Ano Nuevo in Mexico

Two things have been a long time coming:

1. My family taking a trip to Mexico
2. My brother and Abby getting ENGAGED!! :)

After Christmas this year, my Mimi and Tom took the family to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We stayed in a house that belongs to Abby's (my brother's girlfriend, now fiance) family and it was amazing! We travel a lot with that side of my family and I must say this was one of my favorite trips. It's been a long time coming because Mimi put a deposit on the house literally two years ago. Hey...we made it.

The house, which comes with a cook/maid and groundskeeper, was right on the beach and literally had a hammock hanging inside right by a window. It was heavenly! We ate authentic Mexican food, drank some yummy Mexican drinks made by our favorite cabana boy, Juan, and played poker and gin rummy.

 

My brother, Justin, knew he wanted to propose to Abby in Mexico and my nosy family (me included) bugged him about it the whole trip! Surprisingly, he waited until New Year's Eve and popped the question on the beach. It was awesome since that beach is so sentimental for Abby. She has been going to that beach since she was a little girl and it made perfect sense to start a new chapter of her life there. Those two have been together since junior high. They broke up and dated other people, but as Justin said "We just love each other." There's nothing like knowing you are meant to be with someone.

I tried to think ahead so I got them a card for all of us to sign, and that's as far as I got. But, as always, my aunt and cousins and I came up with a creative way to congratulate them when they got back from the beach...poker chips spelling out a congrats! :)

Obviously the engagement was highlight number one, but highlight number two was definitely our whale watching excursion. I have never seen anything like this! We went out on a little zodiac boat and got within six feet of HUGE humpback whales. I am not gonna lie, I was freaking out. Questions that went through my mind:

1. What if he just opens his mouth and we go in? Like Jonah or Pinocchio?
2. What if he decides to get some fresh air right under our boat?
3. What if the males (who happened to be fighting over females during mating season) mistake our boat for competition?

Even though I was admittedly scared, I LOVED that experience. The two people who took us out were actually on a research team so they were really into it. I didn't feel like I was on a touristy whale watch at all. They were taking pictures and documenting the whole time we were out there. They taught us so many cool things about the whales that make the think "how can anyone not believe in a Creator?"

I can't wait to go back to Mexico. I am hoping my new sister-in-law will invite Jeremy and me and their future nieces and nephews down there for fun family vacations. :) If not, I will honestly get my group of friends together and we will all pitch in to rent the place. Totally worth it!

Enjoy a few more pics...

View from the Balcony (the beach is to my left)

The guys getting into trouble on the beach

It's December and I am wearing a tank top and shorts...awesome!

Enjoying some guacamole and margaritas

Nothing like a pedicure for some dad/son-in-law bonding time

12 Days of Baking

Don't ask me what I was thinking. I might regret this later, but this year, I started a tradition called "12 Days of Baking." My team at work loved it, and I usually had extras so Jeremy's office got to benefit as well. I LOVE baking so it was so much fun, but it was a little hard at times coming home and being on my feet all night. I might try to plan a little better if I do this again. It might be best to bake some on the weekends and do some easier stuff during the week. The most torturous part was coming home from an early morning run to ice cookies or decorate a cookie cake. (I guess it's a good thing I ran because I definitely ate everything I baked!) Anyway, here are the 12 days...

On the first day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me RICE KRISPY TREATS!

On the second day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES w/ VANILLA FROSTING (kindergarten style as requested by my colleague, Ted)!

On the third day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me HOMEMADE BUTTERFINGERS! (that's what I call them...they are amazing and addictive. It's just Cheeze-Its, PB and chocolate bark. Thanks to Jill for the awesome recipe!)

On the fourth day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me CHOCOLATE, FRITO, PRETZEL YUMMINESS!

 On the fifth day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me RED VELVET CUPCAKES!

On the sixth day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me ORANGE COCONUT PECAN BALLS!

On the seventh day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me COOKIE CAKE!

On the eighth day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me DECORATED SUGAR COOKIES!

  On the ninth day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me SNICKERDOODLES!

On the tenth day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me SNOWMAN CAKE BALLS and my family's favorite iced sugar cookies! Jeremy's office got the cake balls. His boss's little girls loved them and told their dad they didn't want to eat them. They wrote me the sweetest thank you note for their "lollipops."

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Molly Ann baked for me CHOCOLATE/OATMEAL/PEANUT BUTTER NO BAKE COOKIES!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Molly Ann got lazy and took some fun candy for the team...which they loved just as much as baked goods!

AHHHH...10 More Days!

Okay, I need to get with it! I have 10 days to fulfill the New Year's Resolution list I made back in January.

Here's an update on the list:

1. Blog More--Done.

2. Finish my scrapbook from Hawaii in 2007. Didn't touch it...crap! I am pretty sure the scrapbook and all the pics are buried at the bottom of my guest room closet. I guess that would add another resolution to the list...clean out the guest room closet. Let's be honest, this might go on 2011's list.

3. Cut back on chips and queso--Done! It helped that I gave up fried food for Lent.

4. See more live music--Done! In the month of October alone we saw Griffen House, tons of bands at ACL, Ray LaMontagne, Tyrone Wells and Carrie Underwood. I think I have done a great job w/ this one and I have loved getting to know new bands!

