$2600 big ones

Today eight people signed up for my super fun fall fundraiser, S'more Soiree. That means in one day, a revenue of $2600! Woot woot!

Um dudette, why haven't you registered yet? I don't want to hear one excuse about having to first fly to Austin! Irrelevant, I tell you, irrelevant.

Scarred for Life

Lexi hates baths and every week when she gets one, she acts like she's been scarred for life. Personally, I think she is being a drama queen about it.

GFD!

Woohoo! Yesterday Ross interviewed with the chief at Georgetown Fire Department and was offered a job on the spot!

I'm so proud of him and excited for his new gig. Georgetown has been his dream job since he was in the fire academy. He knows lots of the guys who work there and gets along well with all of them, which is important when your lives depend on each other and you have to spend 24 hours together at a time. They also have a pipe &drum band which he hopes to play in. And in October they are big supporters of breast cancer awareness. All in all - a great place to be working!

On Thursday he goes in for a polygraph test and once he passes that will be given a date/time for a medical exam. The offer is technically pending passing both of those tests but we're not worried. He has nothing to lie about and is healthy as a horse.

After the big interview yesterday, he crashed for a few hours (with Lexi, see photo) and then we started celebrating. It's been a long road since he started EMT school in June 2008 but we're finally there.

What a great way to kick off our weekend!

PS And now that the job situation is settled, I have the clear to book four nights in Cozumel for us next month! Hurray vacation-land!

My Kitchen Still Needs Cleaning

For the past two weeks, Ross worked 48-hour shifts on the weekends. That equals absolutely no weekend time together for Team Black. But this weekend he was off. Woohoo! Party hardy!

We started early with lunch and margaritas on the patio with four friends on Saturday. It was lovely (and hot). The margaritas made with fresh strawberries were delish. The grilled chicken salad was light and healthy. Yum. Then off to the pool for volleyball and crawfish. Sunny and fantastic.

Sunday we laid low and ate junk food. Seriously. Burritos for lunch and pizza for dinner. Tortilla chips and salsa in the middle. Rockstar meals if I do say so myself. Besides eating terribly, we read our books, watched TV and just in general lazed around.

That's why at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, my kitchen still needs cleaning. Which is also why I'm blogging/playing on Facebook/rescheduling my September dentist appointment. Really, anything to avoid cleaning the kitchen. Possibly success?

My Cure All

It doesn't matter what kind of day I've had or how stressed I am or how long the hours were. This photo in my office and in my study always makes it better.



I highly recommend all brides take one, especially all delta brides.

Double Dose of Awesome

Its been a pretty freakin awesome week if I do say so myself.

First, Brittany got a job offer to be the marketing coordinator for a law firm in Austin. Which means...SHE'S MOVING BACK TO TOWN! As in, next week she's moving back. Glory glory hallelujah! When I moved here three years ago and made great friends with her, it was a cruel twist of fate that she immediately relocated to DFW. I mean, who does that?! Anyways, needless to say I am jazzed that she's moving back to town and that this law firm knows what a catch she is. Woohoo!

Then on Monday, after working a particularly gruelling 48 (as in 48 hour shift), my honey surprised me by recommending we re-create our second date. This second date mind you has gone down in dating history as possibly the best still-dating-not-officially-together date ever. In true second-date fashion, we had lunch at Maudie's on South Lamar. Though I didn't necesarily intend to, I ended up having the EXACT same meal. It was on that second date that I fell in love with Maudie's shrimp stuffed avocado in chipotle sauce so its no wonder I ordered that again. And when the drink menu came I thought what the heck, the prickly pear margarita was good three years ago, I bet its still good. I was so right. I had to giggle at us a little. Here's Ross chowing down in crunchy tacos and a drinking a cold beer, a very simple down-home meal, and me enjoying my gourmet Mexican avocado thing while sipping the fruitiest margarita in the place. What a pair are we! Anyways, then we went to a sno-cone place on the edge of Zilker Park. On that famous second date we ate our sno-cones while wandering around Zilker but this time we changed it up a little. I still hadn't been to Barton Springs so we adventured across the park and spent an hour or so at Barton Springs. What a great location! I can see why Austinites love it and I'm proud to join the fan club. We're definitely thinking we'll need to make another adventure there once school is back in session and it can practically be just us.

When we got back from our date, this is what we found in our backyard:


Pretty stinkin' cute way to end an awesome date huh?

I can't tell you how great that date was. After not seeing Ross for the whole weekend, I was in desperate need of some QT. And with the crazy work schedule he ended up this week, I'm glad we took the time to have that QT on Monday. It's what is getting me through many husbandless days this week.

