January 31

Today we met the Wildmans for lunch and had a really nice visit with them. Jack got to try Thai food for the first time, and then we went across the street to a place that had shakes with Hostess snacks blended in them. We had a Zinger shake. Yum!

January 30

Jack worked at 16-hour day today (poor guy!), and I spent the day on the couch with my laptop catching up on blog designs. I finished a LOT of them, so I was really grateful for the time I had to catch up.

January 29

Tonight was date night! Jack and I went out to dinner at Grimaldi's, our favorite local pizza place. We had a really great time catching up after having not seen each other for pretty much two weeks, since I was on the cruise last week and Jack worked about 60 hours this week.

After dinner, we headed over to Market Street to get Maggie some dog food and use a coupon for free milk. Sounds romantic, yes? I ended up pushing Jack around in the cart like a race car up and down the aisles and we laughed until we cried. Life is good when we're together.

January 28

Today was our going away party for Dave, a co-worker who just changed jobs after more than a decade at our company. He will be greatly missed here, but we're happy about his new job.

January 27

I got home from the cruise three days ago, but Maggie and Jack just got their postcards in the mail today. And yes, I sent the dog a post card from my cruise.

January 26

This is a terrible cell phone picture, but today at work we went out to lunch together since our conference room was being used. It was a lot of fun. It's really nice to get along with the people I work with so well.

January 25

Jack usually gets home from work at night in a really silly mood. I think most of that is due to the fact that he knows I'm making dinner, and YIPPEE HE GETS TO EAT!! There's also some delirium from all the kids being so crazy all day long, I suppose.

So tonight, Jack got home excited about taco night. When he walked into the kitchen, he gave me a BIG hug and then wouldn't let go. In a silly voice, he said "I just want to hoooold you, and hold you and holdyouandholdyouandholdyouandholdyou."

So I let him.

January 24

I got home from the cruise today, and these two were VERY happy to see me!!

January 23

Today was our last day on the cruise together, and it was sad to have to say goodbye to all our new friends - Jenni compared this cruise to a cross between camp and college. (And then she cried like a girl.) What a great week.

January 22

Today was another day at sea (Angela and I slept in until about 12:30!). It was also formal night, so we all got together before dinner and took a bunch of pictures. This is Jennifer and me. She's the blogger who set up the trip.

January 21

Today was our day in Jamaica, and we had scheduled a zip line adventure. This is Angela and me doing our "scared face" before we did it! The excursion ended up being my favorite thing about the whole trip. After a very cool drive through the jungle to the zip line place, we got to go on 5 zip lines, do lots of hiking, and even eat fresh pinapple, sugar cane, and coconut milk in the middle of the trip! Totally worth the money.

January 20

We spent the day in Grand Cayman, where we went on a boat trip out to Stingray City and the barrier reef, where we fed stingrays and then snorkeled. It was so much fun, even though it got off to a rough start (as in, we almost missed our excursion because we didn't realize we needed as much time as we did to get off the boat)! We also got to know our new friends Colton and Jessica a little better today!

January 19

Today we docked in Cozumel and spent the entire day laying on the beach there! We had the best salsa and guacamole EVER, and I even enjoyed a beer (which I usually hate!) This is what vacations are all about!

January 18

Today was our first day at sea, and so this morning we met for breakfast and got to visit with everyone for a while. Other than that, we've been laying out by the pool and eating! Perfect vacation so far!

January 17

We're on the boat! The wide-angle lens makes our stateroom look much, much larger than it is, but we're so happy to be here with all our new friends!

January 16

Today I drove down to College Station to pick Angela up before our cruise, and we got to hang out with most of my best friends. We talked and laughed for hours. It was SO great getting to see them again.

January 15

  Today I did my first Penny Experiment shopping trip! I was really excited to get out there and help others with my mad couponing skillz. And I did really well! I got these 17 items for only $5.73!

January 14

Sometimes at work, if we're having a slow day or a hectic one from which we need a mental break, we work on a puzzle. It stays out all the time. And when I say "we work on a puzzle," I mean my co-workers work on a puzzle. Because I really, really, really suck at puzzles.

