Fan Makeover

Joe went to Dallas a couple weekends ago to spend time with his brother and to bring back some furniture for Serena. Anthony also gave Joe a ceiling fan they were getting rid of. Joe being the little handyman that he is, and me being the crafty woman I try to be.....well, we gave the fan a make over. In all fairness, Joe did most of it. I just helped here and there. =) Joe can't let projects that need to be done sit for too long. He's the "get er' done" type of guy. We put up the Christmas tree and decorations last Saturday, and before we were completely finished and everything was put away, he was working on the fan. I should have taken a before and after picture but I found one online to kind of give you an idea of the before=) It wasn't exactly like this. The lights are different, and the fan blades had more of a wood look not a painted look.

SO, here's the before......

And here it is now

There's nothing a little spray paint can't change!=) We used Oil Rubbed Bronze on the fan and on the blades we used Almond. It turned out so well! We moved the other fan we had in here to our guest bedroom. The only lighting we had in that bedroom was from one dinky little lamp, so it's SO much better now! We love the new fan! Thanks Anthony and Julie!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is around the corner and Joe and I are flying to Utah on Friday to spend it with my family! I know things will get super busy between now and then so I just wanted to take a couple minutes and make a list of ten things I am thankful for this year.

#1 First and foremost I am thankful for the gospel in my life. I know without an understanding of The Plan of Salvation, knowing I am a daughter of God, and being able to communicate with Him through prayer, I would never be truly happy. I have learned from experience(and I'm sorry to say I've had to learn it on several occasions) that if I'm not doing the spiritual things I need to be doing, I feel the void and I do not feel sincerely happy.

#2 I am thankful for Joe. He is such an incredible person and I love him so much! He's always making me laugh, and he's so adventurous and fun to be with. I've never met anyone more selfless and giving. Since I was a little girl, I thought about the type of man I wanted to marry, and he's more than I could have imagined. Girls always dream of finding their prince and being treated like a princess (I think we can blame Disney for that =) ) and after dating for many years I was starting to believe there really weren't guys like that. Then I met Joe. I can't tell you how many times I've come home to flowers, just because. He is always doing sweet things for me and making sure I'm happy. He has taught me so much since we've been married. He works hard and he plays hard. I couldn't have married someone more amazing. He's perfect for me.

#3 I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family. I have amazing parents who I've grown to appreciate more as the years have gone by. I often think about how blessed I am to be so close to all of my siblings. I was afraid when I moved that our relationships would drift apart, but that hasn't happened at all. They have been so sweet to call and talk, or ichat, and to always make me feel included even though I can't physically be there. We all get along so well and can be honest and open with each other. We rarely ever have any "family drama" and I count that as a HUGE blessing!!! I'm also so thankful for amazing in-laws. My siblings all married such sweet wonderful people, and we have so much fun together. Nothing makes me feel more loved, than seeing them make a big deal out of the fact that I'm home. They always set time aside to hang out and to make sure I get time with their kids. You guys will never know how much it means to me!

#4 I am SOO incredibly thankful for these sweet children. Before they came along I thought there was no way I could love anyone but my husband as much as I love my immediate family. However, the love I have for my family and for Joe's family became even stronger with the addition of these sweet kids. Words could never describe the love that I have for them. Being around them makes me so happy. I know Joe feels the same about the kids on his side of the family...... There is just something so special about watching your sibling have children. Seeing the resemblance they have to their parents, watching their funny personalities, seeing them learn new things, being around them when they're grumpy, etc. It's so fun to observe! They are all so unique and special in their own ways and I have loved being able to watch them grow up. I can't even imagine the love I will feel for my own kids one day (if we ever have any=) ).

#5 I'm so thankful to have married into such a wonderful family! Everyone has been so sweet and welcoming and it has been so much fun getting to know them. They are all so much fun to be around and they make me want to be better. They all share a common love for college football, and I will say I have learned to be able to sit through a game now=) I love that they live close and we're able to see them often.

