A Peek at the Sharps

Jack can count... Sort of...

2009-09-13T08:03:00.003-05:00

I had to include a video of Jack on the swing. He and Seneca can count to ten (English and Spanish), but when he gets above ten... well, you'll see. But, I can't help to smile everytime I hear him say, "Eleventeen."

Our NJ Trip

2009-09-13T07:43:00.004-05:00

Hey Family,

Here's a slideshow of some of the pics from our most recent trip to New Jersey. We had the best time up there, but be forwarned- the most exciting things in NJ were Jack and Seneca (so there are lots of pictures of both) Enjoy!

Ahhhhhh!

2009-04-06T20:21:00.001-05:00

It's a miracle I even remembered my password and username to get back into blogger! Three months is too long to not blog. But, I feel like life is slowly returning to normalcy. Is that a word? Pictures speak a thousand words. After I post, I'm going to try to scrounge up some pics from the past!

And so, tonight, I made dinner. It was a chicken-pasta dish (with peas and broccoli). It was cheap and easy and probably the healthiest thing we've eaten since Thanksgiving. This weekend I slaved away, washing every dish, every can, every bottle of vinegar and evoo. Most everything has a home (again). I took the day off today (to rest) and to do a few residual things.

There are still a few things left to do (like the cabinet door that's missing on my coffee cubby). And the powder room isn't quite done yet... that's why no pics- but it will be the finest powder room ever- once all's said and done! Royce did an A+++ job on the wood work, and I pushed him to the limit on my crazy bathroom, but it will be all worth it in the end!

The green paint in the laundry room is actually very soothing (doesn't quite photograph the same!). It's a Sherwin Williams paint, "Rainwashed"- you get the idea. You'll probably just have to visit (and do laundry) to be soothed.

Good Job Becky!

2009-01-11T16:32:00.002-06:00

On New Year's Day, Marcus and I ventured up to Kingwood to see our sis-in-law run her very first full marathon! She had a sizable support team, and we drove from one site to the next to cheer her on. Everytime we saw her she seemed to be in good spirits, and was able to complete the race in just over four hours!

Here she is at the end, see, still smiling. And, I had Chris and Sarah on speaker phone so they could hear us all cheer her on!

When it was over, Becky received a ridiculously huge medal with a longhorn on it and some lilies. She was exhausted, but what an inspiration. I mean, I'm not going to run a marathon, but still, WOW. I'm amazed!

Welcome, Aunt Dorie!

2009-01-11T16:24:00.000-06:00

Well, she's not my aunt, she's Woogie's aunt. This Christmas, Mom got a little doggie. I ventured up to Cleveland to see the little pup- so sweet! I think mom's got her hands full with house breaking Dorie though! Good Luck!

Our Trip to the City

2009-01-11T16:15:00.001-06:00

This Christmas, we ventured into the City.... the very big, rainy City. Though, I'm certain sometimes it's not raining and freezing, it was the particular afternoon that we planned on being there.

Rockefeller Center was very easy to find because we said, "Cabby, take us to Rockefeller Center." It went quickly downhill from there. We kept getting turned around, and trying to find your way on a little I-phone is a trip! So we did a lot of walking, and we did see a lot of things. But, we're going to have to go back, for sure, in the spring or fall :)

I-Phone

Times Square

Happy Feet

2008-11-27T08:53:00.001-06:00

I thought I'd share this picture of our happy feet. What a good ol' dog.

Happy Untraditional Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T08:36:00.002-06:00

Hey Friends and Family - Sorry we won't be with you this Thanksgiving, but we'll see most everyone at Christmas. It is only 8:30 am here; look what we've been up to!

Love you all!

Shan

Good Advice!

2008-11-20T17:47:00.001-06:00

This was the best part of our trip to Grandfather Mountain - the wildlife reserve (which was like a tiny zoo). But, unlike a zoo, we could get really, really close to the animals!!!

The worst part was that the otter exhibit was closed. I love those guys, could watch them for hours. I wonder if there are any videos on utube... Yup - otters in love!

Golf and Flying Things...

2008-11-09T13:00:00.004-06:00

On our first full day in Asheville, we headed to the golf course... I don't recall the name of the course that we played, but we were paired up with a couple of local guys about our age and we had a blast!

Sure, I can't tell you the name of this course, but what I can tell you is that it was located directly at the end of a landing strip! These HUGE planes were constantly taking off and landing directly above us. It was very loud, and a great excuse for crappy shots, and even I had a fun time that morning. Side note for those of you who might not know - I don't actually play golf... I just ride alongside. I like being outside, being with Marcus, and I can usually get a decent amount of a book read over 18 holes!