January 13

Awana is back! It was nice to see my kids again, but tonight was completely crazy, mostly because we changed rooms and everybody was all confused. The kids were wild. Good birth control. Very good birth control.

January 12

Today I came home and enjoyed some quality time with my new digital scrapbook kit, and then I cooked jambalaya for dinner. Awesome.

January 11

Today I went back to the salon and got another coat 'o color put on my hair. Now it's a dark reddish brown now. I like it much better.

January 10

Today, Jack and I spent the entire day in our pajamas. I made us breakfast and dinner (later), and we watched LOST all day while I tried to recover what data I could from my broken hard drive and Jack played computer games. It took us three days to get through all of LOST season 5. Lazy? Yes, yes we are.

January 9

Tonight, Jack had friends over for the Cowboy's playoff game. It was pretty fun, especially since they won!

January 8

Today was my off Friday, so I spent most of the day scrapbooking and visiting with the Bedenbaughs. Then, we all went out to Olive Garden for dinner. Yum!

January 7

When my alarm went off this morning, I was really not excited about getting up. I was super-tired, and on my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I tweeted "Dear work, Today would be a really good day to let me stay in bed. Kthanks."

On my way out the door, Jack lovingly reminded me to please be careful because there could be patches of ice on the road.


"Yeah, they said something about that at work yesterday," I replied. "I should check my e-mail and see if work is closed." But then I glanced at our dry driveway and decided there was no way they would close it in conditions like these.

But actually, it was closed, since the schools were closed. So I could have slept in after all. After I got there though, I figured I might as well stay and get things finished for my deadlines. As it turns out, I'm much more productive at work when my co-workers aren't there, so it's still a win.

January 6

Jack has been so ridiculously excited about my meal plan. I made it to make my life easier (and it has!! I feel so much more relaxed when I know what's for dinner!), but as soon as Jack saw it he went nuts. "It's all my favorite things!" he said. "Oh look! Sloppy joes! Ooooo! Cajun chicken! Wow!"

Every day, he looks at the meal plan and tells his friends what he's getting for dinner that night. Tonight, I made Italian stew (which I loved but he thought was just okay) and fresh-baked bread (yes, it was a frozen dough loaf, okay?). He took the bread with wide eyes and reverence.

"You made this bread?" he asked, skeptically.

"Yes," I answered. I did take it out of the freezer, let it rise, and put it in the oven, after all.

"Wait, like, made-made it?" he asked, still stunned.

"Why does it matter?" I asked.

"I just... didn't know that you knew how to make bread!" he explained carefully. "And if you did make bread, well, I'm going to need to tell my friends at work about this. And, well, if you didn't actually make the bread, I mean... I just have to get my facts right, okay?"

Um. Okay, honey.

January 5

There's nothing like coming home after a long, eye-rolly kind of day at work to a nice, relaxing night of scrapbooking alone while watching RENT (again!). I'm trying to get last year's Project365 into an album before I get too behind (as if being a year behind wasn't enough!)

January 4

This morning, Jack made coffee for us before he left. It was a really nice treat this morning! Then, I came home this evening and found our bed made, with the pajamas that I wore last night (which I pretty much heaped into a pile on the bed when I got dressed this morning) neatly folded on top. He cracks me up. I'm a lucky girl.

January 3

I was up this morning at 7 to head to the church to film Chuck's first sermon of the year. I'm not really a morning person, but it is always nice to get shooting experience.

January 2

We were watching TV tonight when we looked down and noticed that Maggie had gotten hold of the little monkey that Jack's grandmother had given us for Christmas. It was supposed to be a screen cleaner for our laptops. She pulled out the little pouch from the monkey's belly button and had been eating the little plastic balls inside. I sure hope they're not poisonous!!

January 1

It's 2010! Jack spent the day together, and had a completely wonderful date night together. We walked around Watters Creek for a while, then headed to Macaroni Grill for dinner. We had a little too much fun playing with the crayons and the paper on the table!