March 31

Today, Tiffany wrote a blog post that motivated me to finally get my act together and give this coupon thing a shot. Jack and I generally like to look through the grocery ads every week, and I like to find sales, but I've never been all that serious about it. In an effort to change the way I shop and be a good steward of our money, I invested in a binder and some organization stuff for coupons, and we decided to get a Sunday newspaper subscription so we'll receive them. I also subscribed to a bunch of online coupon promotions. Hopefully this will make a difference in our spending!

March 30

Oh, how I love my husband.

Today was a rough day. Crisis after crisis after crisis at work made it a very long day. But my day got better when I saw this facebook wall post from Jack in the afternoon:

Then, when he walked in tonight, he handed these beautiful purple tulips and gave me a big hug. "I'm sorry you had a bad day," he said. What an awesome husband.

All I made him for dinner was Kraft Mac n' cheese, which he was actually excited about. He has low standards, I know. But he was sweet.

Have I mentioned that I have the best husband in the world?

March 28

Ahhh, Saturday. A day of scrapbooking. Can it get any better than this? Today, Sarah, Susan, Chris, and Sharon came over and scrapbooked with me all afternoon. It was so much fun! I just love having days where I just get to do my own hobby all day long! Plus, when I have people over to do it with me, 1) it's more fun, and 2) I'm actually motivated to clean my house before they get here!

To entertain himself while all the hens were clucking, Jack played an Adventures in Odyssey computer game that was made for an 8-year-old, and said it was kind of hard, which I found wildly amusing.

March 29

Today, we went to church with Christelle and then to the Kidds' new apartment for lunch (Christelle makes a rockin' chicken, rice, and brocolli casserole, by the way). Rylan has grown into quite a fun little kid! I told Christelle he looks like less of an alien now and that he's actually amusing now. After lunch, we went to Cold Stone (Jack's favorite!) for ice cream, then ran a bunch of errands together and generally enjoyed each other's company.

When we got home, I [under]cooked a (stuffed crust!) frozen pizza, and I had DVRed "Monster in Law," so we cuddled up, ate our under-cooked pizzza, and enjoyed a lovely evening together. I love Sundays.

March 27

For my birthday, the Seiberts got me some really great stacking shelves to help organize my scrapbooking room. Jack [very cutely] put them together for me and I completely organized my office today! I love love love them! And my office is finally organized!

The finished shelves are in the bottom right corner of this picture.

My dad also came over and put up this cool shelf on the wall here! A year later, my office is finally coming together!

March 26

Today I got to meet this beautiful baby girl - Zoe Isabella. She's the baby shower baby. What a sweetheart.

March 25

I know it's lame, but I was too much of a wimp to ask Elizabeth Elliott (missionary Jim Eliott's wife) for a picture today, so I took a pic of "the board." That's her though. She came to visit to attend today's chapel and meet Chuck.

March 24

I caught Jack sleeping in this chair, hand on the computer mouse and remote control on his chest, and I thought it was cute, so I was trying to take a picture of him when he woke up and gave me this grumpy look instead.

March 23

Yesterday was our one-year anniversary, and that's when it occurred to me that me that we were supposed to eat the top of our wedding cake (why? I'm not really sure. But we're Aggies and if anybody says the word "tradition" we salivate in true Pavlov-fashion). Since it was still in the freezer, I took it out and let it thaw overnight, so we braved the year-old cake tonight instead. It wasn't as bad as we thought it'd be, but we still just took a few bites and threw the rest away.

March 22

What a breakfast to wake up to! Jack is so darn amazing. Today is our first anniversary, and last night Jack took me to an amazing restaurant, The Capital Grille, then back to the beautiful hotel in which we spent our wedding night. This is was my favorite part last year and was again this year - the super-fancy room service breakfast!

March 21

This morning, Jack kissed me goodbye, and said "Happy Anniversary Eve!" Little did I know...

Holy cow! That husband of mine really knows how to plan an anniversary!

Jack had told me that he was taking me out to dinner for our anniversary, though he didn't tell me where we were going. I knew it would be someplace nice, though, because he told me to dress up, and he doesn't generally hide the destination from me unless it's a nice place.

He had me type in the address to the GPS, which didn't really tell me anything because it was a location I didn't recognize in downtown Dallas, and I'm an embarrassingly stereotypical girl when it comes to directions and knowing where I am most of the time.

