A Quickie

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!!!

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!!!!

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!!

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

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!!!

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!

Weekend in Kentucky!

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

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

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

Trip to Kemah

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!!!

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!

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

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

(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

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

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

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!

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!

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.