And all golf courses have something to offer by the way of Mother Nature. Although these little Tawny Cresents aren't that uncommon, they were a treat to watch... just soaking up the NC sunshine.

I like to Win!!!

2008-11-09T13:00:00.003-06:00

Those who know me, know that I'm a little bit competitive... okay, maybe more than just a little bit. So, when I heard about the Grove Park Inn's Annual Birdhouse COMPETITION - I just couldn't stop myself!

I tried to be sneaky (which is another quality trait of mine), and so, I built my little birdhouse out of a monopoly board while my dear husband slept upstairs. My thought was, I'll send it up to Asheville for the competition and when Marcus and I go to have dinner at the GPI one night I can surprise him! And even BETTER if I win one of the glorious prizes of cash and/ or nights stay at the hotel.

But, a few weeks before our trip, the GPI sent me a letter stating that they had received my entry (no word of having won anything...) Marcus and I will open each other's mail - not like birthday cards, but general mail is fair game to whoever gets home first. Unfortunately I was in Seattle when the letter arrived. Surprise spoiled. Boo. But, I refused to tell M anything about the little birdhouse, because I was still so proud of my hard work and wanted him to be surprised.

My entry is below. There were about 50 entries this year. I did not win...

I thought this was interesting, but I don't think it won anything either.

These didn't win... That chick with the red hair is very Tim Burtonesque...

Here was the grand winner. Terrible picture, I apologize, but this glass house was produced by a local artist and was very breath taking indeed.

I don't have any plans to learn how to blow glass or learn any other fabulous skills by next May, but I do have a little idea jumbling around in my head.... hmm, if I get started now....

Dinner Time

2008-11-09T13:00:00.001-06:00

One evening, after golf we went out for dinner on the Sunset Terrace at the historic Grove Park Inn. The hotel itself was unlike any I've ever seen. It was out of our price range to actually stay there - so we just ate there instead.

Our dinner reservation aligned beautifully with the sunset - what a view! The food was amazing. We ordered more than we could eat, but with a full kitchen at our cabin, we opted to take our leftovers with us. Steak sandwiches the next day were supurb!

Happy Second Anniversary to us! As I write this, we are just days away from 2.5 - but who's counting?!?

Grandfather Mountain

2008-11-09T08:00:00.001-06:00

One morning we left our little cabin in search of Grandfather Mountain. It was a little bit of a drive, but very worth the view! We thought we'd be doing a little more hiking, but there was a road almost all the way to the top. So, we spared ourselves the work out and just took the car up instead of parking at the base and dreadging up that trail!

This is the Mile High Swinging bridge. It wasn't that scary.

I forget what this rock was called, but it's a profile of a face... can you see it?

But the best part of the park was.... I'll post it soon....

I'm a dork

2008-11-08T08:16:00.002-06:00

Hey - last weekend, I wrote all these blogs and then spaced the "post date" for every other day or so... but I didn't know you had to hit "publish post" to change their status to "scheduled". So here they are; better late than never.

Marcus and I are going to go shoot guns today - will let you know how that goes!

Trip To Asheville

2008-11-01T09:02:00.002-05:00

A few months back, we tried the "cabin" experience again. This time, for our second anniversary, we decided to go full out and booked a sweet little cabin in Asheville, North Carolina. We stayed at Willow Winds in "Ruby's Dogwood" - it was perfect, and I hope we get to go back. We had a full kitchen, spacey living and dining area, two bedrooms (we used one as our closet), and a jacuzzi out on a private patio. Very relaxing. In fact, talking about it six months after the fact is still very relaxing... yes, I think we'll have to go back!

Here are a few shots of the interior. I didn't get a picture of our view from the balcony or the patio - but it really was gorgeous!!

This is one of the tunnels on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We would have enjoyed "America's Favorite Driving Experience" if it hadn't been under construction and made us late for someone's tee time!

I have many more things to post - I'm just going to tackel a little bit at a time. Since we've moved into our new casa, my blogging has taken a back seat to real life. Anyone who's visited us recently has probably seen most of these pictures, but for those of you far away, enjoy!

In Rememberance Of Me...

2008-08-02T19:05:00.005-05:00

This will not be a religious posting (despite the title), but should you feel I'm being blasphemous by using scripture to describe the below picture, I apologize in advance....

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, in a far away land (Dallas), on a rainy day...(okay, enough prepositions), we adopted a little alley-cat. He was a sweetie from the get go; he probably knew how lucky he was to have found us. Did we name him "Lucky"? NO- we'd already had one Lucky cat (who, ironically was not really all that Lucky). I digress.

