Apparently we are very into earth tones...

We're building a house! More details to the right in the handy links, and I'm sure you'll be seeing many, many pictures over the next few months.


Mom, as promised, here are pictures of the materials we're using:
The first picture is kitchen stuff...white cabinets, granite, small tiles and accent pieces for the backsplash...

Same story, second verse, but you can also see the wood floors.

Obligatory pic of our empty lot. Can you tell which half of my family is a sharp dresser? Can you tell which half is still wearing a sweatshirt from college?

Finally, bathroom stuff. The big tile goes pretty much everywhere in the master bath, and the little accent strip goes in the shower. There's also a coordinating floor tile thing (technical term) that you can see here: http://www.daltileproducts.com/large_items.cfm?itemID=1939&itemtype=1

We have a date!!! (Maybe)

Last weekend JW and I went to Galveston to look for reception places. The only place that kind of worked was a resort hotel, the Galvez. Beautiful property, nice people, and apparently we came just in time to witness the aftermath of The Bachelor's wedding. Which Bachelor? We're not sure. I don't know if the concierge was trying to be discrete, or seriously didn't know the guy's name (likely the later), but you heard it here first, folks....one of the Bachelor's got married to a girl he met on a blind date Saturday night at the Galvez with 220 guests and an ocean view. And apparently some privacy. Take that Trista!!!

So, after much thinking, we've decided to have the wedding in Dallas, hopefully on August 25th. Everyone mark your calendars!!! This will be set in stone by tax day (and one lucky reader's birthday!).

Here's the info, as we know it:

CHURCH: Highland Park United Methodist Church. Hopefully, there is a picture of the chapel somewhere on here.

RECEPTION: Aldredge House (www.aldredgehouse.net). This place is cool because they basically hand over the keys to the house for the night. Tucker, I have some audiovisual assignments for you.

And that is all. G'night!

Gettin Hitched (Heidi, this is for you)

When last we spoke, I had just moved a few hundred miles away from my then-boyfriend JW for a new job. Fast forward a few months, and he has now moved to Dallas and we are engaged (take that, ex-boss)!

It's hard to believe that things have changed so fast. I met JW ten months ago today. In ten short months, things have changed completely. New job, new city, new relationship, new family. I'm going to have a new NAME soon. Holy cow. Weird.

He proposed on December 29th, and I was TOTALLY surprised. We'd been talking about it, but I just didn't see it coming at all on that particular day. He was very sneaky about it, even involving my family and Mother Nature. A story for another day. Maybe I'll let JW tell it.

So, in the three months we've been engaged, we've managed to plan a lot of small details, but absolutely cannot decide on a date or venue. Or city. At least we've narrowed it down to Texas.

Here are the options:

GALVESTON - JW's parents live there, and are members of a beautiful church. Unfortunately, we can't find a place to have a reception. We're still working on it.

DALLAS - We found a great place to have a reception, but can't find a church. You see my frustration....

MY HOMETOWN - We could have the wedding at my parent's farm, but it would involve a tent outdoors, which depending on the weather would either be (1) gorgeous, or (2) disaster. With my luck, disaster.

More to come later...

Where to begin, where to begin?!?!!?

So when most people decide to get a new job, it goes something like this: interview, get hired, give notice, maybe have a nice little last-day-of-work lunch, leave.

Not so much here. Mine went like this:

1. Interview: So I had the first interview I mentioned earlier. That went well. Then, I was asked back for a second interview. I gave notice of my "doctor's appointment" and prepared to go. After running into attorneys at the airport last time, I was much, much smarter. So, I scheduled to fly at weird hours when absolutely no attorney should be at the airport.

2. Flight: And of course, I ran into FREAKING ANOTHER ATTORNEY at the airport. A jerky one. And he informed me that he fully intended to head straight back to the office and tattle on me. Hell.

3. The Next Day: My boss, in a very snarky meeting, informed me that he knew I had been interviewing, and while I was not officially fired, he would start interviewing for my replacement and I was encouraged to get out quickly. Super. Have I mentioned that my boss and I have been locked in sort of a passive-agressive hatred for the past year?

4. The Offer: So thank GOD I actually got the offer. That was a fun day, getting to tell my boss I was (1) leaving, haha; (2) making tons more dough; and (3) going to a kick-ass law firm. I think he was truly shocked, since he thinks I am something less than worthless.

5. The Notice: I gave a week and a half notice. That was all I could stomach. And I was (somewhat) diligent. I came to work at my regular time, and left around 5:30. Not awful. And I actually was attempting to wrap up my cases. All the while, my boss was secretly planning...

6. The Preemptive Strike: So I was sitting in my office yesterday at 5:00 when BAM!!! In slipped my boss, shut the door, and freaking FIRED me. Seriously. I only have a week left, and the dude FIRED me. My computer was suddenly locked, and I was given three boxes and the HR guy came and supervised me until I left?! What the hell?

7. Parting Shots: While I was packing, he also managed to sneak in his opinions that (1) I had somehow tricked my new firm into hiring me, because they are way out of my league; and (2) my boyfriend and I will not survive the long-distance thing, and will break up in the next couple of months. Mmm, ok. Thanks, man. I'll miss you, too.

So, there you have it. He got his moment of Little Man Power, but I get an extra week off, paid. I think I won. HA! So, here I sit at home on a work day, watching the Today show, with no plans other than to go lay by my pool and read a book. I suddenly feel much happier. And I owe it all to my boss. Mazel tov!!