Sewing class with mom

Since my Junior League activities have slowed down, I decided to try learning a new skill.... I had taken sewing classes a couple of years ago, but had put it down to focus on the MBA, a new marriage, etc. It was time to get back into it, so I talked my mom into taking an applique class at a super fun place in South Austin. The founder started the classes in a shed in her back yard, and now has a super fun place called the Stitch Lab in an old house. These creations are a work in progress, and we learned a couple of techniques. What mom and I have in our hands are hand embroidery on applique, and the next project will be on the machine. I'm super motivated with all the little ones that our friends have to go to town on applique projects (my project is for one of those friends).

I do have to admit that I was the "special student" in class because I had forgotten how to thread my sewing machine... Oh well, mom was there to help and she has the same machine. :-) Needless to say I'm now signed up for the crash course to refresh my memory, now that I have some more time to focus on sewing.

I'll post the final product when complete, but here's our work in progress:

A visit from the Waterford Gods....

Well, my sweet husband let me finish out our Waterford set, and they finally arrived just in time for the new dining room table. I'm so excited I just had to take a picture of the remaining pieces!!

Now the china cabinet full and we have a full Waterford set. Bring on the dinner party... well in a couple of weeks when our new table gets here!

Ashamed...

We should be ashamed of ourselves for the blogging at the end of this year, but there really was a ton going on. Here's the recap of what we've been up to since the last posting...

Aggie football. Bleh, what to say about this. We kept our season tickets, but I think we both almost developed an ulcer thanks to our second half issues throughout the season. However, we're thankful that they were able to pull together a bowl win over the New Years weekend.

The Junior League of Austin kept me very busy after our last post. I took on the role as a PR co-chair for our annual four day Christmas market called A Christmas Affair. Patrick often referred to this as my second job, and it really was. Despite being so busy with the event, I really enjoyed the experience and the amazing women that I met through Junior League and in the community through my role. The first night was a black tie gala and silent auction (yes, we auctioned this scooter, but we couldn't resist a quick joy ride), and here are some pictures of all of the fun:

We had over 200 merchants from around the country and multiple events each day, so needless to say it was pretty exhausting. These photos don't due the decorations justice, but you get the idea

Third Anniversary. Patrick and I decided to go to NYC for our 3rd anniversary, and we had a blast. Christmas time in New York is just so magical, so it was a special trip. We stayed right at Rockefeller Center, and we were able to fit a lot into just a quick long weekend trip. We had the opportunity to see the Book of Mormon, which won all the Tony's this year, and it was fantastic, as well as the Rockettes holiday show. The holiday decorations are just larger than life, so I'll just post a few: Being the Top Chef fans that we are we took the opportunity to visit one of Tom Colicchio's Riverpark restaurant for our anniversary dinner, and it was amazing. We spent time strolling up and down 5th Ave admiring all the amazing windows. With the overcast night, we couldn't resist how well lit St. Patrick's was, so I was the tourist who stops in the middle of the street to snap this shot ( I think it was worth it): We did take time to go to the top of the Empire State building, and we couldn't have timed sunset any better. We were able to get some great photos of the city before the sun completely set. We also had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 memorial which was a somber but amazing exhibit. They did such a wonderful job ensuring that it wasn't crowded, and that visitors had time to complete the experience.

Christmas was full of travel to Houston and back to Austin, and I had the opportunity to travel to the DFW area to catch up with my wonderful friends. We spent the New Year holiday with family and friends, and hope that 2012 brings us as much happiness as 2011.

Cheers to the New Year, and I pray that I am a much better blogger in 2012!

Feelings!

Hey peeps,

This is Patrick and it has been a LONG time since I have blogged. There has been quite a bit going on lately, but this week has been very eye-opening to me. Kim and I enjoyed a fun-filled weekend with family at the High Hill festival near Schulenburg, Texas. There was a cake walk, polka dancing, hundreds of pounds of fried chicken, and enough money raised to run the small town Catholic Church for the remainder of the year.