So this little fellow made it into our home, and he was nameless for a bit. But, little Kitty was born with only two gears. Slow. And Freakin' Fast.

So one day, little Kitty was tearing through the home in Freakin' Fast mode... and hit the kitchen floor. He could not stop. There was no time.

CRASH!!!

It was done; the food bowl was obliterated, and our kitty was then properly named, Zipper.

Why do I spin this long yarn???? Good question. As you scroll down, you will see, that perhaps a little bit of Zipper lives on in our dear Calpurnia. Who hit the kitchen floor at top speed...

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The wine bottles on the bottom row did not stand a chance. It did take a full roll of paper towels to clean up 750 ml of red wine (no great loss, cheapo stuff left over from the wedding- yes, that's right, OUR wedding- and that stuff really hasn't gotten any better with age). I love how I got Woogie lickin' his chops in the pic; I had to stop him 6x from lapping up the vino. Oh dear, the fun we have when Daddy's at the golf course. He's not going to believe this one...

Our Home

2008-07-07T17:44:00.003-05:00

This is it, Folks. Once I'm done with this post- no more house pics. I'm probably more tired of seeing them than you are, or maybe I'm just biased- I think our house just looks better in person. SO- I guess you'll just have to come and visit us!
Here is our bedroom. Jules, wouldn't that upholstered bed look fabulous in here? Maybe for Christmas I can talk Marcuu into it.

Here is our breakfast room (you can kind of see the backyard from here).

Our living room with fireplace. On the right side, we have two sets of French doors that lead to the patio.

Our dining room, complete with borrowed antique table and chairs. Each chair has a unique needlepoint seat. Thanks for helping us fill up this room, Margaret!

And our kitchen! It must be twice the size of the old one, and despite it being almost 15 years my senior, I love it. And, I still love my Fishy teakettle (thank you Terra).

That's all she wrote- there are other rooms, but I guess you'll have to see 'em to believe it!
Shan

House Party!!!

2008-07-06T20:05:00.009-05:00

We're officially settled in. I know y'all are still waiting for pictures of our home with furniture- but really, I am still pulling it all together. On our third Saturday in, we warmed our home with the company of good friends (new and old). Thank you all, who were able to make it, and for those who had to miss- you missed one heck of a party!

Heather, Seneca, Royce, Judy and Logan

Mike, Wade and Jen (Big thanks to the Austin crowd for coming in!!!)

John B and John S, friends from my previous job at the architectural firm.

Friend Ashley and her darling boy Will.

Margaret, Missy, and Heather enjoy some snacks.

The Kenny Family

And, my personal favorite part of the evening. Some neighborhood children thought it was hilarious that Cali kept jumping into the dollhouse (to avoid being chased). The little girl asked me if Woogie ever went into the house, and I told her, no- really only Cali liked the house. 15 minutes later, said children are forcing our poor Chihuahua through the front door of the dollhouse. It was so stinking funny, and poor Woogs was really a good sport. He and the cat slept almost the whole next day!

A Quickie

2008-06-10T14:51:00.000-05:00

I hope this works! I have good news to blog about, but no internet access at home! So, good news via Blackberry is... Marcus has passed his Professional Engineering Exam!!! Congrats, Hubby!! I am so proud of you and all your hard work!

Our New Home!!!

2008-06-02T18:41:00.003-05:00

We successfully closed on the house today! Afterwards we celebrated by grabbing some Tex-Mex and a margarita. We then picked up Woogs and took him to our new home. He (we) were SO EXCITED. Woogs ran around sniffing everything. The previous owners had a cute little rat terrior named Stewart. We took dimensions of everything so that I'll be able to figure out where everything thing can go. I'll take more pictures once we get moved in and get our stuff put away! Thanks to everyone for love, support, help, and patience with us through this whole process! Much Love to All! Shan

We Got a House!!!!

2008-05-15T06:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, well this is obviously not it. This is the Biltmore we visited in Asheville, NC recently! It was beautiful - and I'll do a separate post just for it!

No.... This isn't it either - This is Ruby's Dogwood, our cabin on our 2nd anniversary get away! It was perfect! I'll post more on this later too, I need to hurry- I've got to go to work today!

Okay- this is my desk at work. And, a little birdhouse I made out of a monopoly board (don't worry, I made it at home and just brought it to work so Marcus wouldn't see it). I entered it into a competition up in NC. I did not win. The winner? A hand blown glass birdhouse. I took a picture that I will... you know.

