Selfie City

I've been debating this post for awhile now.

I started this blog almost 3 years ago, kind of on a whim, and amazingly enough I'm still posting.

I am not quite sure why.

Maybe because the 4 of you that read it get on to me when I don't, 

or maybe because I just feel better when memories are documented.

Anyways, the reason I started the blog was my love for fashion blogs.

I basically just wanted a "Blogs I Read" list down the side so that I could keep up with all the fashion blogs that I was reading.

I've kept reading those blogs all this time, and they have inspired me, and challenged me.

They simultaneously make we want to go out and buy all the fancy clothes, 

and never shop again, but remix what I already have in my closet.

Well, here goes nothing.

^^Bottom Middle: My least favorite outfit

^^Bottom Right: My most favorite outfit

 ^^Top Right: Everybody needs a casual weekend outfit.

^^Bottom Photos: I was loving the cold Houston weather!

^^Top Middle: That coffee mug is real, not posed.

^^Bottom Middle: Michael's favorite outfit.

^^I was kind of loving my leopard scarf this week.

Obviously, I am not a fashion blogger.

For one thing, I only use my phone to take photos.

I didn't take these photos to be a fashion blogger though.

I really don't know why I took them, but they have helped me to put more thought into my outfits, use a better variety of clothes in my outfits, 

and they've kept me from wearing the same outfit with the same clients.

So there you have it.

The first outfit post (or outfits as the case may be) by me.

It might also be the last.

Only time will tell.

9th Valentine's Day

Last Friday was my 9th Valentine's Day with Michael.

I can't believe that we have been valentines for almost a decade.

Where does the time go?

In that time, we have gone back and forth between being really into the holiday, and not giving it much thought (or money) into the holiday.

This year was one of those low key years.

Michael and I had talked and decided not to spend money on each other this year,

and we ended up having the same idea:

DIY Valentine Cards

^^ Michael's poster/card

 ^^ Front of my card to Michael

^^ Back of my card.

Of course, I wrote inside the heart before I gave it to him,

but you guys don't want to read that mushy stuff.

Friday was kind of a crazy day for both of us.

I spent the morning packing, and then a few hours at work.

Michael was taking Buster to Petsmart for the weekend.

Buster just loves the Pet Hotel, and playing with all the other puppies.

We met up again in time to get to the church, pack of the bus, and head to Dallas for the T3 Conference with the youth group.

Our Valentines Date ended up being a 20 minute stop at Texas Burger...

with all the kids that we brought with us.

 Some wives might have been upset about this.

And lets be honest, I have been upset about this kind of thing in the past,

but this year, there really was no where else I'd rather be.

It didn't matter to me that it wasn't a candlelight dinner, or a romantic restaurant, or that Michael's attention wasn't focused on me.

We were doing what he loves, and I love that!

So I guess that's what happens when you've been together for almost a decade,

but it was one of the best Valentine's Days we have had!

Sweetheart Banquet

You know you've had a blog a long time when you've written about the same event over, and over.

This event is one of those posts.

We started it our first Valentine's Day at JV.

It was an event just like this year - a sweetheart banquet for the VIPs (over 60s).

You can see the decorations and post about that one here.

Last year we changed it up a bit and did an Appreciation Lunch.

Since I am crazy addicted to conversation hearts, I used that as our theme.

Just click here to see that post.

This year, it was back to the Sweatheart Banquet.

I didn't want to do it the same as two years ago,

1) because I'm an over-achiever

and 2) because that would just be too easy.

I changed up a few of the decorations, and thanks to the youth girls,

it looked great!

I also had the idea to add a photo booth.

We made one for our youth Christmas party last year, and it was a huge hit.

And the VIPs loved it just as much!

It was so fun to see them dressing up, and taking pictures.

They even took some with the youth group.

It was so sweet!

 ^^ All the photo booth props

^^ My great friend and partner in parties!!

So thankful for this lady and her enthusiasm for all my ideas!

^^ Of course, Michael and I had some fun in the photo booth too.

The VIPs had a wonderful time, and we had tons of food leftover,

which I was happy to take home. 

It was an exhausting weekend, but so rewarding to see the elderly people in our church having fun with our youth group.

2,000 and Counting

Today I was shown once again just how blessed I am to be married to Michael.

I was sitting in one of the offices at work, when a man walked in carrying a yellow bouquet of flowers.

I was thinking, "these aren't for me...I don't even know the date, but I know its not important."

Then I thought, "what did Michael do that he is trying to apologize for?"

I signed for the flowers, even though I didn't think they were mine, 

and then I read the card that came with them.

It was such a surprise!!

And the flowers are absolutely beautiful!

And just so cheerful!

Of course, this isn't the first time that Michael has done something like this.

You can read about the celebration of our 1,000th day of marriage here.