We left Schulenburg on Sunday afternoon and drove towards College Station for the Aggie game.
On our westerly journey back towards Austin after the game, we entered Highway 290 fairly close to Bastrop, Texas. Even past midnight, the flames visible from our standpoint a few miles away took our breath away. We witnessed the terrible fire than burned hundreds of homes and changed thousands of people's lives forever. We also found out that a nearby neighborhood to us, Steiner Ranch had many homes on fire as well. Two of our dear friends live in Steiner, but we soon found out that they were safe and their house was not harmed. On a more unfortunate note, I found out that two of my co-workers employed in the same section as me, both lost their homes and all possessions in Bastrop. The heartbreaking stories on the news and social media sites are simply devastating.

To change the subject, I enjoyed a three hour volunteer shift with the Foundation for the Homeless Interfaith Hospitality Network on Wednesday evening. This was as eye opening as the fires because of what these poor people have been through. One of the families barely escaped Hurricane Ike and got away with absolutely no possessions. This network provides housing to homeless people at different churches in the Austin area. The churches provide a room to sleep, along with bathroom and shower facilities. All families must pass through a strict background screening and work with a case manager to get back on their feet. This program does not just provide a free meal and bed.

I have worked with the homeless and with low income communities, but this was probably even more heartbreaking. I do not believe anyone has a desire to be homeless, but some people do not do anything about it. These people do. They are working hard, their kids are in school, and they are doing everything possible to start a good life again. My job as a volunteer was to have dinner with these families and tend to any needs they may have. Lucky for me, the only need that came across during my shift was a need for me to explain how to play a boardgame to a couple of very sweet children. They struggled with their reading, but wanted me to tell them what the words were. It took a while, but I'm glad I did, and we all had fun doing that.

In conclusion, with all the above being referenced, it kind of makes my little life struggles seem, tiny. It upsets me that I complain about my car, my job, my family, and even the Aggies potential move to the SEC. The fact is that I have all of this wonderful stuff.

Have a great weekend!

Patrick

Changes paired with lots of events...

After we returned from Gulf Shores, we knew it was going to be a busy month! So here's a recap of all the changes and events that happened over the last month.


When I returned, I started a new job at Dell, still in finance just a different role. I'm really excited about this role because it doesn't involved any travel. So far it's going well, and hoping to just continue to grow and learn. Soon after we returned, Patrick heard that there would be layoffs at the agency he works at as a result of the budget cuts, but we were blessed to have Patrick keep his job. Unfortunately his supervisor's position was eliminated, so there was a shift in leadership at his office. One thing that I've learned is that people at the state don't like change, where people at Dell thrive on change.


Two babies were born: We added another nephew to the mix, so now the count is 3 boys and 5 girls. Mr. Jeremy is calm, collected, and just chill, and with Sean as a brother that is a requirement. This picture isn't a true representation of being calm and collected:My best friend Jenny had her precious baby boy Cole, and we had the opportunity over the fourth of July to go meet mr. handsome (aka Fightin' Texas Aggie class of 2033)

Patrick's sister, Kimmi, came into Austin with her kiddos for a weekend. We had the opportunity to relax and enjoy our time with her, Aly, and Eric. Aly was crazy about Ranger, and they reunited their BFF status during the weekend. Can't you tell that Ranger is really enjoying the visit and extra attention? On Sunday of their visit we met the Bivens (Patrick's other sister and her hubby with their 3 kiddos) as well as Patrick's cousin at the Salt Lick. When you get the cousins together it typically gets a little crazy, and this trip was no exception. As you can see with these photos:

Early in July, my parents closed on their house in Austin, and just moved here last week. We are super excited to have them 15minutes away from us, and we just love their new place.

The same week that my parents moved to Austin, I was in a my good friend Lyra's wedding here in Austin. We hosted the bridal luncheon at our house, and had such a good time hosting Lyra and her family on her big day. I'm so excited for Lyra and Greg! Here's a sneak peek at the wedding: http://www.inkdfingers.blogspot.com/

Red Neck Riviera

In mid June we decided to take a trip to Gulf Shores Alabama (aka: The Red Neck Riviera). I am not a big fan of of road trips, but we decided it was going to be much cheaper to drive than to fly out there. We went a little over half way the first evening, then finished the trip the following day. Along the trip down I-10, I noticed that we passed three Bass Pro shops along the way, so I decided that this has to be part of the business model. The biggest of stores being in Baton Rouge, not in Texas...