Is this it???? NO! This is Julie and Ben's home in Seattle! I visited recently and had to take a pic of their uuber-cute Arts and Crafts style home!
The moral is, I don't have pictures as we haven't actually moved in yet!!! But, the closing date will be June 2nd. We will have lots of good pictures then! Until then, we will be VERY busy. Packing and cleaning. I wish it were Saturday already- I could get started... okay, I already packed our books last night :) guess I'm a little excited!

Beware the Ides of March!!

2008-03-16T15:57:00.002-05:00

This past Friday evening, Marcus and I brought home the newest addition to our family. Woogie met us at the back door, and if Woogie spoke Latin, he would have sounded like this... "Mater!!! Pater!!! Et tu, "Cali"?!?!? Their first encounter didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. He doesn't seem to mind her a bit, and is completely oblivious to her "threatening" hisses and growls.

Calpurnia, or "Cali" for short is quickly making herself at home. She's discovered she can easily fit under the dollhouse, but as of yet, hasn't figured out that she could also fit "in it." She's eating well and using her litter box like a champ -STINKY!!! I'd forgotten how badly cat poo stinks!

This is a pic from Sunday morning... Granted, she was already asleep; I then picked her up and snuggled her with Woogs.

And, I hate to say it, but she does have a favorite- and it certainly isn't me. She's been Marcus's study-buddy. Here they are taking a break from the tough practices of Mechanical Engineering.
I wish I had some good "action" shots for y'all- believe me she's very active. But she's blurry in just about every picture in which she's not sleeping. Time to bust out the camera user's guide!

Thanks for checking out our pictures - I'll post some videos soon!

Kitty Video

2008-02-17T09:40:00.003-06:00

This has taken so long to upload- it's all you're getting today :)

The two sisters look so much alike- I had trouble telling them apart, but the one I chose is the crazy one on the right (I'm not sure if she starts out on the right- but she ends up there) Enjoy!

Our New Baby!!!

2008-02-17T09:32:00.002-06:00

I got to visit our kitten this weekend. She's grown so much since the last time I saw her- she's almost two pounds now. Only 4 more weeks and we'll get to bring her home. I'll post better pictures then; she moves so quickly it's hard to get a good shot of her. I took some video footage, and I'll try to post that in a bit! Enjoy!

Miscellaneous Family Pics!

2008-01-27T14:45:00.000-06:00

Weekend in Kentucky!

2008-01-27T14:26:00.000-06:00

One weekend I flew (by myself) up to Kentucky. The weather was so BEAUTIFUL while I was there- and the leaves were gorgeous. I got to see the twins and wives and their homes, churches, parks, and workplaces. AND The Twin Spires! I lost a little money- Becky won some dough. I got groped by "Churchill Charlie"- but at least I got some nachos! It was a great weekend!

Cabin Fever

2008-01-27T13:21:00.000-06:00

This past October, Marcus and I took a trip to Bastrop State Park and stayed in one of the cabins built by the CCC - (Civilian Conservation Corps). Our cabin was built in the thirties and had indoor plumbing added later. There was a framed page from the architectural set hanging in the cabin - and the "budget" to build our cabin was only $38.00 - I'm only about 90% sure I'm remembering this statistic correctly - but it was definitley less than 50 bucks! Crazy!!!
We had a great time- very relaxing! We brought lots of food and drink. The golf course wasn't the best - but downtown was very cool. We found a popular oyster bar and watched the UT game. Enjoy the pics!

Julie's Shreveport Wedding

2008-01-26T10:40:00.000-06:00

This will just be a slide show post! Now, I'm just being lazy! Make sure to click the "captions" button.

Trip to Kemah

2008-01-26T10:23:00.000-06:00

Sometime over the summer, Marcus and I met up with some of my old friends down at Kemah. We went to ride the new coaster... whose name now escapes me... should have posted this a few months ago. Hmmm. But we got there early and bought tickets that would give us limitless rides. Sounded like a great idea, but after one go round on that coaster I had had my fill. John and Chuck (who are pro-coaster riders) went a few more times. And John's wallet fell out (not very "pro-coaster" of him)! It was turned into the office, so all was well. Marcus and I left at lunch time, and still made it back to H-town for his tee-time!
Oh yeah- had to add this. Check out the pic of the coaster- don't you just bet those home owners are miffed!!!

Sharp Trip to Arkansas!!!

