Wednesday, January 26, 2011

catching up.

Y'all... it is Wednesday and I am just now posting about our weekend. I started this post Sunday night but apparently time got away from me. Clearly I am still adjusting to my new schedule with classes. Anyways....

The last week has been less than exciting for our familia, which has been really nice. Kyle has started back to school and I'm trying to stay on top of my own assignments. I hate the feeling of having homework and papers hanging over my head so I am doing my best to stay ahead of the game. 

Our favorite weekend activity is taking a walk to our favorite park and letting Tucker play in the fenced-in dog park. We haven't been able to take him since before Thanksgiving because of surgery, our trip to Texas and then snowy weather. The three of us slept late on Saturday, had a yummy breakfast, and then headed to the park. 

It was a gorgeous day and Tucker had the time of his life running and playing with the other dogs! 


I know that whenever we leave Atlanta, this park is one of the things I will miss the very most. It's enormous and beautiful and we love spending our weekends there. 

After a fun time at the park, we lounged around, did our P90X workout of the day and then went out for sushi. It just so happens that right next to one of our favorite sushi restaurants is our favorite cupcake shop. We finished up at dinner about 10 minutes before the cupcake shop closed which was perfect timing... just before closing they sell whatever cupcakes are left for $1! There was only one kind left to choose from, but you can't beat that price for delicious cupcakes!

We picked up a few and headed home for cupcakes and our newest obsession, Damages.  We are halfway through season 2 and are addicted. 


In addition to our new love of Damages, we have taken up another hobby. I gave Kyle P90X for Christmas and have somehow been convinced to do the workout with him. We finished week one today. I think today is the first day where I haven't felt sore in every muscle in my body, so I guess I'm getting used to it. For as tired as it makes us, we sure better see some results!

In other news, my brother-in-law (the youngest of the Krueger boys) was recently accepted to veterinary school. We are all so excited for Taylor!! I know that he will be a phenomenal vet and Tucker is very excited about being his patient one day!

And lastly, Tucker has a check-up appointment with his ophthalmologist tomorrow. She will be checking his eye pressure to make sure his drops are doing their job and be sure we don't need to make any adjustments. If you think of us, say a little prayer for a good report! We had a little eye scare a few weeks ago and have adjusted his drops since then so we're hoping to hear that all is now well. 

Well friends, I have two reading responses left to write and a puppy who is begging for attention... until next time!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

tale as old as time.

Kyle and I live really close to a fabulous theater in Atlanta. If you're from Houston, imagine living within walking distance of the Hobby Center... amazing! 

Beauty and the Beast was showing at the theater last week. For Christmas Kyle treated me to show tickets and dinner at a fabulous restaurant.


My favorite shoes even made an appearance that night.... (yes, there is a quilt hanging over my blinds. The sun POURS through that window and makes it hard for me to sew. We aren't bothering with curtains in the apartment)

We had dinner at Sun Dial Restaurant downtown. I have wanted to go to this restaurant since before I moved to Atlanta and it did not disappoint! The seating area rotates and you have a 360 degree view of the city. The restaurant is located in the tallest hotel in the western hemisphere. 

Our reservations were at 6:00 which was perfect. We were able to see the city in the daytime, see the beautiful sunset AND look out over the lights once the sun went down. Amazing!





The city was even more beautiful than usual because our dinner was a few days after the snowstorm. We could see some of the big city parks and they looked incredible covered in a sheet of white snow.


Waiting for our cab after dinner.
We had the best night. The show was fantastic and dinner was absolutely delicious! I am secretly hoping we'll have a special occasion pop up so we can go back soon.

Big thanks to Kyle for such a wonderful Christmas gift!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

MaMa.

One of the best parts of my trip home was getting to visit my mom's mom, my MaMa. She has Alzheimer's and lives in a facility specifically for people who have Alzheimer's and Dimentia. 

If you know anyone with Alzheimer's, you probably know that it's hard to predict their mood on a given day. We've seen MaMa's moods change over the years as her Alzheimer's has developed and changed. We've also seen her mood do a complete 180 in five minutes. One minute she could be upset or irritable and the next, she's on cloud nine. As I write that out, it makes me laugh a little to think that Kyle probably thinks that's how my moods can be too!

On one of my last days in Texas, my mom, dad, Kyle and I all went to visit her. When we first got to the house, she was sound asleep. We tried to wake her up for a little while but she wanted no part of that... not that I could blame her! We decided to leave, grab lunch and come back later in the afternoon. As soon as we got back, she was wide awake and in the best mood! 

I loved every sweet moment with MaMa. This was one of the best visits I've had with her in a long time and I left  with the biggest smile. We talked to her about familiar things, family members or the dog that she and my grandpa used to have. It was wonderful to see her recognizing the names of her grandchildren or hear her pick on my mom and aunt. She hasn't lost her wit and charm! She doesn't always speak very clearly now and sometimes even when she does speak clearly, it's hard to follow the stories. No matter what though, I could see so much of her in everything she said. Her facial expressions are exactly how they've always been. She has the same big laugh that lights up her whole face. Her gestures and mannerisms are just perfectly MaMa.

