We need prayers. Devin hurt his knee wake-boarding 2 weekends ago, and we are in that time frame between the doctor appointment and tests where you don't know what will happen next. Please pray that he won't need any surgery, that he will have a positive spirit, and that he won't drive me nuts. I am totally kidding. Do pray that we will know what to do that is best for his knee and pray that God will heal him quickly so that he can cycle and play again very very soon.

And maybe that he'll stop trying this so much for the sake of his wife's sanity.

Things I Bought that I Love and Places I Love to Go

It doesn’t take much to make me happy.  I am a pretty simple girl, I think, and Devin knows what gets excitement out of me.  Hmm…

Anyway!  I had been a prisoner to a migraine that chained me to the bed all day on Tuesday.  It was miserable.  I despise Migraines and if they are Eve’s fault, she better sleep with one eye open in heaven.

When Devin got home, he suggested we do 2 of my favorite things in the world. 

Favorite Thing #1 slash thing I [ahem Devin] bought that I love:  Swirll Frozen Yogurt.

 

I didn’t even have time to get a picture of our yogurt covered in everything glorious that could be mixed in…we ate it way too fast.  Why do I love Swirll so much?  The yogurt is fat free and has very very little sugar in it.  It is delicious!  I got plain (it has a sour taste to it that I am drawn to) and Devin got cake batter.  The toppings are endless…fresh fruit, granola, cheesecake bites, almonds, fruity pebbles!, gummy worms, Butterfinger, Twix, marshmallows, sunflower seeds!  A million potential combinations.  I got my usual- fresh fruit (usually kiwi because I don’t get to eat it often-mostly because I buy it and it goes bad way too quickly), granola, almonds…and then I got some Butterfinger because I am a girl and I wanted it and I don’t need to justify that!  Devin got…I haven’t a clue, but it must have been good since he hoovered it.

Swirll: priced by the weight. Only in Texas. God bless you, Texas.

Places I go that I love:

Half-Priced Books…or any bookstore

Half-Priced Books is next door to Swirll.  A deadly combination.  I love to buy books…absolutely love it…but I hate to pay full price for them.  Not because I am a tightwad or don’t support a massive chain bookstore, but because without a doubt, I can find that book you’re looking for, for cheaper.  It’s like a game.  So, I love Half-Priced Books.  [Side note: I don’t sell my books to them because they don’t give you jack for them.  See the Book mooch link on the left: it’s gold.]  So, we wandered around HPB for a while, petting some dogs (what?!) and flipping through some pages.  We found some DVD’s we wanted for $3.00 each (hello!) and then…I found this…it was a miracle and I never ever thought I would see it…

I found my husband reading. 

Someone alert the friggin’ media!  Hell has frozen over!  Ok, so it was a cycling book, but it counts.  It has words and sentences and pages and minimal pictures.  It. counts.  I was so proud…but, my head was killing me, so I wasn’t really in the normal bookstore wandering, coffee drinking, I could live here if you’d let me mode.

Moving on to more things We/I have bought that I love…

I don’t even need to say any words.  Just look at these pictures and feel your muscles relax as you stare at me in my haven.

Worst picture ever?  Yes.  Best purchase ever?  Yes.

Y’all, for the last 4 nights, I have slept like a cute, chubby, 3 month old baby.  It has been the most amazing 4 nights of my life and this is why:

1.  I no longer wake up to what I believe is Devin wrestling someone in his sleep.

2. I am no longer launched almost off of the bed by Devin’s movement

3. I no longer suffer from elbows/fists to the eye/face/head/stomach/arm/leg

4. I no longer yearn for sleep around 8pm…because I am getting more than 2 hours of sleep at night!

5. I no longer wake up to what I think is Devin dancing the rumba, and while I’m on this, I’d like to know who the girl is he’s dancing with!

6. I am no longer startled/shocked by the weight of a cyclist’s leg thrown upon my body that I first think is possibly the tree outside our apartment that has fallen in.

This bed is from God.

Houston Restaurant Week Continues!

Just in case you didn't get to make it to a participating restaurant for Houston Restaurant Week, The Loop Scoop has the list of restaurants that will participate until August 31st!