2008-01-26T10:11:00.000-06:00

I might possibly be the worst blogger with the "best intentions" out there. I am the family's devoted "picture taker"- but then, I don't make time to share the memories. So this Saturday morning, while my most darling hubby in on the hunt for the perfect pair of jeans (I've drawn the line on re-sewing buttons on his old denims), I will post pictures of events of this past year. In short form, mind you, b/c there is A LOT to catch up on!

So- this past summer- we Sharps boarded an RV- bound for Arkansas, for a Sharp family reunion. I had never met most of the Sharps and had a great time visiting with family and enjoying good ol' southern food (like grandma used to make!). Here is a shot of some of us - Royce Sr's sister and her family included. Note, Heather has not had Seneca, yet, and she will likly kill me later for posting a preggers picture of her.

Here's Jack! "Driving" the RV (with the brakes on during a refuel)

Jack and Emmy play on the floor - Sorry so fuzzy, but bumpy RV on AK roads- not ideal for picture taking!

2007-11-20T17:30:00.000-06:00

Good-Bye, Anni

This past weekend, we lost our sweet kitty, Anni. She was such a precious member of our family and will be greatly missed. She had recently adopted Marcus as her "person", and I loved to watch how he'd tease her by petting her just a little harder than she would like. She would tolerate him most of the time, and would show her affections by sitting on the sofa's back behind Marcus and wrap her tail around his neck. Woogie misses her too, I think. And I'm having the hardest time seeing all of her resting spots vacant as I go room to room. She liked to keep me company in the mornings as I was getting ready. I think she liked the sound of bath water splashing around. I have some kitten pics, and will get them posted too, as soon as I get them scanned.

Flight of the Conchords - Business Time

2007-08-29T18:28:00.001-05:00

This is a clip from one of our favorite shows! Take a minute and check out "Flight of the Conchords" (band from New Zealand).

Shakespeare in the Park

2007-08-26T12:27:00.000-05:00

(Check out Marcus' golf tan! He's been working really hard on that all summer!)

Before this summer ends, I had to take Marcus out for date night in the park. We packed a basket with snacks and wine and stretched out on our blankie to watch, "Romeo and Juliet." The sunset was beautiful and the evening was cool... until the sun went down, and then the wind stopped and it got REALLY, STINKIN' HOT!!!

But, we poured another glass and tried to sweat it out. The stars came out to keep us company, and before I knew it, the balcony scene began... Oh, come on, you know it's one of the best parts. We only stayed till Romeo "killed" himself (the first time), then we packed up and headed home.div>

A wonderful date, and we'll do it again next year. But we'll bring cool drinks, more food, binoculars, and Woogie with us next summer!>

Beach Trip to Newport

2007-08-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

Check out these pics from our latest trip with friends to California! We stayed at a family home of Mike and Judy (and cute baby, Logan!). Kevin and Jen flew in just after us, and once they arrived the party really began! Also, check out the bottle of wine someone brought... I think Heather might have had a glass of two the night Baby Jack was concieved!

Trip to Austin

2007-08-05T11:29:00.001-05:00

We recently took a trip to Austin to visit friends. Check out our pics below... Note, there aren't any acutal pictures of Friends in this slideshow. But we do have friends in Austin... I just didn't get any good pics of them.

Double click on it to see bigger pics and to read captions!

This slideshow is tiny. Crap. Maybe, soon I can figure out how to make it bigger. I suck at Blog. I woonder if there is a blog class I can take. Ha Ha. I'm deficient in blog.
It's sunny now, I'm going to go lay out for a bit. Bye!

Backyard Fun

2007-08-05T10:48:00.000-05:00

This summer has been so busy for us (and I'm sure for all of you)! It's hard to find time to sit down and blog anymore. Even with extended daylight hours, I find myself wanting to anything other than blogging!

We've had A LOT of rain this summer... Which kind of stinks for M's golf game, but has almost completely relieved me of my responsibilities of watering the garden. So everything is in bloom (and my lantana has taken over a good chunk of it's bed - I should go cut it back).

But, the pet's love to hang out back there, and Anni has really honed her hunting skills this summer. She has long since left little lizards alone, and had recently brought a small sparrow in through the doggie door. Thank you, Anni.

Woogie is mischievous, as always. Here is a picture of him eating my butterfly plants. Punk.

And speaking of, butterflies, not punks. This year was definitely one of my more successful years. I raised and released at least 6 Monarchs this year. I actually had more than I knew what to do with and ended up giving one away!

Let's play Blog! I mean, Ball!

2007-05-30T18:46:00.000-05:00

So, Friends and Family, it has been awhile. But Marcus has gone to Costa Rica with the boys, and I finally have time to play catch up on the ol' Sharp Blog!

