sunday morning breakfast.

this morning, sierra, haley, travis, and i went and had breakfast with matthew, crystal, levi, and asher.  we decided to grab breakfast with them kind of last minute, but i was glad we decided to meet up with them.

we went to ihop and had kind of a long wait, so i snapped a picture of two of the cutest guys in the world while we waited.

after breakfast we went and watched man of steel at the theater.  the loves couldn't join us, but our household went, and we had a great time.  travis and i have been dying to see the movie, so i was super excited to go.

sierra and haley went and ran a few errands after we got home, and we spent the rest of the day doing laundry and getting ready for the week.

a new decade already?

hello 2011. how did you get here so quickly?

i've wanted to blog all day long, but have been tied up in season two of smallville. have i mentioned this is a recent obsession of travis and mine?

okay, you might say, so you've been wrapped up in season of smallville; can you not multi-task? and a very good question that would be. travis and i have a new toy, however, and i have quickly become spoiled. he recently equipped our tv with a wireless keyboard and mouse ... so while i have a very useful laptop {and a command center in the office} i find it so much nicer to sit from the comfort of my couch with a 42-in screen at my disposal. {the pictures are a little dark, but you get the idea}.

i also realized that i left my camera with all my holiday {christmas & new years} at the hoback-evins household last night when we went over for new years. so while i have more posts to come ... you will just have to wait.

happy new years to you and those you love. cheers to 2011! i don't really make new year's resolutions and don't really feel like a new year is a new beginning so i don't have anything inspirational or reflective to post. what about you? do you make resolutions for yourself at the start of a new year? what kinds of things do you hope to accomplish?

random thoughts.

01. i really don't know how i let so much time pass in between my posts.

02. for the first time in as long as i can remember, i finally know what people mean when they say they don't want to sit in front of a computer when they get home from work. i love being online, but lately when i get home from work, it's not that i don't want to ... i'm just so exhausted. i have an hour drive home from work, and i rarely get home before 7:00. then it's time for dinner, a show with my boys, and time to prepare for the next day.

03. i LOVE this time of year, but i really do feel like it is passing all too quickly. i've waited and waited for the christmas season and now it's at the end of this week!

04. holiday vacations were so much better when you were a kid (or a school teacher)

05. i love. love. love. seeing the apartment all decorated for christmas.

06. i bought a tree at the owasso christmas tree farm all by myself last week. travis and i had decided we weren't going to have a tree, but on the drive home i just couldn't bear the thought of that, so i stopped off at the tree farm, picked a beautiful tree, had the guys load it up on my car, and headed home. travis was in class and i didn't want it to get stolen off my car, so i drove around looking at all of the beautiful christmas lights. travis was surprised to find me at home with a tree, but he got it unloaded. while he was setting it up i went to target to get a stand for the tree. when i got home we got it placed into the stand ... and it.was.humongous. i actually don't think it's that big now, but when we first brought it in, travis kept making fun of me saying i would never be able to pick out a tree by myself again. haha. it made sure it was the right height when i purchased it, but i never thought about the width of it.

07. i never want to take our beautiful tree down.

08. the apartment is so warm and cozy and feels like a home now. we have all of the rooms fully furnished and set up. the office has a desk and bed (and an oversized leather chair for now, while the tree is in the living room). i even have pictures and artwork hung. we still need something for the walls in the dining room and a few finishing touches here and there, but all in all, i'm pretty happy with the way things look. if we have to be in an apartment right now, i'm glad it feels like home.

09. i've been in the mood to bake, but not to gain weight. i've put on another ten pounds since starting conocophillips. something i am not dealing with well. i'm afraid a diet and trainer are in order.

10. travis and i are addicted to smallville. travis started watching season one and somehow we were sucked in. we had never watched it before, so the beginning seemed like the perfect place. last night we started season eight! we've blown through the seasons so quickly ... well, travis has especially. i've watched most of the episodes, but he stays up at night after i'm in bed and watches them and he also watches them during the day on tuesdays and thursdays since he doesn't have any client visits those days.

11. i need to get back to work so i should cut this short. have a very merry christmas if i don't make it back on here before then.

saturdays, how i love you.

this weekend, the weather has been wonderful! it's not quite fall because there is no "crispness" in the air, but the temperature has been perfect. so very beautiful.

we woke up and decided to hit up a few stores for a few new pairs of pants for my job. after last fall and winter i got rid of so many of my clothes. my closet was looking pretty scarce. i picked up a couple pairs of pants, a few camis, and a lightweight v-neck sweater that i can wear now all the way through winter.

we stopped into kirklands and looked around. i wanted to buy everything! i was a good little girl, though, and we walked out without a single purchase.

we hit up barnes and noble for a bit, and we also checked out the mall. {actually, reverse that. we hit up the mall and then headed to kirklands and barnes and noble}. we had lunch at our original date place -- el tequila at 81st and memorial. it was oh so yummy. we hadn't eaten there together in quite some time; i honestly don't remember going there since i was at addison. we used to go all.the.time. we've been spending a lot of our days together, and i have really, really enjoyed it.

