Marathon, TX

Where?!?! That's what I said when we got the invitation to Ryan and Natalie's wedding. I had never heard of Marathon, TX. For those who don't know where it is, it's about 75 miles from Big Bend. Also close to Marfa where you can see the Marfa Lights. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago Bryan and I head west for the wedding. The drive wasn't that bad (about 8.5 hours). We took Tim with us so everyone drove some and then watched movies or listened to random mixes on iPods. The wedding was great and the town was cute and small. Actually quaint would be a better word then cute. Anyway, here are some pictures.

Bryan and I...

Nice Kitty....

The whole town of Marathon.....

The Bride and Groom

Dear Me in 2001....

Is your life at this age what you thought it would be like (when you dreamt ahead as a child). How is it the same and how is it different?

I saw this on another blog and I thought, why not write a letter to myself in 2001? Here goes....

Dear Me in 2001,
Well, you did it! You live in Dallas and are prepared to take on the world and make all your dreams come true. Prepare yourself... I'm about to rip off the band aid and it's going to hurt. Bad.

Your job isn't what you thought or wanted when you dreamed of a career after college. It's long hours, it's hard and you are lonely despite the fact that you go out every night with a ton of people. Cut back on this, you became exhausted which makes your life harder. Respect your boss. He is not to blame. You won't be in this job forever, but it will lay down a solid foundation for your future career (which you love). Take it seriously.

Let Eric go. He is not the one for you and he isn't worth the heartache and tears. His life goes in a different path then the one God has for you. The same goes for Brandon and Shawn. The man who chooses you is everything you dream of and more. He leaves the lights on, but that is okay. He doesn't have an athletic bone in his body and that's okay, because he goes to all your games and is your biggest cheerleader while you are playing sports. He does the dishes, not because he likes it, but because he knows how much you hate it. Most importantly, he LOVES you for you, exactly how you are.

Take a mental picture of yourself. I'm so sorry to say this, but you won't always be tan, blonde and a size 4 because you only weigh 110 lbs. This is probably the only time you will be this small. It's painfully true. Oh, please, please, please do not buy that $360 dress you wear once. You won't care in 2 years when it no longer fits! You'll just be mad that you spent that much money on a piece of material. Also, your husband will think you are beautiful and sexy no matter what size you are.

Last, but not least, take life one day at a time. Don't rush around and try to make everything happen at once. It will come in time. I know, who knew your parents would be right!

Good luck! You'll make mistakes, but it will be alright!
Me in 2007.

I had a lot of fun doing this. Feel free to write a letter to yourself on your blog. If nothing else, it will hopefully put things in prospective for you.

Next time......Move the ladder!

In my last blog (or the blog before last) I told everyone that Bryan and I were painting our front room. We started Wednesday night and things went pretty well. The paint is a dark color and it is going to take several coats to cover the walls. That isn't the point of this blog, but I thought I would share it anyway. So I am painting the crown molding and then we start on the walls. Everything went fine and we went to bed around 10:30 or so. The next morning I woke up and pain was shooting through my neck and left shoulder. I could barley turn my head or wash my hair. Any movement from my left arm was pretty painful. So I am wracking my brain trying to figure out if I slept wrong, fell, or did anything that could explain why my shoulder and neck were giving me problems. I didn't even think about the painting because I have painted the kitchen, bathroom and hallway and never experienced this before. So Bryan points out that it might have had something to do with the fact that I painted the walls normally, but the crown molding......not so normally. Apparently I got tired of moving the ladder so for the last little bit of crown molding I started using my left hand to paint, but my head was angled to the side and my body was turned at an odd angle so that I could reach. I'm grateful that I didn't topple the ladder over because I was reaching REALLY far. Picture me standing on the ladder anchoring my right hand on the ladder and stretching as far as I could. I was definitely abusing the ladder guidelines. So my left arm was using muscles that hadn't been used ever and the way I had my body and necked turned did not coordinate with my body's alignment. End result? Pain yesterday, today and probably tomorrow. Did I let it stop me from painting last night? NO!! Although in hindsight, I probably should have. So tonight, no painting. I am taking the night off to give my body a rest and next time (if ever I paint crown molding again) I'll move the ladder!

I have to say though that I really liked the color we picked. It's darker then I thought, but I love it just the same. I had that rush of "oh no!, this is not the color I wanted" when I first slapped the paint on the walls, but I kept going. I can't wait to show the pictures. I have some taken, but you could see alot of spots where it needed a second and maybe even a third (I hope not) coat of paint.
Have a great weekend!

Overdue Day Off!

Yesterday I took a day off to catch up on being gone for the weekend, (I'll post more about the weekend later) and it was just what I needed! I didn't realize how tired I was. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. I can't describe how much better I feel after a weekend to do nothing but relax. It was great. My house is finally clean which is usually the case, but Bryan and I have been doing a lot of remodeling and it was taking a toll on the house, especially the kitchen which became a dumping ground for tools, paint, trash, etc. It was a mess! Now it is an organized mess in the front room.
The bathroom closet is almost done - Yeah Bryan! - and the front room is about to be painted - Yeah me! I'll post pictures later when it is all said and done.

After cleaning the house and doing some other stuff, I went over to Kristen's house for lunch. It was great (Thanks for making lunch Kristen!). I got to play with Pierce and talk with Kristen for the longest time. It was nice to be able to catch-up on everything that is going on!

After I left Kristen's I went grocery shopping and then went home and made dinner and then relaxed in front of the TV all night!

I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was refreshing for me.

Long Time No Blog

I am so sorry for those who look for new updates on this blog. I have a lot going on, but it's not that exciting. Bryan and I spent the weekend trying to finish up projects around the house. He is finishing up the bathroom closet and I am working on the front room. We picked out the paint and it is going to look great. I'll post some before and after pictures soon. Actually, not soon because it will take me awhile to get it painted. I also picked out the colors for our bedroom and bathroom. (Andi - I am so sorry, I changed the color scheme again - but this time I will stick with the colors!). In reference to the note to Andi, she helped me pick out fabric for the bedroom last year and I have changed my mind about 3 times since then. Hopefully this color will stick.
I'll try and post more!