Pictionary Rules!

Game night is every Sunday, at least we try to make sure it is every Sunday. It has actually turned into a dinner before hand with games as dessert. We have started to bring in new games and have found more enjoyed ones over others. Kelly and Alan moved to Austin and started joining our group of game fun. Kelly even brought over the game Pictionary. I do have to say that is our favorite game yet!

Here is a little Collage to see all of the fun we have been having with our favorite game.

The Fosters are Here!

A few years back I had moved to Houston to start a new life. Over a few months of enjoying the city I started to meet new and interesting people. All of those people that I had met, I honestly do not talk to anymore. Almost a year of living in Austin, I had gotten a job as a manager at a Smoothie King. We were opening a new store and had hired some really great people to start the new adventure of mixed fruit. Kelly was one of the first people hired.The first time I met her I was hungover from my English Professor's 50th birthday party and could barely work. I believe my first word's to her were "I am so Hungover and it's so weird because I never drink." She didn't really know what to think and didn't really know to talk to me. Over a couple of weeks we actually started to become really good friends. We started hanging out after work and getting to know each other better. I finally moved back to San Antonio and she stayed in Houston. We would catch up over the phone and I got to see her every once in a while when I would make a trip up to the 'wetlands.' Over time I had gotten married and moved to Austin and she had gotten engaged. Her and her fiancée, Alan, came up to Austin to visit. I remember her and I talking on the phone before her visit, worried of how our men were going to get along. Well, wouldn't you know, they along very well. So well, David saw the drive in Alan and wanted to get him a job at AT&T. The attempt didn't work out that well and Kelly and Alan ended up staying in Houston a bit longer. Over time, they ended up getting married and enjoying life. Right before Kelly and Alan were suppose to renew their lease, they got a message from David "Is Alan still interested in working for AT&T?" Within a month, a whirlwind acquired and next thing you know, The Foster's were moving to Austin to start a new life. Alan now works in the same department as David and they live half a mile from where we live.
It's so great to have one of my greatest friends living so close. It is even better to know that David and Alan get along so well. We enjoy our nights out in Austin, dinner nights on Wednesday and game nights on Sundays. Now we can only expect life to continue and memories to be made!

Update: A Less Better Camera

What did I tell you? I always get what I want. And yes, I am fully aware of how spoiled I am.

A couple of Blogs ago I wrote of how I wanted a new camera. I know my argument was horrible and unjustified, and if someone was just reading this from an outside view I could only imagine their reaction as "Yeah, sure! She'll never get a camera with that argument." But those people obviously don't know me. I wrote out to the world what I wanted and why, justified to my own account. I waited patiently for my husband to read the blog. And on the day he did, I sat next to him in the garage, looked at him in the eye and prepared to answer any questions. He just looked over and said "So this means we can get a camera?"

Seriously! How smart is my husband!?! He mentioned a while ago we should get a camera. If you really want to be honest about who gets what they want... it's really him. He placed the idea in my head and I said no. Then I thought and thought and thought about it. It really only took over a year for me to come up with it on my own. And now we both have a great fancy camera, and a tiny little camera that we can use in party like, busy situations.

The day after he read my blog he ran out and bought the camera. Obviously he doesn't play around when getting something that we want. I know he has already gone through all of the research and he ended getting a really great deal for it. And he actually ended up purchasing it from Costco. (We really love Costco, the deals are just great and can't be beat!) So he bought the camera and it has been hard to use it ever since! The main reason being that it is always, ALWAYS on him at all times. He holds on to it like its his phone. It is rarely out of his site and to sneak it out of his possession is pretty hard. I have to actually ask him for it, instead of just grabbing it whenever I want. What is that? I have to ask for something? Yes, I know, I'm spoiled.

We've been using the camera at many opportune moments, and now the "Want Monster" has calmed down until she wants again.

Sunday Nights feel Alright!!!