after the bookstore, we checked out best buy {again} for a tv. this time travis took notes in his phone and then we headed to mathis brother's. we've been looking for living room table sets and lamps, too. the lighting in our apartment really isn't that great. travis needs better lighting by our furniture when he's reading. we walked around, but mainly looked at tvs. somehow we always get distracted by the flashing lights and moving pictures. we've decided we want to get a really large tv {think 73"} and decided that if we're going to make that kind of purchase we might as well save up and get the one we really want. we walked back through looking at table sets for the living room and then decided to check at rooms today.

we found a set we really liked. we rarely make "impulse" purchases, though, so we both just took pictures of it and continued to look around.

there was a bedroom suite my brother and lindsay had pointed out to us when we were in before. we had just purchased our living room set, so we couldn't afford it at the time, but it was an incredible deal. we moseyed back to the bedroom area and couldn't believe to see it still on the floor. we were told by a salesman other than our sales guy that he was pretty sure it was already sold, but that we should have our guy check. we waited around for a bit, but our guy was tied up with several other people. we took pictures of it, too, and decided that it wasn't meant to be. the bed is actually much more elaborate than either of us would ever pick, but it's still pretty and the dresser and mirror that come with it is right up my alley.

we had to head home to get ready for our rescheduled date night with chris and monica. {and have i mentioned they're getting married in san francisco? so jealous!} actually, scratch that, we didn't have to go home. we just headed over to johnny carinos by the river. chris and monica had an errand that ran a little long, so travis and i enjoyed the weather and sat on a bench outside the restaurant visiting and watching youtube videos on our phone. we're so silly.

dinner was delicious. i'm not really a big italian food person, i enjoy it on occasion, but it's not usually my pick. having just had it with my brother earlier in the week, i wasn't sure i would really be on board, but the sangria, italian nachos, and chocolate cake were delish. my pasta was good too, but i think i enjoyed all the little "extras" the most.

after dinner we crossed the river and spent a little time on riverwalk crossing. we were waiting for our movie the american to start. we actually ran into a former co-worker of chris ... whose wife turned out to be one of my friends from xa in college -- cindy. so weird. we were all just letting chris and ricky visit and then i looked up and realized the girl in front of me was cindy!

we didn't spend a lot of time on the river since our movie was starting, but it was still nice to be outside. the sun had already set, but the temperature was still so comfortable. i could have sat out at the outdoor bar and listened to the live band that was playing, but the american was calling.

i never should have answered that call. the movie was terrible {in my humble opinion}! nothing at all like the previews suggest. there was so much natural noise during the movie because the movie is super slow and super quiet. there was no orchestra soundtrack for most of the movie. maybe i would have liked it more had i been more prepared for the kind of movie it was. travis told me i was like a little kid when we were watching it because i was so. bored. sobored! it probably also didn't help that i had already been tired by dinner time after all our walking around that day.

i think everyone was exhausted. chris had worked until a little after 6:00 and monica had a rough week. we all quickly said goodnight, went to our respective homes, and fell straight to sleep ... i know that's what we did anyway.

all in all, it was a great day well spent.

a date with the boy.

on monday, i didn't feel super great, so i got up for a bit, and then found myself back in bed for a bit reading the girls' guide to kicking your career into gear. i ended up taking a bit of a cat nap before waking up and starting the day again.

i spent time online catching up with andrea via email; catching up on my google reader; and then catching up on dishwashing and laundry. at one point, my dishwasher, washer, and dryer were all going. i could hardly hear myself think. i cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen, too, and kept incessentaly checking my email to see if i had heard from brad yet about my interviews {i hadn't}.

the day sped along pretty quickly since i had slept a bit of the morning away. i was just changing into my new chinos when travis walked in the door, home about an hour early from work. i was thrilled to see him, though, i was disappointed that i hadn't gotten to finish the second small load of dishes i had used that morning.

we spent most of the evening in the apartment reading and working on different projects for our respective clients. i was getting a little bit of cabin fever, though, and suggested we get out of the house for a bit. we headed over to pier 1 to see their latest selection of fall items and then hit up freckles custard for a vanilla shake {travis} and a sweet and salty {me}. we also spent several hours at barnes and noble {we've been spending a lot of time there lately}. we actually decided to go there afer we had gotten our custard because travis decided we should go see the movie takers. we had missed the early showing, though, and had to wait until about 10:00 to catch it. so we ate custard and read books until time to head over to the theater where i spent time closing my eyes during the creepy previews and then snuggling close as we watched the {very good} movie.

jinxed.

i guess i jinxed myself a little by ending my last post on such a braggy, positive note about how well i've been blogging. =) no update since wednesday? shame on me!

