Yep, I know. Long time no write. I just haven't been feelin' it lately. Still not, but here goes nothing.
Houston Marathon
Doug and I ran in the Houston half marathon again this year. I was not prepared for it. I think the most I ran in between the SA half in this one was 8 miles. My knee was messed up, so I was sidelined for awhile. Excuses, excuses, mostly I was lazy. But I had a respectable time all things considered. I ran a 2:30. Still faster than my first but not as fast as SA. The best part of it, was running the first 9 miles with my rock star best friend Becky who did the whole marathon. It was awesome to experience that with her. And ummmm, I haven't ran since. I know, bad Leslie. I promise I will get back into, maybe in a week or two. (Yes, I say that every week.)
Valentines
I have to say this Valentines was one of the best if not the best ever. I hate Valentine's Day, I think it is stupid and made up. Some of this could stem from the fact that I have never had a really memorable one, in fact have I have had some really bad ones. Anyway, every year I always down play it to Doug, and every year he follows the lead and we just exchange some small silly gift, like a CD or something. But this year was a little different. This year we went to a fabulous restaurant here in San Antonio, Cocoa Chocolate Lounge http://www.sa-coco.com/. I felt so hip being there amongst the SA elite or at least the wanna be's. For a present he got me, an apron, a potato ricer and a single diamond stud. ( my ears are pierced twice on one side) Some may be saying "an apron"? But that is what I asked for. I love to cook, but I'm a really messy cook. And then some may be saying, "what the heck is potato ricer?"(Go to the Williams Sonoma Website if you are curious.) They make mashed potatoes even more delightful. So the night started with presents. The three of exchanged gifts. If you are curious I got Doug the new Pat Green CD, I framed some pictures for his office and a membership to the U2 fan club which includes a CD and a t-shirt. (And hopefully an advantage in scoring concert tickets when they go on sale.) Lauren got a plush Woody (from Toy Story), a plush Pluto, some candy and Toy Story 2. Oh and two cards. Doug got her one and I got her one, just happened it was the same one. Great minds, right? After the exchange, the babysitter came. We went and had cocktails at one of our favorite spots, Silo, then on to the restaurant. After waiting for 20 minutes for a table we had reserved, we were finally seated and had a wonderful dinner. Just as we were about to leave, I looked down to my wrist and noticed my bracelet was gone. Panic follows. My diamond bracelet the one Doug got me when I had Lauren was gone. I look up and say "My bracelet is gone." Doug: "Are you sure you put in on?" Me: "Of course I'm sure, I think I'm gonna vomit." I look in all the places we had been in the restaurant, we ask the front desk, no one has seen it. We go to the first place, no one has seen it. We drive in silence on the way home. I am sick. Doug is doing his best to make me feel better about it, but I don't. We get home, wait for the babysitter to leave. Once she is gone I run to my room looking, hoping it is there. Go into the bathroom and.......Hooray and praise God, it is on my vanity. Must of fallen of as I was touching up my hair. I was so relieved. I was running through the house, yelling "I found it, I found it!" So all was well and Valentines was saved and my faith in it renewed.
Oh and on the Wed. prior we had a little playgroup get together, here are some pics.
The Group
Two Sweeties: Caroline & Lauren
Rodeo
The SA Rodeo just left town. We were lucky enough to score 4th row tickets to two concerts. The three of us went. Lauren was not a fan of the whole stock show and touching the animals, but she loved the show part. Loved watching the bulls, broncs and horses. Even loved the concert part. (the first night anyway) Here are some pictures, you can see the excitement in her eyes.
Gary Allen
Our Cowgirl
Jeff and Reagan's Birthday Party
On Saturday after Valentine's day we headed to Houston for our dear friends birthday party. In the afternoon, was Reagan's 5th birthday party and one of those inflatable places. Lauren had a blast and bounced herself into delirium. That night was Reagan's Daddy's adult only birthday party. We went out for Mexican and then to a local honky tonk "Moe's" for a concert featuring Roger Creager. I'm not much for honky tonks, but we had a lot of fun. I was even dragged onto the dance floor a few times. I love my dear friends, Becky and Jeff and their precious family.
The group
Ft. Worth
On Sunday Lauren and I headed to Ft. Worth. (Doug had business all week in Phoenix.) As I have mentioned before, my dad was recently diagnosed with cancer. He has now started treatment, so we wanted to go up there to be with him. As it turns out, he is doing great so far and was at work most of the days. So Lauren and I hung out with my mom and got to have a great time doing fun stuff with her and hanging with my dad in the evening. As a highlight I got to go for Sushi with my sister and sister in law. We had a blast eating yummy food and cheap martini's. On Friday we headed back home, unfortunately Lauren was sick by this point, but fortunately she was. I was just on this side of the San Marcus, on the home stretch, when I got clocked going 80. But after explaining to the very nice officer that I was just trying to get my sick baby home, he let me off with a warning. Nice guy.
Lauren's Sick.
So as previously stated Lauren is sick. Started with a nasty sounding cough, then snot, then ear pain. So, yesterday we went to the Dr.s office. This was only like her 4th visit that wasn't a well baby/kid checkup. I didn't want to take her in. Pediatrician's offices creep me out. All those nasty germs kids bring in. I always think, if she wasn't already sick, she will be now. But to Doug's credit, he convinced me to take her in. Good thing I did, double ear infection. So for the first time ever, my baby is on antibiotics. We almost made it three years without them. That's something. Today has been a long day of staying at home, but we have done some fun things. I gave her a manicure and a pedicure, we made play dough and made cookies. (She's napping now, shhhh)
The Pedicure
The Cookies
The Play dough
Cooking
From Scratch cupcakes and frosting
Remember me making a commitment to one new recipe a week? I have pretty much done so. Here are some things I have made:
Buffalo Wings
Shrimp Fried Rice
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ranch Style Chicken
From Scratch Cupcakes
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (made today and yes they are as good as they sound)
Pork chop Parmesan
I am still on a quest to make the perfect Carne Asada, so far two trys and while both were tasty, still not what I'm looking for.
The House
As a surprise, Doug called several interior designers for me to meet with. He decided on two, and after I met with both, I narrowed it down. For awhile, we were deciding, "do we stay here and fix it up or move and start over?" Staying here won. So now on to making our house a home. This not my area of expertise, so we hired someone to do it for us. As it turns out, it's a bit more expensive to do this than we originally thought so we are starting with room one and we will see what happens from there. We are starting in the family room since that is were our life happens. In about three weeks we will have a completely new family room. Well, not completely, we are keeping our furniture since all have it has been purchased since we moved to SA. I am so excited and can't wait to see the finished product. I will post before and after pictures when it is finally done.
Disney World/Astros
This Saturday we are headed to Florida. We are going to Disney World, baby. It just so happens that the Astro's will be doing a little thing called "Spring Training" down there too. We did this same trip last year, but this year promises to be so much better. For one, Lauren is older and will have more fun. Two, the sickness was (hopefully, a knock on wood) before the trip this time not during. Last year we all took turns getting sick. And third, well, just trust me it will be better.
So, that is were I have been and I guess were I'm going. And I will try to be better about blogging. It's much better doing it a little at a time vs. writing a marathon at one time.