Another blog about our wonderful Sunday Game Night. Last Sunday was the biggest and best game night we have had yet. We have been a bit busy recently helping our friends Alan and Kelly move into Austin and introduce them to anyone and everyone in town. We've been to the local watering holes, checking out Town Lake, done endless amounts of shopping. The Sunday they moved to Austin ( January 10) We had to cancel our Game Night to help them move in and unpack. I, of course, felt horrible to turn my back on the well planned, always dependable Game Night - so I thought it would be best to make up for it a best as I could.

David and I decided to make dinner for everyone to make up for a missed Night of Games and the ruling of what to eat was good ol' Texas Bar B Que! David made smoked ribs, and I made (purchased) potato salad, hashrowns, and bar-b-que beans. Everyone had a plate of something to eat while there were moments of silence due to the hunger of meat on a bone. We had a 7 person meal eaten in full within 15 minutes. The best part was just enjoying conversations while cleaning up the kitchen. One of the founders of Game Night, PATA!, brought over a dessert to help me out from having to get one myself. She brought a Chocolate Mousse Pie that was amazingly good. So good, that we have now appointed Pata as the dessert girl for Game Night. A huge honor in our Game Night Tribe.

We decided to start the games and we so happy that we can really start to take advantage of the huge poker table David made a while ago. We started with the famously fun game 'Apples to Apples'. I really can't remember if I have mentioned this game before (I'm really bad about keeping up with this blog) but we L-O-V-E this game. We haven't met anyone who doesn't like this game and I'm sure if we did meet someone who didn't like this game, we wouldn't invite them back because they must be crazy, since we really really love this game. Anyway... it's a great game. There is one judge out of the group that picks a green card (Adjective) and everyone else has to put down a red card (Noun) that they think best resembles the green card. The judge decides who best described the green card in their own view, and the one with the most cards wins. Super easy and super fun!

After a round of Apples to Apples we decided to try a new game that I had purchased just for Game Night. It is called Imaginiff... This game is horrible. Do not buy! It looked like a lot of fun and ended up being a lot of pointless work. We couldn't figure out how the game was played and when we finally did, one round barely lasted 5 minutes. On top of that, you have to tell people what you think of them in somewhat of a harsh way. It was no fun, we voted and decided to discard the game. It was returned, and out of our house.

After the horrible mess that is called Imaginiff we decided to take another crack at Apples to Apples. We played for a couple of rounds and started to notice that everyone was getting a little tired of the game. You can really only play it so many times. So we tried to think of another game to play and came up blank. We decided to give this thing 'conversation' a try and see how it goes. Before we got into any real conversation, I grabbed some notecards and pens so we could play the game Who Am I?

Every time we have tried to explain to someone what the game of Who am I is, they automatically say "Oh! Like in the move Inglorious Bastards!" Yes, just like in that movie. Thought I have played that game before, the thought of the movie did pop in my head and did create the idea to play the game with our friends. If you are not familiar with the movie Inglorious Bastards or the game, who am I, then let me explain.

How to Play 'Who Am I!' :

Everyone who is playing gets a sticky note or piece of paper. Everyone will write the name of a celebrity, political figure, cartoon character, book character, etc. You can choose one category or mix them up. Use a different person for each note. Place the note on the forehead of each player. Everyone has to ask yes or no questions to determine who their character/person is. When you figure out who you are you help others try to guess who they are. It actually ended being a lot of fun with a lot of laughs.

We had such a wonderful time with out Game Night Crew and gave hugs and goodbyes around the 10 pm mark.(everyone works Mondays) So my goal is to catch everyone up as much as I can since I am officially a week behind on this blog. We have to much to talk about! Kelly and Alan moved to Austin! And we have started going to this really great dinner party on Wednesday nights that I will have to tell you about too. So thanks for stopping by, and don't be a stranger! Soon I will have some more stories to tell you about!