so what has happened since wednesday? i finished the logo i was having trouble with, and am happy with the result. travis had class on thursday night. i can't really remember what i did that night.

friday we were pretty lame. but i enjoyed it thoroughly. travis started cooking spaghetti for us so i jumped in and helped him as well. i have been through a preliminary interview and then three rounds of interviews for a position in edmond. i wrapped up the third interview yesterday and was all but told that i should expect an offer ... so cross your fingers? why the question mark, you ask. well, i don't know exactly what it is i want to do. it will be nice to not have a lag in paychecks ... but travis and conor will stay here and i'll be all the way in edmond. not that it's too terribly far away, but further away than i would like to be. i also like living close to kate because she keeps me motivated, and stimulated, and on track for opening an actual storefront for notably noted. i've enjoyed living just right across the street. edmond will bring a paycheck, and time with friends like andrea, kasi, and shannon {who just moved back to okc earlier this month}. i spent time on the phone hashing out all of this with kate, and then ate my homemade dinner with travis. afterward we put in lois and clark: the new adventures of superman. we've been watching season one. i love that show! i always have.

today we woke up, had lunch together and then drove around to a couple of dealerships. travis told me if i got the job offer, he would get a new truck. isn't he sweet? ;) we tried to think of something fun and interesting, spent a little time at the bookstore, rearranged the living room, and then rested before he had a meeting with his office assistant.

i stayed home and rested {killer! cramps} on the couch with conor. we watched paycheck with ben affleck and now we're {kind of} watching the fifth element with bruce willis. very weird. i don't think i'm a fan. it was on the other night too, and i never made it through the movie.

we're also kind of gearing up for a night out with a friend of travis's {chris}. travis met chris at a client's. turns out chris is engaged to marry a girl that i went to TU with. we had a group project together one semester, but outside of that i don't really know her. we're supposed to meet with them for a late-ish dinner at osaka in about 30 minutes or so. which means i should probably wrap up this post, "fluff" my hair a little, touch up my face, you know the drill.

have a happy saturday my dear friends!

Twilight: Eclipse!

Sorry to keep putting off my Hawaii post. The day after I got back from Hawaii, I started a new job as the Marketing Director for Magnolia Gardens. Notably Noted is still doing really well; I just need something to supplement my income while the store orders go back into the business to support itself. Just after starting, my regional manager decided that I needed to fly to St. Louis for training. So ... all that to say ... I don't have my pictures from the wedding and a Hawaiian blog post without pictures just won't be right.
Instead, I'll continue to talk about my obsessions.

TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT! It is ABSOLUTELY a major obsession of mine. I'm not sure how this happened. When I look at myself, I feel a little ridiculous {okay, a lot ridiculous} but I just can't help myself. I can't make myself stop!

It took me a while, but once I hopped on the Twilight bandwagon, I. was. hooked! Travis and I never watched Twilight while it was in theaters but decided to pick up the DVD one night at the rental store. We both really enjoyed it, so when Twilight: New Moon opened, we headed out to the theater.

I love to read and considered reading the books several times, but just never got around to purchasing them. Kate had been telling me about the books for some time, and at her birthday party {Twilight-themed of course}, I was so intrigued by all of the added details she had to share. I finally asked for the books for my birthday and my sweet fiance gifted me with the entire set ... and I could hardly put them down from the moment I opened them. I'm so silly but I feel a kindredship with the characters. It made me so sad to finish the series because I feel as if I'm missing actual friends in my life, as if people I care about have moved away.

I am so weird.

So now, I've been watching the movies back to back. Stuck here in St. Louis without a car, I'm actually watching New Moon over and over each day when I finish with work making sure it's the last thing I see before I close my eyes.

Have I mentioned that I'm weird?

Tonight while working on blog posts for Notably Noted, I signed into my Twitter account and discovered that Jimmy Kimmel was having an Eclipse special! I never watch JK, but immediately jumped up to change the channel. I only got to see the last 15 minutes, but I sat with a huge grin on my face the entire time.

Now I can't wait for Eclipse to hit theatres. Kate has tickets for us opening night ... but I'm thinking of purchasing the Cinemark package that shows all three movies back-to-back-to-back. Can. Not. Wait!!

{I'm about to decide not to post this at all because it's rather embarrassing. I better hit "publish" quickly before this is lost forever to the world of blogging. }

busy bee at notably noted.

andrea has been getting on to me for not blogging more often. as a blog-stalking addict myself, i can completely understand. however, i've been so busy, i haven't gotten to read any other blogs, much less write on ours. the orders have been rolling in for notably noted {yay!}. it's definitely hard juggling that with my other job. i had an order for graduation party invitations that took 31 hours. just. to. assemble! that didn't include any of the design, printing, cutting, scoring, etc. time. that was 100% assembly time. i offered to pay every single person in my family to help me, but no one was available. sierra was out of town at my uncle randy's until thursday. when she got home she set into helping me. we worked non-stop all through the night. finally at 6:08 we put the finishing touches on everything and boxed the invitations and envelopes up. then i proceeded to fall into bed ... for a super long nap of 45 minutes. hahaha.

