Is There Something Good? In the Neighborhood...

I’m pretty sure the number one thing my husband loves about me is that I sing the wrong lyrics to songs...all the time. He laughs so hard. What’s ironic is that I “hear” everything. I always hear someone outside our door, other conversations in a crowded area, strange noises in my car, a roach crawling on the ground (I kid you not) and I’m always asking Preston if he heard ‘that’ but I can NOT for the life of me hear what music artist’s sing. Rap is the worst. I think it’s more of a comprehension issue than a hearing issue but it has always been this way. I’m the same way with foreign accents. Preston has tried and failed many a time to teach me the correct lyrics to a song but alas, I can never remember so I always revert to what I know. Even if it sounds wrong, I just sing it the way I hear it.

A few songs I love to sing the wrong words to:

Ghostbusters: (see title of this post)
Ice Ice Baby: “All right stop collaborate and listen, Ice is back with a brand new mission.”
Drops of Jupiter: “Glass she’s back in the atmosphere, with drops of Jupiter in her ear.” (I now know it’s “hair" but I still can never remember the beginning of this song.)
Beauty School Drop Out: "Mister midterms-in flunked shampoo."
God Bless America: "...to the oceans, white with snow."
Shot Through The Heart: "Shot through the heart and you're too late!"

I can’t think of any more right now, probably because I haven’t realized I’m singing them wrong yet. So the next time Preston starts laughing when I sing I’ll just go ahead and add whatever I was singing to the list.

Strangers and Rangers

Last Thursday we went to Hitchoktober at the Angelika theater with Adam, Jenni and Leslie. Every Thursday night this month they showed Alfred Hitchcock movies on a big screen outside for free and you were welcome to bring your own blankets, chairs and food for the movie (New York style as I like to call it). Reminded me of The Wedding Planner when they go to the outdoor theater to watch movies and Matthew McConaughey picks out all the brown M&M’s and falls in love with J-Lo. The movie they showed this week was Strangers on a Train which I had never seen but was ironically referenced on last week’s episode of Modern Family!  Anyway, we had a lot of fun doing something different and I’m really glad we went! Thank you Dallas for being cool for once! I only have a couple pictures from my iPhone because I didn’t want to disturb other moviegoers…

Friday night we watched the Ranger game at the home of our dear friends and avid fans, Chris and Amanda. Now that was a night I will NEVER forget. I seriously teared up when we threw that last strike at A-Rod...after I jumped and screamed and high-fived and hugged our friends. I am so glad we beat the Yankees by so much because if it had been any closer than that I might've had a heart attack. I'd say I can't believe it but I can. We (as in the Rangers) deserve it. I told my husband I might have a crush on Josh Hamilton. He said he was ok with that. His speech was just so selfless and humble and he gave all the credit to God and his team and you know he meant it. What a great example. So proud of him and the whole team. Way to go guys! Here are a few pictures of us watching the game...

Amanda told us to wave. Chris held up number #1, Preston looks like he has a stump for a hand and I look like I'm doing the claw!

We are notorious for these kinds of photos when we're around each other.

My "nervous" face. Hey, it ain't over 'til it's over.

WE WIN! WE WIN! WE WIN!!! This was the aftermath. Amanda took video during our actual celebration and it is insane. You can't even see what's going on. If you want to check it out, try this link: http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=588511107407. You'll probably need to sign into Facebook to see it.

After this we went outside and could hear the crowd cheering from The Ballpark. What a sweet, sweet sound. Bring it Giants!!!

On Saturday night we ended up going to see The Social Network at the Gold Class Cinemas in Allen with Kyle, Lyndsay, Matt and Leslie. Gold Class Cinema is a new kind of theater that is sort of like a bar/theater/restaurant similar to places like Alamo Draft House and Studio Movie Grill but MUCH more upscale and expensive. The food is gourmet, the seats recline with the touch of a button, blankets and pillows are provided as well as button for you to push whenever you need ANYTHING.

