An update

Just wanted to take a break from all the hub-bub and write for a while so I figured I'd exert my energy here. Can I just say I love Fall? I realize that I live in Texas and we don't technically really have a Fall but it's my favorite time of year. I love the crisp morning walks from when I get off the bus and walk to work, I love the leaves that fall to the ground and make crunching noises when you walk on them, I love getting pumpkins just to cut them open and take the seeds out. I love everything about it!

Bryan had another art show this weekend. He faired ok I guess. He was able to sell a print and a painting so not too shabby. :) I need to make it prettier one day but if you want to check out his work, I tried to design a website - don't laugh, I'm a beginner and I need a better/faster/non-dinosaur computer so I can load my better software! It's www.artbyreno.com so you should go see his work. He is a sports artist and will paint anybody on just about anything! It's his escape from the everyday, how he unwinds. He is going to a lawyer's office downtown this week to set up his work for them to view. My mom works for a large firm and she was showing off her son-in-law and they were really interested in his stuff and asked if he would come by. Pray for us as we venture out into this area. He's just beginning to sell his art and his spirits aren't the best right now.

In about a month I'm going to run in my first 5K ever. I usually run for fun but was asked if I would consider running on a team to help benefit Susan G Komen so I took them up on their offer. I'm trying to get faster by doing sprints and cross training. I'll have to let y'all know how it goes!

That's all I have for now besides school stuff and I won't bore you with all of those fabulous details. 2010 can't get here fast enough! :)

Use your stern voice!!!

So, I'm still running although not as much since I've been a little under the weather lately. I'm up to 3 miles in 30-40 minutes depending on the day I guess. I'm pretty proud of myself and if I could get past the mental roadblocks I think I'd be just fine. I don't quit because I'm tired, I just quit because maybe 3 miles has become routine. Maybe I should run until I can't run anymore and not somewhere where I know the distance I have gone. My mom's law firm she works for has asked me to be on their team for the Susan G Komen "Race for a Cure" here in Austin!! I can't wait! :)

We live in a new neighborhood and it's farm land and quite undeveloped on the outside of the fence that defines the neighborhood. Well, we exit the neighborhood to go on our run, Parker and Manu and me (yes my dogs are named after the San Antonio Spurs) and we're doing so good, we're running and then rabbits. As you may have already read, I try but I have very little control over my dogs, they just don't respect me, I'm not very firm - they love me and cuddle with me but when it comes to minding, haha, you can forget it. Hopefully I learn this art before we have kids!! Bryan seems to have it down pat. Anyways, back to the rabbits. The boys see the rabbits and take off. Meanwhile, I'm already having to watch where I'm running because there is poison ivy (not allergic but Bryan is so I still can't touch it) and sticker bushes and small cactus. Then rabbits. The dogs pull so hard I start flailing around everywhere digging my heels in so they don't get loose since we're on a major road and that's when it happens. I fall into said sticker bush. You'd think I have learned my lesson by now!!! Nope, I haven't. I yelp and Manu and Parker turn around to see what is wrong. I hear somebody behind me on a bicycle so I'm getting out of the way not looking at whoever is on the bike because they more than likely saw my embarassing dance I just did into the sticker bush. Well, the bike stops and I recognize the shoes, it was my darling husband. He witnessed the whole thing. His first question isn't, honey are you ok? Or bad dogs!! Nope, it's well why are you running over here anyways? Fun! By then my foot was all swollen and red and I had to take my shoe off and walk the 1/2 a mile home barefoot on the one side because now I was so swollen I couldn't get the shoe back on. I now have what looks like a ton of small ant bites on my ankle which sting like the dickens if you scratch them! OUCH!!! Help is welcome on controlling my boy dogs. They are going to hurt me one day if I keep running w/ them!! Well, hurt me worse....

Catching up...

I really need to post about our vacation but I haven't found the time yet. Work has been insane, school has been even crazier and somewhere in all of that I'm struggling to find time to spend with my wonderful husband. I will be glad when I can get all of this organized and under control and feel like I have time for more things than work and school. I wish it was time to graduate already...


So, I have bronchitis and a sinus infection. Fun stuff. I found out Tuesday when I finally sucked it up and went to the doctor, a little late I might add. My asthma is apparently coming back so I'm back on inhalers...fun times! Just wanted to let everybody know I'm alive! My mom was cool...she gave me my birthday present early. Not many people know this about me but I make a lot of my own jewelry and she's trying to coax me into selling it so she majorly hooked me up with lots of new stuff and gave it to me early so I wouldn't be bored at home since I had to stay two days, doctor's orders...


The lowdown on Chicago soon to come complete with pictures!!

Six more days...

A week from today at this precise moment, I will be getting off of a plane at O'Hare to embark on what Bryan and I hope to be a very peaceful and relaxing week. Tuesday, September 6, we will be leaving mid morning to go to Chicago, Illinois. Bryan went last summer when his kids (employees) got a chance to go to E&A Nationals but I've never been, always wanted to go though. I love baseball and there are three parks that I have always wanted to visit. One is Yankee Stadium which I at least got to see before they rip it to shreds (big dummies), two is Wrigley Field and the other is Fenway. It's funny because I don't really like any of the teams but the fields man, GREAT players have played there and it's so surreal to me. So, we're going to the Cubs/Astros game while we're there so I can experience a Cubs game, I hear it's unlike any other. We're sitting in the outfield by the famous ivy, so exciting!!! :) I can't get too excited about catching a Pence or Berkman homer though because if I do happen to catch said homerun (if they get that lucky), I have to throw it back so I told Bryan I refuse to even try to catch it. Haha! The opposing team comes in through this back alley and they let fans down there and the team will sign autographs and stuff so I'm hoping to get some cool pictures.

