Trip Around the Sun

Hello dolls,

I hope y'alls week is going well so far! This is an EXTREMELY busy week for me. On top of getting everything ready for this weekend, celebrating 4 years with my kick ass boyfriend and cleaning my annoyingly dirty slightly messy apartment, I have some MAJOR primping to do on yours truly before I can be seen as The Birthday Girl. 3 hour hair appointment, I am coming your way!

For those of you that don't know I am turning the BIG 2-3 next Sunday and will be celebrating with about 37 people this Saturday night with dinner, dancing and drinks. I feel so blessed/slightly paranoid that I have so many wonderful friends that want to come out and celebrate with me

I am one of those people that thinks every birthday is a really big deal. I feel like it's your own personal "New Years". It's your day and a good reason to celebrate the past year. Over the past few weeks I began to reflect back on the past crazy, eventul, dog tired after starting a real job, high on life year. I started a new life in Houston last July and began my new job/current job on August 30th of 2010. It wasn't exactly what I imagined doing when sitting in business/sports management classes at A&M, but I have a great boss and it pays the bills. My new position that I have recently taken with the Texans has become a huge step towards my dream job and I hope that with hard work that dream will come true with the next trip around the sun. To be continued...

I have made some great new friends and learned a lot about myself. I feel like I have grown up a lot in the past 12 months. People tell you that you grow so much during those college years but that first year out is a BIG learning experience, especially if you are living on your own. Even though things got tough sometimes I wouldn't a single second of it.

When I was looking through pictures from the past year the ones below (In no particular order) are a few that stood out in my mind. I'd like to look at this as a reflection on the past year and looking forward to another great one!

August 2010- Oddly enough the first one happend nearly a year ago. This picture is from my birthday last year. It was a great start to my new life in Houston and I will always remember dancing the night away with some of my best friends.

September 2010- A big part of this past year was the new friends I made in Houston. One of those new friends was my name twin Danielle. I met Danielle through a mutual friend nearly a year ago and it seems when I think of my first few months in  Houston, I always think of her. I see many good times in the future with this girl.

October 2010- Got to go back to College Station Aggieland and hang out with  some of my best friends for Halloween weekend. Spent Friday and Saturday night on North Gate and we BTHO tech. It was a perfect weekend.

December 2010-OKAY! BEFORE YOU ALL START HATIN', yes this is a picture of Kobe Bryant. And yes I think is amazing, and YES I nearly had a panic attack the entire first quarter when I got to go see him play last December with my anonymous best guy friend (see stars in my sky tab).  It was seriously one of the best nights of the year.

March 2010-I love going to concerts, but I don't go to too many because I can't see paying 50 plus dollars for a ticket to see someone  play unless I REALLY like them. So when I heard Keith Urban was coming to the 2011 Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show I jumped all  over  that, and BONUS-the tickets where only 30 dollars a pop and we were in the bottom bowl. 

November 2010-What an incredibly fun night. Spent it out in Bellville with the "Family". Couldn't have had a better time. And as you can see from the "Beer Pyramid" (Sorry Egyptians for comparing your wonder of the world to this example of ridiculousness) that we went back to College that night, in our minds at least. Have no fear though, no Aggies were harmed during this away game weekend.

August 2010- A good friend informed me this week, exactly one year ago, we brought this little piece of heaven on Earth home. She  stole my heart during the first 5 minutes of the ride home, even though she cried the first 45 minutes. 

Clearly she did not just steal my heart...
:)

Getting Chanel was probably the best part about this year. Even though we had our fair share of puppy frustrations, I wouldn't trade her for anything is this world. I love her so much and I had no idea how much joy such a unique looking Aussie would bring to my life. 

December 2010-This was my first Christmas tree on my own! I know what your thinking...umm what is up with the white, blue, purple theme? Well I just wanted to do something different and  I am really glad I did. It was my little piece of Christmas in my little apartment. 

  

March 2011- Mardi Gras=National Holiday in my book. My Cajun background is responsible for this thought. I got the wonderful privilege of going to Mardi Gras in Galveston with Trev and 3 other great friends. This picture was actually taken BEFORE we even got down to the big party. Clearly we came prepared. It was a great memory and I am pretty sure we are going back for more next year.