I ordered what I thought was chips and queso but was really chips and bleu cheese queso and it was not good but then I ordered sour patch kids, which they brought to me in a martini glass and Irish Cream gourmet flavored popcorn and my tastebuds forgave me for the bleu cheese mishap.

As for the movie, I kind of hate Facebook now. I thought about cancelling my account, or just boycotting for a while, but I'm pretty sure Mark Zuckerberg wouldn't notice. Plus it's not really fair for me to judge him based on a movie that is not the complete truth so I'm staying on for now. If the twins ever come up with their own Facebook though, I'm switching. (You'll have to see the movie for clarification on that last statement.)

It's Halloween week and I am so excited! I'm having a Halloween/Birthday/Rangers party on Saturday night and everyone is invited! Come on over if you need somewhere to celebrate Halloween/my life/the Rangers!

Straight No Chaser, Twin's Birthday, Shay's Bachelorette Party

We started out last weekend with the Straight No Chaser concert Friday night at SMU in Dallas. If you remember we went to their concert in the Spring and were blown away. I just can’t tell you how much we enjoyed it (again). I'm not a concert person or really a "music" person for that matter. I can count on one hand the number of concerts I have been to in my life (and actually enjoyed) so the fact that I've found a concert that I LOVE is a pretty big deal. I'm telling you, you are MISSING OUT if you haven't seen these guys perform. I’m not an acappella lover, in fact I can be a hater since I hear it SO OFTEN but gosh these guys are just phenomenal. Originally I had bought these tickets as a gift for Preston but now I’m a fan of my own. Straight No Chaser was discovered on YouTube so they encourage photos and video throughout their concert. I forgot my camera so I ended up videoing nearly every song they sang on my iPhone. I’ve posted some below but of course these don’t even halfway capture how amazing they are live. And remember as you are watching…there are NO instruments other than their voices being used to perform these songs. Not one.

“Troubled Waters.” Pure genius. I can’t get it out of my head.

This was a medley of cartoon theme songs. In the spring they did a TV show medley and it was one of our favorite parts of the show. This one is pretty great and pretty hilarious too…



“Fix You” originally by Coldplay. I have never heard this sung better…not even by Coldplay.



They also did…wait for it…a LADY GAGA medley! They danced AND sang her songs and it was highly entertaining. I hate that my video camera doesn’t zoom but if you look closely you can see their moves.



They were called back twice after three standing ovations and finished with an unplugged, no mics version of “In the Still of the Night.” Be still my beating heart.



Saturday morning we woke up at the break of dawn so we could get stuck in traffic for an hour on I-35. No really. Who would've thought we'd get caught in traffic on a Saturday?! Unfortunetly the wreck that caused the traffic was fatal and had happened two hours before we had arrived on the scene. Here's the story via WFAA.com:

DALLAS — Three vehicles were involved in a major accident on Interstate 35E early Saturday morning that left one person dead. Police said the driver of a Chevrolet Suburban went to sleep at the wheel, lost control and hit a concrete barrier at around 5:15 a.m. near Wycliff Avenue.

The impact spun the SUV around so it was facing north in one of the southbound lanes. Police said the driver turned on his hazard lights and walked away from the disabled vehicle. That's when a Honda hit the SUV head-on. A Pontiac then smashed into that car, causing all three vehicles to burst into flames.

The driver of the Honda was killed; the driver of the Pontiac was taken to a hospital for his injuries and released. The driver of the Suburban has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

Terrible. We knew it was bad as soon as we passed it.

Once we got past the wreck we were on our way to College Station to celebrate Dean and Hadley's 6th birthday party. 6!!! I can't believe they are that old. When I first met Preston they were just babies! Why do kids have to grow older? Atosha did a wonderful job with the party. Here are a few pics...

The birthday boy and girl bobbing for apples

Dean trying to dunk his daddy.

Garrison wasn't into the whole "no hands" rule.

