Family Portrait

This was actually our Christmas card picture but every time I look at it I remember how much fun we had! Tony is getting so big. I'll post some pictures of him soon :) I love my family very much!

'when?' update

We (Josh) finally took the Christmas tree down, y'all! It was definitely time. Every day there for a while....a long while....I would say that we needed to take it down and at the end of each of those days it still stood there looking the same way it did when we put it up. One night, Josh couldn't sleep so he decided he would go ahead and do it. He did it and I just can't help but love my husband so much!

Trades of GaGa Allen

After Church today, Josh and I ate lunch with his grandparents (Nana and GaGa Allen). While catching up on the goings on of our days since we saw them last, we got to talking about memories from childhood. Josh lived with them throughout his toddler and early childhood years so there are lots of good ones. Nana tells the story of when Josh was about 5 or 6 he told her she had a "BIG tiny-hiny!" That always gets a good laugh. There are many more and most get brought up quite frequently; but this particular session of 'memory lane' included a few surprises. Somehow it got brought up that GaGa never got drafted. Turns out he was listed as a female on his birth certificate. I guess that worked out to his advantage but he assured us that he had no VaJJ! We didn't question it until he added that he did ice skate and knit in his early days. The knitting was his contribution to the war; he would knit squares that would be made into quilts for the troops. Quite the lady he was! I just love my g'rents-in-law!

Happy Birthday BeEF

BeEF is one nickname I have for my sweet friend Becki. Others include Berrera Pharrera and Beeks. BeEF came about one day a long time ago. I can't remember why exactly but we were talking about what our initials would spell out. Without thinking, I quicky blurt out 'Beef' for her. Her full name at the time was Rebecca Ellen Phares and most people call her Becki (she has since acquired a husband and her new last name is Howard). So in my head it was Becki Ellen F(Ph)ares. Stupid me, I know, but it got a good laugh!

Berrera Pharrera is her ghetto nickname and Beeks she got from her husband, Kevin!

So Happy Birthday BeEF! It's your first married birthday and I hope it's good to you. Love you :)

Check out her blog here or click beeks under 'bloggers'. It's a good one y'all!

When?

Yep, our Christmas tree is still up. We're thinking we're gonna take it down. Question is: when? We dunno.

where's Tony?

We miss our little baby boy Tony. It's been so weird not having him around. We have gotten so used to him being here with us.

We miss how he climbs up on the couch to cuddle with us and take a nap.

We miss watching him entertain himself with his toys.

We miss how he lays at our feet to sleep or play when there is plenty of open space.

We miss how he sits next to the table while we eat.

We miss how excited he gets when it's time for him to eat.

We miss him walking through our legs or jumping up to be included while we are hugging.

We miss him ringing the bell to let us know he has to go potty.

We 'miss' him ringing the bell when he doesn't need to go potty but just wants to go outside to eat the bugs and listen to the wind blow...........all the while we stand there like idiots waiting for him to go pee pee or poo poo.

We 'miss' how he just stares at us without any intentions of moving when we tell him to come.

We 'miss' how he runs in circles around the living room loudly squeaking his toy while we are trying to watch tv.

We 'miss' how when we tell him to sit and he automatically goes into shake mode without being told to just so he can get his treat faster.

We miss our Tony. He'll be back tomorrow. We took him to the vet to have his manhood taken away. Hope he still loves us when he gets home.

in or out?

The class that is only offered in the Spring, has only one section, and holds only 56 people.

The class that I didn't know I needed until after pre-registration was closed.

The class that filled up and left me checking everyday hoping someone had been dropped.

The class that FINALLY opened up with only ONE spot available.

The class that I couldn't sign up for until January 1 when regular registration began.

The class that kept me from ringing in the New Year with my friends and instead stuck in front of a computer waiting until 12:01am for registration to open.

The class that is now closed again because I GOT IN!

[whew]

Fun for all Seasons?

This was our first Christmas in our house and in turn our first Christmas tree that was all ours! We finally bought an artificial, pre-lit one (a week before Christmas...a little late, I know) that was surprisingly inexpensive. [Our family started out buying real Christmas trees but it took several asthma attacks and emergency room visits before we finally figured out that it was the tree. So we changed to artificial.] Anywho....We moved all of our living room furniture around so that it was centered along the wall in front of the window. It's not too small, not too big. Josh and I both decorated it and had a lot of fun doing it.

Well, Christmas Day has passed and the New Year is approaching! Sooooooo it's about that time to consider when to take down the Christmas tree. Growing up we never had a plan as to when to put the tree up or take it down. It just kind of happened. Since we put it up late this year, we're not quite ready to take it down to just stuff it back in its box until it graces us with its presence next year.

So I started to look up the 'when to take the Christmas tree down rules' and this is what I found. The superstitious person takes it down before January 1 in order to avoid bad luck all year long from bringing the past year into the new year. Those that follow the The Twelve Days of Christmas take it down on January 5, which marks the twelfth day (beginning the night of December 25). The religious person takes the tree down on the Epiphany which is January 6 (Christian feast day intended to celebrate the revelation of God to mankind, in the person of Jesus). Lastly, the 'whenever it's right for you' person is the one that doesn't really have a tradition and takes it down whenever the time feels right.

Like I said, our family never had a tradition for when to take it down and I wouldn't really consider myself superstitious so I'm pretty sure I'm a 'whenever it's right for you' person. Right now I'm thinking the tree fits in nicely with the decor; we've already rearranged the furniture and it works quite nicely; and before, we didn't have any kind of foliage to add 'life' and enhance our room. So why not have fun for all seasons? We can incorporate all the colors for each season as they come and add some cute touches here and there. Is that considered a decorating faux pas? I think it could work. What do you think?

me?

This is my blog. I never would have thought that I'd even consider doing the blog thing. But I really enjoy reading others' so what the heck, why not? It's hard thinking of how to start a blog. Once it's established, it seems easy to just get on and write about the goings on of your day or whatever. But the first one...it's the attention getter, right? What do you write about? How do you get people sucked in to checking it everyday hoping you've written something new? I don't know. But here goes it...

Me? I am simple. I'm not much of a writer or talker but I am a thinker. I think in practical terms and am a very straight to the point kind of person. People say I am quiet. I am usually the one in the crowd who observes what everyone is doing and only speaks when spoken to. It's hard for me to express my thoughts verbally; communication is not my strong point but I get by. That may come from having two older sisters and a mom that like to talk, have a lot to talk about, and are good at talking about themselves. I'd rather listen to what other people have to say about themselves or anything really. So, I tend to ask a lot of questions. That's my shtick!

I am married. My husband, Josh, is my favorite husband out of all of 'em. He's a talker too. He's genuine, loving, funny, and sensitive yet manly. He likes sports...and by likes, I mean obsessed with sports. Lucky for him I do too (like them, not obesessed). We've been married for about a year and a half but have known each other for more than half of our lives.

We own a home....

and live there with our half brother, Dwayne...

and our recently acquired dog, Tony.

I am a full time student at University of North Texas studying to get my degree in Education. I enjoy it but I'm looking forward to graduation day which is still about two years away.

Although we live a rather uneventful life, there is a lot going on around us that keep us busy. I hope to keep this blog alive and the readers interested. Stay close.