Home Sweet Home

We moved in a week and a half ago. I've been keeping busy remodeling the guest bathroom, fixing up our bedroom, and painting the dining room. Lots of fun. Can't wait to have company one we get it all together.

My baking and patisserie class is going well. It's really easy and pretty layed back. We make lots of really yummy things that just keep broadening my knowledge and skills. I'm so glad I am in culinary school.

I work pretty much the whole weekend, but I plan to head to Colleyville Saturday night til Monday for Labor Day weekend to visit my parents-in-law.

Resurrection of the Roach

So evidently it is possible to stun cockroaches, but not kill them. I just assumed it was dead since it layed on it's back for hours, but last night when we went to the house to bring some more stuff, I checked on it in the garage and it was definitely alive, on it's belly. So I think I need to physically crush it next time after I've disabled it. Today I called and set up our first pest control service to make sure we don't get any more.

Chris wanted me to mention on here that we won the lottery the other day...a whopping $4.00. Every now and then we take our chances and use a dollar to buy a scratch-off ticket, and this time we were victorious.

Ordered a refrigerator yesterday. We didn't expect to have to buy one, but there was a miscommunication in our contract, so now we have a new frige. It's being delivered on Monday. It's black, and has the freezer on the bottom.

And I Thought (enter a famous inventor here) Was Smart

So today I discovered what I think might be the best invention ever created (apart from other significant inventions such as Kitchen Aid mixers and weed whackers): cockroach killer spray. I don't know if you are all aware that for many years now I have suffered from entomophobia, specific only to the Order of Blattodea. I have tried to get over this dumb fear, however, moving to Texas didn't help any. I found one in our garage this morning, hiding in the dark. I panicked only a minute or so, being sure to stand free and clear of it, at least 10 feet away. But I mustered up the courage to destroy this invader. Conveniently and miraculously, there just so happened to be some of this glorious pest spray on a shelf. The old homeowners must have forgotten it, but I know that God had perfectly predestined it to be there for this very moment. The best part about this killing agent is that just by impressing my appendage upon the nozzle button, I was able to "shoot" the devilbug all the way from where I was, not getting near it. It was powerful enough from several feet away to annhilate it. The foaming action confused and disoriented the devilbug and by the time it regained it's senses, the poison had overtaken it's life and it lay motionless on it's back. Though I now have my hope placed in this trusty killing spray, I still had to check on the corpse every now and then just to make sure that it wasn't resurrected by some crazy reason. That's my story of victory for today.

Moving Day Approaches

As of today, we have official possession of our house now. What a wait! I went to Home Depot and bought painting supplies, and I think tomorrow I might head over there to start on a room. Our big move will be this weekend. Chris's dad is coming down to help us, and we think we might have a few others that are interested. Today I researched the best buy for a refrigerator. We are excited to move in and make it our home. In the mean time, our apartment is a disaster! There are a ton of boxes everywhere, and I'm in the middle of packing the kitchen, so there are dishes on the counters and dishes that need to be washed. I feel a bit frazzled when my home isn't organized. Call me a woman, I guess.

Happy Birthday, Meredith!

My dear friend, Meredith, turns 22 today. We met each other on the first day of kindergarten and we have been great friends ever since. We've shared in each others' joys and sorrows through family issues, relationships, school, and other challenges of life. I miss you, Meg!

Kiddos

I've been doing a lot of babysitting recently. It's fun. I do childcare once a week for 10 kids for a community group at our church (Luckily, there's another girl, too, who helps.), and I'm interviewing with a mom to watch her 11 mo. old a couple times a week. I get my kid-fix and I'm good for another week.

Psalm 34:8

I did not have a productive day at all and I felt really lazy today. Tomorrow I have a meeting and I work tomorrow night. And Friday. I love my job. I went to Central Market today and costed out my product list for what I'll need to buy to make the Lemans' dinner in a couple weeks. I'm soo excited, in case you forgot from my last blog. :) I ordered business cards online today for free. Well, you have to pay the shipping fee, but that's still pretty cheap. I'm in the process of creating a website for my company. I should hurry and purchase the domain name so that it doesn't get taken, but I'm still thinking through a lot of it. I don't want to make a hasty decision.
Here's a cropped version of my business card...without my personal info.