The kiddos decorated mini pumpkins

My favorite costume...he's a byker dude...SO CUTE! Love the stash and tatts.

After the twins' birthday party I headed to Austin for Shaylee's bachelorette party. I didn't get too many pictures because her friend Tara was snapping away and I thought "I'll just get them from you later." The problem with that being I probably won't get them from her later. Oh well! Fun was had by all! Her sister Sheena rented a private room for karaoke and we had our own TV and mics to sing whatever and whenever we want. If you know anything about the Buschs (Shaylee sang in my wedding) or anyone from ACU for that matter, you know they can SING. I have never heard karoke sung in 4 part harmony until Saturday night. And to top it all off our waiter looked identical to Russell Brand so we called him Russell the whole night. I'm sure he loved it. Can't WAIT for Shay's wedding in November!!!

The whole crew: Lacey, Allie, Tara, Linsday, Sheena, Shaylee, Brooke, Elena, Laura, Paige and me!

Dinner at a yummy downtown Mexican food restaurant.

Group shot in the elevator!

Singing our hearts out in 4 part harmony...you think I'm joking.



A Few of My Favorite Things...

If you’ve been to my Events blog you already know I have a slight obsession with Etsy. I started a series I call “Etsy Finds” and showcase some of my favorite event/wedding related items. I have already written 3 Etsy Finds posts and have more that I’m waiting to publish so as not to overwhelm my readers. However, there are a lot of adorable items on Etsy that aren’t necessarily event and wedding related and so I present to you a few of my favorite things...

Sometimes I just love Etsy for it’s ideas. I think this poster is the cutest thing ever but I’m sure I could either make it or get Aubrey to make a similar one for me for a lot cheaper than buying it and having it shipped to me.

This is a Pumpkin Spice Latte Foaming Sugar Scrub. Yeah. And I already bought it. I couldn't help myself. Pretty sure I'm going to end up wanted to eat it but I'll try to control myself.

Doesn't this look like something you would see at Anthropologie? It would be so perfect for Halloween/Fall. It was so popular that it is currently available for pre-order and will be shipped in 3 weeks...just in time for my birthday. ;)

I have no place for this pillow in my house but I love it anyway. In fact, every pillow in this Etsy shop is adorable and a lot cheaper than you'd probably find in stores!

 

If you are an Etsy lover like me, I'd love to know some of your favorite shops/products!

The State Fair of Texas

Last night we went to the State Fair of Texas and I’m not lying when I say it was one of my favorite State Fair experiences to date. First of all, we only spent $10. Yeah you read that right…$10!!! If you know anything about the State Fair you know that is a miracle. I had received a free admission ticket and many many free food/ride tickets via work and family who had already been to the fair so we basically ended up paying $5 for parking and $5 for Preston’s ticket (since we brought a Dr. Pepper can). Also, we decided to just kind of walk around and find what we knew we wanted to eat and then taste a few of the fried delicacies as we came across them. Somehow we just happened to be sitting in the right spot when the light parade came through and just happened to walk out of the auto show when the light and water show began. That never happens. I ALWAYS have to plan everything out or we end up JUST missing something.


At the Light Parade. I feel like I need to explain that Preston came straight from work. He didn't intentially dress up for the fair.

 As far as food goes, we decided to go with what we knew and then try a few others with our extra tickets. We started with a foot long corny dog and sausage on a stick. I opted for the sausage over my other favorite, the turkey leg, which is rare form for me. Afterwards Preston got his funnel cake and sometime later I got corn on the cob. Then we got creative. Mom had informed me that the Fried Cookie Dough was amazing and since we happened to pass the booth that served it we decided...why not? It was pretty darn good. It tasted like a slightly undercooked cookie, which are always the best in my opinion. If you like your cookies crisp I wouldn’t recommend you try the Fried Cookie Dough.

Preston trying the Fried Cookie Dough.



