...and we're back!

So, we're blog slackers. I thought this might happen, but was hoping we'd turned over a new blogging leaf. The good news is that we have been super busy, so I guess we could blame it on our incredibly busy, very important lives. ;)

Anyway, as I mentioned, there's a lot going on. Since we last spoke with the blogger nation (or the two followers of the blog - those of you who don't follow but read it, please show us some love and sign up to follow the blog - sorry, shameless plug), here's what's been happening...

David tried his hand (and was successful!) at changing the oil in his car. So long, Jiffy Lube and your over-priced ways! P.S. - David promises to blog more about this later.


It snowed in Austin! And stuck for ummm...5-10 minutes? And no, I did not get a day off work - boo! ;)


We worked on the house - David killed weeds and hung curtains. I put pictures up on the walls, finished decorating a couple of rooms in the house, and put together a wonderful list of "Honey-Do's" for David!


And, all of a sudden the weather has changed in Austin and it looks like spring is on the way! Gotta love Texas weather - a month ago it was snowing and now we have green grass!



All that and we both have been working our butts off at our respective jobs. It's a good life we lead! And, we promise to be better about blogging, if you promise to follow us. :)

Valentine's Day

For the past couple of years, Valentine's Day has been pretty low key with us. We aren't into the cheesiness of the holiday, although I did make David buy me a heart-shaped pizza last year much to his chagrin (good thing he likes pizza!). This Valentine's Day was actually quite perfect - I read my book, watch a chick flick and sat on the couch while David ran errands and did things around the house. It was an weird feeling since it was such a role reversal...I mean..just kidding David...but it was nice (although I did have sudden urges to clean, which I suppressed, much to David's surprise).

To celebrate this year, we made dinner together and had a wonderful evening catching up on our shows (wow...again, I feel old). David grilled Elk steak and I made mashed potatoes and green beans. It was my first time making green beans, and David said it was a success! The picture above is our Valentine's meal. Yum!

Grandmother

In loving memory of Grandmother. It's important to note that I did not say "My Grandmother" as she was not just a Grandmother to me and my sister, but to many others. Last week, while we were in Ash Grove, I had a lot of people tell me that she was like a grandmother to them, and so that's what they called her. Therefore, she's not just my Grandmother or Meredith's Grandmother, but Grandmother to all that knew her.

At the service for Grandmother, the preacher mentioned the ordinary days that made her life so special. What struck me about that is, while she thought they were just ordinary days, they were in fact extraordinary days to those who spoke with her or visited with her. She was extraordinary to others in such ordinary ways. She listened, she laughed, and she loved. I'm sure that everyone who knew her would agree.

I'm so blessed to have been in her life. I'm so thankful that she got to meet and get to know David and that she was present at our wedding. I have a lot of wonderful memories of her, and every time I take a "swig" of a Sprite, I will think of her.

"Name Change" Date

Since we've been married, I've been going through the process of becoming a Fluty. That means having to stand in the long lines at the DMV, Social Security office, and the HR department at work (okay, maybe that one didn't have a line). It also means having to call every business I can think of - cell phone company, banks, credit card companies, etc. But, more or less, I've pretty much completed the process of being a Hankins to being a Fluty.

So, with all of this hard work, we (or mainly me) figured a date was in order. David agreed to take me out on a "name change" date to 1) celebrate becoming a Fluty and 2) so that I would stop complaining that he didn't have to change his identity like I did. ;)

On Saturday night, we ventured out into the Austin night. Our first stop was Uchi, a trendy sushi restaurant on South Lamar. David took me there on our second date, so we thought it would be a good place to go (and celebrate being married and not being nervous like we were on that date!). When we arrived, the valet guy said that it was a 2 hour wait and, by the time we got inside the restaurant, it had become a 2 hr. 40 minute wait. Since we didn't feel like eating at 10 p.m., we headed downtown to our next favorite (we did get a $10 coupon to come back to Uchi - pretty cool!).

Our second choice was Truluck's, which is probably where we should have started. We didn't have to wait very long, and the meal we got was fantastic (as it always is!). Seafood and steak don't get much better than Truluck's. After dinner, we decided to go have a couple of beers at The Gingerman Pub, and some friends ended up meeting us for drinks. It was the perfect end to our "name change" date. Here's a picture of us at the bar (note my new 'do - got it done that day):

And, for all the "complaining" I do about how much there was to do to change my name, I'm really just kidding around. It really wasn't that bad and I wouldn't change my new last name for anything. I love it and my husband very much!!

The Office Makeover

After our day at IKEA, it was time to put together the bookcases for the office. One of my goals for January was to get the office completely unpacked and organized. Here's why:

I'm so ashamed to post that picture! But, yes, it was a complete disaster. So, on Sunday, David got to work to put the bookcases together while I cleaned and made room for the bookcases. Here are some pictures of the process (the animals helped a little bit):



Fast forward a couple of hours and we were ready to put the bookcases in the office. We got them moved in and then I had to sleep on it before I started the organization process. Luckily, I had today off, so I spent the day in the office (I think I worked harder in our office than I would have AT the office). ;)

Here's the finished product:



It's nice to sit back and enjoy the office now that it's done! Now, onto curtains and hanging pictures (David is so pumped for next weekend!).

P.S. - I forgot to mention that while the office is 90% done, there are still some things that need to go on the walls. :)

IKEA

Ah, IKEA. Courtney's best dream...David's worst nightmare. The conversation went something like this:

C: Can we go to IKEA on Saturday?
D: Do we have to?
C: Um yes...we need bookcases for the office!
D: Fine, but can we just go in there, get the bookcases, and then get out?
C: Maybe.

So, we ventured up to Round Rock on Saturday and braved the IKEA crowds. David was a good sport and let me wander around. We decided together which bookcases we wanted and even found a new coffee table for the lodge (upstairs game room we've dubbed "the lodge" - more on that later).

I'm happy to say that we made it out in less than two hours with two bookcases, a coffee table, and a couple of small things. :)

It made for a great Saturday - especially since we stopped and had sushi on our way home.

All I Want For Christmas...

David and I sent 2009 out with a bang!

We got to spend Christmas in Little Rock this year, and it was great time! The highlight was spending time with our 18-month-old niece, Juliana. She affectionately calls us Aunt TeTe and Uncle DeDe, and was so excited to see us and play with us. It was nice to have an extended vacation in Little Rock, too (unfortunately David had to go back to work).

Then...there was New Year's Eve. We had the 2nd annual Fluty bash, and I think David and I had the best time out of anyone. ;) It was great to spend time with all our friends and say hello to 2010!

Now, it's back to reality and the dreaded WORK. But, it's nice to be back in Austin and get back in our routine and our normal life (wow...I know I'm old when I like to be in a "routine"). Sigh. ;)