March 2010- March was a busy month for us! Fast Forward to the weekend after Mardi Gras and we are in Austin celebrating Ashley's bachelorette party. Made some memories and some new friends. Can't beat that.



July 2010-The picture above contains many of my absolute favorite people on the planet. 4th of July weekend we made a trip to Schiltterbaun Galveston. The park was great, the rides were even better and the company was the best.



If you know me AT ALL, you know I cannot stand don't particularly care for children at this point in my life. Well one of my best friends, Jessica,  found out back in April that she was having a baby. The night of this particular picture, her and JB made the announcement they were having a baby girl, Makenzie Lynn. I genuinely was incredibly happy for her and JB and I truly cannot wait to see their beautiful baby girl when she makes her grand entrance in December.

Valentine's Day 2011. Trevor took me on a weekend trip to Galveston. This picture is from dinner Friday night. From watching the sunrise Saturday morning to strolling the strand all day Saturday, it was a very sweet and romantic weekend that I will never forget.

June 2011- Not only was this my first vacation that I paid for on my own (Spring Break in college does not count kids) but it was a cruise to Belize, Honduras, and Cozumel. It was so much fun and the people I went with made it even better. Couldn't have asked for a better summer vacation. If I could live on a cruise ship, I totally would.



So there is my random flash back of great times from Chapter 22 of my life. I am slightly nervous to start 23 because I don't particularly like odd numbers (strange, I know) but hopefully all will be fine. As a huge Jimmy Buffet stalker fan I live my life inspired by many of his songs. This one in particular I always end up listening to a lot when August rolls around each year. I think it's a great message and an awesome song. It's called "Trip Around the Sun"-By Jimmy Buffett featuring Martina McBride. There is a particular line that says "Only time will tell if it was time well spent" and that is kind of how I want to live my life, no regrets, not worrying about everything, because eventually time will tell you if your decesion was good or not. You can't predict the future so you might as well enjoy the ride. 

Until next time,

have a great hump-day dolls.

Loaded Questions, Traditions, and Countdowns

Happy Hump-Day everyone!

I hope y'alls week as been going smoothly. Since I last came to you, I took a trip to New Braunfels with some wonderful friends and Trev to float the river. After heading out of town as soon as I got off work on Friday, we headed towards Austin to spend some time with family when we found out that our plans "changed" So after finding out THAT information we decided to head New Braunfels to meet up with J.C. and Marina early. After we checked in at our cottage, we all headed into Gruene with the Surbers to eat at the Gristmil. It was quite delicious and the margaritas were yummy. After dinner and some light shopping we ended up at a local bar/restaurant where we spent the next hour just talking and hanging out while watching the staff act like fools.  

Marina and I at the local bar/restaurant



J.C. and Trevor at the local bar/restaurant.

We then made our way back to the cottage (so cute) where we spent the rest of the night playing the game of the weekend, "Loaded Questions". And O-M-G did this game have us laughing so hard we were nearly crying. Seriously one of the funnest games I have ever played. As a result of playing for 3 hours that night, inside jokes are plentiful with this group. Shout out to Marina for bringing the game and all I have to say is "You". :) And to J.C. and Trev I am still singing "Day and Night" randomly this week, thanks for getting that stuck in my head.

The next day Henry&Heather, Ashley&Neil, and Travis&Nadia all came and met up with us at our cottage. We then made our way (may have been the long way but that's okay) to the Comal River where we had a day of perfection with lots of sun, fun, friends, and drinks. I remember at one point on the river thinking "It doesn't get any better than this". It really was a perfect day.

 After the river we went back to the cottage where some people chilled, some people starting cooking, and some people napped. I was in the napping category and I am completely okay with that. :) The rest of the evening was spent with the girls lying up in the loft having girl talk and the boys downstairs talking about, you guessed it, A&M to the SEC. We finished up the night with another round of "Loaded Questions" with myself, Trev, JC, Marina, Heather and Henry. Once again, we walked away with even more inside jokes after about an hour and a half of playing. In the words of Heather, Loaded Questions+Good friends=Great times!

This is our cottage. When you walked in there was a couch, TV stand, and small dining table. As you walked forward the kitchen was on the right, the bathroom was on the left and at the back was the bedroom. To the right of the bedroom was the "no fat people allowed" staircase that lead up to the loft. I say the "no fat people allowed" statement because it seriously was the smallest staircase you will ever see.

