Random Thoughts of a Houstonian.

Good Morning Blogging world. Sorry for the leave of absence. Since getting back from our fabulous river trip I have been busy, alas, neglecting the blog once again.

The 3^rd Annual River Trip was amazing. We had the biggest group yet and stayed in the nicest place we have ever stayed in also. From Schlitterbaun rides that made us ride in circles for 30 minutes before getting on the ride (THE BEST CONVEYOR BELT EVER!), to Floating the river twice, rope swings & kayaks, to the always fun “Loaded Questions” game, it was a fabulous trip. Although I do not think that I will ever eat Cheese Puffs again or take Rachel Ray serious. ;-)

 As of today, it has rained 12 straight days in Houston. T-W-E-L-V-E!!! This week has been particularity annoying because driving to work is a gorgeous clear sky and then around 3:30, right on cue, here comes the rain! Monday it took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home. It was quite possibly the second worst drive home I have ever had since I moved to Houston 2 years ago. I do have to say though, people who don’t live in Houston complain about the traffic every time they drive through but honestly for a city of 4 million people it’s truly not that bad.

Since we moved and had to leave our old gym (L) and joined the 24 Hour Fitness by our house, they actually have Zumba classes that happen during the time we go to the gym. I really enjoy the classes because it’s just dancing for like an hour. I mean it’s not just step left, step right, kind of thing, it's a lot more intense so you’re getting a hearty workout. And I do understand that not everyone has good rhythm or can move as quickly as others but let me tell you…40 year old MEN have no business being in Zumba class. Now, you may say I am being mean and that everyone deserves a chance but allow me to explain.  You typically try and get to the class at least 10 minutes early so you can get a good spot and stretch. I arrive about 8 minutes before class and find a nice spot. As the class is starting this guy walks in…

Okay so that may not have been him exactly but he was tall, lanky, and Asian. He proceeded to step the wrong way and swing his tree branch arms around for the first song. Luckily the lady next to me noticed his sporadic dancing (if you can even call it that) and made some room for me to move over. About halfway through class, the dude had proceeded to move back a lot causing the girl next to me to be in a really tight spot. She, (very politely I might add) asked him to move forward just a bit. The guy proceeded to say “NO, no room”, and point awkwardly at the space in front of him. About 30 seconds later, he turns around and says (in a very Asian accent) “If you want more room you can go to the back.” DUDE, SERIOUSLY??? It took all my strength to not tell this Yao Ming wanna be to –BLEEP- OFF! The lady was pretty much in shock and said “No, I don’t want to go to the back I just want to see the instructor”, which of course, she couldn’t over the towering awkward Asian. Next time I plan to move myself if he is even in a 10 food vicinity of me. Some people have no respect.

In other news, Trevor is it Pittsburg this week for work. He left Sunday morning and will finally be home tomorrow morning.  And thank the LORD because this girl is not doing so well sleeping alone at the house. Yes I know I am a grown adult and yes I lived in my own apartment for a year and a half but now I live in a big house. And you know what makes you scared when you live in a big house? When your dogs freak out and start barking at 12:45 in the morning. Let me lay out the scenario for you…I had already stayed up later than I usually do reading because I was having trouble falling asleep. Did I mention that the book I was reading was about a man’s wife coming up missing? Yeah smart one Danni…. Anyways, so I finally put the book down and toss and turn for the next hour and a half (never actually going to sleep), when I wake up again to Shep barking very loudly and Chanel jumping off the bed and barking also. My heart pretty much stopped and my mind created the worst scenarios that could rival any modern day horror movie writer. For example, the dude from “The Strangers” that breathes really loud has just landed on your last step and is making his way to the bedroom to chop me up into a Danni salad…

Notice the creepy masked figure in the back, that's the guy I was thinking of.


 Yes, really those are the things that were going through my mind. As I sit in my bed clutching my shot gun wondering if I should go downstairs when I realize that both of the dogs have resumed their position sleeping on either side of my legs. I put the gun down and try again to find my dear friend sleep. I believe it was around 2:38 that I finally fell asleep. Which means 3 hours later my alarm was going off, which ultimately means Danni, the “I don’t drink coffee” chick is about to become the “I need a large java chip Frappuccino lite STAT!” girl because I am STRUGGLING this morning. And to top it off I have a proposal going out today along with production of another…Please LORD let this day fly by.



