Seeing as we live in a tiny apartment with two dogs, going to the park each weekend is a priority. Luckily, we've moved to a VERY dog-friendly city. The recreational parks and dog parks are amazing. Their everywhere.. and more than half of them are off leash. The picture that I've posted at the top of the blog is one of our favorite parks. It's called Zilker Park. It's huge and has a nice backdrop of the city. As soon as we get there, the dogs go nuts.
We headed to Zilker Park this morning (after getting coffee and muffins of course) and stayed for about an hour. To say that our doggies are tired would be an understatement. We've been home for several hours and I don't think I've seen Harley budge. Unfortunately, he just doesn't know when to stop. I think he would probably chase after the ball until his heart quit on him. He's slightly obsessed- which is of course his nature as a Border Collie. He's got two jobs in life- catching the ball and hearding Wendy. He does them both very well :)
Once we got home, I decided to partake in my usual Saturday baking frenzy. I don't have a lot of time to cook during the week.. so Saturday is my day to cook some of our favorite foods to have during the week. Today was Enchilada Casserole and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. I've cooked both before and they are two of our favorites! Im including the recipes below.. they are definitely noteworthy (as are the blogs that they are listed on).
Enchilada Casserole
http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com/?p=3352
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
http://ourforkingblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/chocolate-peanut-butter-pie.html#more
Now, its time to relax and possibly do a little reading! I've recently started the Hunger Games and I'm OBSESSED. Each chapter leaves you hanging.. therefore, the books are hard to put down (or in this case, my kindle). I would highly recommend them to anyone. They are a fairly easy read.
As for tomorrow, Thomas and I will head to church and most likely brunch after that. We're also planning to head to the park (again) but for our benefit this time! We're both running in the Austin Turkey Trot (5 miles) on Thanksgiving so we're trying to do some last minute preparation for that!
Meredith (my sister-in-law) and I are in training for our first half marathon. It's the Austin Half-Marathon and its taking place in mid-February. Since Im training in TX alone, I'm attempting to set mini goals for myself to be held accountable. The turkey trot is helping with that process. Wish us luck!
Happy Weekend everyone.. just think- only 3 works days (for most of us) and then a long weekend to come!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Black Friday
Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. I love the meaning behind it.. I love buying gifts and surprising people.. I love everything about it! And I'll be the first to admit that my Christmas decorations will go up before we even hit December.
But Im slightly disturbed by the Black Friday hype. Can we get through Thanksgiving first?! I've never been a Black Friday shopper.. And truthfully I've never been bothered by it until this year. Walmart is opening at 10pm ON thanksgiving.. and Target is opening at midnight.
Therefore, most employees probably have to be there at some point Thanksgiving night to start prepping.
On top of that, one of my new Austin friends (Angela) manages a Target locally. So not only does she have to be there on Black Friday.. but basically all day Thanksgiving to set up for Black Friday. It makes me really sad for her. She wont even get to have a Thanksgiving. She'll be resting up for the Black Friday craziness!
Are the deals really that great? And even if the are- surely opening at 6am is sufficient.
I think I'll stick with Cyber Monday so I can actually enjoy my Thanksgiving!
But Im slightly disturbed by the Black Friday hype. Can we get through Thanksgiving first?! I've never been a Black Friday shopper.. And truthfully I've never been bothered by it until this year. Walmart is opening at 10pm ON thanksgiving.. and Target is opening at midnight.
Therefore, most employees probably have to be there at some point Thanksgiving night to start prepping.
On top of that, one of my new Austin friends (Angela) manages a Target locally. So not only does she have to be there on Black Friday.. but basically all day Thanksgiving to set up for Black Friday. It makes me really sad for her. She wont even get to have a Thanksgiving. She'll be resting up for the Black Friday craziness!
Are the deals really that great? And even if the are- surely opening at 6am is sufficient.
I think I'll stick with Cyber Monday so I can actually enjoy my Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A few recent Pictures to share!
Our long journey on the way to Texas!
Our first night out to dinner after a long day of unpacking!
The realization that we're actually in Texas!
The Congress Bridge Bats (when mom and dad came for a visit)
Hook em' Horns! (our first UT game)
Happy Halloween from Harley and Wendy! (Dogtoberfest at The Domain)
A fresh start!
So I love to read blogs- but somehow I cant keep up with writing my OWN blog. I started blogging in the first place because we moved to Georgia and we were so far away from friends and family. Now- we're REALLY far away from friends and family.. so I've decided to give this another shot!
Around May of this year, we found out that Thomas' company wanted us to move to Texas. Initially, we were shocked. But over time, the idea became more appealing and we decided to go for it. Our house went under contract very quickly and it seemed like things were falling into place.
About a month later, our housing contact had fallen through. We had already made plans to move so we decided to follow through with them.. and had hopes that our house would sell quickly even once we were gone.
That was July. Its currently November and our house is still on the market. So now we're in a position where we've decided to rent our house. It's definitely not ideal but we don't have many other choices. Pray that we'll be able to find a family that doesn't destroy our beautiful home!
(Backtracking a little) - We made it safe and soundly to Austin. The dogs, and Thomas and I packed up in the biggest Uhaul that you can get and we made the 3 day trip to get here. We couldn't of picked a worse time to move- the highs were in the mid 100's and our apartment is on the 3rd floor.. but somehow we managed. And it's finally starting to cool down! I thought the days of fall would never get here!
Unfortunately our apartment is TINY and half of our possessions live in a storage unit- but hopefully it will just be temporary. After having a taste of home ownership, I'm not used to apartment living anymore!
All else is well. I started my new nannying job a week after we arrived. I'm nannying for a family with 4 kids - Mary (10), Jack (5), and Sam and Caroline (2). As I'm sure you can imagine, being a nanny has its good and bad days (especially when your outnumbered).. but for the most part, its been a joy working with the Miller Kids. They make me laugh on a daily basis!
Thomas is working from home now that we've moved. He still travels occasionally.. but the dogs and I both enjoy getting to see him more often!
I guess that's it for now. More to come on how life is in Austin!
Around May of this year, we found out that Thomas' company wanted us to move to Texas. Initially, we were shocked. But over time, the idea became more appealing and we decided to go for it. Our house went under contract very quickly and it seemed like things were falling into place.
About a month later, our housing contact had fallen through. We had already made plans to move so we decided to follow through with them.. and had hopes that our house would sell quickly even once we were gone.
That was July. Its currently November and our house is still on the market. So now we're in a position where we've decided to rent our house. It's definitely not ideal but we don't have many other choices. Pray that we'll be able to find a family that doesn't destroy our beautiful home!
(Backtracking a little) - We made it safe and soundly to Austin. The dogs, and Thomas and I packed up in the biggest Uhaul that you can get and we made the 3 day trip to get here. We couldn't of picked a worse time to move- the highs were in the mid 100's and our apartment is on the 3rd floor.. but somehow we managed. And it's finally starting to cool down! I thought the days of fall would never get here!
Unfortunately our apartment is TINY and half of our possessions live in a storage unit- but hopefully it will just be temporary. After having a taste of home ownership, I'm not used to apartment living anymore!
All else is well. I started my new nannying job a week after we arrived. I'm nannying for a family with 4 kids - Mary (10), Jack (5), and Sam and Caroline (2). As I'm sure you can imagine, being a nanny has its good and bad days (especially when your outnumbered).. but for the most part, its been a joy working with the Miller Kids. They make me laugh on a daily basis!
Thomas is working from home now that we've moved. He still travels occasionally.. but the dogs and I both enjoy getting to see him more often!
I guess that's it for now. More to come on how life is in Austin!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)