He ended up taking me to the Capital Grille, a super-nice steakhouse that came highly recommended by my brother. It was really great. I had the tenderloin and lobster, Jack had a steak, and we had asparagus and lobster macaroni and cheese. Everything was delicious. The service was also excellent, and they made a very big deal out of our anniversary - confetti on the table, a signed card from the staff, a complimentary dessert, rose, and picture of us. Very nice.

Jack told me before we had left that we were going ice skating at the Galleria, which was nearby ["nearby" being assumed because I figured "we're close to downtown... Galleria is close to downtown..."]. We had brought a change of clothes, and so when we got into the car, Jack told me to get us back to the main highway with the GPS.

We got to the highway, and he took a wrong turn and had to circle around. When he got onto the highway a second time, he took a wrong exit. I saw it coming and tried to warn him.

"Jack! You're supposed to keep left! Keep left!" I warned. No help. He veered right and ended up on a different ramp.

"Ahh, I'm sorry," he said, as he got into the turn-lane.

"Here, I'll type the Galleria into the GPS and it'll give us directions right to it," I said. He kept driving as I messed with the GPS, took pictures out the window of the big shiny buildings, and replied to my brother's e-mail about the resturaunt.

Since the GPS was having a hard time finding satellites in the middle of downtown Dallas, all the searches for the mall were taking extra-long. Then, when something finally came up, it was something near the Galleria, and I didn't know if that's where we wanted to be. While I continued to mess with the GPS, Jack continued to drive around. When I finally looked up, he was pulling onto Turtle Creek Blvd.

I looked up at the sign, and it took a minute to register.

"Jack... why are we on Turtle Creek Blvd?" I asked him, as he was already turning in to the super-fancy hotel we stayed at on our wedding night. He put the car in park and looked back at me.

"Why do you think?" he asked, grinning. The valet opened my door and I looked up at him, confused.

"Am I staying here?" I asked the stranger. "What about our leftovers?" He looked back at me confused, as I got out of the car.

Jack and I grabbed the clothes we were going to change into to go "ice skating" and put them in his travel bag, which apparently also housed all the toiletries he had bought for me for this trip - new toothbrush, toothpaste, deoderant, etc., so I wouldn't notice any of my stuff gone. Clever, Hornbuckle. Very clever.

We had a lovely evening at the Mansion at Turtle Creek, and got to enjoy it a little more since we weren't exhausted after having just starred in a wedding this time. We took a walk around the neighborhood, visited the bar downstairs to see the live music, and I used the super-nice bathtub that I regretted not using last year. They put us in the same room we had been in the year before, and included chocolate-covered strawberries with our champagne. We also had room service in the morning (my favorite part!) with enough gourmet breakfast food to feed a small country. Ahh, the life of royalty. I could get used to this.

Jack also had special stationary cards made for me for our "paper" anniversary gift. He got them in my favorite color (purple), and had them completely customized just for me. I love them.

Nice work, Hornbuckle. Guess I'll keep you around another year!

March 20

Tonight, when Jack came home, we got a text from a friend saying that his sister-in-law was playing softball at the softball fields right behind our house, so we walked over to visit and watch the game. Then we went to dinner with them. It was a fun night!

March 19

Michelle Bedenbaugh and I were just about to watch The Office and Greys when my phone rang. It was Jack, asking permission/inviting me to go to Chili's with him after he got off work. The group was going to celebrate Chris Talbott's birthday. I told him he could go, and we hung up. About 20 seconds later, Michelle's phone rang. It was her boyfriend, Matt, asking the exact same thing. We had a good laugh, and then headed out to Chili's to meet the group. This is Mackenzie, who was so sleepy by the end of the night that she was falling asleep while her mom played with her hair. Funny kid.

March 18

Today, we were about to leave work when I walked to the kitchen and found Sharon, taking boxes out of our big trash can. When I looked with her, we found all kinds of kids videos, computer games, and even an Adventures in Odyssey album. Needless to say, we dug them out to give to some kids in my neighborhood. Yes, I went "dumpster diving" today. You just don't throw out Adventures in Odyssey.