Things I Bought That I Love

I read a blog, written by The Office's Mindy Kaling, where she writes about things she loves. She's a busy lady and hasn't written a new post in 3 months, but I still like to read the archives. To my disappointment though, the things she has bought that she loves are usually a smidgen out of my price range (or common sense). So, consider this the poor man's (or frugal man's? smart man's? man who doesn't make $250,000 an episode?) Things I Bought That I Love.

My tea and coffee tins!

Why I love them:
- They fit perfectly in my cabinet next to my 34 coffee mugs.
- They tell me what's in them
- I love coffee
- I love tea

I am particularly fond of the coffee one, only because my coffee scoop from Italy slides perfectly through the handle . They were made for each other. If I had the counter space, I would display them for all the world to see, but we live in an apartment. Apartment=no counter space.

Tea and Coffee tins: $6 each, Hobby Lobby

Who needs a Yankee??

I love love love my apple scented Organic Living candle. Its smell is light enough, so I don't choke, but strong enough to get rid of any burnt dinner smells. Not that I ever burn dinner. Ok, so the greatest thing about these candles is the surprise you get when you open the jar! My luscious juicy apple candle (I made that name up because I don't know the real one) has the cutest plastic apple in the wax on the top! As the candle melts, the little apple goes down with it. The Candy Corn has plastic candy corns! The Ocean Mist has little seashells! The Birthday Cake has little plastic confetti! The Cinnamon has cinnamon! I'm done. But seriously, for 1/3 the price of a Yankee candle with scents that are just as enticing, I'm sold.

Organic Living Candle-o-surprise: $7.99, Bed, Bath, & Beyond

Tommy can you hear me?
Can you feel me near you?
Tommy can you feel me?
Can I help to cheer you.

Toms. Devin got some. They're gray and so cute on his Flintstone feet.


Lu got these when she spent the weekend with me. She calls them Mo-Mo shoes, after her grandmother, who wore weird shoes.


And please look at the ones they have for kids. Not that I think it's a good idea to spend this much on kids shoes, but...Break. my. heart.


Toms really look like these house-shoes that my grandma, Nanny, makes. It's just a couple pieces of polyester sewn together to keep your feet warm (I'll make some and put them up...as soon as I get a sewing machine), but slap some rubber on the bottom and dadgummit, Nanny could have been BANKING. But you know what? Nanny never gave shoes to kids in need. She gave them blankets that she made by hand, but that's irrelevant.

Toms come in so many colors and designs. I almost worry about them falling into the croc-pot, and I don't mean my next favorite thing...I mean this. The best thing about them, though, is that when you buy a pair, Toms gives a pair of shoes to a kid in need. You all know how much I love that. If Devin would let me, I'd buy all of the Toms at Whole Earth Provision.

Toms: $34-$54 (remember, you're buying a kid shoes), www.tomsshoes.com

The greatest invention in the history of anything ever invented.

Feast your eyes on this bad boy.
I guess I am not allowed to call it a Croc-pot if it isn't that brand? Whatever. Rival, Slow cooker, best friend, what I would take to heaven if I could...call it what you want. This thing makes my life glorious. Actually this plus this:

And I just bought this one from goodwillbooks.com

So, these books tell you what all to throw in there. Stir it a little, and set that fancy timer. When the time is up, it changes its settings to "keep warm" until you get home. Usually, I find something that takes 8 hours to cook so that when I get home, it has only been warming for about an hour. So picture this. Devin and I get home, we eat, we go work out, we clean the kitchen and oh my land! It's only 7:30! We have the whole evening to do anything we want...which usually doesn't include TV because we don't like it much.

In addition, my friend Emmy told me about Croc-Pot liners. At first, I didn't know how I felt about cooking my dinner for 8 hours in a plastic bag, but when I realized I wouldn't have to maneuver that huge pot in our midget-apartment sink, I was sold. Emmy also told me one of her favorite places to eat dinner is Target. I said, "You mean like when you are shopping there and it's dinner time, you like to sit down? Or, do you mean you and Brett are trying to pick a place to eat and one of you recommends Target?" She said the latter. So, yeah...


When I registered for my Rival slow cooker for my bridal shower, I really didn't think I would use it. Now, I am in a bad mood if I can't make at least one meal a week in it.

