Homeowners for one year!

So tomorrow will be one year since we closed on, & moved into, our lovely house. It seems like it was yesterday, it all went by so fast. We made some customizations & in the meantime became experts in several areas: painting, tile work, furniture, yard work, cooking, & other domestic items/issues. I think we've done fairly well. We might have started off on a rocky foot, locking ourselves out of the house the day we closed, & then with mis-adventures in painting the kitchen wainscoting, but we learned a lot with each day & our house really feels like our own. So congrats to us on one year in the house! I hope we see many more!

--Josh

Wrapping up the holiday season

Hello 2010. We have wrapped up the first decade of the 2000's & are starting a new one. It's weird to think that 10 years ago I was a Freshman in college, because it seems like yesterday. A lot has gone on in the past 10 years. Heck, a lot has gone on in the past one, two, and three years. We have just concluded the Christmas & New Year season & Kate & I are on our last weekday of time off. We had a great Christmas, spending most of the time in Austin at Kate's parents' house. We also saw my folks & Emily & Aaron. It snowed a lot up here on Christmas Eve & it was verrrrrrry windy on the drive down to Austin. It was the first white Christmas in Dallas in the past.......75 years or so. I was kinda wishing we were staying home for Christmas because of the weather, & it's also nice to be home on Christmas. But it was good to be with the Monroes. I keep telling everyone, we're staying here next Christmas & I know it will be 85 degrees and sunny. In summary, we had a great Christmas, we got way too much from our generous fam, & we are blessed many, many times over.

Once we got home from Austin we visited my dad in Fort Worth the next day, & settled into our week off. Each year we work our butts off at work (err, mostly Kate works like crazy) & we look forward to the week we have off to stay at home, sleep in, & do whatever we want. It's sad to be at the end of our week, but it has been awesome. We built some fires on cold weather days, cooked great meals, got our shopping fix taken care of (hello Eddie Bauer!!!), & generally hung out together & enjoyed our time together. We also decided this week that it's about time we retired & did this all the time. Now if we can just figure a way to do that & still have money coming in.

We did our New Year's dinner at Capital Grill in Dallas. Reservations were at 6:30 & we learned that earlier is the way to go........we walked right in & sat down. Dinner was superb, from the atmosphere, to the staff, to the food, everything was fantastic. Kate ranked it the #1 steak in Dallas. I say it was great, but I would still rank Ruth's Chris #1 & Bob's Steak & Chop House #2. However we had lobster macaroni & cheese at Capital Grill that was my #1 side dish anywhere. Try it. We took our time & got out of there in about 2 1/2 hours, in time to get home before all the drunks got out on the roads, & enjoyed champagne at home with the pups.

So now on to 2010. As Kate said, 2009 was excellent. It's gonna be hard to top it. Thankfully we have our vacation in about 2 months to the DR, which will help us keep our sanity. Look for more on that at a later date. Hope everyone is well.

--Josh

How the time flies

WOW! It has been a really, really long time since I last blogged! Not much has happened since my last post in September, that's probably why you haven't heard much from me. Here are the highlights of the past 3 months and what's in store for our future...

We hosted Thanksgiving this year - that was a BLAST! The cooking went smoothly, much in part to my mom being here to help. I was more concerned about hosting 8 more people and making sure everyone was comfortable, etc. Overall it went well, and I've received many compliments, so that's nice!

We FINALLY found leather couches for the living room. It has been a long time coming and I'm sure the living room feels a little left out. We're getting the couch/loveseat today, so I'll have to post pictures later.

We're headed to Cleburne tomorrow, to celebrate Josh's grandma's (G-ma) birthday and x-mas with his mom and sister. Then we're driving to Austin to be with my family for x-mas and a couple days after. Part of me really wanted to host Christmas, mainly so we didn't have to drive I-35, but it will be nice to leave the hosting to my darling mother.

I have a feeling 2010 is going to be a GREAT year! We'll be celebrating 1 year in our gorgeous house, 2 years of wedded bliss, 4-year and 1-year b-days for our precious poochies, Josh is turning 29 and I'll be turning 26. I'm sure our parents are hoping for a baby notice, but I highly doubt that is happening in 2010. (knock on wood)

I finally decided what my New Years Resolution is going to be - running the Cowtown 10k in late February. That will be great training for a vacation bod...because SURPRISE! We've already booked our next vacation. We're headed to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in early March. I can not wait to be on the beach, soaking up the sun without a care in mind - except what we're eating/drinking next.

I just feel so thankful this year - I have a wonderful husband who loves me more than I deserve, my family is amazing. I have friends and coworkers that deserve awards for being so awesome. My dogs are healthy, happy and adorable. We own a gorgeous home that we are continuously making "ours", we have disposable income to eat/shop/travel as we please. Overall, I am eternally grateful for all the blessing and can only thank God for making it all possible. We should all remember what this time of year is all about - celebrating the birth of Jesus, our savior.

God Bless you all this Holiday season and into the New Year. Thank you for being a part of my life and for everything you do.
-Kate

Newest addition to the family

So it is done. As of around 8:30 last night, Kate welcomed the newest member to our family. I don't know if she has named it yet, but the iphone has arrived. Personally, I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't see what the big deal is. I would be fine without a cell phone, & in fact lived without one for my first 22 years. But I do have one. All I need is a phone that can call & text. I don't need one that can give me directions, order my dinner, & tuck me in at night. But my lovely wife wanted the iphone, & she's so happy to have it, therefore I'm happy for her. Still, I just see a phone as a phone, nothing that great. How do people get so geeked up about a phone? I just hope it doesn't steal my time away from her, but it can't be good that now she can carry Facebook with her everywhere she goes.