I know every day how lucky I am to have Michael as my husband, but days like to day it is almost beyond my comprehension.

To quote Maria Von Trapp "Somewhere in my youth, or childhood, I must have done something good."

I am looking forward to many more thousands of days together!

AFC Weekend

Michael and I are a little biased, but we have always advised the youth kids to attend a Christian university over a public one,

that is, until we started getting to know the AFC group.

AFC (Aggies for Christ) are students from Texas A&M who go to the A&M church of Christ.

Their group does mission work, week long trips at children's homes, inner city work with kids, and weekly devotionals on campus.
A big part of their group is the weekend trips that they take over the semester.
They travel to different churches, doing service projects, devotionals, and just having fun with the youth group.
Apparently last year I was too busy studying to write about our Aggie weekend, but you can read about our first weekend with the Aggies here.

The weekend always starts Friday night with a mixer, dessert, and a devotional.
You wouldn't believe the excitement of our youth kids while they wait for the AFC group to arrive.
They are absolutely giddy!
Our kids have so much fun playing games, and hanging out with the college kids.
My favorite part was the devotional.
It is not often that I get to experience that kind of singing anymore.
It was an every day kind of thing back in college, and one of the things that I miss most about those days.

^^Mixer game

^^Favorite thing about the weekend!!
I look forward to the AFC weekend every year mainly because it means I get 3 whole days with this girl!
I can't believe this is her last year to come on this trip, and that she is graduating and getting married soon  - where has the time gone??
I am so proud (but not surprised) of the woman she has grown in to.
I couldn't be more blessed by Claire and her friendship!

Saturday is usually spent playing basketball and doing service at the Brookwood Community,
but scheduling changed a little this year and most of Saturday was spent at our church.
The big project was painting a mural in our children's wing.
One of our youth girls has been working on this for Girl Scouts Gold Award.
Our youth and the Aggies spent all day working on it and I am so impressed with the results!

^^The before.

^^Youth and Aggies painting.

^^This girl free-handed these hands of Jesus.
Amazing!

^^My favorite part of the mural. So good!

^^The baptism of Jesus painted by some of our youth girls.
I am blown away by their talent!

After dinner on Saturday we went out to the Brookwood Community for a talent night.
I was surprised by how many residents remembered us, and were so happy to see our group again.
The Aggies did skits, the youth group sang songs, and we all did kareoke.
It was so much fun!

^^The residents love Michael, but especially Michelle.
I'll try to post some videos later this week.

We ended the weekend with an Aggie-led worship service Sunday morning, lunch together, and then a goodbye meeting.
We were so blessed by the Aggies this weekend!
It is an exhausting couple of days, but it comes with too many blessings to count!
I hope that the Aggies can continue to come to our church for many years to come.

Which Character Are You??

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen the Zimbio quizzes spreading around facebook like wildfire.

Which Disney Princess are you?

Which Star Wars character are you?

I can't remember which one drew me in, but once I started I couldn't stop.

I must say, I am pretty happy with my results:

^^Who doesn't want to be the Queen Bee?

"People fear you, but you kind of like it that way" is my favorite (and possibly most true) line.

 ^^I don't mind this one I guess.

Besides the character, this description probably fits me the best out of them all.

^^Umm, YES!

I've been wishing I was Hermione since I was in the 7th Grade.

I can't decide if I like the first line or the last line best!

^^I might have cheered out loud when I got this one.

Yes, sometimes I'm more of a Christina, but in my heart I want to be Meredith.

I mean, she got McDreamy!

Want to take some quizzes for yourself?

Click here.

Its quick, easy and worth the time.

Except the Disney Princess one...I got Mulan.

Is she even a Princess??

*All questions on my quizzes were answered truthfully.

Each quiz was only taken once.

 And yes, this is what I do with my time...judge away.

Leaf Day

There are a few issues I have with home ownership,

one of them being the fact that no one is going to come take care of the lawn for you

(unless you pay someone to do that and I'm way too cheap)

which also means no one is going to come and rake our leaves.

And boy do we have leaves.

This is a problem that does not bother Michael one bit.

I can't explain it, I just don't like the leaves.

Yesterday Michael and I had a free day, so I forced him to help me take care of our leaf situation.

Can you tell how happy he is about spending the day with leaves?

In our defense, we are not the only ones on the street with a leaf problem.

Usually we are, which adds to the pressure for me, but since all the other yards are covered in leaves,

it wasn't as big of a deal to me, so we only cleared the leaves off the driveway and areas that blow leaves to the front door.

That's right.

All those bags, plus the trashcan full of bags, and our entire yard is still covered in leaves.

It feels so good to pull into the driveway, and walk up to the door, and not step on dead gross leaves.

So, that was our day.

We like to keep it fun and crazy over here!

In other news - I used the word leaves so many times in this post.

Way too many times.