at it again...

With our 7th (!) anniversary just around the corner, I thought I'd better get last year's page done for our anniversary scrapbook. I haven't made the time to scrapbook for a long time, and it feels good to be back in the creative saddle!

creepy crawlies for 200, Alex.

I wonder sometimes if blogging is becoming extinct. Most of the blogs I frequent have had less and less postings lately. I wonder if Facebook and Twitter have started to eat away at the blog scene. I hope not.

Anyway.

It turns out that we have quite a few reptilian friends living among us. I usually see them sunning themselves in the back yard or on the front porch. But lately they have ventured...closer.

A couple of weeks ago, we were sitting down to eat a quiet dinner when something ran across my foot and scurried across the kitchen floor. The dogs pounced after it and I only caught a small glimpse of something that looked like this:

I, of course, did not get nearly close enough to take this photo. In fact, I screamed and jumped out of my chair and ran into the family room. The little guy scampered under the stove, away from the curious puppies. After some coaxing, Dan convinced me to sit back at the table so we could eat.

I am not a fan of lizards or geckos or whatever you might want to call them. Even sitting here now looking at his little face makes me want to check under my chair.

After dinner, Dan managed to chase him from under the stove to under the refrigerator. And then - finally! - through the laundry room, into the dog room, and out the back door.

Now, I know that these animals eat bugs and spiders and whatever, but I wish they would stay outside.

Fast forward to yesterday. We were coming home mid-afternoon and Dan was backing the NSX into the garage. I was outside helping to guide him. Anyway, out of the corner of my eye I saw movement on the garage wall. You guessed it - another one! Only this guy looked more like this:

Dan tried to coax him out of the garage, but he ended up under the car. I quickly went inside, but I'm sure he is going to make his way in the house. I hope he just stays in the garage and eats the bugs out there... or leaves altogether.

Yes, I think that would be best. For everyone involved.

tap...tap...tap...this thing on?

Yes, we are still alive.

I'm not sure where the time goes these days. Here are some highlights.

1. Easter was fun. We did basically nothing. :) As it was also General Conference, we spent a lot of time watching TV. It was really amazing! If you're interested, you can watch or listen to any of the talks here.

It was also nice to have the extra day off (Good Friday)! We ate "Easter Dinner" with good friends Janet & Dell at their new home. It was delicious!

2. We got to attend the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo this year. We were worried about Dan's allergies, but he seemed to be OK. It was our first rodeo (this is a main event in Houston. each year, over 200,000 people attend). After the traditional "rodeo" stuff (my favorite events were mutton-busting and barrel racing), they have live entertainment. Lucky for us, we got to see the Black Eyed Peas! And boy, did they put on a show!

Here are some (not so good) photos. I took a bunch more, but I haven't downloaded them yet.

Doesn't Dan look like he's having a grand time?!?


And there are the Black Eyed Peas!


3. Last week I was in Battle Creek, Michigan, learning all about reciprocating pumps. Super exciting, I know.


That's about it, folks.

the Spirit of Easter

In light of the holiday, I thought you may enjoy this. The images are from the photography collection "Reflections of Christ" by Mark Mabry. I found the images very powerful. Happy Easter!

photo shoot

My good friend Rachel asked that I take some new photos for her facebook profile. Seeing as I need all the practice I can get, we headed out late Saturday afternoon for a photo shoot.

I learned lots of good things, including:

1. take lots of frames. more than you think you "need". I wish I would have taken at least double the amount of shots.

2. find the light. use the light to your advantage.

3. I need a lot more practice. :)

Please leave your constructive criticism in the comments.

And now, without further adieu... Rachel. (These are in order from least favorite to most favorite - click for larger view).

I like this one because it feels very vintage-y to me.

I'm not crazy about the angle on this one, but give me some credit for trying to be creative. I especially need to work on poses and angles. Hmm.

Isn't she just beautiful? I love this casual shot!!

This is by far my favorite. I love the bright color and her eyes are so bright. Love it.

Thanks for letting me practice, Rachel!

Well another month gone and Dan's at the Helm . . heaven help us!

February came and went in a hurry. Since Chrystal is busy with her personal progress I thought I would help her keep this old bird up to date.

Lets see, what did we do in February? Basically it seems like February was dedicated to Church. We had several YM / YW activities and went to the temple 3 times.

During the middle of the month I was able to make it to good old Portland for work. While it was nice to be back it was disappointing that my schedule didn't allow many visits with old friends that live in the area. (sorry McCunes, next time for sure if you will allow it)

Since Valentines weekend was very busy for us we decided to celebrate when I returned. We had the best dinner of the year at Perry's Steakhouse not far from our home here in Houston. I must say that they had the best service I have ever experienced in a restaurant. At one point, the waitress spilled a few drops of water on the table cloth and immediately she stopped, apologized and seriously asked us if we wanted her to change the linens. My first response was "seriously?" . . she never changed the linens but WOW, we thought it was crazy but a good dinner.

Next on our calendar was my lovely throat procedure (esophagogastroduedenoscopy). I finally gave in and decided to have it done. Chrystal took me in and within and hour and a half I was in a drug-induced la la land. I LOVE anesthesia!

Luckily everything went well, and the biopsy of the tissue they took out was fine. No cancer yet - more Dr. Pepper is in my future though.

Oh I wanted to give a picture since thats what we are supposed to do for increased viewing so I thought I would let you all see my duodenum. It's very personal so please don't spread it around the internet.

Enjoy!

How can it be February already?

I've been a terrible blogger. Lately, I've felt like the days are passing super quickly and I don't have time for anything "extra". Sorry, blog reader. Maybe if my readership increased enough, I could quit my job and become a full-time blogger. Ha! Now if only I could think of something interesting to say, right?

So what have we been busy with? Hmmm.

1. I had a birthday. I spent the day in the airport (more on that later). Otherwise, it was a nice day. We actually celebrated the "big day" when I got back to Houston (more on that later, too).

2. I spent a week in beautiful, frigidly cold Michigan. Michigan wouldn't have been my first choice for a sales meeting in January, but that is why I am just an engineer. In all, it was actually a very enjoyable week; I met a lot of people who I work with now and many who I will be working with in the future. I definitely made a good choice to make the jump to ClydeUnion. It's a very exciting place to work!

3. Speaking of work, I've been doing a lot of it. There was no "honeymoon" period... once I started, they threw me in the deep end (I'm not compaining, it's actually very exciting.).

4. We're busy with the Young Men & Young Women's program at church. I've taken on Personal Progress, and am working to complete the program right along with the girls. It's been fun and challenging as I try to inspire them to work on their projects. On Wednesday nights we have activities and this weekend we start stake basketball.

5. We've attended the temple several times in the past few weeks, including a youth baptism trip and a session with the Johnson family as Tyler prepares to serve as a missionary in Arizona. We are so glad to have a temple so close to us here in Houston. It really is a blessing for our family.

6. When I got back from Michigan, we celebrated my birthday with a delicious dinner at Texas Land & Cattle restaurant. Yum!

7. We won free tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Toyota Center on Friday. Dan was looking forward to seeing them, after watching them so much as a kid. I think the reality was a little disappointing. We left at half-time.

8. Last Saturday I attended Stake Women's Conference, which was excellent. The guest speakers/singers were from the group Heartsong.

9. Dan has not been feeling well. He stayed home from work yesterday in an attempt to get more rest and start feeling better.

10. We hosted a small Superbowl party on Sunday night. Go Saints!

All that and no photos! I promise it won't be very long before I post again. Enjoy your Tuesday!