Sorry, Out of Area

Remember when cell phones used to tell you something along the lines, "Sorry, you are out of area. You cannot make that phone call."? This week, that was me that was out of area. My cell phone was left in my ride home from the airport due to Shawners' bed having to be made immediately for a very tired little boy to crawl straight into bed at 3am after getting home from the airport, and my cell phone was forgotten in all the hubbub. Once I realized where my cell phone was, now thirty minutes away, I left it there, partially wanting to save the gas from having to go pick it up and partially not wanting to be inundated with catching up with the week of my life missed here but fully lived being out of town on vacation. I decided to wait until my son had to be taken down there any way. Only, I later discovered, he didn't have to go down there this week. So my phone was left there any way. Yesterday, when I finally made some effort to go get it there was nobody at the house it was at. Today, I will finally get my cell phone.

In the meantime, I have enjoyed every minute of my cell phoneless moments. From unpacking all six suitcases - thank you, wonderful grandparents, for all the Christmas presents, from talking on my kids' phone to my sister for three hours - something that would in general be interrupted by umpteen million texts I would inevitably get off the phone to reply to, and/or call back, to running a whole list of errands - including stocking the fridge I emptied out of all the old food, replacing it with delicious fresh fruit, vegetables, mozzarella, and herb roasted turkey breast.

My kids' cell phone, which I have been using to maintain a little contact with the world aka Brando, is like fingernails on a chalkboard to text, "gH-ghI-_T-gH-ghI-pqrS_ghI-pqrS_P-pqrS-D." Remember those days? Therefore, I have not been tempted to text, but have been able to use it for emergencies.

My best friend left me a letter on my door wondering if I am okay, sweetest letter ever. And, today, when I get my phone I will be catching up with all the life that I missed, now, not just from vacation, but from four days of being incognito, catching up with my house, my fridge, my boys - who, incidentally, have been on movie overload and the silence of no wrestling is golden. I will call my best friend and plan to have coffee with her, I will call my good friend and see if we can work out New Year's plan, I will text my girls' night girls and see what their plans are for New Year's and if one of them is excited about her trip to Colorado this weekend and when exactly she is going and coming back. I will come back to life.

In the meantime, the break from constant contact, upkeep, and social norms was thoroughly enjoyed. Sometimes, juggling all the balls I have in the air, along with the things that keep me sane (my amazing, beautiful girlfriends) gets tiring. And it's okay for me to take a break.

Home

One thing I love about being obsessive is my obsession about the ocean. Every time I see the massive stretch of blue going on forever into the distance and hear the sound of the seagulls combined with the waves crashing against the rocks, I breathe in a huge sigh of relief and could sit there watching the power of the waves forever. Of course, this means Brando and I go down there every chance we get. Sometimes I drag him there. Other times, like this time, I don't have to say a word and he drives us there without saying anything.

Checking out a new vista point neither of us had ever seen before

Revisiting our vow renewal (and proposal!) place from a different view - the sandy looking patch which is really rock in the distance before the cliff rises and turns green is where we renewed our vows this year and where Brando proposed to me ten years ago.

This is what I do when I get bored while Brando is taking photos

Gorgeous West Cliff coastline

It's hard to capture the awe of the ocean in a photo, but these pictures come close for me

And I love having these memories to look back on.

Winter Wonderland

Snowboarding at Northstar was amazing! This year I was determined we would make it to the snow, and that's how we ended up at Northstar for Christmas week. Special thanks to Brando's Mom for loaning, borrowing, and buying enough snow gear so that the only thing we had to rent was snow boots for Justinbustin.
At Northstar we took advantage of the small ratio of students to instructors at Burton Academy. While it was more costly, I figured since we only had one day there we might as well make the most out of it. I definitely didn't want to walk away without knowing how to snowboard, and I wanted Brando to actually have some time to have fun boarding the slopes and not have to be stuck like glue to us the entire time.
I'm so glad I took lessons while Brando took the runs from the top of the mountain to the bottom more than several times. My knees were burning but I was able to go down the bunny hill four or five times, and I can definitely get on my new snowboard with a gorgeous peacock on it that I heart, and do a little shredding. The kids took their lessons separate from me - thank goodness because I saw too many parents dragging crying children down the slopes. Justinbustin was catching air by the end of the day, taking the bunny hill by himself and trying to catch the fresh powder in the trees. In between boarding lessons we had lunch together and convinced a cold handed Shawners to go back out and finish his lesson by lining his gloves with hand warmers and another pair of gloves. Shawners was more on my level by the end of the day, but loved it, telling me he caught air then flipped and his board hit his head, he finished his story by saying how awesome it was.