Rival Slow Cooker: $29.99, wherever you want to buy a slow cooker
Slow cooker liners: $4.99 for 8

I hear that Doctors and Engineers are of the most respectable jobs.

Well, I married one of those.
How cool is that?

…Because People Like to Say Salsa.

Lu came to hang out with me for a couple days while Devin was out of town…and we did in fact make our infamous only-made-once-a-year-eat-it-sparingly salsa.

Not seltzer. Salsa.

We have an extremely secret recipe which originates from the great works of one Janice Hathaway in the Eta Byta Pi cookbook. We have made some changes, however, and we’re not sure if it was on purpose or not. I refuse to release our recipe, but here are some hints…

 

 

 

I cannot even begin to tell you how enticing this smelled while it cooked. All of the different spicy aromas swirling slowly out of the pot, across the room, and into my nose. Absolutely delectable.

While the hot sauce cooked, we tried to snap some pictures for the cover of our own cookbook, or perhaps some visuals to send with a cooking show proposal. The possibilities are endless, people.

Lu holding the original hot sauce literature. I’m telling you, that book is worth a fortune, and by fortune, I mean it will win you a man.

Lu’s attempts at holding the iPhone still to take my picture…

 

Really, I just need to get our mega-fancy camera hooked up and situated with one of our computers so I can use that for my phenomenal (ahem, sarcasm) photography instead of trying to snap something quick with that miniature camera.

The aforementioned Janice called while we were waiting for the hot sauce to cook, and just as we were feeling the domesticity bursting out of our bones, she told us she was picking cucumbers, peas, and other veggies from her own garden…and then she was going to take her clothes off the clothesline. Consider our bubble burst. But seriously, she is the real Pioneer Woman! It’s a sensitive subject, so I won’t go into details, but she once walked something like 3 miles with an oven mitt as a shoe.

The finished product:

Aren’t they pretty?! We sampled some of it, and it is BY FAR our best batch yet.

LU also came to help me hang curtains, buy some more things for the apartment, help me decorate, and she labored over the sewing machine making me some other things. Get ready, here comes the sap. In just 3 days, I learned SO much from my mom. She is the picture of Proverbs 31, and, if I am 1/10th of the wife and mom and manager of the house that she is, I will be so, so blessed.

Fill Your Belly, Fill Their Belly

If you're in or around Houston, check out Houston Restaurant Week. Participating restaurants offer a limited menu with an average of 4 courses for $35 per person. $5 of that $35 goes to the Houston Food Bank. This is an opportunity to eat at a restaurant that you may not normally shell out the money for, all to feed the less fortunate in your city. You know I love that! Plus, you get to fill your belly with stick-a-fork-in-me-I'm-done cuisine. In most cases, reservations are required, but a lot of that can be done through the website. Houston Restaurant Week ends August 23rd. Bon Appetit!

Computer, Coffee, and He Just Wants a Dollar

Z to the man emailed me this picture this morning. After a long night shift at his unpaid internship, enjoying a g-chat with sister and some hot brew...he stops to notice the man who isn't quite as fortunate.

I just think my brothers and I are really lucky to have parents who instilled in the 3 of us the ability to see others' needs before our inconveniences; to have generous hearts and wallets without judgment or assumptions.

Today I hope that, in spite of the way your life is going, you will find someone to give a little (time, money, ears) to.

If you can't find someone/something to give anything to, let me know. I'm full of ideas, or check out the links on the left side of the blog.

I have GOT to write a light funny post a la the scooter post before people start hating on the blog.

Dysfunctionally Functional in Dysfunctioning

Ok, if you've been reading my ranting for, what, almost 4 months now, and you're super turned off just about every 4th post, then I have something that is toned way, way down for you with a hope that you will patch some things up and seize life.

Every single one of us is dysfunctional. Lord love a duck, I thought it was just me- it's great to know you are all screwed up too. MetroLIVE ended on Thursday with Curtis closing out a serious on relationships. For all of you shortcut lovers, here is Curtis' podcast from Thursday. If you have the time, listen to the others too, but I especially encourage this one. That's a lie. I especially encourage the one dated 7.23.09. It will break you down. But, for the purpose of this post, check out the one from 8.6.09...annnnnnd then the rest of them.

