Wordless Wednesday

Crisis!

A few nights ago, hubby called me in a panic. I was at a meeting, and he was home.

Kent: "BABE."

Me: "Yeah?" (I was slightly worried, I sensed the urgency in his voice ...)

Kent: "Where are those chocolate truffles?"

Me: "You mean the ones from two Christmases ago? Those are long gone."

Kent: "Darn it."

Me: "Why?"

Kent: "I need some chocolate, and we don't have any."

Me: "Are you going to be OK?"

Kent: "I guess."

So the next day, I went to World Market and surprised him with this:

Wonder how long this will last until we have another "chocolate crisis?"

See the bars with the bacon on them? There are pieces of real Applewood bacon in the dark chocolate. It's actually pretty darn good!

Best of the Wurst

Imagine my surprise while flipping through my new Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine yesterday (thanks to my mother-in-law for getting me the subscription for my birthday!) when I came across this:

That's right, our small town of New Braunfels made a national magazine! I'm not that surprised, Wurstfest IS the best thing about fall.

We love Wurstfest so much that four years ago, after our wedding getaway from our reception, we stopped by Wurstfest. We spontaneously made the decision to go after driving away and realizing that we weren't done celebrating just yet. We drove up with the cans and streamers still trailing from our car, me still dressed in my wedding dress and Kent still wearing his tux.

When we walked up to the ticket window, the guy said, "That'll be $16."

I looked down at my dress, then help up my hands, shrugged and replied, "No pockets!"

He took a closer look at us and asked, "Did you two really just get married?"

"Sure did!" we answered.

Then he let us in for free, plus gave us about 20 free drink tickets.

It was super crowded as it usually is on the second-to-last-night of the ten-day-salute-to-sausage. Random people were asking to take their picture with us, the drunk people were yelling at us, "Dont do it!!!" and we ran into a few people that we knew.

We made our way to the "big tent" where a band was playing. Someone in charge spotted us, and pulled us up on stage. The lead singer proceeded to announce to the entire audience of a couple thousand people that we had just gotten married, and that the band wanted to play us a special song. So we danced on stage to Elvis' Love Me Tender. In a way, this song now has more meaning to us than the first dance song that we chose for ourselves.

Sadly, we don't have even one photo from our little adventure. I ended up getting the bottom of my wedding dress really dirty. My mom wasn't too happy about that, but we had a blast!

Order of the Purple Foot

We got stomped on Sunday. Grape Stomped that is. Every summer Dry Comal Creek Vineyards holds its annual Grape Stomp. We were virgin stompers, so we weren't really sure what to expect. But we were with good friends, and we started drinking before noon, so we knew that it was bound to be a good day.

I was the designated stomper and Kent was the juice collector. His job was also to use a little scrubber brush to keep the screen clean of debris, so that the grape juice could flow freely. It was a true cardio test, let me tell you, because the stomping lasted for a full 10 minutes! Did I mention that we were outside in 100 degree heat?

I tried to hike my skirt up slightly and do my best I Love Lucy impression, but that didn't last too long. As soon as I let go of the rail, I felt like I was going to fall on my arse -- those grapes are slippery little devils!

They weighed our juice after the 10 minutes was up, and we had collected 2,394 grams of grape juice. The weigher-dude said that we were ranked first in our group, but there were still two more groups to go.

We ended up placing third overall! Yeah, we were pretty pumped. Our prize was a bottle of wine and some wine bottle "jewelry." We made friends with a couple sitting at our table that drove up from Houston just for the Stomp, and they ended up getting first place.

Can't wait to "get stomped" again next year!

Five years ago today ...

... Kent proposed. We had gone tubing that day, and sun + water always wears me out, so I took a nap at his apartment afterwards. It was almost dark when Kent woke me up and asked if I still wanted to go to the fireworks show at the park. I did, so we headed out.

He brought a blanket and some sparklers, and we found a nice spot under a big tree. We lit some sparklers while we were waiting for the show to begin. Kent was having some trouble lighting them with the lighter that he'd brought. I told him not to worry about it, but he was persistent! The fireworks display started, and Kent was still messing with the sparklers. I told him that they weren't a big deal and to just enjoy the fireworks with me. He eventually did, but I could tell that he was still annoyed about the sparklers.