The day was clear and gorgeous. Just before the end of the day the resort turned into a winter wonderland with gorgeous huge flakes of snow for a bit.

Before the end of the day, we boarded around together for a bit, watched Justinbustin come down the run a few times, and watched Shawners walk in knee high snow before heading back down the mountain on the gondola.

Going on our first trip to the snow ever as a family (and the kids and my first time ever) was a complete success and I still can hardly believe we went. What an amazing trip!

Christmas Time

We haven't decorated at all for Christmas as we will be elsewhere, but tonight we made Christmas crafts. Specifically, Shawners made crafts because crafts get all up in my business of annoyance. I love when other people set up a craft, show me how to do it, and then seeing the end product, but the actual buying of the materials, setting it up, and then half the time ending up with a dud? No, thanks. Fortunately, my son has much more patience than I and spent an hour alternating between putting beads in a metal frame with tweezers
and painting etching cream on a glass ornament via a design punched laminate stencil while his brother created an animated cartoon movie. Shawner's finished product was nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately, I don't have a finished shot of the Christmas tree ornament, but you can already tell from the before shot that it is even more stunning afterwards. The glass etched ornaments were new to me, but I used to love these make it and bake it ornaments as a kid! I was so happy to introduce Shawners to them, and am so glad he loved them, too.

Most Romantic Date Ever

Ice skating on top Whole Foods has to be one of my most favorite dates ever. So very romantic skating around hand in hand,
giggling and laughing at each other, squealing as Brando pushes me from behind, hands on my hips, pushing me to go faster and faster and reminding me to turn, tracing hearts in the ice. Leaning side-by-side over the edge and looking out onto the city lights. Perma-smiles as we walk down the stairs, hardly able to wait until the next time we go.

Leggings = Love

I've been wanting to try the legging, short dress or long shirt, and boots look forEVER.

Fortunately I still had a birthday gift card left over from Forever 21. Yes, my birthday was in July. I found the most adorable fuzzy, warm, short sleeve cowl neck sweater similar to this one for only $20. Mine has a same color tie instead of the belt, no ribbing, and is definitely cuter and fuzzier - perfect to go with the adorable leggings I found.

(photo of Jackie & I, in the sweater,
but with dark, skinny jeans, and knee high black boots
at Tolly's fabulous Bleetup)

Over Thanksgiving, I grabbed the cutest pair of Steve Madden leggings I never would've paid $17 for, but since Mom was footing the bill I went for it. I'd been searching for a pair with buttons down the side and found them at DSW Shoe Warehouse.


I already had the boots from my MIL a few winters ago. Though mine are more versatile with a lighter suede and slightly shorter, these are similar. Not sure what the cost was at the time, but we found them at Dillard's.
Wish I had a picture of me in my cute outfit, not just the top, but I'm taking a break from overloading my life with camera moments.

Total cost to me = free. Thanks, Mom & MIL!

My Boys are Growing Up

Driving into my garage tugs at my heart strings as I see Shawner's new vibrant green bike next to Justinbustin's bike & realize how much they are growing up. That's my bike above theirs. Justinbustin can already ride my bike as well, which boggles my mind ever more.

Merry Christmas!

Pretty sure each one of you would love to get free holiday cards. I definitely do, so I am passing this promotion on as a Christmas gift to you!