A couple of weekends ago, Marcus' good friend Jeff and girlfriend came down to Houston (Jeff's girlfriend, not Marcus' :) Anyhoo. So Friday night a group of us had dinner at El Tiempo (sorry Aaron and Kelly, I didn't get a pic with y'all). The next day, we all went to see the Astros whoop up on the poor Rangers. Guess I'm still a Dallas gal. It just about broke my heart. Okay, not really, but I think we'll make more of an effort to see the Astros vs Rangers in the future!

Then after the game, we were ready for MORE fun. So we went to the Ginger Man in Rice Village to meet some more friends! Karin and Bijan are doing well, and so is Marcus' crazy friend, Dan from a previous job.

Before we knew it, it was time to go home. Marcus and I don't typically have that much fun in one weekend. On Sunday, I rested. Marcus played golf!

Stay tuned, avid Bloggers. There is more to come! And, I'm going to try to learn a new blog trick...

Spring has Sprung!

2007-03-23T11:17:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to our blog. As most of you know, I've had the past couple of weeks off (playing housewife) before I start my new job this Monday! But you probably don't know what I've been doing with all my time... So I'll hit the highlights.

Last weekend Marcus and I traveled to Austin to meet Logan Kenney who recently made his way into the world. He is so tiny and sweet, and on the day we met he was sportin' his Green just as a good Lil' Irish Lad should. Here's a pic of him and mom, Judy.

Then we went to Royce and Heather's to hang out and play with Jack. He is now "crawling"... I use this term loosely. I've never seen a baby crawl like he does. He lays flat on his tummy and uses his elbows and knees to scootch across the floor. Think "Army Guy" trying to make his way along to ground to dodge bullets and get under barbed wire. He is also pulling himself up on tables, sofas, aunts, etc. He's a very happy baby indeed! Way to go Hot Mama! BTW- H, let me know when you get those ceiling fans up!

But the largest part of my free time has been spent working on our garden. Don't ask me what I planted. I just grabbed a cart and started buying anything that caught my eye. These are the ones that I remember... a pink Jasmine (that smells so wonderful), a yellow something-or-other "brush" (bottle-brush?), Dahlias (cheery orange), an Azalea, and a double wedding something. Impressed? Whatever, at least I got it done. I've been saying I was going to do it for years (yes, years). Half the things may die, but I'm going to try really hard to keep my lovelies alive through the summer. Also, I planted my staple herbs, but I had to do some rearranging b/c Anni has NO RESPECT for my plants. So I took the three that were in her spot (where she like to lay in the mornings) and replaced them for catnip. Let's see how that works for her royal heiness!

But I've had the most fun working on the dollhouse Marcus gave me for my birthday! It took me forever to just paint it. On Wednesday I began to assemble the monster... Who knew it would be THAT HUGE!!! I'm going to have to get rid of a sofa to make room for it! HAHAHA. The look on M's face when he came from work was priceless! I think I may try to tackle the roof today... but the shingles will have to wait... each shingle has to be glued on one at a time!

For those of you who think I'm crazy... did you see Grey's last night? Yeah, a dollhouse IN THE HOSPITAL??? Now that's crazy. And, BTW, I'm not neurotic as that patients daughter! Also, I was doing an online search recently, and there is such a thing as a 1:144 scale house (basically, that's like a dollhouse for your dollhouse). Wait, and worse, there was a person who was sharing a tip of how she made flower arrangements for her 144 with, get this, fake eyelashes. Bizarre. I should try to find the picture of this. Or you should, whatever. If I even get close to being that nutty would someone please medicate me!?! Seriously. I need to go back to work.

I thought I would post...

2007-02-05T19:34:00.000-06:00

So, later has come and I've found my pictures!!!

But now, I don't want to. I can't find our pictures from this weekend. I'll give you the 30 second review, although, with no pictures or video, what's the point?
We did nothing on Friday. Well, M cooked. It was very good. And it was very good that I didn't have to cook.
We got up early on Saturday to drive to Austin. I then went to a baby shower (with Heather) for Judy (and baby Logan). It was a lot of fun. I met some new friends. Judy was beautiful, and finally looks prego! I think she's due end of this month, but we'll see!