A Less Better Camera

I know... I will always want, want, want. But I seriously believe this is for a good reason. I was going through my older posts and noticing that my pictures have started to diminish the more I post. I tried to think over the past few weeks of why I have not been behind the camera. First I used the excuse of it being too cold, then I realized when I go somewhere I think about bring the camera and my husband talks me out of it since he is probably afraid I will leave it wherever we are going. There is also a belief that I think that everyone owns a camera in their home and uses it often. I know that it isn't true for everyone, so I have to actually remind myself to bring my camera. So let's say I remember everything I am suppose to and I find a way to even bring a camera to the event, the main problem is my camera is just too big. It really is an amazing camera. David got it for me a while ago... he was so sweet about giving it to me even though it just happened to be a day where I did nothing but cry all day for no reason. But he called it an "I Love You" gift and I quickly fell in love with this amazing camera. It is the best camera I have ever owned in my life... and has taken me to so many places I never thought I could go as a photographer... but it is just too good of a camera.
You are probably thinking about how a camera can be too good. Well let me explain why I think this camera is too good.

1) I can not take pictures with friends without asking someone else to take the picture for me.This is a very important thing. I have had people try to steal my camera since it is so good. And if I find someone to take the picture... Most of the time they have no idea how it works since they've never held a decent camera before. So a small crappy camera really would be the best thing to avoid a picture like this....2) It's too expensive to take around to places where I might be partaking in alcohol. We all know how alcohol can affect the brain... and you tend to forget things.... let's just be honest. You're not on top of your game. Last time I went downtown I was dancing with some friends and left my camera at a table with friends. I can't really wear it around my neck and function in a moving state. And someone tried to steal it! I know! I caught him, he dropped it, and ran out the door. So Tiny camera can fit in a pocket... Big cameras attempt to get stolen.
3) If I lose my camera, my world will end. I can't let that happen. If I use my camera for my artwork or family functions, maybe even a gig for someone. That is absolutely fine since it's work for me and I am very serious about my work. But for social functions I think it would be best to stick with a camera that is worth less than $200.
4) If I lose my camera my Husband will not be happy... at all. Seriously, I think I would have a husband that would not talk to me for a bit. He knows how much I love that camera, and if I lost it, I can even imagine how he would react. Did I also mention he loves this camera? Yeah... he wouldn't be happy. And all because this camera is just too good.I know I might not be making the best argument in the world here. And I have to admit that I did get a C in Debate. I'm great at Public Speaking but I usually pay attention to another conversation waiting to interject to prove my point. I personally think these reason's are good enough to get what I want. And hopefully soon that will occur for me. I think the best option would be to get an Flip camera. It is a camcorder and would be great for social scenes. My only concern is for the lack of flash. And I think I am allowed to be choosy since I am not a beggar. And I will let you all know as soon as I get what I want and point out again how spoiled I really am.

Lil Brothers and New Years!

I brought my little brother back with us last Friday. I had been waiting for him to come back in town so we could catch up and hang out. I had mentioned earlier that I had lost my 'cool' and couldn't stay up too late. I tried to make it up with my days off, so our anniversary night we brought Micheal out to Skipp's birthday party. We had such a great time with a baseball pinata and the chance to find out why this town tries to 'Keep Austin Weird'. We met so many new, great people and it was great to see my brother fit in so well to this town.
Thursday we woke up late and grabbed some Mexican food. Right after my brother and I jumped in the car and drove over to a tea house on 31st and Guadalupe. We had met a guy the night before who told us of this amazing place and to come in for tea. We ended up spending 2 hours talking, laughing and having some of the most amazing tea I've ever had in my life. We ended up going home and relaxing to get some rest before our New Years night. Our plans fell through and we were prepared to have a night in with a great movie. At 11pm we got invited to a last minute party and headed out. We had such a great time counting down and enjoying our self. I even caught my brother learning how to Hula Hoop! (It runs in the family I tell you!) We left that party and headed to another one after 1. We showed up to this great house near Lamar with a lot of land and a huge bonfire. We got to meet new people and stay up til 4. My brother and I also continued some great conversation for the rest of the night.