Can it be simpler? Common sense if you think about it, but we don't think about it. If you treat any relationship (husband, wife, daughter, son, mom, dad, sibling, friend, co-worker, God) with anger, bitterness, a sense of wanting things to go wrong for them because of your insecurity/jealousy/envy/ or God forbid selfishness, those relationships will fall apart. But if you pour love, kindness, and most importantly forgiveness into them, regardless of how badly they hurt you or how "terrible" your life is, the relationship will sustain.

Look, we have all been hurt by someone. We have all felt like someone has wronged us. Even worse, a lot of you feel like God has wronged you. That He owes you something. Some tough love: God doesn't owe you anything. But, know that you aren't alone with those feelings, that things like this will happen in every relationship you create, and we have a choice about how we handle it. It must be exhausting to live a life full of anger and bitterness. Dig deep. Forgive. Over and over. Let it go. and love...you'll be sorry if you don't.

Correction

Correction: In this post, regarding the statement, "...this should've-been-born-blonde..."

My mother has informed me that I was in fact born blonde.
This explains so much.

Unshakable Sense of Self

I read this article back in 2006 when it came out, and I have kept it ever since. Ironically, I married a cyclist as well, but I'm not implying anything. To me, Kristin Armstrong's writing is profound. Perhaps that is because you can feel her "I should have done it differently" emotion in the urgency of her words. There is so much in this article that I not only want my soon-to-be-married friends to know, but that I remind myself of constantly. It hits home in a lot of places; a lot of the advice she gives parallels to things Devin has to remind me to do. It reminds me of things that I am quick to forget, but that are so substantial in a balanced married life. I don't agree with everything she says, because the Bible calls us to love and interact in sacrificial ways in marriage. And maybe Kristin did that, but maybe she did it to the extreme, which I catch myself doing. The principle...the bottom line of not losing you...the advice about saying what you think and not giving up the things that you love that make you you...it is all advice that needs to be given to a new bride. But, like she says, we're all so quick to throw the showers and give the gifts and send the newlyweds on their way, but we never sit them down and tell them how it will be and how to keep their personal identity in the role of a wife...a wife with a unique and unshakable sense of self.

A Tuesday Ride.

Last night I planned a fun and out of the ordinary dinner for us. We have been married 4 months. 4 months seems silly to celebrate, but I had reasons for it to mean something more to me, so I wanted to celebrate by doing what Devin loves to do.

We rode our bikes about 5 miles out to Eleanor Tinsley Park. It ended up not being Eleanor Tinsley Park, or something...basically, we didn't know which park we were at- totally not my intention.
It was beautiful; great weather, great view, perfect company.
There wasn't a single soul out there but us.

Modes of transportation

The food and drink

The view…

Our dinner guests

And then we got kicked out of the park. We moved to a new spot down the road a ways. We sat down and saw our view, and we weren’t even mad about getting kicked out anymore.

Then we rode the 5 miles home. Yes, in the dark, mom. Devin takes care of me, don’t worry. For the most part, it was a really pleasant evening. I always like to ride with Devin- I know he loves it, even though I don’t go nearly as fast as he would probably like to. But, I love to be included in something he loves, and I love the look he gets when I say, “I have a surprise; get your bike”.

So, despite me not knowing exactly where the park was, or not thinking to check the park hours, or other things that I did to put a damper on it, I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me.

Super Devin...The Tale of the Hero Husband

Warning...this may get mushy. Don't say I didn't warn you. If you can't handle it, just don't read it...it's that easy!

I don't really like to do the weekend update thing. I don't like everyone to know every little thing, and I don't think people care to read "First we went to the mall, then to the movie, then this, then that, then we ate this this and this, then we sat and stared at each other, then Devin left so I stared at the wall". When I read that sort of recap on other blogs, I'm bored out of my mind. But, this weekend-themed post has a different purpose. If you'd be so kind, please let me tell you how awesome, hard working, giving, smart, talented, wife-loving, and patient Devin is. I am pretty sure most everything he did this weekend was for me, and I'm not quite sure he got to do anything he wanted the entire weekend, except watch TV on Sunday...which he didn't really want to do. Oh good grief, I started crying when I wrote that. What is with my emotions lately? Don't get any ideas. This may even be too mushy for me. I'm really sort of sad that I have ZERO pictures to show you with this post, but the iPhone just wasn't handy...and then it took a dive and broke on Saturday, but we'll get to that in a second...

