Christmas Recap

It has been so long since I have posted! We had such a wonderful time in Corpus for Christmas!! I was there for 6 days and 5 nights and it flew by! I miss my time there so much and really feel as though I was meant to be a Paris Hilton-jetseter-type who can see her family & friends whenever she wants.

Christmas Eve and Day at my parents' house was more special than ever for several different reasons. They are amazing how they pull together all the amazing food and decorations so effortlessly. I hope to one day be able to do it all the way they can ;-)

Beau surprised me by flying in a day early!! He was supposed to arrive Friday, the 26th but instead came in Christmas day. Well, it was more nighttime and he surprised my parents too! Jeff turned in especially early that night since he spent 2 days "slaving over the stove" as he likes to say! My mom and I were cuddled up on the couch getting ready to watch Mamma Mia! when the doorbell rang. Mama went to check the peep hole and no one was there. Not a car, not a person. This spurred a 5 minute frenzy of the two of us running to different windows peaking outside to see who it could possibly be. My parents don't have visitors after dark, especially ones that jsut drop by. Why didn't we wake up Jeff? He's wondering the same thing but I can tell you it didn't even cross our minds. Long story short, Beau left a gift for me at the front door and once I opened it, I knew it was him! He came around the side of the house relieved that Jeff didn't meet him outside with a shotgun! I wish I had video of my mom and I scurrying around. We are so funny together :-)

The weekend was full of wedding stuff! From cakes to guest books to center pieces to decor to wedding crashing to music, we were very busy! Crashing the wedding was especially memorable. We wanted to see a wedding at the Cathedral where we are getting married. It was beautiful! They had the full choir and the Christmas decorations truly made it special. Oh yeah, and the SEVEN priests!! We don't know who they were but they were someone very important in the Catholic church!

Other highlights: seeing Robert Earl Keen w/ great friends, getting to spend more time than usual with my sisters, Beaut meeting my bio-dad, spending time with my Ma (she was a wedding crasher, also!), eating at Whataburger, Water Street and La Playa, Mama's homemade scones for breakfast, her homemade sugar cookies, and every other waking moment of the trip.

Overall, it was a perfect week and we are really looking forward to going back in 2 weeks for our Corpus shower!

Employee of the Month!

There are several things to say about this momentous occasion. First, it may not seem like a big deal - I never really thought it was until today's staff meeting when my Manager stood up in front of the entire company and gave a great, appreciative introduction to acknowledge me!! It really is a great honor and I'm so thankful to have received the award (and the check that came along with it)!

Something else that should be said about receiving this award today is how BADLY the day started off! It's comical (now) how painful my day began - with morning client meetings where I wasn't 100% on my game, how much I beat myself up about "failing" in those meetings, how I ranted in the phone to my mother about all this when she called to simply tell me that they landed safely, the un-characteristic complaining I did to a co-worker AT WORK (how unprofessional) and convinced the day, no, my life would never improve (not dramatic, nooooo). The difference between the morning and my afternoon (completely turning around with such a sweet gesture from my Company), is now pretty funny in hind sight. It may not seem like much to them, but it really does mean a lot to the person being recognized :-)

Wedding Bands - Not the dancing kind!

Beau and I shopped for wedding bands today! I don't know why I put an exclamation point behind that sentence - it was neither exciting nor eventful! It was actually not like I expected it to be - more stressful than anything. It's difficult to shop for something that will be with you at all times (think about it - there is nothing else a part of you like a wedding band) and represent the greatest thing that has happened to you. I say difficult b/c I just want to make sure I love it forever and there are SO many options these days. As I have mentioned before, I don't do very well with a lot of options :-) That being said I'm pretty sure I found my ring! It's beautiful and the more I think about it away from the store, the more I fall in love with it!

Beau had a difficult time as well but for different reasons. I think it's tough for a lot of men who have never worn jewelry in the past to suddenly walk into a store and be excited about rings! I guess everyone is different but Beau actually had a tougher time than I had imagined. It's a big decision and of course none of them "felt right" b/c he has never worn rings before. Again, now that we have been out of the store for a while and have had time to think about it, he is leaning toward the last band he tried on, a classic white gold band.

I'm glad this portion of the planning process is almost out of the way - it just means we are that much closer to the big day! 4 1/2 months to go!

My very first Christmas Tree...

of my very own is actually shared with my F.H. (future husband)! Beau and I went shopping for our tree the day we returned home from Austin. We found the PERFECT (artificial) tree that we will have for our first many, many years together! We debated artificial vs. real, but in the end, this was the best option for us and I couldn't be happier.

My Mom brought my ornaments to Austin for Thanksgiving and I couldn't wait to put them up, one of my favorites times during Christmas :-) The ornaments have been given to me over the years by my Mom and my aunts, uncles and cousins and are so special to me!

It has taken everything I have from splurging and buying a house full of decorations but I understand that it happens over time, especially during the after-Christmas sales! :-) Beau took this picture at the beginning of my ornament hanging. Had I known there would be a photo shoot, I may have put on some nicer clothes (and hidden that giant tendon in my neck!)....