Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Happy Blogiversary to me! Errr, I have to admit, I'm a little shocked that no one sent flowers or cards for this momentous occasion... ;-)

I can't believe it's been one year since I started this little blog. I started this as something fun to do while the hubby is working long hours during busy season and as a way for loved ones to keep up on what we were up to. I'm actually still amazed when I run into friends/people I haven't seen in a while and someone comments on the blog. I was quite convinced I would have a readership of around nine people, so it still shocks me that people actually care what I have to say.

Over the past year, I've told you about where we stand in the food chain of the suburbs, started the crafty bitchiness, started a new job, updated not one, not two, but (starting on) three rooms in our sweet home, told you about my crazy neighbors (yes, that's plural), tried to overcome my fear of staying at home alone (unsuccessfully), survived an A/C crash (a very dark time in our home), crashed a few houses, had some ups and downs, had much to celebrate about and had a little holiday fun. Overall, it was a good year but am VERY happy to ring in 2012.

Here are the top 5 most popular (or at least most visited) posts from 2011:
5. Big News = Pregnancy? Not so fast.
4. Guest Bedroom: The Saga Continues (Part Deux)
3. Guest Bedroom: The Saga Continues (Part 1)
2. Check Yo Self Before You Audit Yo Self
1. Home Decorating Update: Master Bathroom

This year, I'm excited to continue the blogging fun with what I hope will be a few minor changes. First, I'm going to give the blog a little face lift (don't worry - just a little nip and tuck here and there), which I hope to finish before Spring.

Also, I think I'm finally going to have a couple of guest posts this year. The hubby and I have even talked about HIM doing a post. I can hardly wait to hear what he has to say... :-)

Finally, if you'd like to you can follow the blog a few different ways - if you have a Google account, click on the "Join this Site with Google Friend Connect" button on the right side of the blog. Or you can scroll down in the same area of the blog where you'll find a "Follow blog by Email" option; type in your email and be notified when there's a new post.

Thanks again for reading my silly little blog!

Painting With a Twist(er)

Over a year ago, me and some of my Dallas friends bought a Groupon to do this BYOB (say no more, count me in!) painting class. Well, it has LONG expired, but this week, me and a few of my pals finally went to the class, Painting With a Twist.

First, let's start at square one. Please excuse terrible quality photos taken from Blackberry.
The players:

The attempted painting:

The painting we were all set to paint (above) was really cute, super-romantic and totally my style.

And we were off! The teacher took us step-by-step on how to paint.

Turns out, ummmm, painting does take SOME talent.

There was much concentrating, evaluating and looking over my neighbor's shoulder to see what hers looked like, much like the stress experienced during the yellow-and-gray rosette pillow project.

It was all going fairly well until we had to take cover.

Let me back up quickly. What I failed to mention is that weather in DFW had been a little iffy all day. If you're in the Midwest at all, you know there have been tornado watches, tornado warnings, heavy thunderstorms, etc. Meteorologists had been throwing out terms like "strong rotation" and "golf-ball size hail."

My gut was saying no, it's not worth the risk of getting stuck 20 miles away, but the other side of me had been looking forward to it all day. So of course I went.

So, about an hour into the class it started raining. Then came the hail (eek, my poor car!). Finally, we actually went to take cover because there were tornadoes in the area (paintbrush and all). Scary.

After the class was over, I was rushing to get home and of course, got caught in the brunt of the storm and had to pull over, but eventually made it home. And look what I had to show my proud hubby!

He was impressed. Or at least he acted like he was.

And there you have it. Painting with a Twist(er). See what I did there? Clever.

Party of One

One thing I’ve never been able to understand is dining alone. I worked at a restaurant during the summer months in high school/early college (shout out to Cheddars!) and I used to get SO SAD when someone came in alone. One time, an older man (probably in his seventies) came in and asked for a table for one and I’m pretty sure I ran to the bathroom to have a good cry about it after he was seated.

I used to think, “Who are all of these lonely people and why don’t they have anyone to meet them for a meal?” *As single tear rolls down one cheek a la the 1980s Indian Man “Do Not Litter” commercial.*

Well I think I have a partial answer. Um, they’re traveling on business, idiot. This week, I took my first trip for my new job. The weekend before I left I began quizzing the hubby (who travels somewhat frequently for work), “Where do you eat at night?” “Do you go alone?!” “Where do you sit?” He just looked at me ½ confused, ½ amused and said “Uh, yeah, I just go to a restaurant and eat alone. It’s really not a big deal.”

You know those people who are like “Oh I would totally go to a movie by myself” or “I enjoy quiet time, I’ve totally ate alone in a restaurant before. It’s freeing!”? I am NOT one of those people.

It’s sort of a fear of mine, really. And I’m proud to say that this week, I overcame my fear! It was an Olive Garden and I sat alone at the bar. (Yes, it was as sad as it sounds.) Today, I even took it a step further and sat on the patio of a Smashburger ALONE. I’ll admit, a few people did look at me weird, but I made it through!

What an appropriate way to finish out my 25th year of life (The Big 2-6 is Friday, mind you!).