These pictures are all almost exactly the same, but I love each one so you get them all. 




One of the highlights of the visit was when she told Kyle he is good looking! So true and so cute of her to say! MaMa is one of those people that can make a total stranger feel completely at home and like she's known you forever. My mom and aunts are the same way and I see that in my sister as well. It is so heartwarming to see how her beautiful spirit and personality are in all of us. I think we all have a pinch of her sass as well!

I am so thankful to know all four of my grandparents as well as I do. Jennifer and I are so fortunate to have those relationships with our grandparents on both sides of the family. 


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

snow day.

One of my favorite things about living in Georgia is the weather. We really get to experience each season, which is not always (ever) the case in Texas. Last week we had our first snow of the year and I am crossing my fingers that we get some more. I could do without the rain that followed the snow and left it covered with a sheet of ice, but beggars can't be choosers! 

We decided to take a little family walk one day and let Tucker play in the snow. He loves running through powdery snow but was a little hesitant on the ice. You can see how he is trying to spread his paws and grip the ice. 




Every time we get ice from the freezer, Tucker comes running to get a piece. He loves it so much, so he was loving these giant ice cubes!



Kyle was less than thrilled that I set up the self-timer so we could get a family shot, but I am so glad we did!


After lots of playing and running in the snow, it was time for this guy to curl up and take a nice, long nap!


Monday, January 10, 2011

and the clothes came tumbling after.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to be more organized, specifically when it comes to my closet. I would love for it to be organized by color and to have all of my things lined up beautifully.

Someone decided I needed to tackle that resolution sooner rather than later because at five o'clock in the morning this happened...


That would be the closet rod that holds held all of my dresses and coats. The shelf on top held all of my purses and some shoes. 

I feel like we should play I Spy here... can you find my sweet potato pea coat from J. Crew? How about the dress I wore to one of my bridal showers? My tupperware of scarves? Anthropologie tote bag?? MY PATIENCE??

It was quite a rude (and terrifying!!) awakening. 

I think we can look at this situation from two perspectives:

1) I have too many clothes (wrong!!)
2) I need a bigger closet with stronger clothing rods (I'm thinking more of a clothing suite than closet, right Kyle??)

Can you guess which point of view is mine and which is Kyle's??

We haven't fixed it yet. Our apartment is in a bit of a messy state since we're still unpacking and putting away all of our Christmas goodies. We'll be calling maintenance asap and hoping they can get me back in business. 

Right after it happened I asked Kyle if he was mad at me. He said not yet, but to ask him again in the morning when he would have to try to fix it ha! At least he's honest!

disclaimer: I know my closet seems quite full. But I promise I wear my clothes and take care of them. Or, I did take care of them until my closet decided to fail me and try to prove some sort of point. 

Hopefully I'll be back soon with a nicely organized closet. Until then, I'll be crossing my fingers that none of my nice dresses were injured in the great closet catastrophe of 2011!


Friday, January 7, 2011

one year...and one day.

On January 6, 2010 (one year ago yesterday) we brought home our sweet Tucker.

I've put this picture on here a million times, but it's right after we decided to make him ours and I just love it!
I am sure it is quite obvious by now, and perhaps a little weird to some, that we are completely in love with our pup. He is such a joy in our life and we have truly learned so much from him. I know that most of you are probably rolling your eyes at how sappy that sounds, but it is the honest truth. 



We thought we had learned a lot until Tucker had his surgery and that turned out to be such a growing experience for us. He was such a strength to us while we were going through that and his cheerful personality has never wavered or changed.

New Year's Day with my buddy. 
It has been such a fun year with this little guy. He'll always be our first puppy, the first 'addition' for Kyle and me to make to our family. I adore his little face and he brightens our days. He has the sweetest personality and is a pure joy. I am so thankful that Kyle broke down and let us bring him home last January! Here's to many more years with our Tucker!


change of plans.

Earlier this week, Kyle and I made plans to drive back to Georgia on Wednesday. 

That turned into Thursday. Which turned into Saturday. And then Friday. 

I made reservations to have our last family (his and mine) dinner  on our last night (Thursday).

Until Kyle got a Friday afternoon dentist appointment and our plans went back to Saturday. 

So dinner changed to Friday at 7. And this morning, changed again to Friday at 6. 

I am a girl who likes a plan and ours have changed back and forth so many times that I've almost forgotten what day it is today. Tomorrow is the day, though. There is a chance of snow for Sunday in Atlanta and we want no part of driving in that!

Think of us tomorrow while you are all enjoying lazy, relaxing Saturdays. By the time you all wake up we hope to be in Louisiana and a few hours into our twelve hour trip. We're also expecting rain while we pass through a few states so hopefully that won't slow us down too much.

On that note, I think I'm done talking about leaving. We've been in Texas since December 13... almost a month! Let's just say that tomorrow is probably not going to be pretty for me. 

Off to load a month's worth of clothes and toiletries, plus all of our Christmas presents into the car. This will almost certainly be an interesting endeavor!