here's a brief glimpse of my past week:
tuesday night: worked on invitations and finally went to bed at 4:00
wednesday night: worked on invitations and went to bed at 2:00 because i had to drive the next morning and i will fall asleep at the wheel if i'm too exhausted.
thursday night: i didn't go to bed at all. well, i got a quick 45 minute nap before waking up to go to work at sixbyte in tulsa.
friday: i was so exhausted when i got to sixbyte, i grabbed my blanket i always keep in the car and a pillow, closed the door to one of the offices, shut off the lights, and took a 2 hour nap. i couldn't take it. there was no way i was getting any work done. i woke up to do about 30 minutes of work, and then i headed to lunch with kate, roxie, and several other addison girls. i was using lunch as a meeting with kerry to deliver the invitations that had kept me awake all week.

saturday: oklahoma saw snow!! after having several days of warm weather. it was ms. kate's 26th birthday party. she & nick had organized a twilight party in her honor and there was no way i was missing her special day. i was a little nervous the roads would be bad and travis wasn't driving with me, but it turned out they weren't bad at all. i'll do a post just about the party later. a good time was had by all. while i was in tulsa, travis was helping zach {amanda's boyfriend} celebrate his 26th birthday as well. they were up until the wee hours of the morning celebrating!

sunday: finally the week ended {or started} with a little house shopping and then an afternoon spent at the movie theater watching bounty hunter {yay!}and then green zone with amanda and zach. it was so nice to sit and do absolutely nothing for hours on end. both movies were really good, too. i just love jen aniston, gerard butler, and travis's look-alike, matt. we wrapped up the weekend with a quick visit to braum's with zach and amanda. travis and i were full of popcorn, so we didn't partake in any braum's deliciousness, but we had fun visiting a little bit with amanda and zach.

be mine.

valentine's day was sunday, but since we were so busy with my mom's birthday, we decided to do our valentine's day on monday. actually, i didn't think we were really going to celebrate valentine's day this year, but on the way to work monday travis surprised me saying we should do it that night. i wish i would have known in advance because i didn't just love what i was wearing, but i did get a haircut and blowout later that morning, so it worked out well.

i looked forward to our date all day. we didn't do anything super over-the-top, but an actual date with just the two of us sounded incredible. even before dave ramsey, we had cut out movies at the theater and going out to eat almost completely.

travis asked me where i would like to go for dinner and surprisingly enough i picked italian. {i am never the one to pick italian}. the pasta carrabba had been on my mind the past couple of days, and so i asked if we could go to carrabba's.

oh. my. goodness. it was so delicious. i changed the chicken in my pasta to shrimp and travis ordered the salmon and spaghetti. what a treat!

after dinner we headed to target to kill a little time. we had tickets to see valentine's day at 7:35, but there was about an hour until our show started. we walked around for a bit and then picked up a couple of boxes of candy and headed to starworld. i felt silly for being so excited, but i was.

we got to the theater with plenty of time, grabbed the best seats in the house, and settled in with our popcorn and candy. i seriously think i put on ten pounds that night!

i thought the movie was wonderful. i've heard bad reviews of it, but i loved it! i think it's one i will definitely add to the collection when it hits dvd. i was sad to see the night come to an end, but was grateful to get to have a special date night. {i'm still beating myself up over not getting any pictures!!!! someone help me, please!}

fourteen days of love. 11.

11. time with my girlfriends.

since moving away from tulsa i don't often get to spend time with my girlfriends. this past month, though, i've gotten some great quality girl time. {though i am not loving that there are no pictures to document these times together!}

at the end of january, i made a trip to okc to visit sweet, sweet andy. she is getting maui'ed {married in maui} this summer, and i'm helping with her wedding invitations and collateral. we've had to do most of the planning and designing over the phone and email, but that weekend i headed to the city to sit down with her and make sure we were on track with all of her plans.

i arrived on saturday and we spent the day tweaking designs for her invitation, response card, schedule of events, directions card, wedding monogram for the programs, favors, and more. we accomplished a ton and then set out for a bottle of wine and a couple of movies from redbox. when we got back to the house, ryan had a spaghetti dinner ready and waiting for us. we enjoyed dinner and then popped in cloudy with a chance of meatballs. it was one of the weirdest movies we had ever seen ... but it was also funny. my favorite line, "come on steve. we've got diem to carpe."

after the movie was over we popped in the accidental husband. andrea fell asleep not far into the movie, but i couldn't go to sleep for anything! the movie was cute. i couldn't decide if i liked the ending or not, but for the most part i think i enjoyed it. i finished the movie, then watched the pregnancy pact {so weird because it's based on true events} and an old episode of grey's anatomy. of course i love grey's anatomy, but i had forgotten how great the earlier seasons were.