The next day we woke up late (and for me that was 10:30 for me) and I had the biggest best idea to make 2 desserts for a New Years Day party we were invited to go to. I managed to make a Chocolate Dr. Pepper cake and a Lime Meringue Pie. We showed up on time (but a little early for our friends) and hung around for snacks and movies. We watching the making of Iron Man for a bit, and watching the wonderfully fantastic Superman! It was even better to joke around and pull our own version of Mystery Science Theater 2010. After the wonderful jokes and puns to Christopher Reeves best movie ever, we watched Space Odyssey 2001. I've never seen it before... and it's really creepy. Like, really creepy. I actually got motion sickness watching his trip into another direction on a 12 ft screen. We ended up having to go home since I work so early in the morning, and David and my brother found it necessary to continue on David's projector and watch the 2010.
I had to send my brother on his way yesterday back home to Ol' San Antone, and clean up my house from a week of hanging out. I miss him dearly and can't wait for him to visit again. I started in another New Year with my husband and my brother on each side, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy New Years!!!

A 2 Year Celebration

On Wednesday, David and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary and it was so great to see how much we have learned, grown and loved. A little over 2 years ago, David and I started planning our wedding. We decided we wanted to have a small wedding, on a Wednesday in some random town in Mexico that would require a donkey to get to the town. Why? is the first question I think pops in to peoples head when they heard of this plan. Honestly, because we didn't really want anyone at our wedding. I know that sounds harsh and some people may not agree or understand, but that is just us. We just wanted it to be for us and only us. As much as other people may interact and watch the marriage grow, we believed it was up to us to make it work, so it should just start with only us when we get married. So we started the planning and next thing I knew I just couldn't deal with all of the planning. I think we realized we just wanted to get married right away when I was crying from all of the planning and told him I though it would be better to catch a plane and go somewhere random and just get married. Of course David agreed and I had to talk us out of it. We decided we would do it small and in a rush. So we went out and got a marriage license, sat down both of our parents for dinner and said... "Surprise! We're getting married in a week and it's going to be at (David's) mom's house." It honestly didn't go as well as we hoped. But slowly we started getting everything put together quickly and nicely.
I remember the day we got married so well, but still such with some blurs. I remember being absolutely calm and relaxed and really didn't care about much, but just waiting to see David and say I do. Like any wedding there were some glitches to work around. Our minister was flying in from Dallas, and to not fault to him, his plane was delayed 2 hours. Uninvited guests showed up and my family harassed our bridal party to see if there was any other reason we got married in a hurry. However, I was just sitting in his parent's bedroom just sitting and watching everyone run around to get everything right for us. My favorite moment (besides marrying David) was when my mom and dad were getting ready to walk me down the isle. I wrapped my arm around my dad's and he squeezed my hand. The second he did that, it took everything out of me not to cry. I remember seeing David down at the end with tears rolling down his face with a big smile to show his excitement. The rest of the night was just wonderful. Having dinner with all of my friends and family and trying to find any way to place the word 'Husband' in a sentence. The food was great, the cake was even better, and the speeches was the cherry of the evening.
So here we are 2 years later. We had dinner at our favorite Sushi Restaurant, picked up my brother and went to our friends birthday party. I know some people were confused why we would spend our anniversary at a friends birthday party... but in all honesty, we did that last year for our anniversary and it ended up being a great night and a great year... so if it works, why fix it? We actually might have a tradition on our hands. The best part of that night was that we sat down and wrote a list of all the things we want to accomplish in the next year before our next anniversary. Reasonable, affordable, reachable goals. We are so excited abut this upcoming year and everything that we can do to make more memories and learn more about each other. I love David so much with all of my heart, and as sappy as I can be sometimes he is the light in my life.

Happy Anniversary David!
2 down, 78 to go!