The cards people send me that aren't too Christmas-y end up staying up in my home year round, which I love. I chose my favorite pretty & elegant enough to pass for non-Christmas cards from shutterfly, and to make it even more special I designed my Christmas photo cards for YOU! Forgive the absence of the children - I don't like to put their photos up here.

Registration closes on December 10, 2010. Register here for 50 free holiday cards and make your own Christmas gifts.

Thanks, Christy, for the heads up.

Girls Weekend

Hello, Phoenix! It was so good to see you this weekend. Unfortunately, it flew by all too quick to enjoy every aspect of your perfect weather clad atmosphere. Your mountains are beautiful, and the sanctuary you provide my sisters, cousins, Grandma, Grandpa, and I is irreplaceable. From shopping, to having tea parties in
and laying out by the pool, to bonding conversations, to having our hair colored by my hairdresser sister, to eating out, to enjoying filet mignon grilled by my grandpa, being introduced to a new card game called 31 won by my sister who was turning 31 that day, to massages, to riding golf cartsincluding fitting six people on a two seater, to telling each other ten things we appreciate about each other with lots of tears, it was a weekend to remember.

Spider House Cafe

Brando and I discovered the magic that is Spider House the other evening with friends of ours. From the rocking seats and each totally unique seating area,

to their interesting but still somehow beautiful fountain, to the eclectic, brightly colored, fun displays, to the decoration area next to the fire pit, Spider House Cafe definitely captured my attention.Unfortunately I don't have much to say on the food items, as I only ordered a Dos XX. The friends with us ordered the Frito Pie and didn't like it, but her taste buds and mine are totally opposite so if I liked Frito Pie I may have liked it. It did look quite fresh and that's saying something if I'm saying that about a Frito Pie.

Austin Fall Favorite

September was very chill. One of my favorite things I discovered was chilling at Zilker Park with the gorgeous skyline in the background. This was the color of the grass before Austin City Limits. The texture was like carpet.

A girlfriend, Jackie, and I went yesterday and it had been trampled to a dry brown. However, the weather was still gorgeous and there was still the tiniest hint of green peeking back through, enough that it was still just as enjoyable and relaxing to chill on a blanket with a magazine.

Blog Readers

Any suggestions for a blog reader? My favorite reader, Bloglines, is about to close November 1st, and I don't want my love of reading blogs to go with it. I love the folder capabilities. I can categorize all my blogs and go right to the blog posts I want to read without sifting through all of the new posts. On top of that, it lets me pick the specific blogs posts in that folder that I want to read, and doesn't show me all of the new posts for all the blogs at once. Any suggestions for readers that have these capabilities?

Also, I attempted to mobile post this, but no such luck. Maybe I'm missing something with the mobile posting.

Volunteering

Giving this mobile posting thing a go:
So many perks to volunteering. The first of which is a huge sense of satisfaction, motivation, and production. Volunteering with my best friend, KT, has the added benefit of three hours of (almost) uninterrupted girlie chat time, plus a celebration lunch of giving back afterwards. On top of all that, we get to enjoy yummy treats like these delicious chocolate covered rice krispy treats of which we used the ribbon ties to make rings out of. I'd post a picture of that, along with a better picture of the rice krispy treat, however I wasn't intending to post them and included brightly colored contact information as the background. Enjoy the thought and if you can figure out how to make them this way on your own, definitely let me know!

Can Anything Top That Last Post?

I think not. However, this was a darn wonderful date enjoying an all expenses paid dinner at the Driskill Grill where each bite was a culinary adventure in and of itself. Thanks again to Cory Ryan and The Cupcake Bar for the tickets to the Tribeza Wedding Day at the Driskill where I won the gift certificate to afford this "chef's choice" dinner.
On our way!
Yummy Charcuterie Plate of cheeses, meats including prosciutto and carpaccio, marinated vegetables, and bread. The rest was so yummy, and the company so enjoyable that I didn't even take the time to take photos of the food.Our cozy booth - felt like we were in an old time movie scene.
Saying hi to a friend.
Elevator scene - I love this photo. Reminds me of all the elevator scenes they do in TV shows nowadays, with Grey's Anatomy being the pioneer.
On our way to explore the top floor of the Driskill.
Too bad the roof access was locked, but we had fun at the top of the Driskill any way. Can't wait to stay there for a special occasion!
Watching Spazmatics at Cedar Street Courtyard after our Driskill adventure. Brando's first time and he LOVEd it.