On Friday night, Devin and I volunteered for the Knuckleball. This is a black tie event that the hospital I work for hosts for the Joe Niekro foundation. Devin left work early, after a very hectic week, to get dressed up and tote me to the event. We worked registration for the guests where we gave them their bidding paddle and casino money, then we were live auction spotters (they had items like a signed Nolan Ryan painting, a trip to Cancun for 10 days, a cigar humidor from the president), then silent auction item deliverers (silent auction items were much better- signed Cal Ripken jersey, hall of famers signed baseball..), and we really didn't get to eat at all which is miserable for the husband of mine who has the metabolism of a kangaroo (first off, I don't know what their metabolism is like, but it worked. Secondly, I think it's Eric or Dan that says Devin is a kangaroo? So...it fits). I know he had a million other things he could have done on Friday night, and I am so thankful that he came. We ended up sitting with Mr. Bertrand, the most famous pharmacist you'll ever meet, and his family (Rebeeb and Shanna were there!) listening to Mr. B talk about Devin when he was a baby. He told me that I married a good guy, which I already knew.

Mr. Bertrand and Devin...and Collin Raye in the background.
Shout out to Rebeeb for her excellent cellular photography

Saturday morning, Devin had to get up and go DO WORK! He got home just in time (8:30am) to go work on Lifehouse. I was so happy he came, because I knew he would be able to use his scary-smart brain and man-power talent somehow. They ended up needing some guys to rip up some tile in the bathrooms, and he was an expert. I was so so proud of him, and if he hadn't come, it would have taken twice as long to work on the house. I was put in the garage to organize it, which was fun for me. It's always more fun to organize someone else's house, right? Apartments are so much harder to organize...not that I'm making excuses or anything...WE HAVE 6 BIKES! Sorry...that escalated quickly.

Saturday, this should've-been-born-blonde dropped her iPhone on the kitchen floor and the power button was stuck. After a trip to AT&T and the Apple store, I had to get a new phone, and even though I felt terrible...absolutely horrifically terrible, Devin told me a million times that it was no big deal and that I needed a phone and that I must be crazy if I thought he would let me run around Houston without one. I am so blessed. I think he's excited that my new phone can take video now, and I can show him the crazies I see on the train instead of trying to describe the insanity. Then, Saturday night, I started getting a migraine, but we still needed to go to the grocery store if we wanted to achieve the Sunday-do-nothing-day. I went to bed, and he went to the store alone...he doesn't care much for the store. Again, I felt so so awful, and he was happy to do it.

Sunday funday came and we tried a new Bible study and new church service. We really enjoyed it and I loved hearing herzbin chime in with the new group of people about prayer and what we think prayer should and shouldn't be. We came home and had planned to go to the lake house, but it didn't work out, and I was so disappointed for him. We watched a lot of movies on TV, rested, and played all day, but I know he had other things he would have preferred to do.

While I'm talking about things he would rather do, I want to re-emphasize our need for your prayers. We talked in Bible study yesterday about how God tells us we can pray for ANYTHING big or small...and we still need prayers for Devin's bike fit issue. We have gotten to the point where riding isn't even enticing because it is potentially miserable. Please pray for his knees, his legs, his fit. I want him to want to ride again because not only is he phenomenal at it, but he absolutely loves it.

Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.
Phil 4:6 NLT

Who do you know that would volunteer for TWO causes in a weekend while multi-tasking with his "real" job? Who do you know who would buy this doofus a new and very expensive phone when she just broke the other one? Who would be patient enough to deal with yet another night full of attitude from a migraine-suffering wife? Who would just offer to go to the grocery store because he knows I am in pain? Who would settle for a Sunday with me instead of a bike ride with friends or wake boarding, and then forgive me when I snapped at him this morning when the alarm went off? He is my hero and not only do I love him completely, but I appreciate him deeply. I thank God every single day for giving me someone I do not deserve one single bit.