 

Sunday after cleaning up the cabin and getting ready, we all headed to Cooper's Old Time Pit BBQ for some lunch. If you haven't ever been to Cooper's I would highly recommend it. It's some of the best BBQ I have ever had. (Besides my Dad's)

We wrapped up lunch and all headed home. All of us Houston folks were missing our children pups and were definitely ready to get them back home. It really was a great weekend with great friends and I think we all agreed this is definitely going to become a tradition. After all, with us Aggies, if you do something twice it becomes a tradition. :)

Countdown Update:

-8 Days till Trevor and I's 4 year anniversary

-10 Days till my birthday party

-11 Days till my actual birthday

Absolutely cannot wait for all of the exciting days coming up!

Until next time, Happy Hump-Day Dolls.

p.s.- On our weekend trip we had some great desserts made for us by Marina, check out some great recipes from her blog! http://domesticatedduchess.blogspot.com/

Time to play catch up

HELLO BLOGGING WORLD!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and that Tuesday is bearable enough so far.

My weekend had it's highs and lows but ended pretty well.

The past week has been super busy so I haven't blogged much minus the quick friend post from Thursday so it's time to play catch up.

So last Sunday, Trevor and I made a quick day trip back to Bridge City to trade my bed for one my mom had recently bought in the past few years. For those of you that don't know, I have had the same full sized bed since junior high. I brought it with me to college then to Houston after I graduated. I was long overdue for a bigger and better bed. It had served me well and I am very thankful to all the wonderful sleep I got while in it. My new bed is a queen, pillow top mattress. :) Yay. My mom also sent me back with a bed spread for it so that I wouldn't have to go and spend the money for a new one.



My new bed!



My wonderful mom also gave me the matching shower curtain since mine was big time a tiny bit outdated, I had had my previous one since freshman year. It was time for a change.



New shower curtain and rug.



I absolutely love my new bed! It is so comfortable and has plenty of room for little miss priss, aka Chanel, to stretch out as much as she pleases.



This bed has been Chanel approved.



Okay y'all, I usually just bring fruit or a pop tart to work in the morning for breakfast and make the occasional stop at the donut shop right by work for some kolaches. So, imagine my excitement when I come home from work on Tuesday to find a notice on my door saying that a state farm agency will be giving out free breakfast on Wednesday morning. Excitement builds as I tell Trevor about it and dream of the donuts, kolaches, or chicken minis that will start my Wednesday off wonderfully. So Wednesday morning comes and I walk faster than normal into my garage to get the gate faster and enjoy my Delicious free breakfast, and as I pull up to the gate a girl approaches my car window and begins to tell me that state farm just wanted to come out and give us free breakfast and tell us where they are located and some information on hurricane season and flood insurance. I politely listen to her spill while sniffing the air to try and figure out what free breakfast I will be getting. Another man walks up and hands her this clear sleeve with some paper and some sort of , what I am assuming, free magnet or pen...to my unpleasant surprise this is what I was handed.

And this ladies and gentleman...was my  "free breakfast"...a DAMN granola bar and a OJ. As she continued to talk to me about pointless insurance and I realized I would not be receiving any kolaches or even a donut, my Wednesday morning mood significantly dropped. She then asked me if she could get some information from me so they could send ME more pointless insurance papers. My response was "No". as I began to roll up my window and drive away. How dare they make such an exciting claim to only skimp out and give us a stupid granola bar that wouldn't even fill up your average junior high girl.

Continuing on to work on Wednesday after my "free" breakfast scam incident. I find out that we have a bit of paperwork to QC approve...

Like, seriously?!?!?! This isn't even my desk. BTW, totally still trying to finish this and it's been nearly a week.

The little joy I experienced Wednesday was getting Mackenzie (sp?) her first pacifier. :) I had my eye on this thing since Jess told me she was preggo. I knew she was having a girl from the beginning but I waited until last weekend when we had the Gender Revelation Party. I was right! She was having a girl, and Jess and JB informed us that she would be named Mackenzie Lynn. It was a wonderful party and a really cool experience. But back to the pacifier thing, when it was official that baby Bennett was a girl, during lunch on Wednesday I went and made my purchase.