When the finale was over, I started packing up our stuff to go, and he said, "Do you want to stay and finish the sparklers?" I was thinking, 'Geez, what is UP with him and these sparklers?!?,' but I said, "OK, sure." We were successful in lighting the remaining sparklers. When my final sparkler burnt out, I turned to look at Kent who still had one burning. At the base of the sparkler, I noticed something shiny. It was a ring! He told me that this was the REAL finale, and asked me to be his wife.

The next year, some friends threw us an engagement party over the July 4th weekend, complete with a personal fireworks show on the lake.

And for our wedding send-off, all of our guests held extra-long sparklers while we ran under them to our getaway car. (Our photographer holds the rights to that photo, darn!)

So today is very special to us! Happy 4th everyone!

Will You Be Mine?

I had good intentions on posting this on Valentine's Day, but what can I say, life got in the way. Plus, it took me a while to get in the attic and find this little guy.

What is it, you ask? It's what Kent gave me for our first Valentine's together ten years ago. You squeeze him and he sings "What I Like About You" by The Romantics.

"What I like about you / you hold me tight / tell me I'm the only one wanna come over tonight, yeah."

Now, I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day and we don't celebrate it, but I hung onto this little Valentine mouse for sentimental reasons. I can still remember very clearly when Kent gave it to me. It was a couple of days before Valentine's Day. He picked me up in his black Dodge Stealth in front of my dorm, North Russell Hall, at Baylor University. I got in, gave him a kiss and expected him to start driving, but he didn't. He just sat there, looking at me. I waited a few seconds and then said, "What?" and he just smiled coyly back at me. I could tell that he was hiding something behind his back. Then he said, "I have a question for you." Then I got REALLY nervous, because I was afraid that he was going to ask me to marry him or something crazy. And that would have most certainly been crazy, considering that we had only been dating about three months, and I was only 18. But much to my relief, instead of pulling out a ring box, he pulled out this furry little mouse and asked, "Will you be my Valentine?" Of course, I thought he (Kent, not the mouse) was the cutest thing ever and agreed to be his Valentine. He probably took me to dinner and the whole nine yards on Valentine's Day, too, but I don't remember that ... just this cute little mouse!

Headed to Ecuador

Tomorrow I'm leaving for my first business trip out of the country! I'm super excited and nervous at the same time. The company that I work part-time for in Houston is sending me to Ecuador for five days to meet with prospective and current clients. Luckily, there is also another employee going with me who is fluent in Spanish to serve as my translator. Thank goodness, because this German girl knows very little español! I learned a few words working at the outlet mall at Ann Taylor for four years, but I don't think pantalones, zapatos and por favor would get me very far in Ecuador. (Although I would probably come home with some great Ecuador fashion items!)

Ecuador (pink on the map) is in the northwest part of South America and borders the Pacific Ocean, Columbia and Peru. The Galapagos Islands are also a part of Ecuador, and I would loooove to visit, but it takes a good day and a half to get there by boat, and I won't have that kind of time. I doubt I'll have much access to the Internet while I'm there, so I'll have some catching up to do in the blogging world when I get back.

Kent and my three year anniversary is on Wednesday, and I don't get home until Thursday. I'm very sad to miss it, but we'll celebrate on the weekend. I'm going to miss my hubby and pets tons! I'm a little nervous to leave them, too. It's not that I don't think Kent is capable, because he is and he definitely pulls his weight around the house, but there are certain tasks that I do everyday, that he just isn't used to doing. So, here are some of the actual post-it notes that I will probably leave around the house to remind hubby (and to make me feel better). It's not Tuesday, so I hope I don't get in trouble with SupahMommy for this!

It Never Hurts to Ask ...

“It never hurts to ask” has been one of my mantras for a long time. My theory is, "What's the worst that could happen?" And most of the time, the answer is simply that they will say no. Boy did it pay off to ask last night. Literally.

Hubby and I went to Kohl's to check out their selection of luggage. We have been "making do" with some falling apart, semi-working luggage for a while now. I really wanted new luggage before an upcoming trip on Sunday (details to follow in tomorrow's post), and hubby agreed that it was time. There was a BOGO sale going on, but even with that special, I was still a little taken aback by the prices. But we agreed that it was better to spend a little more for higher quality luggage that can take a beating, rather than replace it with average stuff every couple of years. So we pick out one medium and one small-sized suitcase and roll off to checkout.