the next morning we woke up late. sleeping in was wonderful. andrea fixed yummy, healthy pancakes, and she, ryan and i enjoyed breakfast together. i tried on my bridesmaid dress {very pretty!} and then packed up for the long drive home.

i hardly ever get to see andrea, so it was super fun getting to spend a large chunk of my weekend with her. if all goes well, i'll see again next weekend when she makes the trek to muskogee to finish up her wedding paper planning.

as if my visit with andrea wasn't enough fun girl time, i then got the extra pleasure of spending time with kate and amelia last weekend. we headed out to the junior league of tulsa's decadence rocks: diamonds and denim event. we got decked out in our designer jeans, fun night on the town tops, and flashy jewelry. the night was filled with champagne, gossip, and hours and hours of girl talk. so. fun. and exactly what i needed as things have been a little rough lately. the event was at the summit club, which we followed up with drinks at a cute little bar downtown with kalan and grant.

now, i'm keeping my fingers crossed that i'll get to spend much needed time with my darling friend jen this upcoming week. we have tentative lunch plans and after missing hudson's birthday last month due to a stomach bug, i can't wait to see her {and hopefully the little guy, too}.

fourteen days of love. 07.

07. redbox


travis and i discovered redbox when we were still living in tulsa. muskogee now has these bad boys in several locations. if you've not been introduced to the redbox, you are missing out. redbox is a stand-alone kiosk found in grocery stores, outside of fast food restaurants & phrarmacies, and even gas stations. they offer newly released [and lately even classic] movies. since we've been working so diligently toward having the freedom of being debt-free, this puppies are terrific. it gets pretty difficult to never go do anything and with some movies costing $5.00 a day, we can pat ourselves on the back when getting two movies for only $2.00. sure a savings of $3 doesn't seem like much, but it keeps us on track and still lets us enjoy an at-home date night.

i've heard a few bad reviews of the redbox [you can't ever get the movie you want, etc], but we have rarely had any trouble.

weekend review.

hmm...i've wanted to blog the past few days, but i haven't really felt like there is anything to blog about. i can't even really remember what we did on friday night, but i can remember thinking on saturday that it wasn't really blog worthy.

then there was saturday. hmm ... i don't remember what we did then either. oh wait, yes i do. i started writing the next paragraph and then i remembered. we woke up, took showers, decided that we didn't want to spend the day sitting around the house. as we were discussing what we were going to do, i remembered that it was gail ferguson's birthday party {60!} at the pool hall, and she had asked us to be there. we headed to the pool hall {i said a little

"ugh" under my breath to be heading there again}. travis shot around and i messed around on the computer, looking up other stationery and invitation websites. then i started looking for a website template for my company. we ended up being at the pool hall almost all day long. we went back to the house for a little cat nap, but then we were right back up here {i say "here" because guess where i just happen to be while typing this ... }. we ended up staying until closing time. i got really into a logo design i was making, so i didn't mind. in fact, i was trying to throw touching finishes on it after my dad had shut off the power to the building. it was fun too because travis and sierra had a little crash course in all there is to learn about computers. sierra thinks she would like to know how to take a computer apart and put it back together, and also how to design on the computer.

when we got back to the house, i showed travis the web templates i had found and talked about different ideas and options.

sunday was a lot of fun for me. the weather in oklahoma right now is unbelievable! it's so mild and it's august!!! it felt more like a cross between spring and fall. my parents had gone out of town on a bike ride with a group of friends, so i dropped sierra at church that morning, and then headed back home. travis asked if i wanted to go to tulsa. even though we have to drive there all week for work, we really just wan

ted to get away. as i was sitting in the car thinking of thi

ngs we could do with very few dollars spent, i remembered that we had a gift card to the amc. we got to town, headed to the office to pick up a file that travis needed, and then grabbed a little fast food action as a late dinner. after that we went to the halloween costume shop followed by barnes and noble. barnes and noble was so crowded! there were people everywhere! we were there for about 40 minutes or so when we headed around to the theatre.

it had been ages since i had been to the amc 20 {41st and yale} and travis had never been. we decided to watch the ugly truth. oh. my. gosh. i thought i was so funny. it's definitely vulgar and innappropriate, so no small children, but hilll-arious! i laughed so hard at one point soda went up my nose. painful, but well worth it! everyone in the theatre was laughing. i know we've been watching quite a few movies lately, but it was fun to watch one in the theatre, and in a regular-sized theatre ... not the baby screens that many of the theatres in town have.

and then today. today was a good day. i got to talk to two of my good friends -- andrea and kate. did a little work for sixbyte this morning and then headed to one of my clients. it was a lot of fun to answer kate's question "what are you doing" with "headed back from a client visit." my contracts that i got signed go into effect tomorrow, so i had to get a little more information and really get the ball going. yay!