With that, I am off to Starbucks to try and make myself not look like a blonde zombie today. I hope that y’alls day is starting off better than mine.

Happy Thursday dolls.

Tuesday Favorites?

Welcome back to another addition of Friday Tuesday Favorites. Yes I am fully aware that today is Tuesday but it all ways but the actual day, today is my Friday. With the 4th of July tomorrow (no work) and the 3rd Annual River Trip starting on Thursday, I am cruising on in to a 5 day weekend. :)

What I am loving:

Getting to go to my first professional soccer game in the Houston Dynamo's new stadium tonight with our couple BBFs. SCORE!

Getting to see my family tomorrow. My lovely/amazing/awesome grandparents are going to watch Chanel and Shep this weekend during our get-a-way to the Hill Country. We're also getting a new dryer and a lawnmower that isn't from the Great Depression...like this one that we have had to use the past few weeks. LOL.

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3rd Annual River Trip!!! Less than 48 hours away!

Not only to I get to be here for 3 full days.....

but I get to be with some of the most amazing people! :):):) I could not be any more excited. And, cherry on top, I found an awesome bathing suit at Victoria Secret for the big trip.

Have a fun, safe, and awesome 4th of July celebrating the greatest country in the World!

"Hey I'm a little drunk on you and high on summertime!"

See y'all next week dolls!

-Danni

Friday Favorites

It's time for another round of linking up with Carlie at The Duplechin Daily for Friday Favorites. :)

What I am loving:

In just 14 short days I will be in New Braunsfuls with nearly all of my closest friends for the 3rd annual RIVER TRIP! We're heading up Thursday afternoon and starting the trip with dinner in Gruene that night followed by Schiltterbaun on Friday and floating the river on Saturday. AND THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is our cabin. Yes, it's awesome. :)

Getting back to the gym. The past two weeks we have been moving. We're still not 100% complete or unpacked but we are pretty close. Needless to say, we had little to no time to get a workout in, nor did we feel like it when we did because we were so tired from moving. We finally joined the local 24 hour fitness by our house and it feels great to be back. When I say it feels great, I mean mentally. Physically...I feel like I have been hit by a truck! Les Mills body pump= it hurts to pick up a route 44 sonic drink. (Which I treat myself to every Friday morning). I'm shocked I didn't call is sick today from not being able to physically remove myself from bed. Oh well, no pain no gain right???

Free Weekends! I know that probably doesn't make much sense but as I was looking at my calendar for the next few months I realized that September-October, Trevor and I will only have 2 open weekends...for two months! Between Aggie Football (WHOOP!), bachelor & bachelorette parties, and other wedding festivities, consider us booked. I am thankful for upcoming July because we will be able to relax and enjoy our new house.

Summer Parties!  This Saturday we are attending a "Mid Summer's Night Dream" Party that our good friends parents are hosting at their new home in Katy Lakes, and next weekend we have a backyard bash for our friend's 30th birthday party. Woo!

Blogs. I have almost been blogging for a year now. It's been a lot of fun and a nice way to share what is going on in our lives with family and friends. It's been wonderful seeing other friends start blogs of their own. One of my best friends has a recipe blog that has really blown up. (Check it out for some great recipes! http://domesticatedduchess.blogspot.com/ ) However, some blogs will show you more than you could have ever imagined, that thought however, is for another post.

This song :)

Happy first official weekend of Summer Dolls!

Danni

Wedding Wednesday #3

Hello all, it's Wednesday. This week is halfway over, THANK THE LORD! Work has been crazy busy this week but got to make that money.

I haven't done a wedding Wednesday in FOREVER, so here we go!

A big part of any bride's big day is the lovely ladies she is going to share it with, her bridesmaids. Not only does the bride have the task of picking the girls but also what they are going to wear. Whether the bride picks them out or she lets the girls chose on their own, one thing is for sure, they are a LOT of different styles out there. (Some better than others)

I absolutely LOVE these grey dresses with the bright pink and fushia flowers. I am typically not a fan of mismatched bridesmaids dresses but the way this bridal party came together looks stunning. (Don't really get the brides blue shoes but oh well!)