The Fords

This is the first couple that Chris and I met here in Austin and I'd say that they are probably the ones we are closest to still. We really enjoy their company and doing random things together. Meet Jenny and Jason.

Chef Carey

I have been hired to do some freelance work by cooking an anniversary dinner for some friends in Waco. I talked to them this weekend and I am really looking forward to it. I'll be preparing an 8-course meal, including a different wine for each course. I have been emailing back and forth and we've decided on a menu. I would love to disclose that information, but it is probably best if I wait until the event has passed. I need to practice some techniques first, and if by chance they don't work out, then I'll adapt the menu accordingly. :) I'm pumped.

HAPPY 1ST ANNIVERSARY, ANDY & MANDY

My older brother married a beautiful, Godly woman one year ago today. What a fun day it was! I love you both and I'm so glad that we can all share the joys of marriage together.

My Husband is a Triathlete...

This morning we woke up at 4:30am to leave for Chris's triathalon in Blanco. He and his two co-workers, Gabe and Casey, did extremely well. 400 people signed up for the tri, but they did a sprint-tri which is shorter in length. Out of the 232 people that did the sprint-tri, here are Chris's results (I'm bragging on him because he wouldn't say anything to anyone and I'm proud of him.) : He got 2nd in the swim! 39th place in the bike, and 20th in the run. Overall, he was ranked at 15th!

"Curious George"

This summer at the movie theater near our house, they have been offering a Free Family Movie Day every Wednesday morning at 10am. Yesterday I went and saw "Curious George" by myself, or rather with a theater packed-full of kiddos, most of them under the age of 5. They were constantly getting up to go potty or crying or throwing popcorn. Fun atmosphere. :) I also noticed that the volume wasn't as loud and they kept some of the lights on. But nonetheless, a free movie is always a bargain.

Yesterday I worked and had a lot of fun. I have no complaints about my job. My boss treats me well and as a result, I want to work hard and do a good job for her and the business. That's the way it should be. I just did prep stuff for some clients this week that will pick up food to freeze for the week. Also, I have an event next Thursday night on Lake Travis. One of our clients throws a summer camp every year at their lake house for his daughter (now Junior High age) and her little girlfriends. He hires UT students to teach arts and crafts and watch over them at the lake. We will be teaching them some cooking lessons and then serving them dinner. It will be fun. I think that's so sweet that the father does this every year for the girls. Cute idea.

After getting off of work, I headed home to change and grab something to eat. Luckily Chris had ordered pizza because I literally had 10 minutes before I had to head out the door to babysit. I watch about 10 kids each Wednesday night with another girl while the parents are at a Bible Study. We usually take them to a nearby park with snacks and drinks, and we often make walks back to the house for potty-breaks, band-aids, etc. I love seeing the kids and playing with them. They are a sweet bunch. I look forward to getting my kid fix every week.

Today Chris is home sick, so we are just being lazy around the apartment. If he goes into work after lunch, I think I'm going to clean and keep packing. Less than 2 weeks until we move!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday! Happy Birthday to you. I love you!
(Picture from Andy and Amanda's wedding last year...will be 1 year for them Aug. 6th!)

God is good

I have a HUGE praise from today: I've got an accountability partner! Ever since we moved here, I know that the Lord has been placing it on my heart to get into a relationship where I can grow spiritually and be held accountable by someone. God answered that prayer. Today I met for lunch with my friend from church, Becky. She's wonderful. Her two daughters, Madi and Petyon, are the ones I babysat for last semester. We just met to talk, but out of our conversation came our decision to meet with each other randomly or with notice or on the phone, to talk about life, our walks, and our struggles. It's going to be a sweet time of fellowship, I can already tell.

Another exciting thing happening is that Chris and I have decided to read through the Bible in a year. We are starting today and we have a plan written out of what to read each day. I'm looking forward to this since it's been awhile that I've read something specific in the Word with intention. I have a good feeling about this. I love being in community with other believers, and I love spending time in prayer with God, but being in the Word is one thing I've pushed on the back burner lately. Looking forward to it!

Today has been a great day. God is good. And this is Becky.

