Duck Hunting Season Has Arrived

Well, it is time again for duck hunting. It feels like the season just ended though I am sure Mark would disagree. Mark is BEYOND excited for this weekend in Oklahoma. He has been gearing up by watching his TiVoed duck shows, is making a trip to Cabella's to pick up some gear this evening, and even finished his duck butt project (sounds bad, but it is the tail end of a decoy that sticks up and splashes water to make it look like a duck looking for food underwater).

When Mark and I first got engaged, many people asked me, "how do you handle Mark being gone for the majority of 3 months during duck season?" or made the statement to Mark, "looks like you won't be duck hunting as much now that you have a wife." Quite honestly, I am happy that Mark has something he is passionate about, looks forward to, and allows him some man time. It isn't like golf that takes up an entire day and is played year round. Duck hunting is a hobby that he does in the wee-hours of the morning and still allows him time with me in the afternoon or evenings, it isn't year round, and he has made some amazing friendships with great guys (who also have great wives!). Hunting will never be something that we share together (except for enjoying the meat he brings home!) - it is Mark's thing and I am happy about that.

So what do I do while Mark is away? Girl stuff!!! I go to dinner and movies with friends, do facials at home, go shopping with my Mom, read A LOT, work on projects at home, and have girl's night with Bandera (she loves to curl up on the couch with me and watch tv then go to bed super early!).

As much as I miss Mark during hunting season (and I do miss him A LOT!), he always returns tired and dirty but over-the-top happy....and happy to see me. He even is thoughtful enough to bring me presents sometimes! Who could ask for anything more than that???

The Great State Fair of Texas

Mark and I spent our Sunday at the State Fair of Texas. It was the fair's last day so we figured it wouldn't be too crowded which it wasn't until the last hour we were there. The weather in Dallas was AMAZING so it couldn't have been a better day for walking around eating, eating and eating some more....oh, and people watching in between.

We went to the dog show where we saw the Jack Russell's race (we thought Bandera would LOVE to be in the show and wear a glittery vest) and the Labrador's do the frisbee catch into a pool of water (Dixie would LOVE this). The Lab's could barely contain their excitement while waiting for the trainer to throw the frisbee. I could only get a picture of the pool but Mark got some video of the Jack Russell race.

I told Mark we could have our own fair show since we own 2 out of the 4 dogs they had in the act - we thought we could supplement with Doug and Becky's Labradoodle, Cali. I am sure she has some tricks that would entertain a crowd!!!

We each had our favorite foods at the fair. I love my Tornado Tators (this is a terrible picture Mark took of me but just focus on the Tators) and Mark loves his Fletcher Corny Dogs (he was much happier eating them than his face appears in this picture). We both ate corny dogs first....yum, yum.

We also both had Pineapple Whips. Mark got an order of fried bacon, fried butter (he wished he had gotten 2 orders he loved it so much), and some beer. On the beer note, I have never seen Mark get so excited about getting "a deal" than I have over his scoring a great ticket price on his beer. He knows that if you go in the Craft Tent, you get beer for 6 tickets rather than the 10 they cost outside in the tents. He was hysterical.

We found our favorite soup mix stand and bought enough soup mixes to last us until next year, went through the Embarcadero, checked out cars we couldn't afford, and, oh yes, left with 3 bags of cotton candy on our way out of the fair. Overall, it was a great day together!

My First Craft Project!

Saturday was a busy day for me. Mark had to work so I kept myself busy doing other things. First, I went to a difficult but great workout class with my neighbor friend, Becky. She is much better at kick boxing moves than I am but I made it through the hour-long class which I was happy about. I am sore today but am thinking I will attend the class on a regular basis. It is good to be a little sore, right?

Then, my mother-in-law came over to help me strip the dining room table in order to refinish it. After 3 hours of circular motions, a quick trip to Lowe's, and some more scrubbing, we got it all off. I so appreciate her helping me with this project. I have to sand it down a bit more this week and then we will be able to stain it.

Saturday night, Becky and I left her (adorable) baby, Charlotte, with Mark and Doug and hit up Michael's for some crafting materials. We decided to make holiday wreaths for our door. I was very unsure of myself, but after lots of help and good advice from Becky, we had our materials and returned home to a yummy pasta dinner that Doug made and Mark oversaw while he played Guitar Hero. Becky and I had so much fun spending nearly three hours making our wreaths, talking, watching "Toddlers and Tiaras" and eating some ice cream with Magic Shell! I am pretty happy with the final product and so thankful Becky is my friend!

A Columbus Day Bake-athon and Cook-off

I did not have to go to work on Monday. We had Columbus Day off in order to go to the great State Fair of Texas. Mark had to work so I had a dog-less house all to myself so I decided to bake and cook all day long. It started off by being a Pumpkin Day after reading my sister-in-law's blog about her holiday decorating but quickly changed to make what I want that was fall-ish! Plus, after my mom spoiled Mark by sending him and his hunting friend, Luke, with a homemade baked good almost every hunting trip while we were dating, I had to step up and keep up the baking tradition! So, I wanted to have a few tasty treats ready to pull out of the freezer come hunting season.