March 17

Today, we had a special lunch for our boss, Donna, because she just got married a few weeks ago. Erin got these awesome specialty cupcakes at The Cupcakery in Frisco. They were awesome!

March 16

Ahh, home, sweet home! Last night, we got back to our hotel room very late, so getting up at 5 a.m. was not fun at all. Neither of us were feeling all that well, probably from lack of sleep.

Jack and I had been booked on separate flights, so when we got to the airport, we tried to get on the same one. Because his flight was delayed, putting him on mine took away his guarantee of a first class seat. I felt bad sitting in first class without him, so I switched seats with the guy next to him. Turns out, he was pretty tired, so he slept the entire flight home. Glad I switched that seat. I did my sleeping when I got home, since I had the day off, and he had to work!

March 15

Today was another very long, very tiring day of walking around the Vegas strip. This picture was taken at the Flamingo. In the afternoon, we saw "Defending the Caveman," a comedy show about the differences between men and women, at one of the hotels. It was very cute. Then, we had dinner with our friends, the Potters, at Margaritaville. When we got back to the hotel, we went over to Circus Circus, where I learned how to play Black Jack, and we had a lot of fun playing for a few hours with some new friends, winning a little bit of money too!

March 14

Today, Jack had to judge at the tournament most of the day, but when he got home, Jack and I went to Denny's for Brenner, then spent the rest of the day walking down the strip and back. We visited most of the big hotels, including the Venetian, Caesar's Palace, and the Bellagio, which was way cool because they had their spring exhibit going on inside. This is Jack and I in front of the poppies, right next to the zillions of tulips. Very cool.

I also figured out that my phone has a panoramic picture function, because I had to take all my pictures with my phone since I forgot to put my memory card back into the camera. Darn it.

March 13

Today was our first full day in Vegas. Jack competed at noon in forms and sparring and 3 p.m. in weapons. He did quite a bit of bobbling on his form and got a 9.7, 9.7, 9.7, which was a decent score but not good enough to place. Then, he got beat in his first sparring match, so he didn't place there either.

At 3, his weapons form looked really great. The people I was watching it with and I really thought he'd pull at least 9.8's on it. But alas, he got a 9.7, 9.7, 9.4. The judge who gave him a 9.4 was wildly inconsistent and didn't have much to tell him to improve, so it was pretty irritating. However, that's just the way it goes sometimes at tournaments; sometimes, you just get screwed. Oh well. At least he did his best.


Later, I gambled in Vegas for the first time EVER, and won $16.75 in the process!


Then we went to Hofbrauhas, a German restaurant/bar with a crazy and fun atmosphere. We really had a blast.

March 12

Tonight, I picked Jack up after work and we headed to the airport for a national taekwondo tournament in Las Vegas this weekend. Because we used miles, we got to fly first class! It was Jack's first time in first class, so he was super-excited about all the fanciness! It was definitely a fun flight.

March 11

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!Yes, I turned 23 today. My work friends decorated my office with a bunch of balloons and Taylor Swift pictures, and another co-worker, whose daughter I have in my AWANA group, dropped off a super-sweet card his daughter made for me! It was so cute.


I had a really nice birthday! For lunch, we all went out to Spring Creek Barbecue, my absolute favorite BBQ place EVER! After work, I had AWANA, and got lots of birthday hugs from my girls, which is always fun. Then, when Jack got home, he took me out to Taco Bell so I didn't have to cook! We even shared nachos - super-romantic, huh?

March 10

Today, after work, I went to "Bride Wars" with my friends from work. When I got home, I found this:


My parents and neighbors had decorated my whole house with birthday stuff (my birthday's tomorrow) and left me presents! I love feeling special for my birthday!!

March 9

Today, I came home to this! Jack hired some teenagers he knows to dig up the bushes around our house so I can have a blank canvas for my gardening this spring! I'm so excited!! We've really been wanting to re-landscape our yard and get rid of the over-grown bushes in front of our house for a while (just over a year, actually), but we hadn't had a chance. I'm so glad he took the initiative to hire it done! I can't wait to see it all finished!

March 8

This picture is really really representative of our day. No joke, I woke up at 11 a.m., moved to the couch in the living room because Jack was in there too, then slept until 3 p.m. Then, when I got up, I worked on blogs all day and Jack napped a little too. We haven't had a day like that, well, ever, and oh my gosh, it was perfect. Just what we needed.