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Okay, so her wedding only lasted 72 days, BUT it really was a beautiful wedding. Including the custom made Vera Wang bridesmaid dresses. I know it's not traditional to have your bridesmaids in white but they looked beautiful. (Side note, does anyone else want to rip Kris Jenner's bow off her dress?)

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Brides have gotten very bold with bridesmaid dresses that don't match...in any way. This photo shows a group with the same general color but all the dresses are very different. (except for the first two) To an OCD bride this would be a nightmare, but maybe to a more eclectic bride this would be perfection.  

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A phrase that seems to be coming up a lot in my life lately is "to each their own". And that is EXACTLY what comes to mind when I see this choice of bridesmaids dresses. I mean I could see maybe different bouquet colors or shoes but all different color dresses? Taste the rainbow?!

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You have to love classic Black and White.The black top with the flowy white bottom come together with the adorning bow to create a very elegant look. I also think the matching peep toe heels are a perfect touch. Side note: Do the flowers make you want a salad?

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This has got Texas wedding written all over it. Lace, boots, and the great outdoors. Love the bow and lace overlay on the bridesmaid dresses.

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These matching green knee length dresses look perfect next to the pale grey tuxes. I love that vibrant color. With all the neutral tones today it's good to see some brides are still keeping things colorful.

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of Wedding Wednesday. Have a great day dolls!

-Danni

Bath Salts and FM RD 666

It’s Friday dolls!

Man that feels good to say, I’m going to cut my “Friday Favorites” short this week and just say that I am LOVING it’s Friday, and last night I survived my first night by myself in the new place. Quite an accomplishment for me. (We won’t go into detail how it took 1/3 bottle of wine to do so) Tonight I am having a date night with the Mister (Thank you BR for giving me that wonderful name idea) and tomorrow more unpacking, decorating, and fun with friends tomorrow night.(Again, won’t go into detail how irritated I am with one side of SOMEONE’s family for being so absolutely insane{that's a whole nother blog post}… did I mention Trevor will be OOT on Saturday night? J)

So enough about all that, I have a little story for you Ags….

As you all know if you read the blog last week or the week  before, this past weekend Housewife and I went to Cleburne, TX for HC’s lingerie shower. It was quite an experience but overall a fun day.

So after a fun lingerie shower and then closing down the Spice Rack, Housewife and I woke up at the crack of dawn 7:45AM to head back to Houston since she would be leaving for Disney World at 6 AM the next morning from Orange. We made it out the door just before 8 and figured we would be getting home before noon that day…

Issue # 1-We have both just recently came into the world of IPhones, and were both previously Droid users. With that being said, I love my IPhone but dear LORD do I hate their maps ap. It’s ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE in comparison to the Droid’s “Google Maps”. It doesn’t talk to you, it doesn’t re-route you if you get off course, and it’s “directions” at the bottom are absolute crap. Keeping all that in mind, we get past the Waco area and somehow manage to get turned around. For all you people from Dallas, shut your mouth, neither one of us are from there. This was also the first time either one of us had traveled to Cleburne from Houston. So back to the story, we’re lost trying to figure out how to get back to the road we are supposed to be on when WE (not the IPhone) restart the route and it decides to take us to FM RD 666, (we will just call it that for story purposes). SO we celebrate our navigating skills and continue on the path to civilization.

Issue # 2- As we get going on FM RD 666, we slow down for a truck turning left into a church and as we go to slowly move around him onto the shoulder, a crazy lady (we will call her bath salts from here on out for story purposes) flies around us, nearly swiping Housewife’s front end as she does. We say some choice words about bath salts and carry on with our ride. We figured since she was in such a hurry she would speed off and she wouldn’t be a concern anymore. WRONG, Bath Salts flies up to the two cars in front of us and rides their a$$es.

“Geez, just go around!”.

"No kidding, she is on their butts!"

I thought maybe she was just following the rules of the road of no passing more than one car at a time….what a stand out citizen. Finally the car in the middle of car # 1 and Bath Salts turns into a driveway and Bath Salts speeds up so quick to get behind car number 1, she had to slam on her brakes to not rear end it.

“Gosh! What is up with this crazy lady?!”