I started at 7:30am after a work out at the gym and did not finish until shortly after 7pm. I was exhausted!!! I made 6 recipes that I had been wanting to try. Here is what I made:

1. Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins : I shared a few and froze the rest for Mark to take on his hunting trips. The batter was DELICIOUS, though, don't ask how I know that ;)
2. Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting: These cookies were AMAZING. I made them to take to a co-workers birthday party and everyone, including me, loved them. I am making these again, for sure!!!
3. Easy Meatloaf: This was a super easy crockpot recipe. It was a Weight Watchers recipe which I made and froze. Hope it is good (it looked better after coming out of the pot, just fyi)!
4. Quinoa Stuffed Red Bell Peppers: I made this as part of our dinner. It was a bit more work than I usually do for dinner preparation but I thought, what the heck, I will try it. They were alright, but I won't make them again.
5. Cranberry Applesauce Bread: Another delicious tasting batter..... I don't know about the actual bread though for I cut the loaf in half and froze it for Mark. Sure looks yummy though!
6. White Bean and Pumpkin Soup: Another Weight Watchers recipe that was quite tasty and so easy to make! It would be so yummy on a cold night with some corn bread. I have been eating for lunch each day this week and it is quite filling!
Will I do this bake-athon and cook-off again? Maybe come Christmas time.... The worst part was the clean up after each recipe. I have a whole new respect for chefs and parents who cook everyday for their families!!! I will say, I didn't mess up once (As far as I know) so practice does make perfect.

I also thought I would put out one holiday decoration. Here it is....nothing fancy, but I am trying!

Trip to Nashville

I decided to take a short trip to Nashville last week. I love Nashville. I love the food, I love that it is a big city with a small town feel, and I love my friends who live there. I lived there for a total of 7 years which seems like a long time but considering I spent 4 years in college and taught for 3, it went by pretty fast! I have wonderful friends who still live there so my time spent with them is always special to me.

I spent two nights with Jodi, Chad and Sophie. Sophie and I are good friends now. She even took her first two steps while I was there! I think she loves her Aunt Meghan!
It rained the whole time but we managed to still eat, eat and eat some more before going home to crash on the couches and talk. Jodi and I talk just about every morning on the way to work so we had no problem at all spending an entire afternoon chatting away while we watched Sophie play. I even got a nap! Here is a picture of "the girls" after our yummy black bean salads at Calypso....
And a picture of the Princess Cupcake from GiGi's that I was dreaming for two days before arriving in Nashville. This has to be the most delicious cupcake I have ever eaten. Jodi has brought these on an airplane to Dallas the past two times she has visited. Look at the frosting, wow!!!
The next day I spent with my dear friend, Megan. She and I have been friends since teaching 2nd grade together at Ensworth in Nashville. We met and shopped in Hillsboro Village and in Green Hills before hitting up Baja Burrito for lunch and Tasti Dlight for some yogurt. She was also kind enough to drop me off at the airport.

I had such a wonderful time. Of course I missed Mark and Dixie so I was happy to arrive home on Saturday!

And, on a side note, our Miss Dixie went off to "school" (or training) this past Saturday. She will be gone for 3 months in order to learn how to be a great duck dog for Mark. I had to say my goodbyes to her before I left on my trip. I told her Macy (my first lab who now lives with my parents) graduated with a diploma from her school so I expected the same out of her. If she is anything like her human mom (me), she will study hard, be excited about learning, and try to perform well. If she is anything like her human dad (Mark), she will have tons of fun, make lots of friends, and be known around the kennels as cool. Hopefully she does a little bit of both while she is gone. I miss her tremendously already so here is a cute baby picture of our Miss Dixie shortly after she arrived in Dallas. My how she has grown!!!

It's coming along!

Our little house is coming together nicely. While Mark was away at a concert in Austin last weekend, I bought some furniture....and a vacuum, and a steam cleaner for the wood floors, and organizational gear for our closet....guess I was "nesting" while Mark was away!!!

Here is the furniture. I got an AWESOME deal on craigslist. This is Broyhill furniture that has never been used - it still had the wrappers on it! The table and buffet piece were staged in a model home. I decided to use the table and chairs in the kitchen and the serving piece in our dining room. Now all we need are some curtains and the kitchen area will be complete!

Although the cabinets were painted awhile ago, I am just now getting around to posting pictures of them. Mark put the cabinet doors on and it looks really nice (there is still one door missing). Here are the before and after pictures....a little paint and no ugly floral wallpaper goes A LONG way, huh?We would love to redo the counter tops and get all stainless steal appliances but that will be much further down the road. We still needs rugs, new living room furniture, and to complete our bedroom and bathroom!

An Amazing 3 Days...

I know I am lucky to work at the school I do - I have wonderful friends, the kids are adorable, and the school appreciates a job well done. I was reminded of how awesome my school is last week.

Our security guard, Robert, was out for going on 2 weeks when I finally asked what was wrong. I found out his wife was quite ill with pneumonia and had been in and out of the hospital. Robert is not a rich man. He works on an hourly salary, doesn't own a car, and walks to work each day but you would never know these things for he has to be the nicest, most friendly, caring individual. He is loved by the entire school and everyone appreciates what he does each day for us.

I pass Robert every trip I make to the restroom each day and on Wednesday an idea struck me - why don't we start a little donation pot for Robert since when he isn't working, he doesn't get paid. One e-mail and 3 days later I had $3516 in my office. It was AMAZING!!! The students got wind of the fund and wrote sweet cards and donated money from their homecoming fund and the snack bar. I watched teachers write $200 checks like it was no big deal. The words "anything for Robert" were said a lot. Although I was just the money collector, it made me feel just as amazing to be surrounded by such giving and love as it must have felt for Robert to receive this unexpected gift.

Friday afternoon couldn't come soon enough. I couldn't sleep the night before I was so excited! I delivered Robert and his ill wife an envelope filled with the cash along with a meal and about a hundred cards from students. It was probably the best part of my career at this school and a moment I won't soon forget. When Robert heard what the school had done for him in 3 days he just started crying.

Robert is worth it and so is every other individual, teacher or student, who comes to this school everyday. I am lucky to work in such an awesome environment each and every day.