Blinged out with Swarovski crystals. :) Trying to live up to the "cool" aunt reputation I am striving to have. I got to give Mommy to be, Jessica, her baby's new pacifier that night at girl's night and I'm pretty sure she loved it. :)

Thursday crawled by but I just have to mention the most out of the world cupcake that I had the privilege of eating. It was a peanut butter chocolate cupcake. (talk about WAY to many calories and a major sugar rush)

It seriously was the most delicious cupcake I have ever had.

Friday night we went to dinner with some amazing friends at BJ's. If you haven't ever been to that place I highly recommend it. After dinner, Trevor and I decided to have a wine night in because we were building a deck for K9 Transports starting early in the morning.

Although waking up early on Saturday was a slightly hard pill to swallow at first, I am so glad that we went out and helped such a wonderful organization build their deck. We met some amazing people and I got to use a nail gun (way cool). We also got to play with some super cool animals, including Amos the goat who thinks he is a dog and a female horse that is the great grand daughter of Secretariat (watch the movie if you are clueless). It was incredibly hot and I think I drank 7 bottles of water but I can't wait to do something like that again with K9 Transports. The next event we will be helping with is a spay and neuter clinic which will actually be when Chanel gets spayed. (Poor baby) Check out K9 Transports on facebook and become a fan! More volunteers are always wanted and welcome.

Trev helping get the base finished.

Slowly but surely getting it done.

Saturday night (after a 4 hour nap) we went out with a few friends to a new club in Houston called Roake. It's definitely a snoody high class place that we would not have gone to normally but our friend Aaron knows the owner so we avoided the judgmental line outside the door that I am sure only let's in rich certain people. Guys are suppose to be 25 and up, however the guy who checked Trev's ID clearly didn't do so well in math class. Overall though, it was a lot of fun, we made some new friends and enjoyed some great people watching. (pics are on facebook)

Sunday was a day of relaxation and I returned back to stupid wonderful work on Monday only to leave early because I was sick. No beauno. So after making the 35 minute drive home at 11:30, I spent the rest of the day curled up in bed in a ball with my cute puppy keeping me company until Trev came over for dinner. I am feeling much better today.

Happy Tuesday Dolls.

To my Friends...

It's almost the weekend dolls!

And thank goodness because this has been one rollercoaster of a week. I do want to apologize about my lack of blogging but I have been extremely busy.

I plan on making a week wrap up post tomorrow with some pictures too but today I will leave you with a short and sweet post.

I firmly believe that your friendships should be the easiest relationships that you have in your life. You don't have to impress them, you don't have to buy them things, you're not responsible for their choices; All you have to do is be a good friend, the kind of friend that you would want in return. It's a very simple process...

I'd like to think of myself as extremely blessed because I have a large number of people that I feel lucky enough to call my friends. I would also like to think that means I am good at being a friend to them. They are all a very important part of my life. Some I talk to every single day, some I talk to once every 3 months, but it doesn't matter because they are still my friends. I am there for them, they are there for me, through the good, and through the bad, no matter what the time or place. The definition of a friend according to dictionary.com is the following:

friend

   /frɛnd/ Show Spelled[frend] Show IPA

noun

1.

a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2.

a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.

3.

a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?

Sometimes it's pretty entertaining to look up the literal meaning of a word. Especially a word like friend because as correct as dictionary.com is there is a lot if left our.

Like I already said, I count myself lucky to have all the amazing friends that I have in my life. Growing up with no sisters or brothers I take my friendships very seriously, so to all of my friends-I love you all dearly and I promise to do the following:

1. Always have your back

2. Make you laugh as much as I can

3. Make as many memories as possible

4. Be a good listener when you need one

5. Love you no matter what happens or what mistakes you make

6. Never talk about you behind your back to others

7. Never judge you, especially when it pertains to subject I know NOTHING about.

8. If I get upset I will come to you directly (We all left high school a long time ago)

with love,

Danni

So thank you to all my wonderful friends, I would be lost without you.

:)

Happy Jersey DayThursday Dolls.

P.S. - I apologize to everyone in advance because I am embarrassingly a BIG Jersey Shore fan and will make comments and references to that very classy show. I couldn't be more happy that it comes back on tonight! In the words of Snookie, "I'm on the Jersey Shore B!@*&."