The only bad thing about Campania's is that the restaurant is a bit small and there isn't much room to stand while waiting for your table. The wait is never too long, but the place always seems to be jam packed with people. There were lots of people waiting when we got there including a big party of six people. A small table opened up and so we were seated before the big group. Once we were seated I had a direct view of the big group waiting. They had stationed themselves directly in the center of the restaurant and were literally standing around or should I say over these people at a table.

The photos don't do the scene justice, but I felt really sorry for the guy sitting at the table. At one point the group standing cracked open their beers (Campania's is BYOB) and were actually toasting directly over the guy's head!

I'm not sure that I would have had the patience that this poor guy did!

Hungry Hungry Hippo

Only one month in and I am already a bad blogger! This past week was super busy at work, although I did have the opportunity to work from home on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday I was a bit ADD, but by Friday I had the hang of it. I was only planning to work from home on Thursday, but when my boss called Friday morning and encourage me to just stay home and not try to drive in the SNOW, I was happy to oblige her! It was actually nice to be away from all the distractions of the office and just get caught up on things!

Because of the weather, Mike was home too on Friday. We had a good day...even if he did get to play more than I did! I also discovered the major danger of working from home - the kitchen! I ate all day long! First it was breakfat, then lunch, and then basically snacks all afternoon long! And at the end of the day I realized, I was never really that hungry.