Then we went back to the casa and played with Jack and then it was bath time and bed time.
So Marcus and I went out and met our friends for dinner at PF Changs, and it was good.
Sunday we came back to H-town and got ready to go to a Super Bowl party. By "get ready" I mean I took a 2 hour nap on the sofa. Marcus might argue my nap was longer than 2 hours. He might be right. But then, I wasn't the one who fell asleep at 8:00!
So, tonight I'm skipping tap, because the teacher's mean and I didn't practice and it's my birthday so I don't wanna go and you can't make me because I'm a grown-up now.
This is not my favorite post. But I'll find my pictures. Not tonight, or tomorrow, but soon, and I'll add them and I'll get back on track with my funny self.
Lots of love to you all!
Shan

2007-01-09T18:27:00.000-06:00

Hello again, tonight I want to try something new. So this will be short and sweet. I hope you have sound on your computer (not that it will really matter), but we don't have sound. Please watch the link. This is what Marcus and I do in our free time. Thank you, Margaret for the Christmas gift. We are having a blast!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK20w8THZEA

Engaged!!!

2007-01-08T21:32:00.000-06:00

So, as promised... Engaged Couples!!! Hoorah! We've been waiting for this!

Our sweet friends, Wade and Jen got engaged over the holidays and are looking forward to a December wedding!!!

And our sweet, long-distance friends (who live in Seattle) got engaged over the holiday in Argentina! Yippee for Julie and Ben!!!!

We're so happy for you both and can't wait to offer the same love and support you've given us!

Ta Ta for now, lovelies, you'll have to wait till tomorrow to hear about my first night back at tap, and why I'm having to chase tap with a glass of Merlot!

Snow in Spookie

2007-01-07T18:41:00.000-06:00

Before you start to read, go ahead and scroll on down to "Pictures of Fun in Spookie". You're going to have to read backward for this to make any sense at all. Even then, you'll probably think I'm sniffing glue. Anyhoo, I'm learning valuable information about blogs. Don't think you can trick it, you can't post backwards and beat the system... Go ahead, scroll down, it might make sense in the end. Also, I did a spell check, and it told me I misspelled "Spookie", no kidding, but do you have to highlight it yellow for all the world to see? I wanted to misspell it! And then, I couldn't "unyellow" it. Boo to you Blogspot. Not user friendly, I'm going to make it two weeks now, go ahead, I'll leave you be now... enjoy!
I was really hoping to see some good snow up there, here is what we got.

A mountain, don't know the name. I took this pic on the way back to the airport.

The Cascades (? perhaps) on our way home.

LOTS of SNOW!!!! But this was our layover in Salt Lake City. Much excitement having our plane de-iced, but I didn't get to taste any snow. Don't make jokes, this is important. I guess I could have licked Dirty Spookie, but that's just gross. Marcus has promised we will have to take a snowy trip sometime soon.

Speaking of, I've got to go fix up some supper. But this has been great fun sharing with you guys!

Fun in Spokane III

2007-01-07T18:40:00.000-06:00

I called this "Fun in Spokane III" but it should really be IV or maybe II since I'm going backwards. Whatever, there will be one more to follow, or preceed, whatever.
It was really cold, but we snugged up to a Carosel horse (they were everywhere, kind of like our cows)
The next day was MUCH warmer, so we went back to the park. This time we stayed for 25 minutes. Marcus found some geese. Here, you can see him chasing them, though, it does look like he's trying to learn to fly. It is a wonder that bird didn't turn around and attack. That would have been a funny video!
We visited Spookie again, and I got a good up close shot. Yes, he is a little dirty.
Here is Kev-Beck at Diversion Dam. It was the only educational part of the trip. The Dam, not Kev-Beck.

Spookie III

2007-01-07T18:39:00.000-06:00

After the wedding, Marcus and I decided to check out a local park. We ran around for about 15 minutes. It was about as long as us poor Texans could manage.
Marcus made friends with a brick-layer from days gone by.
I hugged a pole to keep warm since Marcus was making friends with the brick layer.
This was the only snow I found in Spookie. So I made a snowman, his name was Spookie.
I do not know why M could not leave the poor park people alone, but it was funny. I also don't know why "word wrap" isn't working, but I'll use that as an excuse not to post again for at least a week.

Fun in Spookie II

2007-01-07T18:37:00.000-06:00

Mom and Ron (and Beck's hands)
Grandma shakin' it out on the dance floor!
Our partner's in crime (or at least at the bar) Matt and Terra!
The newest Mr. & Mrs. Peek!

