Dreaming of Spring

Hi there! At home thoroughly enjoying my coooooold day off from work. Thought I'd spruce up my blog seeing as how it's February and I haven't blogged since last summer. I take that back...just peeked at my drafts and there was a fabulous little tidbit of a post that I started after I went back to school. Impressed? Me too. Don't know why I didn't finish it out...it started off GREAT!

So, I'm 29 now...last year of my twenties...woohoo (insert sarcasm). You know, 30 doesn't seem that old anymore. Thank God. I'm not too distressed about it. The 30s are looking pretty good.

The best thing that has happened since I last blogged is that I'm an aunt...TWICE! I have a new niece and nephew!!! Lilah Ann Collins was born on December 7th and Ethan Paul Burchett was born on January 24th. They are both perfect, precious little miracles and I love them to pieces.

I'm thrilled to say that Scott has been promoted to VP of the Frisco RoughRiders. He never ceases to amaze me. He's gearing up for his 8th season with the team. It will be here before we know it!

I have an incredible group of kiddos this year in my kindergarten class. I can't brag on them enough. I enjoy my job but these guys make it a BLAST! They are a chatty group and definitely keep me on my toes; each day is a new adventure. I'm normally counting down to the end of the school year but this year is different.

Sadie Louise is 10 years old this month. We can't believe that we've had her for 1/3 of our lives. We (of course) want her to live forever but are realistic and cherish each moment we have with her. I think the hardest thing is that our children won't know her. She's so great with kids. There's no chance we'll have another puppy dog like Sadie B.

In November, Scott and I ran our second marathon in San Antonio with our good friends, Chris and Jenny Pope. Scott shaved off 50 minutes from his first marathon and I shaved off 33 minutes. The weather was perfectly overcast and cool. I had a great run but I can't say the same for Scott. He went in after struggling for weeks with hip bursitis and then had intense cramping the last several miles due to dehydration. When it was all said and done, we had a nice weekend with our friends even though everything didn't go just as we had planned.

And the Weight Watchers story? A sad but hopeful one. Actually it's not that sad at all, just a frustrating, self-sabotaging story. As I mentioned this summer, I was down 76 pounds (or something pretty close to that). Well, I struggled a lot with wanting to lose even more and was setting unattainable goals for myself. I should have made that weight my WW goal and begun my 6 weeks of maintenance to become a lifetime member (what all WW junkies dream of). When I put 2-3 pounds back on in Las Vegas, I didn't go to my meeting the next week; which started a chain reaction. School started back...+5 pounds... the holidays...+10 more. And in January, I was right back where I had started a year before. All of my efforts went right down the drain. Now, for those of you who don't know about WW, please don't think that my weight gain had anything to do with the program. It was all me--eating like the old me--the 76 pounds heavier me--that was anything but happy. Not to mention that I wasn't attending my accountability anchor--WW meetings. This deadly combination had me up almost 20 pounds in 6 months. Now, this has been a l-o-n-g journey but I committed to seeing this through. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many set-backs, I'm seeing this through to the end. Undoubtedly this "end" involves not only becoming a WW lifetime member but also seeking help from a professional that will help me with my inner food monster. So, the saga continues...I'm back on track, attending weekly meetings and have about 8 more pounds to go to meet my new, realistic WW goal weight. I'm sure you'll hear from me when I do!

So, that's it for today. Check back later in the week for a FUN surprise (not a baby, mom). Thanks for reading!

A BIG SURPRISE! Can I pull it off?

Believe it...it's true. My sweet husband of 6 years turned 30 last week! He still looks nearly exactly like he did in high school though (hot), which is why everyone recognizes him wherever we go (and perhaps the height thing comes into play...just maybe).

Our plan is to take a fabulous vacation to celebrate this "coming of age" but in the mean-time, I wanted to throw him a little get-together of sorts. At first, I wanted to do a BIG weekend in Ft. Worth the weekend of his birthday...nice hotel...fine dining...you get the picture. Did I mention his 30th was on Feb. 4th? Does anything else ring a bell that weekend? In the way of "there's no chance in hell I'm going to get any sort of reservation anywhere"? You guessed it, the oh so lovely super bowl. BTW, is it one word or two? Oh, who cares. Cheers to the end of football season!

So, I'm complaining to my kindergarten teammate about the lack of hotels, restaurants, anything the weekend of Scott's birthday. She recommended checking out the new luxury bowling alley in town, Splitsville. I'd never been there but it seemed promising. I started looking into it and BINGO! there were open lanes the weekend after Scott's birthday. Is an "after" surprise still fun and okay? I would soon find out...

Do you realize my "situation" with surprises? Do you know that when I buy gifts for people, I always ask if I can give them in advance? I am stricken with the inability to keep a surprise (and yes, sometimes secret); especially from my husband. Just hours after making the reservation, Scott arrived home from work. He came upstairs, greeted awkward me, then headed outside to grab the mail. I called my mom from the upstairs closet, hyperventilating. How on earth was I going to last 14 days? Hold your applause, but the party is just around the corner and I've done it! Hoping that Scott doesn't know but doubtful he'd ever tell me if he did.

You must know (by the invitation above) that I treated this like any other party...if you've seen any of my showers in the past year, you'll understand. I tried to hold back and first; but to no avail, I was creating in no time. Was this for Scott's benefit? Would he even notice my efforts? Absolutely not. Until, of course, I point out all of the cute drink tickets, cupcake toppers, and party favors I so graciously and effortlessly pulled together just for him (or me).

The one huge disappointment was that I couldn't pull-off a rush order of koozies that would inevitably have a hilarious/cocky Scott quote such as, "Nothing says 'Happy birthday to me' like WINNING." If you know him, have ever competed against him, or are one of his brothers, you would think it was funny. Just go with it. P.S. If you're a screen printer in the area...you are very difficult to find on the internet. Help me, help you. You're welcome.

Okay, back to Scott. So I wanted to invite everyone but they only allow you to rent 2 lanes per night with 8 bowlers (is that the name for those who bowl?) per lane. We're at little over 20 so we'll see what happens. At the end of the night, when everyone has had a few drinks and a delicious frosted cookie shaped like a bowling pin, I'm sure we'll all let bygones be bygones and no one will mind that there wasn't a place for them to bowl, right???

Now really, back to Scott. He's pretty much the best friend and husband a girl could ask for so I really hope it's a fun, successful evening. To be continued...