As we are checking out, I notice some scratches on the backside of one of the handles. I mention this out loud to hubby, and the sales lady hears me as well. But by this point, he had already signed the receipt, so I don't expect her to offer a discount. She says that I can go pick out another one, and I tell her that it was the last one. She then says that we can take them to customer service in the back of the store, and they might be able to give us a discount, but who knows.

So we roll off to the back of the store. On the stroll back, hubby whispers to me, "You ask for a discount, I don't want to." Sticking to my mantra, I agree and we patiently wait in line. Correction ... I'm patiently waiting, but hubby on the other hand is playing with the non-damaged suitcase by spinning it around and around as fast as he can. He was very impressed with the four dual wheels that rotate 360 degrees (they are pretty nifty). He spins it a little too fast and it goes crashing to the ground, loud enough that the two people ahead of us in line turn around to see what the commotion is. I then whisper/hiss to him, "You are NOT helping our case here, they're going to think that we damaged it ourselves! OK, it's our turn."

Teeny Bopper Customer Service Girl: "Can I help you?"

Me: "Hi, we just purchased these suitcases and I noticed that this one is slightly damaged, and it's the last one. Is there anyway we can get a discount?"

Teeny Bopper Customer Service Girl: "Sure. But THEY could have done this for you up front." (shakes her head in disapproval)

Me: "Oh. They must just be lazy. You sure are working hard back here." (crossing my fingers that I'm scoring points with her)

She then starts the return and re-ring process, and it's taking a while, so I tell hubby that I'll be a few feet away looking at shoes. After all, I've just saved us some money, shouldn't I get to spend the savings on some new, cute fall shoes?

I'm still close enough that I can hear them conversing ...

Teeny Bopper Customer Service Girl: "So how much of a discount do you want? 10, 20%?

Hubby: "10% is fine." (My sweet hubby, not wanting to be greedy. I don't blame him, the scratch was barely visible, and you know it would have gotten scratched after it was thrown into the plane the first time anyway.)

Charming Customer Service Girl: "I'll give you 25% off."

Hubby: (Silence) "Uh. OK. Thanks!"

SAAAAWEEEET! Hubby then finds me in the shoe department and relays the conversation to me, adding, "I think she liked me!" I responded with "Awesome!" or something similar, and I guess he was hoping for some jealousy from me and was slightly bummed that I wasn't. I told him that teeny bopper customer service girls are welcome to flirt with him, as long as it means money in our pockets! Especially 25%, holy cow! I told him I'll be cashing in my shoe coupon at a later date. I expected 10% off, and we got 25% off, so I'm pretty sure that means an upgrade to Nine West!

Here's our nifty new Dockers luggage:

We then headed to Papa Murphy's Pizza to take a pizza pie home for a quick dinner. We recently discovered Papa Murphy's. If you haven't been to one before, it's the Subway of pizza joints. You basically build-your-own pizza and then take it home and bake it. It's delicious, and tastes fresher than delivery (and it's cheaper). We order The Cowboy which is a concoction of premium pepperoni, Italian sausage, fresh mushrooms, black olives and an herb & cheese blend. So good! It's usually $12.99 for a large, so we went to pay and they tell us the total is $8.50. Are we on a roll, or what?!? We didn't have to ask for that discount, but what a great way to end an already lucky night! Here's a stock photo to get your mouth watering:

So remember ... it never hurts to ask!

Wordless Wednesday

A Weekend of Birthdays

Kent's 35th birthday was on Friday, which was perfect, because he now has Friday's off from work (he now works Monday-Thursday, usually 6:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. w/ a 30-min. lunch). We had planned on a sushi dinner with friends, so we headed over to their house around 7 p.m. Little did Kent know that I had arranged for one of our limos to pick us all up! I couldn't think of one single time in the last 18 months since we started our business that Kent actually got to sit IN THE BACK of a limo and just enjoy himself. We've taken limos out a few times for family surprises and get-togethers, but Kent was always the one doing the driving! He was super surprised, and we all enjoyed a bottle of champagne on the way to A-Tan Sushi Bar in N.B.