Pictures of Fun in Spookie

2007-01-07T18:23:00.000-06:00

So, for all you skeptics... Pictures of our recent trip to Spokane for Chris and Sarah's wedding!
This is the view from our room looking down upon the Spookie River (We don't know it's real name). It was really cool, literally, I'm sure it was like, 38 degrees. We had fun the first night, but we had to get up early the next morning for the wedding!
Kevin, Chris and Sarah
Ms. Sarah (sooo pretty!)
The Crazy Clan, and Sarah

And now, I've just realized that I have only the capacity to attach FOUR Freaking Pictures at a time. So, I'm going to have to create more posts, and then PUBLISH them in REVERSE order. REALLY? This is why I got burned out last year. Hang on for more great photos...

New Year, New Beginnings

2007-01-01T13:01:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I'm catching some crap about this blog that I NEVER post to. I'm lazy, that's really all it amounts to. So I'm going to create a post for 2006. Right, one BIG post, of the whole year, and then, this year, I promise to be better. And I'll learn to link Chris and Kevin's blogs, so if you don't like mine, you can see theirs (the new Peek wives are much better about posting).

And speaking of... Well, I'll just start back of the beginning of the year, when my family added Ms. Becky Corbin to our lovely clan as the new Mrs. Kevin Peek. We had a wonderful time going to Austin for their wedding. My favorite part was when the time came for my brother to kiss his petite wife, a stool was presented so that the 14" difference in height wasn't sooo much of a challenge!

Meanwhile, Marcus and I were busy planning our upcoming nuptuals. In the spring, some of our friends down at the river threw a party for us on a riverboat. The day was beautiful and everyone had so much fun!

But spring flew by quickly, and before we knew it May was upon us. The morning of our wedding day was dark and stormy, and showed little sign of letting up. But, the clouds did part and the sun did shine, and we still got married outside, under the same tree that Royce and Heather were married under just two years before. And so, I joined my new family as Mrs. Marcus Sharp.

We had a "hot" honeymooon down in Mexico. The food at our resort was fabulous and we enjoyed hanging out by the pool. During the day we would go into town (for shoes or bandaids). One day we went to see the ruins and we made friends with another couple from Alabama that shared our wedding day.

We barely made it back and got me moved in before we got the call that lil' Jack was on his way! Okay, it was almost two months later, but time really flew this past year! Heather did a great job and Jack came before Marcus and I were packed up to come to Austin to see our newest

nephew. Check out his baby pics! He's a cutie!

And, most recently, we journeyed up to the Evergreen State for the Comfort (Firetruck)-Peek Wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, and so was the bride! My favorite part was the "Bride and Groom's Shoes... Who Will? Game" My second favorite part was when Robyn set fire her table at the reception by laying a napkin on a tea-light! Exciting!

Well, don't go too far. I know it's taken me three days to get this posted, but I've got more to come for sure! I've got fun pics from our Washington trip & news of TWO new engagements. What a cliff-hanger!

ALSO, Marcus and I may be taking some more fun trips this year (and I'm going to resume my tap classes next week). SO there's lots of fun in store for 2007. But, if I've learned one thing this year so far, it's this. Don't mix margaritas and Ny-quil. I don't care if it is New Year's Eve and you've got a nasty cold... you will feel like your brain is wearing a warm, fuzzy sweater.... all day long.

First Try

2006-08-20T19:35:00.000-05:00

HA! I said I'd make a blog, and I'm doing it. Lord, help me! My sis-in-law, Beck, told me this shouldn't be hard, but I've still put it off week after week... Last week, my excuse was, "Heat Rises." And since our a.c. unit was out, it was way too steamy up here to type anything. But, day by day, I realize there are so many things, big & little, important (and the not-so-important) things that I still want to share with you. Friends and family so far away, people that may have missed too much already for me to put this off a weekend more!!! For example, our Wedding, what a blissful day! (I'll try to post pics). We've been married for a little over three wonderful months (working our way to a quarter of a year!).
AND THEN... Baby Jack, our newest, beautiful, so perfect nephew! Congrats to Royce and Heather! Again, I'll post a pic as soon as I get this all figured out!
This weekend, Marcus and I had a date out for some Tex-Mex (our fav) and then to the Museum. They were having a dance under the dinosaurs. We didn't dance (it was really crowded), but had a beer and worked our way through a few exhibits before catching the IMEX show on the Mysteries of the Nile.
What a great weekend.
I'm glad I've set this up, so I can share with y'all what's going on with us. We've missed so much already... ie: the butcher who asked me if we were on Candid Camera." Right... If you've missed that story, ask me about it, I'll fill you in.
Oh, and as for things to look forward too. We recently found an article on "52 things to do in Houston"... of course, Marcus and I've done a few of them already, but now we've added some things to our "To-Do" list, and I'll try to remember our camera!

Much love to you all!