We're also looking forward to doing a WHOLE lot of sightseeing since Bryan didn't get to do much on the trip he took last summer. I'm looking forward to so much of it. We found out that the city has these cards called 'go chicago cards' and we looked into them and they're pretty awesome I must say. They are $100/person which almost deterred us on the whole idea because that is a lot of money for us but we decided to get them. They are chock full of tickets to: the aquarium, the planetarium, boat tours down Lake Michigan, art museums, LegoLand (I realize I might be seen as a dork for how cool I think this place is), hop on/hop off tours of the city, admission to Navy Pier and so, so, so much more. We figured that with all of the places we wanted to go, we would actually end up spending way more than $100/person on just attractions alone so it turned out to be a really good deal! I'm really excited about Navy Pier. It honestly sounds a little like a carnival but that picture just makes it seem incredible.

If you've ever been to Chicago and have suggestions on neat (inexpensive ;)) things to do, let us know; we want to get as much as we can out of this experience! I can't wait to share our experiences with all of you!!

It's Gone to the Dogs

Sunday: It actually feels nice out so I grab one of our dogs, Hunners, and we go take a run together. It's a little warm but nothing like the 100+ degree heat we've been having lately. Well, we get home (she's fat and tired, I'm tired from having to practically drag her) and I'm helping Bryan decipher the garage door opener directions since we are trying to install it ourselves. I look out in the yard and there is this little yippie dog, one of those that Paris Hilton would own. It growls and barks and yips at everything and tries to climb your leg...REALLY annoying. I'm a big dog person: labs, golden retrievers not the little prissy dogs. Anyways. Bryan looks at me and is like, we aren't keeping that thing to which I'm like, well, yeah, 4 is enough!! :) So I grab a leash and start going door to door and nobody has ever even seen this dog but it's tiny, it's legs are as long as my finger, it lives around us somewhere. 2hrs later I'm walking down the last street in our neighborhood and this is what proceeds:

guy on the porch: hey, that's cool, your dog looks almost identical to my dog Cooper

me: Hey umm, where is cooper?

guy: he's in our backyard where he stays.

me: does he like to dig?

guy: no cooper is good.

me: are you sure he didn't get out

guy: (lightbulb goes off and he runs to his backyard) oh my gosh the gate got left open but he never runs off.

**he goes in the house just to make sure I guess that this is really Cooper I have**

me: so is this your dog because mine would eat him for a snack

guy: (laughs) hey coop, come home to daddy, daddy loves you

me: (sigh of relief) yep, you're welcome...no problem

Monday: I'm self-training for a 10K. This guy here is one of my running buddies. He looks cute enough, really innocent, sweet as can be. If he was a kid, your grandma would totally pinch his cheeks off. We should have named him Cheetah or Kangaroo or Jaguar, something really fast and bouncy (he's named Parker after Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs a.k.a. "Eva's husband" so that will suffice at this point). We have another dog, Hunners, she's a little on the overweight side, something about it being my fault and table food. Usually I run with her because she needs it the most to lose the weight she's carrying around. Well, after dragging her a mile and a half on Sunday I decided to give her the day off and run with Mr. Parker here so I could get more accomplished. Have I mentioned he only weighs 30 lbs less than me? Or that he is as tall as me? Or that he is as strong as a horse? We take off running at MY normal pace. I watch the Dog Whisperer guy and I'm all trying to be in charge and this is a lost cause. We round the corner in our neighborhood and bounding out of the garage comes "Venus", this incredibly hyper border collie. Here I go leash between my legs, trying to look in control but at the same time tripping all over the place just trying not to bust it so I don't go home and Bryan gives me the "I told you so" speech about showing the dogs who is dominant. Well, anyways the owner comes roaring out of his garage yelling Venus, no, get back here Venus and to say the least Parker is finding her very interesting and I'm trying to get control of my beast of a dog and somewhere in all of this I somehow end up on my butt in the middle of the street while my dog runs off to play with this girl dog. At this point I want to cry but instead I lay in the middle of the street and laugh instead. I yell at Parker, "You get over here right now, do not make me chase you" as if he knows exactly waht I just said, he cowers over like Golden Retrievers do when they are/think they are in trouble. At that point all I could think was hey, at least my dog knows how to listen...

A New House

I think there is a reason they give you a month off to not pay your mortgage when you first buy a home. 4 ceiling fans, 1 garage door opener, 1 refrigerator, and lots of deposits later I'd say it is a little overwhelming! I didn't realize HOW MUCH you NEED to buy for a home and this is straight up needs we're talking about (ok, maybe not the ceiling fans but come on, it's Texas for crying out loud). There is a plus to all of this "going green" though because you get lots of rebates and gift cards for buying energy star appliances. It paid for said garage door opener and weather proofing the fence; well it HELPED pay for that stuff. I never realized how much it costs to weather proof a fence. GEEZ!!!! I'll have to take pictures of the house soon with all of our stuff in it. Here is the outside for now. We are so ecstatic to be in our home, it really is a blessing! :) We just bought rocking chairs for the front porch, so adorable - gotta love Super HEB everyday low prices ;). Updates to come!!

Life is a Rollercoaster

God, let me be a vessel, let my cup be full and overflowing, let my life be a light for the people around me, give me strength to reach out, to comfort, to love with everything in me, prepare the hearts and lives of those around me so that when they see me, they will see your face and experience your unending grace and mercy. Thank you for trusting me in the trials and tribulations of life so that I may help bring your joy, comfort and peace to others...

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.