Lazy Saturdays

I love lazy Saturdays. Sleeping in is a great start. This morning Chris woke up and rode ~26 miles with the two guys from work that he's doing the triathalon with this weekend. He came home and I fixed a breakfast of buttermilk pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs. I'm not a huge breakfast person, but Chris sure enjoyed it after his workout this morning. It's great not feeling rushed to go anywhere or do anything. Today we have plans to go to a bookstore, get biking shorts for Chris, and have a date night tonight! We'll be heading to Mount Bonnell with a picnic to watch the sun set. Ice cream afterwards. This really reminds me of when we first started dating because neither of us had much money to spend for dates. One of my favorite memories is Chris fixing me dinner at his apartment, then we took a blanket and chocolate covered strawberries over to Happy Hollow Park to watch the stars. So much fun. We also used to play cards and have coffee a lot with gift cards his mom would send him. :) I feel like there's something great about returning to our "roots" of when we first met and being reminded that we don't need to spend money to have a good time together. He's such a fun person to be around.

Posting Links

If anyone who uses Google Blogger knows how to post links on the sidebar (like other people's blogs), please let me know. I've used the Help tool here, but it doesn't seem to change anything, and when it comes to me writing code in html, I don't trust myself.

The Boyfriend Pillow

Found this while looking for a birthday gift online the other day:

"Never curl up on the couch alone again, with this comforting arm that wraps around you as if to say, "I'm sorry work was rotten today," or "No, you pick what we watch tonight," all the stuff you'd never hear from a real boyfriend."

Enjoying My Summer

We had so much fun climbing! We found out that there's a group of people that go every Monday at 3:30. I'll have to get on board with that. It felt so good to get a different kind of exercise that what I'm used to. I realize that my upper body strength is quite poor!

I'm so thankful for the current block I'm in in school and that it allows me so much free time. It really is a blessing because it's like one last taste of a summer break before I enter the big people's world. It's great walking every morning with Melanie, my great new friend from church. She's wonderful and we have fun talking and catching up every day. I like getting up early because I feel like the day is longer and I have more time to enjoy doing things that I love.

I've been having fun coming up with ideas for our new house, too. Here's what I'm thinking for our bedroom.
We have the exact same layout as far as space in our room and where the windows are located. I'm thinking of a similar blue color for the walls, but with a different bedspread. Luckily, the old homeowners are leaving all the window treatments, so that will really help with saving money because they are usually expensive, I think. And the curtains already up look like the ones in this photo. Our bedroom furniture looks almost exactly the same as these, too. We have just one nightstand, plus we have a low dresser and mirror and a tall dresser of drawers. But I like the color combo in this picture, including the sheer curtains, the small mirror over the bed, and the two matted pictures on the wall. Here's a bedspread I've found that is similar, and I like it better.

Mama Mia!

Mama Mia! was this weekend and it was one of the best musicals I've been to (not in though!) so far. It was so funny and the actors were so talented. We had a great time.

I've just been packing a lot today. I'm at the point where there's not much else to pack until the week of the move because there's stuff like towels, cleaning supplies, clothes, shoes, cookbooks, etc. that I'll probably need before we move. We're hoping to get help from family and maybe some church friends, otherwise, it would be tough with just Chris and I to transport our bedroom furniture, washer and dryer, and both sofas.

This afternoon we're going rock climbing on the Greenbelt with one of our pastors and some friends from church. Speaking of church, last night, Matt, our main teaching pastor, spoke an awesome sermon from John (surprise, surprise...they've been teaching from John verse by verse since the church started...3 years ago!). If you think you understand the concept of making much of God, consider these.

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Last night I worked my first event as a Personal Chef. It was a lot of fun. I have no complaints and I really liked working with the two other chefs. I feel so blessed to have "fallen" into this great job. Praise God.

A couple nights ago we were expecting a couple over for dinner, but they had to cancel on us so I am hoping we can recruit some people to come eat lunch over here today so we can eat the food that's been waiting in our frige.

We move in a month now. Chris's trip to Singapore has been postponed until after our move, which is fantastic. It was going to be tough moving by myself!

The last week I have been walking at Town Lake everyday. It's been good to get some sunshine and quiet time alone. Chris and I are also on this search for "our sport" that we can enjoy together. This week we are investigating tennis.

I miss all you Indiana people, if you ever read this. Not a day goes by still that I don't think about you. We love Austin and I am glad we moved here, but it's not the same without my close friends and family. I can't help but be a bit nostaglic when I think of you and wish I could just fly home on a whim to hang out. You're not forgotten.