i have a feeling this week is going to be a busy week. i'm helping andy with her save-the-dates {yay!}. i have to design an email blast for one of my clients. i have to finish reconciling the accounts for sixbyte. i have to figure out the layout of my parents' pool hall website with travis. i need to take care of our books. i need to invoice {yay!} my client. i think the list goes on.

for now, i think i will sign off. i feel like my eyes are too heavy to stay awake. i better get started on all i have to do.

guess how we spent last night.

on the couch. watching a movie. surprised, aren't you?

so yesterday we woke up late {i can't imagine that all of this late night movie watching is having an impact}, hurried around and got to sixbyte about 20 minutes late. i was the one driving and was so exhausted. i told travis i was afraid we may have to switch seats because i really thought i was going to fall asleep a few times. instead, i stayed awake while travis took a quick cat nap in the passenger seat.

i don't technically work for sixbyte on thursdays, so i carried in my quillow {quilt that folds into a pillow} that i always keep in the car, and proceeded to fall asleep underneath my massive desk. it's pretty dark under there, and this way i don't look like a total slacker should the mailman or any clients walk in. instead of finding me snoozing in the chair, i am completely hidden under my desk. the office is always freezing, so i have a fleece throw that remains on the back of my chair at all times. i laid my head on the quillow, snuggled under the fleece throw and took a nice long hour and a half nap! i couldn't believe i slept that long! the floor was freezing because the office is so cold and there is only a thin layer of carpet covering the concrete; once i buried my head under the blanket and drifted to sleep, i hardly noticed the cold. who would have ever guessed that i would find myself sleeping under my desk?? {i had really odd dreams about the guys in the office while i was sleeping -- david handed me a folder full of unused water balloons; the police showed up to look for tom; travis's backpack was sitting on his lap on fire, but he never even noticed. weird i tell you}.

we got home a little after 6, ate sloppy joes {yeck}, gave connor a much needed bath, and then travis popped in a documentary on linux. i watched for a little bit {it's actually interesting} and then i hopped in the shower. i had to forego my shower in the morning rush to make it to the office. after my shower, we headed to wal-mart to stock up on toiletries and the orange soda that travis was craving. we stopped in at the pool hall, but only stayed long enough for travis to play a few games. there weren't a lot of people there and we were pretty tired. when we got home, we decided to watch "knowing."

i asked travis if it was a scary movie. he told me that he thought it was supposed to be an adventure, much like national treasure. was he ever wrong. while i wouldn't call this a scary movie, i would definitely say it's a thriller, and i'm not a fan. the movie was so creepy! my adrenaline was pumping even after the movie was over. i couldn't bring myself to walk down the hall or back into any of the rooms without adequate lighting. when travis came in to tell me good night i had him lay with me because i was still so spooked. ridiculous really.

date night{s}.

on monday travis had gotten a reimbursement check from work. driving home that night travis said, "i think we should take some of the money from the check and go on a date tomorrow." i think i lit up like a christmas tree!
"a real date? you and me?"
"well, no, i was thinking i could take someone out and you could take someone out."
okay ... i was kind of asking for that. still i couldn't stop smiling and travis was so sweet and started holding my hand.
normally i hold my hand up {picture a halting movement} when it comes to spending money. but you know what? i just couldn't do it this time. the idea of a real date with my love sounded wonderful!
we started talking about what we would do and where we wanted to go.
...
well, as you know monday night and tuesday became a little crazy for us. our date night turned into movie night on the couch. {still one of our favorite things to do together}.

we pushed our date night to wednesday {last night}. we stayed at the office until after 6:00, and then headed out for our night on the town, just the two of us. we stopped for frozen custard at freckles and then headed across town. we were going to go to the aquarium, but then we decided that would be better for a saturday. in the end, we were going to go to the movie theater and watch a movie. {i know. not too exciting or out of the ordinary}, but we were out of the house, splurging on a little something together. of course, i would develop a horrendous stomach ache and find myself spending time in the public restroom at books a million {where we had stopped while waiting for our upcoming movie}. sorry for the overshare. when i was feeling a little better, we started back across town on the hunt for a particular book travis wants. not eight minutes into the drive, my stomach was killing me again! we made it to the library ... and i made my way to the restroom again. we closed down the library. it was ridiculous. by this point, we were terribly tired, and we headed home.

our date night is doomed.

on the drive home we heard "i had the time of my life" by patrick swayze and jennifer grey. travis turned it up and we were singing along. he said, "this kind of makes me want to see this movie," just as i was thinking the same thing. we listened to it a little longer and i said, "this should be our last dance of the night at the wedding." travis started laughing and said, "i knew you were going to say that." {will we, or won't we? who knows. the music part is one of the hardest things for me because music plays {no pun intended} a huge part in my life}.

we got home around 10-ish. amanda loves dirty dancing, so we called to see if we could borrow it. my uncle david was actually staying the night at the house, and as all of the bedrooms are occupied, he was going to sleep on the couch. we decided to head to amanda's instead.