Corn on the Cob...obviously,

Somewhere in there we bought the homemade root beer. I’d say neither Preston nor I would recommend it. It was flat and not so flavorful. Then I tried the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffle Balls. These were recommended to me by my sister and they were definietly my favorite. SO good. The workers at this booth were also my favorite. Our convo last night went something like this.

Woman #1: “Giiiiiirl! Are those Coach earrings AND a Coach necklace?!? WHERE did you get those? You all blinged out! (to Woman #2) Hey look at this girls’ earrings!
Woman #2: Giiiiiiirl! I LIKE those! They MATCH!
Guy #1: What kind of watch is that? Is that a FOSSIL watch!? You got a FOSSIL watch?!? Is that a REAL Fossil watch? Is that a REAL GOLD Fossil watch? With REAL DIAMONDS!?!?
Preston: Uh no it’s not real gold or real diamonds..
Me: It’s actually a Michael Khors watch but…
Guy #1: (to Woman #1 and #2): Oh you girls don’t know nothing ‘bout Michael Khors.

I didn’t get a picture of the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffle Balls but basically they were chocolate covered strawberries inside a donut that tasted like a funnel cake. Genius.

At the end I used the rest of our tickets to buy Dippin’ Dots (I couldn’t help myself…I just love them) and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT waste your tickets on the Chocolate Dipped Strawberries (not to be confused with the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffle Balls). I’m a sucker for chocolate covered strawberries and I’m not exaggering when I tell you that they weren’t just bad, they were HORRIBLE! The strawberries were extremely sour and the chocolate was just bad. Bad bad bad. Blehk.

As far as attractions go, the light and water show was wonderful. It reminded me of a Texas version of the water show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. I have grown up going to the fair and thus seen many versions of this show. My earliest memory is of a laser/light show…maybe there was water too but they always, without a doubt, play “Proud to be an American” as the last song and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Love that song.

God Bless the USAAAAAAAA!

Of course we had to ride the ferris wheel. I don’t know that I’ve ever ridden it at night so I’m glad we did. The view was awesome and the weather last night was absolutely perfect. It would have been nice to ride alone but they are required to seat 4-6 people per cage. On the other hand we did have someone to take our picture!

Nostril shot!

One day when I have kids I would love to take family photos at the fair. There are just so many great opportunities to get awesome, fun photos. Good bye State Fair and thank you reminding us that Fall is HERE!

ACU Homecoming

We were in Abliene again this weekend for Homecoming. Check out our view on the way up...

One of West Texas' most redeeming qualities: it's sunsets.

I love going back for Homecoming but this year was certainly different than most years. As I mentioned before, many of our friends did not make the treck back to West Texas this weekend as a result of Rangers' playoffs and Austin City Limits. It actually worked out nicely because we were able to spend plenty of time with the friends that were able to make the trip as opposed to being pulled 90 different ways like we are normally. Also, this was my first year to miss Kojie breakfast and I really did miss it. I had been to the musical the night before and just wasn't up to getting up at the break of dawn, especially since many of the girls from my pledge class weren't going to be there this year. I felt a void though. I do love buying Kojie merchandise.

We attended the parade as always and were pleased that so many clubs are growing in numbers (Yay Gata! Yay Trojans!) Kojies won overall float (even beat the guys' clubs!) because they were just too darn cute. I knew when I saw it they were going to win. They were darling...

Sub-T painted a goat. Yes they did.

My sister took this picture of Ella at the parade. Oh. My. Word.

Then we went to Perini Ranch for lunch with my immediate family. I ordered the famous burger that won the contest on The Today Show. It was a darn good burger. The bun was unbelievable. Never had buns that good. Most of the time we go to Perini Ranch on Sundays for their buffet (which is also the best EVER) but I have wanted to try that burger ever since I saw it on the Today Show and I am pretty glad I did!
Then we went to the football game and stayed until the start of the Ranger game. We should've just stayed for the ACU game because it ended up being a real nail bitter as opposed to the Ranger game.