Prior to the trip, Patrick had read on Trip Advisor about the zoo in Gulf Shores, and the ability to do encounters with lion cubs, lemurs, and kangaroos. We were so excited to have the opportunity, so we planned to do all three while at the zoo.

A little side note about the zoo... A couple of months ago we were watching an Animal Planet special about a little zoo that had survived 3 hurricanes over 18 months, and the staff at the zoo literally took the animals to their houses to help save the animals during the storms. At the end of the show, Jack Hannah brought a black panther as a gift to the zoo. It was such an amazing story.

Well, as we were pulling up to the zoo, I realized that the show that we had watched was about this zoo in Gulf Shores. Sure enough we get to the entrance, and they are selling copies of the segment that we had watched. It was such a small world... If interested the segment is called The Little Zoo that could.

Anyways, I digress.... The first encounter that we did was with the kangaroos, which were really neat animals. We bought got a new appreciation for how powerful those animals are since one started jumping off as Patrick was petting it. The second encounter was with the lemurs. We went into this enclosure, and the woman running the exhibit handed you a banana chip. The lemurs came right up to you and would do anything to get that chip from you. Once they figured out that we had treats they were literally biting everything, including my flash on my camera to ensure we weren't hiding anything. The third encounter was with the lion cubs. These guys were very young and just starting to go to the bathroom by themselves and were still drinking from a bottle. We had strict rules that we had to wear close toed shoes and long pants, which I was really excited about in 95 degrees at 100% humidity. We got into the exhibit and the woman tells us that if they start biting you need to tell them "No". This seemed so strange to me because these now cute little things were going to grow up to be an animal that could kill a person, and here we are telling them "No" like we do to our dogs.

Well, the lady was right these two little cubs were pretty aggressive. I was trying to take a picture with one, and while taking this picture with her she bit my wrist. It wasn't a bite like a kitten bite; this one hurt. Well, Patrick was playing with the other cub, and started to wrestle with like he does with Ranger (our dog). Patrick pulled back and the cub jumped up and bit his nipple. This was taken right before the incident:He commented that it hurt at the time, but four hours later he was still saying how much it hurt. When we got back to our hotel that evening he confessed that afterwards when he was changing he made sure he wasn't bleeding. It was such a neat experience to be able to interact with all these animals in Gulf Shores. Who would have though Gulf Shores would have something like this???

April to June

We are totally bad bloggers, but we've had a lot going on between April and June. The last three months I traveled to Dallas every week Monday-Thursday for work, so getting home in order truly took up all the free time on the weekends. I got a new job at Dell that will keep me in Austin, so I promise to be much better at blogging. So here's a recap of things that have been going on:

1. My parent's are moving to AUSTIN!!! We are so excited, and I can finally tell everyone. This has been in the works since January, but we had to keep our lips sealed because my mom hadn't told her office. Now, the secret is out, and we can tell everyone. They're building a house 9 miles from us, and dad's getting a 5 car garage. I'll be sure to post pictures once it's complete.




2. Early in May, we celebrated Patrick's 34th birthday with two weekends of baseball. The first weekend, I surprised him with tickets to an Astro's game, and the second weekend we hung out with our friends at the Round Rock Express game. Patrick's still disappointed that the Express is now affiliated with the Rangers, and I had to talk him out of wearing an Astro's shirt the the game.





3. We're getting ready to welcome Jenny & Luc's little boy this month, so there were a couple of showers to get her ready for being a mom.




4. Memorial Day weekend we spent between Houston and Austin. We were able to visit with Patrick's family, see Jenny and Luc's new house, and then came back to Austin to see my folks (who were scouting out the house to ensure everything was being done just right)




5. This past weekend, we celebrated the wedding of Patrick's old roommate Larissa. It was such a great weekend, and really enjoyed catching up with all of her friends that are scattered across the US. We started off the weekend with a dinner cruise for the rehearsal dinner. Neither of us had ever been on the Lady Bird Lake dinner cruise, but it was such a treat to be able to see the bats fly out to feast from the boat. Those streaks you see in the sky are millions of bats. For those of you who haven't seen these guys in Austin it's a must do! I really think that watching them from the boat is absolutely the way to go. The wedding was on Saturday downtown, and we had a great time. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.
   
   

That officially catches you up on what we've been up to over the past two months.

June is going to be full of fun in the sun, so stayed tuned for more adventures from us!