she was doing laundry and was in and out of her apartment. we fixed macaroni and cheese ... and cuddled up on the couch once more to snuggle in front of the television. just the two of us.

so again, our date night may be doomed. the great part, though? i just like being with my boy, no matter what we're doing.

i love you, man.

so the week started out a little crazy, but still good. tuesday night when travis got home, we were both pretty worn out from the weekend and the previous night. we decided not to leave the house at all. instead we fixed dinner and settled into the couches to watch i love you, man. i hadn't seen a lot of previews for it, but generally like paul rudd's movies, so we decided to give it a shot. i. thought. it. was. hilarious!

i love all of the actors in this movie. rashinda jones is adorable! and i love her haircut. i've considered getting my bangs cut into a full fringe instead of just a side-swept bang. i loved her hair, so i'm even closer to making the decision now. i had been post-poning because of the wedding. i was afraid i would hate them and they wouldn't have time to grow out, but now we have plenty of time.

back to the movie, though. so funny. so cute. and check out this ensemble of characters:

the only other thing i will say about this movie is that it's almost painful to watch. your heart is just going out to the guy the entire time. you feel so bad! kind of like "meet the parents." but if you can endure, many laughs are in store.

crazy kind of week.

again, i've had much to post about but have been waiting until i had the pictures that coincide. i thought i had my memory card with me today, i tried to make a point to remember it, but alas i didn't. so as not to disgruntle my readers, i'll go ahead and update ... and once again add the pictures later.

this weekend travis's "nephews" tyler, ryan, hunter, and kayden came for a visit with aunt sue. this is the third time we've seen sue in about a month's time. quite unusual and a welcome change. and even more unusual, two of the times were at the lears'. if you remember, she came down the week that steve was in the hospital, and then again this weekend.

i made sure to get several pictures of the boys playing with connor and travis {but some how i didn't end up in any of them}. oh well. at least we're taking pictures again.

travis's cousin eric's ex-wife amber also came into town. it was the first time we had seen her in about 7 or 8 months. she was really glad to see the family again and really misses everyone. she left on sunday to head back to mississippi.

monday was pretty uneventful. travis, justin, and danny had league. it was a pretty important round as the season is winding up, and they were tied for first place. unfortunately they all shot well below their usual scores. it was a bit of a rough night. after league travis and i headed over to hastings {we've been spending a lot of time at the bookstore lately}. we were going to splurge on a couple of magazines, but in the end we decided that we would go home and watch a movie instead. we ended up watching two movies. the first one was called wargames, and it starred matthew broderick. it was his second movie to star in. while it was a bit of a cheezy '80s movie, i still really enjoyed it.

travis told me before we watched it that matthew b. was really young in it; i didn't realize how young until we saw the movie. i thought the girl in the movie was really cute, too. {she was also in the breakfast club}. apparently the movie was really popular, but like i said, i had never heard of it. it was right up travis's alley, though, since it was all about computers, codes, and things of that sort. after watching wargames, we moved onto it's sequel wargames: the dead code {released in 2008}. travis thought this one was pretty cheezy, but i still thought it was cute. the story includes the original movie's plot line. again it was about hacking into systems, and i think travis enjoyed that part of it. because we stayed up watching the movies, we got to bed a little late. poor connor was so tired. i laid him in the bed and went to brush my teeth {which upset him apparently}, then got into bed. i had barely turned the light off and snuggled in, when travis came in to tell me he was going to get amanda. she was going through a rough time, so he went to check on her. i was a little worried because i had just been lying in bed thinking that i never heard back from her earlier in the day. after he left, i closed my eyes and decided to try to get a little sleep. i knew he would call me if anything was wrong. it had barely been five minutes since the car pulled away when there was a loud bang outside ... and the electricity went out. connor and i got up to look around {poor baby just wasn't going to get any sleep}. we walked around the house, i heard someone in the front lawn {turns out they were just passing through} but i tried to wake my parents. they didn't wake when i knocked, but a few minutes later my mom came in my room with a light, looking for the electric bill so she could report the outage. a few minutes later my dad came in. then travis called to tell me everything was okay. apparently it wasn't just little connor who wasn't going to get any sleep. after about 45 minutes or so my parents went back to bed. connor and i got into bed {again} and i had just drifted off when travis called to tell me he was bringing amanda back to the house. connor and i got up {yet again} to let them in, and she crawled in to bed with connor and me. we were up for hours talking; my heart went out to her. i think we finally drifted in and out of sleep around 5 in the morning. travis overslept his alarm for work and didn't even get up until 8:30! i stayed home with amanda and we slept until 11 or so. i got up and let her sleep for about another hour and then took her home to her apartment. we sat at her apartment for a few hours and then i headed back home for a nap. what a way to start a week, right?

sweet home alabama.

i haven't watched the movie sweet home alabama since before travis and i got engaged. while i was at the office today waiting for some things to print, i got on youtube and came across this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8_c7da9wuA. i had goosebumps watching the beach scene {not surprising since this is the scene travis proposed to}. just thought i would share and maybe bring a smile to your face, too.