Shaking my fist at Apple & iphones,

Josh

Chillin with my dawgs

It's a cool, cloudy, lazy Saturday afternoon here in Plano & I'm relaxing on the couch with my 2 dogs, flipping back & forth between football games. Kate is at a bridal shower for one of her old co-workers, so it's just the 3 of us for a few hours. Schatzi had a big day yesterday, spending the day at the vet getting micro-chipped, a few teeth pulled, & getting spayed. Our poor baby girl did great though, & after a good night's rest she's back to her energetic self. We just need to make it through a week without her being too active so that the sutures stay in place.

Yesterday kinda gave us a glimpse of what it's gonna be like to have kids one day. Kate was all tears as she called me after dropping Schatzi off at the vet. Both of us were eager to get her back home & take care of her, just wanting her to be ok. I was very happy to pick her up at 4.

So we had our first real cool front blow through yesterday & it is really starting to feel like fall. I am looking forward to more cool weather & the holidays eventually getting here. Until then, everyone take care.

--Josh

happy ♥ b-day

We spent the 3-day labor day weekend in Austin, celebrating my parents' birthdays. My dad's b-day is September 2nd and my mom's is the 9th, so we typically celebrate the weekend between the two. I have to point out though, that they are 1 week and 1 year apart - my always makes sure people know that. We had a wonderful dinner at Fonda San Miguel, which has now been added to "Restaurants We Love" because this place was amazing! It's interior Mexican food, so it's not your typical tex-mex - but boy is it delicious! Good margaritas, too!

We went to Lake Travis on Sunday, and walked ON the lake - literally. The lake is 50 feet below normal, so we were able to walk around on land that is typically under 50 feet of water. Pretty impressive! We found arrow heads, and other cool artifacts - no dinosaur foot prints though. :)

Today, Monday, we left our adorable dogs at my parents' house because were going to Omaha on Friday for the weekend. I already miss them SO much - the house is so quiet, and I'm almost bored! But next weekend should be fun. We're going to the Arkansas State (Josh's Alma Mater) v. Nebraska game in Lincoln, and staying with Josh's Aunt & Uncle in Ashton.

Anyways, we had a great weekend, and are happy for a 3-day work week!

Love - Kate

the cutest babies ever

my awesome parents

Our 1-year anniversary & vacation to Cabo

So I've finally found the time to blog about our absolutely wonderful vacation. The past month, work & life in general, has been so hectic! I'm so glad we were able to get away for a week of total relaxation.

Anyways - back to the vacation... The flight was great. We upgraded to first class (*ahhhh*) on the way there; which entitled us to lunch - salmon salad for me (surprisngly good) and a BBQ chicken pizza for Josh (he loved it), more leg room (which is always appreciated by us freaks), de-boarding the plane first (if you know me, you know I am impatient, so this is great) and of course, drinks! drinks! drinks! Mimosas for me, vodka/sprite for Josh...and let me tell you, this is such a blessing for me on a plane! I absolutely HATE flying, so getting a little buzzed definitely helps, especially when traveling international...it helps me get through customs when we arrive. Speaking of customs, it wasn't that bad in San Jose del Cabo - certainly better than Cancun & Montego Bay. We pre-booked a shuttle van to take us to the resort, which was really easy and totally convenient. Once arriving at the resort, we were greeted with a smiling senorita and a margarita - SALUD!

We stayed at the Riu Palace, which was absolutely amazing, in Cabo San Lucas. Everyone was so friendly, appreciative & service-oriented. I was nervous before the trip because there was a string of bad review on Trip Advisor, but everything far exceeded our expectations. The resort is all-inclusive, which means all the alcohol and food your little heart desires. If you know me, you know I practicaly starve myself before beach vacations (gotta look good in a bathin suit), so once I get out of the country...its pretty much ON! :) Needless to say, Josh & I always take full advantage of the all-inclusiveness.

Josh & I love to veg and do nothing on vacation, and this was exactly what we did - nothing (except a yummy couples massage & several strolls on the beach). Speaking of beach, the beach in Cabo is very different than any other beach we've ever been to. The beach down to the water drops off quite abruptly, almost like a cliff, allowing the HUGE waves to crash directly onto the beach. Its pretty impressive, and quite scary! Josh & I are pretty athletic, and I was afraid of drowning at one point. Anyways - I definitely do not recommend traveling to Cabo if you want to get in the ocean.

As I look at all our pictures, deciding which I want to print and display around the house - I can't help but think of how wonderful vacation is. Not only are we lucky enough to get PAID vacation time off, but we get to leave the country for an entire week. We are completely blessed.

Here are some pictures from our lovely vacation....

ENJOY! Love,

Kate

the first 30 mins we were there (still pale)

our first real day - Josh pimping the glasses I got him :)

me, in front of the gorgeous Cabo rocks!

2 photos of Josh's daily view ;)

drinks before dinner the first night

more beach pics....

beautiful Cabo rocks!

drinks on the terrace before dinner

the waves were really crazy this night. so bad they shook the sliding glass doors in our room.

our last day on the playa

last dinner in heaven