“Maybe it’s just some crazy person on their phone…”

At this point I am positive she will past Car #1 and be on her crazy ass driving way…but no…Bath Salts slows way down. Car #1 takes off never to be seen again and it’s just us and Bath Salts cruising down FM RD 666. Several times over the next 20-30 miles bath salts would speed way up…only to slow way down. Then she began swerving over the yellow line aka into incoming traffic A LOT! Several times the cars in the incoming lanes were having to slow down and move over. Bath Salts always moved over right before they got to her, but something CLEARLY was up with this chick.

“I wonder if she is drunk?”

“Could be…but it is 10 AM in the morning.”

 “Maybe she is on drugs?”

“Possibility….hopefully not on bath salts, don’t want to get eaten.”(Yup that is where the name came from)

Issue # 3- Have you ever been on a long car ride with one person (Typically in the middle of nowhere!) and one minute you are talking about this week’s gossip then the next you’re talking about things WAY heavier…for example…. Accidents or murders? Horrible stories that you have NO idea why you are even talking about? And like DETAILED stories, WAY TO DETAILED! Does anyone else do this and wonder “WHY THE HELL ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS?!? I AM SO SAD, SCARED, FREAKED OUT, THANKING GOD FOR MY LIFE NOW!”.  Well that is where we were…discussing stories that should be left for when you’re NOT in a moving vehicle, in the middle of nowhere, traveling down FM RD 666, behind some crazy lady you have named Bath Salts.

Big Finale- Still following Bath Salts we arrive to a cross road of FM RD Don’tturnhereyou’lldie, (which go figure, our damn IPhones were telling us to turn down) and FM RD 666. There were blinking red lights facing us but not the cross road, therefor, by the laws of the road, we were supposed to stop, make sure cars weren’t coming, then cross/turn. Housewife was RIGHT in the middle of Horrible story #4 and had been talking for a good 10 seconds since we had stopped behind Bath Salts when I stopped her.

"Why hasn't this chick moved?" 

“No idea, but we have been sitting here for a while and there are no cars coming.”

“Honk your horn”.

Now let’s be honest, I was suggesting a TAP of the horn, Housewife went for the more aggressive approach….and LAID on the horn for 3 seconds. NOW important question here…what do you do when you get honked at? Flip people off? Jump? Give an  “I’m sorry” hand wave? MOVE IN ANYWAY!?!?! I'm betting you do. Well…Bath Salts didn’t move….at all. When I say it was the creepiest thing I have experienced this far in 2012 I mean it. She just kept looking straight forward hands on the wheel not moving. She didn't even flinch! At this point another 10 seconds have gone of us just being is shock at the situation when I tell Housewife in a very anxious voice that “L, We need to get out of here now!” The next moments all seem like it went by in fast forward. We didn’t really want to go around Bath Salts because at this point we feel like she is on bath salts and is probably going to kill us and dump us of on FM RD Don’tturnhereyou’lldie after she has us for breakfast but we wanted to get away so Housewife started backing up. It just so happens the car coming up behind us for some reason thought we were moving forward and was coming at us pretty fast before they slammed on their break once they realized we were moving backwards. HOWEVER, it wasn’t enough and she hit the back of us. I’ll admit it, we screamed. It scared the living daylights out of us. From way to deep stories to bath salts to minor accident, we had enough! The creepiest thing about all of that is Bath Salts still hadn’t moved! Crazy sat their until the car that hit us pulled over on the side of the road!!! Lucky for us, the lady that hit us was a nice southern lady in her mid-50’s who had hit a pig the week before and the front of her car was already messed up. With God on our side, there was no insurance exchange necessary.

Now I don’t know about you guys but I am a big believer in God’s timing. We both had to wonder if the reason we had to get hit by the lady was because the crazy in front of us really had snapped and was going to seriously try something. We wondered in the woman had hit the pig the week before so that it wouldn’t be a big issue when our accident happened. Makes you think……

We finally l made it back to Houston around 1:00, safe and sound. Thank the Lord for that.

Moral of the story is DON'T TRUST YOU APPLE GPS and stay away from crazies on Farm Roads.

Have a fun and SAFE weekend dolls.

P.S.-Just bought my first decor piece for our new house. It's a wine rack! Very fitting, don't you think? :)

-Danni