lazy sunday afternoon? not for us!

yesterday we didn't accomplish as much as we set out to do. instead of mowing lawns, we spent the afternoon with travis's family. travis wanted to wait until the evening when it was a little cooler to mow, but after the day passed, he decided he wanted a shower and a nap, so we headed to my parents'. after a shower, travis {mr. indecisive! yesterday} decided that he no longer wanted a shower, but instead wanted to go to the pool hall for a bit. we haven't spent much time up there at all the past two weeks or so. he, sierra, and i jumped in the car and headed there. we were there until closing. i spent most of the time reading harry potter while travis wasted no time getting his pool fix. i'm halfway through the fourth one {the goblet of fire}. i had forgotten how much i love them. we went straight to bed when we got home last night. i think we were both pretty worn out.

this morning we woke up, loaded up connor, and headed back to the lears'. we put connor and tedo in the backyard. i walked around and picked up all of the pinecones and sticks so that travis could get right to mowing. he took off his shirts and his flipflops! i couldn't believe that he mowed all day barefoot! i went inside to find some sunscreen since the last time he worked in his parents' yard he got a terrible burn {and now has so many freckles on his back, it no longer looks like his own!}

after i picked up the yard, there was nothing else travis wanted me to do, so i went inside to read harry potter a little more. he worked on the yard most of the day {his parents have a very large lot}.

after we were finished we headed back to my parents' house. travis again thought he wanted a nap, but this time after his shower, he decided to watch harry potter and the half blood prince. we were just lazy and cooled down for a bit.

i thought we would get to work on my parents' yard, but after the movie, travis wanted to get out of the house, so we headed to hastings for a bit. we caught up on the latest gossip, checked out a few books that we would like to read in the future ... and lost travis's wallet. he didn't realize it until we were walking out to the car. my mom had called us home for dinner. we quickly walked back inside to the aisle he had been perusing and hit up the magazine stand, but it wasn't there. i caught up with one of the managers, and luckily {thank you for small miracles!} the wallet had been handed in to the office.

we got home and had dinner with my parents. it was just the four of us as sierra had gone to her godmother's just today. she's getting in one last summer visit before the fall semester {of her sophomore year!} begins.

lindsay stopped by just as we were fixing our plates to pick up some pain meds for justin. he seems to be doing well, but is in a bit of pain right now. mom and dad had gone over earlier in the day to help bleed the brakes of his truck, since he isn't able to do anything like that right now.

the sun has set ... and the lawn here still isn't mowed and the mower {one different than we would use to mow the lawn} still is not intact. i suppose tomorrow is a new day ... with new excuses, like league! hopefully we'll get it taken care of by tuesday.

for now, i am going to head back to my book while travis and my mom pick out the pictures they are going to submit for the contest they are trying to win in billiards digest -- the chance to be featured as one of the top game rooms in the country.

hope that your week starts out wonderfully well! safe travels to jenny and tim {who should be making the long flight home from mongolia at this time}.

obsession: the godfather.

i. am. obsessed! with the godfather. i absolutely love it. i've been meaning to post this for some time now. a few years ago amelia or i got travis the boxed set of godfather movies. since the purchase, i have never sat down and watched them with him. he mentioned a couple of times that he wanted to watch it, but i always objected. i kept saying that i didn't like the movies. {turns out i was thinking of scarface, casino, and goodfellas}. in fact, i had never even seen the godfather. about a month or two ago, travis insisted that we watch them {even though at the time i thought i had seen them and hated them}. we put them in and i was immediately obsessed! for weeks all i could talk about was the godfather. i love that it's all about "the family." family has always been very important in our world, so i could definitely relate. i wish that we could be the head of a "family" and be able to give and receive "favors." a legitimate family, of course. if that's even possible. michael corleone was never able to accomplish it. the actors are incredible! marlon brando, of course. and then several other favorites of mine: diane lane, james caan, and even al pacino {whom i did not even recognize when we first started watching the movies}. i have a feeling this is an obsession i will not quickly get over.

harry potter and the half-blood prince.

on tuesday night (really wednesday morning) sierra, her friend jordan, and i set off for the 12:01 am premier of harry potter and the half-blood prince. travis was supposed to go with us, but changed his mind at the last minute as he was tired and had to work the next morning. wednesday afternoon, however, he was regreting his decision to not go. the movie was great. i am a huge fan of the books and have read each of them multiple times. the last two or three books i have probably read the least amount of times, and it has been a while since i last read them. there were things i had forgotten from the books in that time, so the movie was still a bit of a surprise to me. i didn't always know what was going to happen next. as far as books-to-movies experiences go, i think the harry potter series does a good job of staying as close to the books as possible. if everything was included there would have to be 2-3 movies per book! if you haven't seen it yet, you definitely should!