#6 I'm thankful to have such an amazing best friend. Ashley and I have known each other since 5th grade! Friends and boys have come in and out of our lives, but our friendship has remained strong throughout all these years. I love her so much! She's the type of friend where we can go months without seeing each other but when we get together, it's like we've never been apart. She makes me laugh and we have so much fun together. I know no matter what, she will always be there. Not everyone has a friendship like that, so I count myself very blessed.

#7 I often think about how blessed I am to have been born in this free country. I know it's easy to take our freedom for granted. We have so many opportunities and blessings here and I want to say thank you to all those who sacrifice their lives, their time, and their families to fight for our freedom.

#8 I'm thankful for my health. I may complain about my body a lot, about not being as thin or look as young as I'd like to, but when it comes down to it I am thankful for my body. I have never had any major health issues, which I'm so grateful for. I am able to go to the gym and exercise whenever I want, I can run and play with my nieces and nephews and Andre, I don't have to be in bed all day, I'm not confined in any way, and honestly I feel pretty good! This is another thing I try not to take for granted. When I was pregnant and feeling so sick, I swore I would never take good health for granted again and I'v tried not to. Life can be miserable without it.

#9 I'm thankful for my job. I have really grown to love these kids! They have taught me so much! I have learned patience, love, how to manage my time better, compassion, and so much more. When I first started being a nanny I thought there would be a possibility that I would get burnt out and not want to have children of my own. I think I did feel that way in the beginning, but now I feel so much more prepared. I see the blessing that they are in my life, and can only imagine how I would feel if they were my own. Especially Andre, he just has a way of brightening up my life. He can make me laugh so hard. Some days are hard, but for the most part I love it.

#10 Last on the list for today, but not least....... I'm thankful for the commodities we have and most likely often take for granted. Running hot and cold water, a washer and dryer, heating and air conditioning, the ability to grocery shop and not have to kill our own food, a beautiful apartment, a stove, oven, and refrigerator, food on the table every night, a vehicle that gets me to and from places, light, computers, skype or ichat to see my famly, cell phones, clothing, a comfy bed to sleep in, etc. I am thankful for the things I use every day that make my life better and easier. When it comes down to it, most of these things save me time that I can spend doing something better.

Destined to Visit Destin

Two weekends ago Joe and I got to take a little weekend getaway. Joe has been itching to take a vacation and Anthony and Julie went to Destin during the summer and recommended it. It was a 9 hour drive, which wasn't too bad. We left Thursday after work and drove for 4 hours to Covington, Louisiana for the night. It was nice to get to break up the driving time. It took 5 hours on Friday to get to Destin, which meant we were there by lunch time.

We stayed at a resort called Sandestin. The hotel we stayed at was about a 2 minute drive to the ocean. Our room overlooked the bay. It wasn't as pretty as overlooking the ocean, but it was a lot cheaper and we still loved being able to look out and see water.

It wasn't a super fancy place, but we really didn't spend tons of time in the room. The rates were a lot cheaper so it was totally worth it.

We drove out to the marina one morning and it was beautiful!

The resort had this little shopping area with lots of restaurants and fun little shops. We ate at a pizza place one night because they had a tv for Joe to watch the Rangers play in the World Series. It was lots of fun, and the pizza was fabulous!
One of the perks that came with staying at the resort was free bike rentals. We decided to ride around one day and we ended up having a blast! I love being outside when the weather is nice. Just feeling the sun on my face, listening to the birds, and being able to take in my surroundings makes me feel so happy!
One of the most enjoyable things we did was go to the beach. When Joe and I got married and I knew I'd be moving to Pearland and I found out we'd be close to a beach, I was pretty excited. I pictured beaches I had seen in movies--you know with the white sand beaches, and beautiful blue water. Well, the beaches here really aren't like that at all. What a letdown. It's still fun to go to the beach, since I didn't grown up around a beach. The sand here is more coarse and has a brown color......so does the water=) You will notice in the following pictures that this beach was more like what I had originally pictured. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L!!!

We forgot to take our beach chairs, and there was a $20.00 charge to rent 1 chair. Joe decided he would just make his own chair=)

I loved just sitting on the beach and listening to the waves crash. It was just so beautiful! The sand was so fine. It felt like we were walking through powdered sugar.