I Do, Part Two

Would it be too much for me to ask you for a moment of silence? Let's just take a moment to celebrate the incredulous amount of work that goes into being married for TEN YEARS. Those of you who can say it with me, leave a shout out here. I've always wondered how people can stay together for 10, 15, 20 years then decide they made the wrong decision and move on. The thought no longer keeps me up at night. Every relationship, every friendship, every thing worth having takes work.

When do you know it's too much work? You don't. You work, based on faith, and when the other person has completely warped, twisted, smashed, jumped up and down on your faith, that's when you know. How do you see the warning signs? You don't. Especially when you have a lot of faith.

Fortunately for me, but perhaps unfortunately for Brando, I don't have that much faith, which means I am hoping I am not overlooking any red flags. Brando, on the other hand, has the most trusting amount of faith one has ever seen in every single soul he meets. Hopefully, he's not overlooking any red flags.

Speaking of his faith in every single soul he meets, here are my vows to the man I love:

Brando, ten years ago we had no clue what we were doing and we still don't, but I'm glad we're figuring it out together. When I met you, you seemed so sure of yourself - like you had the world on your shoulders, only it didn't weigh you down.

Through the years - in sickness and in health, for richer or for broke - you have been by my side. I can stand here and truly say thru all the ups and downs in my life you have been my steady horizon - my friend, my love, the one who has faith in me when it feels like no else but God does.

In all of figuring out who I am, you have stayed right where you are - in case I get lost I know where to find you. God put you in my life and every day I am SO grateful. I'm excited to go thru this next phase of our lives together, excited to see what it brings.

Brando, I have fallen even more in love with you since the day we met. I loved you when I married you, but I've fallen in love with you since then because of you and all that you are. You are my horizon, my anchor, my captain when seas are rough,

the hand that reaches out for me when mine is trembling, my friend, my fellow adventurer, discovering new places and new things, my companion figuring out the nuances of life, the solid rock of a father to my children, and the man that every time I look at I fall in love with all over again.

This day means so much more to me than this day ten years ago. Not only do we have the friends and family standing by that have supported us, loved us, and saved us thru out the years, but we have each other, these two precious men standing next to us, and ten years worth of memories together.

Today, I reaffirm my commitment to you, only this time in the presence of family and friends who first showed us how to love, helped us grow, and supported us when we found each other. In the presence of these witnesses I once again promise to love, honor you, and comfort you, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better and for worse, as long as we both shall live.(1)

I do, just like I did then, with every fibre of my being. I can't wait for the next 10 years, then 20, then 30, 40, 50..."

(1) Thanks to the always helpful about dot com for helping me find the perfect wording to include the precious people who attended that were not there the first time due to the small nature of our wedding.

Brando, master of saying what needs to be said in many less words than I, wrote these out and read them to me on the day of our vow renewal:

Rose, ten years ago about twenty-five yards from here, I asked if I can keep you.

I was lucky enough for the most beautiful bride in the world to say yes.

Today, with you in front of me, I am here to ask you again.

I am here to renew my commitment to have you and to hold you, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or for poorer (or broke!), for better or for worse, until death do us part.

To kiss you with passion even when we are watching TV,

to dance with you more often

and to continue growing as individuals, together,

while we raise our two wonderful children.

*My first name and last name*, can I keep you another ten years and every year thereafter?

My obvious answer was yes, just like the first time.

As I typed out our vows here, it struck me how perfectly the pictures coordinated with our words, albeit completely unintentionally. Our friend, Celeste Duran, was our amazing photographer, who, if she's not already, should be an award winning photographer. She definitely wins the award in my book for Incredibly Capturing the Moment and the award for Effortlessly Creating New Memories as she shoots. She operates out of Santa Cruz, California, but also does destination weddings and shoots.