And how funny is this, yesterday he asked if I had blogged about it yet. Obviously you know I had not. But as the family historian/author/blogger, I promised I would make a point to do so tonight while he's working.

It isn't like blogging about such an awesome date was really twisting my arm or anything. In fact, I'm quite happy to tell the world.

Cheerios

Wednesday or Thursday Ross ran to the grocery store to pick up a couple things for dinner and as he told me when I got home, some plain Cheerios. I LOVE PLAIN CHEERIOS. They are so tasty dry as a snack. I was tickled pink over having some Cheerios in the house.

Around 9:30 that night Ross announces he needs a snack and Cheerios are it. I tell him I'll take the box after he pours his bowl. Into the pantry he goes and out he pulls Honey Nut Toasted Os.

"Ross, those are in no way plain Cheerios!"

Thus the debate began. Ross saying while they are the generic brand, yes this is certainly what a plain Cheerio is and me demanding that plain Cheerios are not Honey Nut. Back and forth, back and fort. My hubby is a bit of a gambling man (as in he bets $5ish on every sports tournament/game known to man), so I made him a bet: whoever is right owes the other two nights of dinner and doing the dishes.

We called my Mom to settle it. She agreed that there were plain, flavorless Cheerios. Ross wanted to know though, were they the original, and like any normal person, Mom did not have the Cheerios timeline memorized.

We googled it. And after reviewing Cheerios.com's History page, I can confidently tell you that plain Cheerios reached the market in 1941 and Honey Nut did not arrive until 1979! I WIN!! WOOHOO!

I don't think I've ever won a bet with Ross so I rubbed it in good, started planning out what I wanted him to cook on those two nights, something good and messy. And Ross, he sulked, having lost his very first bet to his wife.

With all the maturity of a grown woman I say to him: "nah nah nah boo boo I win!"

Phobia

Since March, maybe even February, I've been trying to get Ross to commit to a spring or summer vacation. Next spring I'm claiming selection of our destination (Charleston, Ben-Anna's wedding) so this is his spring/summer to choose. You would think he'd relish in this decision, right? He could say "babe we're going to Idaho!" and since I've relinquished all control over the summer 2010 destination, I'd be packing a bag to Boise.

Y'all, seriously, we've considered like 8 million destinations! Tennessee, Port Aransas, Denver, Cozumel, West Texas, Vegas, Sedona. What do they all have in common? Um...the western hemisphere? I can't even get the man to settle on a theme.

I kid you not, less time was spent picking out my engagement ring, his wedding ring, the puppy and the house...COMBINED.

So about two weeks ago when we were driving and suddenly settled on Cozumel (he wants to see the Mayan ruins), I was thrilled. Holy cow, thrilled.

And then I made my first mistake: I started thinking. I started thinking does he realize he doesn't get a vote in the 2011 destination? I had originally suggested Cozumel so is it going to come back that he thought I picked this one? On Sunday I asked him this. And I got "What? No! I was just agreeing with you because Cozumel sounded OK."

We went back to the traveling drawing board with, are you ready, Ross inquiring about if we can afford CHINA.

No. We cannot afford China.

To satisfy his curiosity though, I Orbitz.com searched flights and hotels in Beijing. I won't shock you with the result. I was also implored to do the same thing for Cape Town, South Africa. When the man requested Russia, I closed the laptop.

I've probably told you before that my husband is a super boring traveler. I mean West Texas? Port Aransas? Both lovely but both things we've done and done well.

However, after the recent Beijing and Cape Town requests, I take it back. I'll eat crow. My husband is not a boring traveler; he is an EXPENSIVE traveler.

We've still not settled on a vacation for next month but I think Cozumel is back at the top of the list. I've requested western hemisphere (mostly to avoid losing days traveling since this is only a 4-5 day trip) and within a specific, and agreed upon, budget.

So if you know Ross, please, start calling him and endorsing the white beaches and ancient ruins of Cozumel, anything to help my hubby overcome his vacation-commitment-phobia (and help me get on a plane that's heading off to vacation-land).

I'm jazzed

Today I'm feeling jazzed about...

• being an auntie to Taygan Mark Renaud! Yup, it still rocks.
• seeing Sex and the City with Nichole.
• the brittany, a cocktail Brittany came up with last night that includes champagne. What's not to love about champagne? I don't know what else is in it though so you'll have to ask her to make you one.
• how stinkin' cute Lexi is and how well behaved she was on our walk.
• the possibility of being on vacation for two full weeks next month! Fingers crossed!

Today I became an auntie

He's here! And he's a he!

Welcome to the world baby Renaud! I can't wait to see you next month. And great job Mama Age. You birthed that boy like a champ!

Pic of new baby: http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=31448001&id=29101384.