Joe dug a hole and wanted me to bury him. He drew on his dream abs=)
Eglin Airforce Base was close and we got to see this helicopter fly by a few times while we were there. Pretty sweet!

The water was the perfect temperature to play in. We had lot of fun swimming out and jumping up into the waves as they rolled in. That person you see in the water is Joe=)

We stayed until sunset. I took this picture before the sun started to set, and the bird just happened to fly past. It turned out pretty cool!

I don't know why, but I always like to do this when we go to the beach.=)

We look pretty rough after playing in the water, but we had to have a picture at sunset. Isn't it just gorgeous!?

Our last day we went back again. It was a little cooler so we decided to just take a stroll along the beach.

We went to this Fish Market one night for dinner and it was SOO good! Being at the beach always makes me want seafood. We'd rate this right up there with Landry's.
The second day we were there Joe wanted to Golf. He had taken his clubs and had scouted out the different courses. I decided to go along for the ride=) I love driving the golf carts=)

Joe also made me his caddy. I had to pull the flag out when the ball got close.

Since being in Texas, I have fallen in love with Magnolia trees. There's just something so beautiful about them. Florida had tons of them too, and there were some of the most beautiful Magnolia Trees on the golf course. One day I want one of these in my back yard. LOVE them!
Joe played a pretty decent round. At times when he would get frustrated he said he was holding back because I was there. He said normally he would have started to throw his golf clubs!=)

So pretty!

The last night we were there we read some reviews about this restaurant called Fudpuckers. They had dinner and then a gator show. The reviews said it was pretty entertaining, especially if you have kids. Well, I happen to have one big kid.......Joe=) He LOVED it! They had this live gator that's pretty big here and then lots of smaller ones they kept in a different area.
They had different exhibits and when Joe saw the snakes in this one, he said "Oh heck no!" and turned and walked the other way. It only took me a minute to realize they were fake=) Joe HATES snakes more than anything!

They had lots of fun things to take pictures with.

Joe loves watching this show called Swamp People, which is about hunting gators. He's always wanted to do that, and to rassle one. This is as close as I'm going to allow him to get to fulfilling that dream!
After the gator show they allowed people to pay to take pictures with a real live gator. Of course we had to do that! Joe and I joked about making this our Christmas Card this year since we don't have kids. =) I've turned into a hillbillie=)

Attached to the restaurant is this arcade center. We decided we'd have some fun! Joe loves playing the basketball games.

I learned something about Joe while we were there. It's a good thing we don't gamble!=) He found this game kind of similiar to the claw game where you control it and try to pick up a stuffed animal or something. This game though you try to cut the string that's holding different electronics. In this case, he wanted to get the Ipad. He became totally addicted! He'd get SO close to cutting the string, and he just had to try again and again. I think we spent about 5 bucks just on this game alone! He was having so much fun, and I figured if he got it, 5 bucks wasn't bad for an Ipad=)
This picture says it all! Look how he's so focused, and has his hand pressed up to the glass and everything! I was just cracking up watching him! I finally had to cut him off and make him walk away! =)

Cashing in his tickets=)

While we were driving around one of the first days, we happened to see this! Shakes has the most amazing custard(concrete)! It reminds me of a place my dad used to always take us for dessert before we'd go to Hale Theatre growing up! There used to be one in College Station but the owner moved away and shut it down or something. We were so stoked when we saw this! It was just as good as we'd remembered it!

We had so much fun! We couldn't believe somewhere so beautiful was so close to us! We're so glad we went, and we plan to go at least once a year now! The drive home wasn't bad at all either. With scenery like this, I couldn't help but just be in awe of the beauty!
The morning we left to head home it was 56 degrees! We just soaked up the cooler weather! It's been cooler in Houston too and we have just loved it! We're so glad we don't have to deal with snow and freezing temperatures already!
Here's a video Joe took on our stroll at the beach. Just so we could always remember its beauty. We filled up every empty water bottle we had with the gorgeous white sand so we can decorate with it and always keep a piece of this trip with us.