After dinner it was off to Liberty Bistro for dessert and drinks, where Kent had his all-time favorite dessert, Pot de Crème.

Saturday night was my mom's birthday. The whole fam headed over to McAdoo's in N.B. for some delicious seafood.

The birthday girl!

Yes, there is a story behind this strangely cropped photo. Some members of our party were feeling a bit self-conscious after their large meal, and I was told that I must crop the photo in the appropriate place before posting. :)


It was a great weekend!

Kent and I have been slaving over our Party Bus for the last two weeks. This past week was torture. Late, LATE nights of laying tile and adding extras to the bus. We were sore and sleep deprived, but we are very pleased with the final product! And the reservations are coming in, so that makes it that much more satisfying. This past weekend I was finally able to play catch-up with laundry, cleaning and cooking. Everything house related had taken a far backseat. Poor Kent told me yesterday that he had to use a hand towel to dry off after his shower the other day, because we were out of clean bath towels! (we have separate bathrooms, so I didn't realize!) Yeah, that's pretty bad! But things are getting back to normal now, and I've finally had the chance to do some fall/Halloween decorating. I LOVE this time of year. Crisp autumn air puts me in such a good mood. Another thing that makes this time of year my favorite is that it's Wurstfest season! I'm so looking forward to the delicious German food, fun and music that is Wurstfest ... just a couple more weeks!

Spoiled

I'm very spoiled. My husband comes home for lunch everyday, and I get to spend time with him. In the middle of the day. For a whole hour. I love that. It makes even the crappiest of days better. The pups like it, too. Here they are doing their best to hold him down so that he doesn't return to work ... all 14 lbs. of them ... combined.

Flowers

Received these "Thanks for all that you do ..." flowers from my darling husband. Aren't they beeeeautiful, and isn't he sweet?!?

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home ..."

I'm packing up Leyla and Daisy and shipping them to Kansas to bring Kent home! They are going UPS ... United Puppy Shipping! Kent has been working on the new Schlitterbahn there for two weeks now, and isn't due back until Wednesday. And he's only coming home then because I'm going on a girls' family coast trip on Thursday, and someone has to be home to take care of things. He'll probably go straight back the day after I get home, so we'll just see each other in passing ... not fun! We (the pets and I) all miss him very much. It's lonely around here without him. Oh, and speaking of the Wizard of Oz reference, I saw Wicked at the Majestic on Sunday with my mom and her Betas group, and it was FABULOUS. See it if you can!

Daisy didn't know what to think of those weird styrofoam peanuts!

Two Year Anniversary

Yesterday was our two year anniversary ... we can't believe it's been that long since our wedding. November marks two years of marriage, but nine years of togetherness! I was in Atlanta on a business trip most of the day, but Kent picked me up from the airport at 6 p.m. and we went to a wonderful Italian restaurant called Valentino's in S.A. Then we went to Coco Lounge (everything is chocolate!) and enjoyed a yummy dessert and chocolate martinis. We hope to go camping soon to celebrate.

Vegas Trip

This is my first attempt ever at blogging – so please, bear with me! As unsure as I am about my blogging abilities, I’m excited to do this, because I think it's a great way to keep in touch with friends and family near and far. I'll start with our most recent trip. Kent and I went to Las Vegas October 4th-7th courtesy of our good friends Sadik and Angie Dalal. We went to celebrate Sadik's 30th birthday. They were very generous and flew us first class and put us up in a beautiful room at Planet Hollywood. We ate (a lot!) of amazing food, saw a mindblowing show called LE RÊVE at an aquatheater and, of course, did some gambling. I had been to Vegas once before with my parents for my 21st birthday, but this was Kent's first time. His very first bet ever, in his life, was on his lucky #9 at the roulette table. He bet $5, and he hit it! Talk about beginner's luck, right? It pays 35 to 1, so needless to say, he had an amazing first bet! I convinced him to ride the rollercoaster with me at New York, New York and we screamed like little kids. There is a ton of construction happening on the strip right now, namely the CityCenter which will be a massive resort, casino and convention center. It was an awesome, much needed vacation! Thanks again, Sadik & Angie!