March 7

It's BABY SHOWER DAY! We ended up having about 35-40 people here! The mother-to-BEE was lovey, as always, and I think everybody had a good time. Plus, Isa and Jeremy got lots of great stuff!

The girls from work with our BEE-utiful friend, Isa.

Later tonight, some of Jack's buddies from the Corps in College came to visit, and we all went out to the Cheescake Factory. It was WONDERFUL. It's amazing how these crazy guys can get together and it's like no time has passed at all, and that they never get tired of telling the stories over and over and over and over! Friendships like these are not easy to find.

March 6

Tonight was spent getting ready for the baby shower. Jack helped me get drinks and flowers, and I put little things together like these little buckets, which will hold the cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc. for the fajitas tomorrow. Did I mention that the love was in the details?

March 5

I was so excited to get Ellyn's package in the mail today, because I had forgotten that I was going to get some of Seth's bracelets! This family is selling the bracelets to raise money for Seth's cochlear implants (he's Deaf and it will help him hear), and I've pretty much fallen in love with all of them, especially Ellyn. What an amazing woman.

Anyway, El had asked in a note with the bracelets that we take a picture of us or our kids with the bracelets on so someday Seth could see all the people who helped him hear. Cool idea, especially if she's going to scrapbook them (I can't say no to a scrapbook!). So I thought "gosh, I don't have kids, but wouldn't it be cute if I could get Maggie to wear one for a picture all cute-like?"

She was not cooperative.
After many attempts at this, I finally decided that I'd just get a picture when Jack got home and send that to Ellyn. When Jack got home and I explained this to him, he humored me in a "okay you crazy wife" kind of way, because he loves me. Unfortunately, I didn't really think the picture-taking process through the first time around.

Because there was nobody else here to take a picture of us, I put the camera on the mantle, set the timer, then ran across the room at Jack, who was reading a magazine in his chair. I tossed him the bracelet and said "Here! Put this on and smile!" as I basically jumped on top of him and tried to simultaneously smile and look adorable despite my mismatched outfit (the husband's ridiculously ugly gray sweat pants and the blouse I had worn to work today) and the fact that I also just cleaned the bathroom. Obviously... it did not work.


Second time around got a little bit better-planned picture, but who knew trying to get one picture could be such an adventure? It's just another day with the Hornbuckles.

To get your own Seth bracelets and try to do the crazy picture thing better than I did, visit my buddy Ellyn at http://www.profoundlyseth.com

March 4

This is the lovely view I have every day from my desk chair at work. I'm really blessed to do what I do. Not only do I work for a ministry, which is way cool because I love making a difference in this world, but I'm doing exactly what I always wanted to do for a living. I realize that's not the norm, and for that I'm very thankful.

March 3

Today, Sharon and I walked outside after work to this beautiful sunset. Our first reaction? Wow, we're leaving and it's still kind of light out outside - that doesn't usually happen! But mostly, it's nice to be reminded of all the cool things God does to make this world just a little prettier.

Also, Jack went out to celebrate a friend's birthday after work tonight, so I took advantage of the time and made this for Isa's shower:

Almost done!

March 2

This week is definitely being spent preparing for Isa's baby shower, which is on Saturday. Today, I rolled plastic-ware into napkins and tied little ribbons around each one (black and yellow for the "Bee" theme). The love is in the details.

March 1

Today, after church, we went over to the Gibsons' house for an amazingly tasty lunch with Christelle, Jared, Rylan, and the whole rest of the family. It was really quite lovely (until I stuck my foot in my mouth by very passionately ranting about "idiots who text while driving" to my former band director, who just happens to do that himself. Oops.)


Christelle did me the distinct "honor" of introducing me to the book "Where's the Poop?" It's all about all these different animals pooping and telling their moms about it, and you have to lift flaps to "find the poop" that baby animal left. I'm sure it has something to do with potty-training and identifying what you're trying to accomplish, but for me, it was just way too weird.

You can also see Jack in the background holding Rylan. He's such a natural.

And... mark this day in history...


Rylan Anthony Kidd actually smiled at me! (i.e., he wasn't screaming!) Yep - those are my arms holding him in this picture. Wow. This must be the cut-off age for not hating Mandy anymore. Who knows.