The fam. Preston and I did were not doing a very good job representing ACU like everyone else.

Dad saw this paper when we were leaving and handed it to Preston. Please notice the newspaper's subheader (Proudly serving...the Conservative (Once Silent) Majority of America) and far right Headline (Obama must be impeached). West Texas is conservative greatness.

Afterwards we went to Copper Creek for dinner and were SO disappointed! We intended on spending our evening with the Cawyers but Chase came down with a fever so we just decided to go on a date for old times' sake. Preston waited tables in college at Copper Creek and it was not only one of our favorite restaurants in Abilene but one of our favorite restaurants of all time. So we ordered our usuals. Preston got the Prime Rib Sandwich (which he loves and will always love). I got the Lobster Bisque which was chunkier than I remembered it being but good overall. The restaurant changed their bread from the original bread they served back when we were in college but we had already been when the bread had changed so this was nothing new. Unfortuently my steak was also overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside. I ate it because I hate sending food back and Preston and I both know that the real reason we go to Copper Creek anyway is for their 7 layer Chocolate Cake. I'm telling you, you have never had a better chocolate cake in all your life. It's the most moist, decadent delicious tasting cake I've ever tasted. So we immediately ordered the cake as soon as we finished our meal. To our surprise, the waiter presented us with a dessert that looked nothing like the cake we remembered. I warily took a small bite and confirmed that it was definitely NOT the same cake. We called the manager over (who Preston knew from working there before) and she said that unfortunetly they had had to start making the cake in house because the cake they used to purchase went up in price so much that they would have had to charge $15 a slice for it! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! We were hoping maybe we had accidentally ordered the wrong thing but alas, our precious cake is off the menu, gone...forever. We ended up sending the cake back (because the only reason we had ordered dessert at all was for that specific chocolate cake we remembered) and the waiter brought us another dessert free of charge (our waiter was awesome by the way...wish I remembered his name to give him credit). So anyway, we might go back to Copper Creek in the future but we certainly won't make as much of an effort as we normally do because that chocolate cake is no longer calling our names. So so sad.

Most of the time we stay with my Aunt Cari and Uncle Britt, but Preston's Aunt Karen and Uncle Grant have recently moved to Abilene so we decided to hang with them this weekend since we'd stayed at Cari and Britt's house for the wedding last weekend. Grant has a "man cave" where he has hung Rampy family photos all over the walls, many of which I had never seen including this one of my hottie husband in high school. Can I get a cat call ladies?

He asked me why I was taking a picture of their family picture and I told him because he looks like a dork. And because I wanted to Tweet it. It's nice to find dorky pictures of my husband because they are quite rare and there are just so many of myself. If you're lucky enough to know Preston's brother Nolan, he's up there in the left hand corner.

Tonight we're headed to the State Fair for some good 'ole Texas sized fun. I'll try to take pictures but you know how that goes when there's only two of you. And hey, SHOUT OUT to the TEXAS RANGERS! What a series. I am SO proud! Wish I could say the same about the Cowboys but hey...you can't win 'em all right?

Matt and Leslie's Wedding

This weekend we went to Matt and Leslie’s wedding in Abilene and I promise to post details on my events blog as soon as I get the professional pictures! Abilene is the hometown of our good ‘ole college days so we love going back even if it is in the middle of nowhere. Every restaurant, street corner and landmark is chock full of memories. For example, the rehearsal on Friday night was at Cypress Street which is where Preston and I had our first unofficial date. I say unofficial because we were just friends at the time. We didn’t make it “official” for another year. We actually witnessed another couple getting engaged that night. Anyway, I'm on a rant. I’m sure I could spend all day remembering all the great times I had at ACU, but we’ll be headed back to Abilene next weekend for Homecoming so maybe I should save a few. In the meantime here are a few amateur shots I took with my own camera this weekend to hold you over until I get the professional pics…