Green Thumb

If you would have told me a few years ago I'd be spending my weekends doing yard work, pouring mulch, pulling up weeds and having lengthy conversations with the hubby about exposed tree roots, I would have laughed at you. About as outdoorsy as I get is laying out poolside. Well, we are now full-fledged home-owners (insert virtual badge of honor) and spend quite a bit of time taking care of our baby (which is our house, currently).

For several weekends, we've been trying to get our yard in order. We basically ignored it for the past six or so months and one day went outside and realized 1. there were weeds E-VER-Y-WHERE. 2. the yard was out of control 3. we now had the worst lawn on our street. This was quite a blow to our proud home-owner egos so we set out to fix it.
BEFORE: (It was much worse than these photos show)

We quickly realized we needed a service to come out and spray. Lucky for us, because of how terrible our yard looked, we were getting flyers and postcards for lawn services in the mail on a daily basis. (This is not an exaggeration.) OK, folks, WE GET IT. (If you ask me, I'm guessing these were from the crazy HOA president.) So we got that taken care. Then, it was time for a trip to Lowe's. (Side note: My employer should probably just withhold a percentage of my paycheck and send it directly to Lowe's because, good lord, we sure do spend a lot of money there!)

Greg took care of all the serious items (mulch, top soil, etc.) while I got to pick out my own garden gloves (blue polka dot!), cute hand trowel, knee pad and watering can. This is how the hubby has to entice me to get me out working in the yard...

While I'm really not an outdoorsy person, I've really taken a liking to pulling weeds. I seriously think it's the most therapeutic thing ever. I've become a bit obsessed. If I'm walking to the mailbox and spot a weed, I'm like "Oh hell no..." (as I run to get my cute hand trowel). Had a rough day? Is someone driving you crazy? Take it out on the weeds.

After:

The only thing left for us to do is add a stone border. But after the 6-hour day in the sun yesterday, we're adding that to a to-do list for another day. You'll also notice we opted for no flowers in the landscaping - only in two flower pots. We are newbie gardeners and with two full-time jobs and busy lives, we just don't have time to maintain. Watering flower pots on our drive three times a week? That I can do!

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

It's Gettin' Hot in Herrrrre

I'm quoting Nelly's 2002 classic hit only to make light of a very NOT FUNNY situation in our house right now. Our air conditioner is broken. The unit is blowing air but it's warm air. The current temp in our house?
83 DEGREES.

The hubby actually asked me why I hadn't blogged about our newest (not-so-fun) homeowner adventure and the truth is... I couldn't find anything funny about it. The purpose of this blog is not to complain (unless it involves our homeowner's association in my neighbhorhood because come on... they're redic) unless I can find something funny about the situation. Sitting on your couch watching TV and SWEATING is not my idea of fun.

Add on top of that (and this is where it's about to get pretty douchy), Greg and I have started P90X. So, not only are we working our asses off, we're doing it in 80+ degree temperatures inside our house.

Nothing we can't do without our pal, Tony. Do your best, forget the rest.

Anyways, back to AC issue. We've been having issues cooling our house ever since we moved in. After our homeowner's warranty company sent out an AC guy, he told us we needed some re-working of our ducts. OK, cool? No, not for me. Because I'm obsessive, I think everyone is out to take advantage of us because we're young and don't know better, so I have to research everything. Google is my best friend and worst enemy.

After an hour of Googling, I've learned that we need to have a specialist come out and perform a "Manual J" on the system. Um excuse me, you want to do what to my AC unit? Is there a website trying to trick me into calling a business to ask for a "Manual J"? (If you're like me, you automatically wanted to go to urbandictionary.com to learn what that really means.) But either way, we're hoping to have a resolution on the AC unit (one that doesn't involve buying a new unit for five grand) very soon.

In the meantime, hope everyone is having a great (much cooler than me) week!

“We’ve got a first-timer over here…”

Well, that’s what I feel like. I really LOVE reading blogs. Whether it’s creeping on friends’ blogs to see what’s happening in their lives, reading local news or getting a recap on my fave reality show... So, I figured, why not start my own? So, let’s get one thing clear – I fully understand that I will probably have a loyal following of about nine people (and one will likely include my Mom – hi Mom!), but I really enjoy staying up to date on what’s going on in my friends’ lives, so wanted to give you a peek into mine.

Just a quick “About Me” – I live in the northern suburbs of Dallas in Frisco – it’s so cute, I love it! I work in public relations for an integrated marketing agency in uptown in Dallas. So yes, I commute every day. But most of my Dallas friends live in that area, so it keeps me close. I’m blessed to have met the love of my life, Greg, in 2003 and we were married in 2008. We enjoyed a “cozy” apartment in uptown for two years before buying a home in July of 2010 up in the ‘burbs.

So, let me recap what my blog will not cover: I will try not to write long blog posts. Blog entries are meant to be short, so I’ll try to keep it that way. I do work in PR and spend many hours a day at my job, but this is not a PR blog. I will also try not to make this a total a recap of my life – “hey, look what I did this weekend; look what I ate, look what I wore, etc.” Not so much. But there really are some fun/interesting/hilarious things happening in my life, especially as I adjust to owning a home, living in the suburbs, balancing a small social life, a work life and married life.

So, for the nine of you out there, thanks for stopping by! If you’d like, please feel free to become a “Follower” of my blog (check out the right-hand column) or add this to your RSS/blog reader. There’ll be more to come.  J

Happy New Year!

Lauren