5. Have more restful nights at home--Pretty much done. We started watching the entire season of Lost on streaming Netflix, so we were planted on the couch a lot of nights watching two or three episodes at a time. That helped the whole stay at home thing. I think I have a pretty good balance of this even with all the service stuff I am doing lately.

6. Preserve my wedding dress--Nope. I am still planning on having that party. :)

7. Sing more--Sadly no. I can't seem to balance that with work, Junior League, church leadership and family time. Maybe very soon. I want to start teaching voice and piano again soon so maybe there will be an outlet there.

8. Play more piano--Again, no. Dang it I am not doing well w/ this list! My sister is a music major at Baylor now, so maybe she can inspire me!

9. Purge my life of stuff--Absolutely done. I am not all the way there, but I have really worked hard this year to be more aware of the crap I put in my body. This also includes me purging our house of extra junk we don't need. We cleaned out our garage so we actually use it for our cars now! My new business (http://www.ahealthierlife.net/) has helped me achieve a healthier lifestyle too!

10. Dig deeper into my faith--Sort of done. This can always improve. I can say this year has been more others-centered for me. I have been serving others (through church and Junior League) more than I was before, and I have to say it feels awesome. Life is too short to be selfish!

Puppies and Kisses and Rainbows

I love my team at Volusion! We have so much fun while we work REALLY hard. Everyone on my team loves dogs and we have a special place in our hearts for puppies (or cute dogs that look like puppies). So, when things get crazy and we are all feeling a little on edge, we tend to send around random pictures/videos of puppies. It always makes us smile! C'mon...who doesn't love a cute puppy picture! I wanted to share a few in the hopes that you will smile too.

Bulldog vs. Doorstop

The Winning Pic (mostly because it has a puggle in it) I got this off the Mr. Puggle blog and their names are Buddy and Pickles..I really hope the big one is Pickles.

Cute Little Thirsty Button

This reminds me of when I was in high school and I would stay up really late talking on the phone w/ my boyfriend...and fall asleep. 

Nanny nanny boo boo



Oh no...not the snow!

As a footnote: I don't really like cats, but this video is hilarious. It makes me wonder what goes through a child's head when we read books to them.

Adventures with Sky Mall

This last weekend my Mom, Susie and I got to take a trip to Ohio to visit some old friends. One of my very first friends (since I was a baby) had a wedding reception, and we got to go share in the celebration. We had a blast and it was so special to be there. My Mom and Susie have been friends with the McDonalds for about 30 years. They moved away when Krissta (their daughter) and I were in kindergarten. Despite the distance, they have remained good friends and it was fun to see them together again!

As I traveled up there I got to do one of my favorite things: browse Sky Mall. Who doesn't love the treasures found in this magazine?! I got a little bored on the long flight so I perused and found a few items that won't make my Christmas list, but made me laugh to myself.

Relaxing Magic Showerhead

For a mere $44.99 you too can have this color-changing showerhead. This takes singing in the shower to a whole new level!  Its like being on stage! Now all they need is a waterproof microphone and we are set. (Also, is anyone else thinking "that's a horse of a different color"?)

Brobdingnagian Sports Chair

How embarrassed would your kids be if you took this to little league games? Secondly, what the H-E-double hockey sticks is "brobdingnagian"? Well according to dictionary.com it's something of "extraordinary size, gigantic or enormous." So, there ya go...if you have huge people in your family, you are in luck. The funniest part is the description that says: "...its 9' sq. seat affords ample room for full-body gesticulations."  Gesticulate to your heart's content.

Electronics Cleaning Compound

As it mentions in its description, this is a "high tech malleable compound that picks up dirt, dust, etc." It honestly just looks like a fancy version of Nickelodeon Gak. Remember that nasty stuff? I would want to just use it to make inappropriate noises. If you need a little blast from the past, check out this old-school commercial!

Rescue Tape

So, according to the description of this product, this tape is strong enough to be used by the US military and it is even waterproof. Sadly, the first thought that went through my head was: BP Oil spill. If only some of those wealthy oil dudes had skipped out on the first class flights, they could have discovered this hidden Sky Mall treasure. Problem solved.

Watch Storage Case

This brought back memories of Christmas Eve at my Margaret and Pawpaw's house. My Pawpaw loved to buy watches for Margaret almost every Christmas. It was sort of the running family joke. He is so sweet...he still buys watches for us every once in a while.  Anyway, Margaret could have definitely used one of these. She might be the only person in the world who ever had this many watches.

Passing the Bar Game

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is not exactly a law student's version of fun. Nor would it be a way to study for the bar. I don't know, I might be wrong. I am pretty sure it would more likely be used as a drinking game by 1st year law students who are in the apathetic mode. I had a friend who recently took the Bar and it didn't sound like fun and games to me. I can see stuffy lawyers who live in DC playing this with their kids as practice. Poor kids...they have no chance at living a socially normal life. 

And...every one's favorite:

Skyrest Travel Pillow

I think the most awkward thing about this nifty pillow is the level at which you lay your head. You are literally right in your neighbor's face. Plus, you have the dilemma of when to blow it up, before or after taking your seat. Either way, you have to hold it in your lap until you can take your tray table down. We all know you have to be at 10,000 feet or something like that before that sucker can come down. Furthermore, where do you put your tiny complimentary beverage and peanuts. See, this is too much trouble. Skip the huge blow-up pillow and fall asleep bobbing your head forward like the rest of us. 

What are some of your favorite Sky Mall treasures?