Feliz Cumpleanos, Mamacita!!

**Thanks for the immediate feedback! That's what I (& Brian) thought...just had to check :) **

On a different note, Avery is scooting all over the place. I wasn't mentally prepared to have to keep my eye on her every second already! It's pretty dang cute though...she's either rolling all over the place or scooting backwards until she runs into a wall/table/cabinet...or whatever else might interrupt her scooting session!

And my last topic of the night:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SUPER AWESOME MOMMY (Nonni)!! My parents just got back from a business (for my dad...fun for my mom!) trip to DC and celebrated my mom's day by hitting up their classic date hotspot- Carabbas!! mmmm...

Momma- Wish we could be there to make you feel special today! You are amazing and great and we love you soooo so so very much :) Thank you for your love, for your prayers, for your funny jokes every now & then ;P... for your support, and for your example! Basically, thanks for just being good ol' Rachey!  Can't wait to see you this wknd to celebrate!!

Happy Wednesday!

PS- I'm ticked I missed GLEE tonight :(

Legit or Bogus?? PLEASE PARTICIPATE!!

Okay you guys. I NEED INPUT on this one. Seriously. Even if you want to leave an anonymous comment it's okay.  Or even email me.  Whatev.  I just need as much feedback as possible!

Would you pay for an online personal trainer?

Here's what's involved:

1. $10 initial assessment fee: involves filling out survey about current fitness/health status

2. Next, a list of customized recommendations is provided which touches on nutrition, general cardio/weight resistance recommendations.

3. You are then presented with the option to choose from various packages (please see examples):

• workouts only pkg
• nutrition only pkg
• 2 workouts per week/2 nutrition feedback appointments per week = $x
• 1 workout per week/1 nutrition feedback apmt per week = $x
• daily workouts and daily nutrition guidance provided = $x

 ****workouts provided in printable form so they're easy to carry with you during your workout****

Okay...that's the main gist.

Does this sound like something that you would actually be interested in, or just straight up bogus??
Honesty is the name of the game, people!!
Peace.Love.Gracias.

UPDATE!

As I typed the update below I got a text from my real estate agent:
"The offer sucks, but we're going to counter. Call you soon."

Eh...not quite what I was hoping to hear, but hey- we have an offer!

Offer

UPDATE:

@ 11:30 on Wed morning we STILL haven't heard what the offer is! AH!

There is a meeting going on RIGHT NOW in which an official offer is being drawn up for our house!! YAYYY!!!

I keep checking my phone obsessively. Prob every 30 seconds... I'm SO anxious to hear from our agent!! AH!

PRAYING PRAYING PRAYING...

Meanwhile...Brian is @ a Metallica concert with a bunch of boys ("men") from Tyler! Aves and I are just hanging out. I'm laughing at her while she bounces like crazy in her little jumperoo. SO cute :)

I'm crying

because this is FREAKING hilarious.

East Tx Bound

Avery and I just came in from a nice little picnic in the backyard with the pups! It has felt HEAVENLY outside today :)
i

Well, we're headed to Tyler for the wknd and I have NEVER been so excited about that!
We miss our supercool friends Kylee & Chris a LOT and are SUPERpumped to spend some time with them! Not to mention- it will be nice to be in our own house for a couple of days :)Possibly hitting up the state fair in Dallas on Sunday...TBD.

PS- Avery is steadily making progress in her efforts to become a crawling baby! She can get up on her hands and up on her knees...but both at the same time only lasts for about 2 seconds before she topples. She hasn't quiiiite figured out how to make it all work together!Oh- she's also discovered how delicious her toes taste. See below:Hope everyone has a super terrif wknd!

Massage School?

Been doing tons of research today on massage therapy (which I looked into while living in Tyler, but didn't work with our baby timeline!). Umm...I'm pretty sure I'm totally leaning that direction.

I'm kind of REALLY excited at this prospect.

I need to let it swirl around in my head for about 48 hours before I make any decisions though.

And now for some pics from our GREAT weekend in ATX w/Auntie Nug. She was a super terrific hostess...made us delish choc chip cookies (which I devoured pretty much on my own), banana bread, put us up for the entire wknd, and EVEN babysat Aves allll afternoon/night on Saturday while B and I tailgated & went to the game!



Thanks Nug! I love you and had a blast staying up late chatting! Miss you. We have to live in the same city someday. It's a must :) Aves misses you too :)

Today

1. I had a job interview!! My first one in the Dallas area. It was with a small home health company...Home Care for Seniors. I got to wear a cute little business suit for the first time ever! We'll see what happens! It think it went well :)

2. I left Avery with a childcare PROFESSIONAL for the first time. I found her through a recommendation from a church in Denton. Nancy. Mid-50s. Keeps 3 kids max. Sweet christian couple...both retired apparently, bc they're both at home with the kids all day. She did great, and it was actually really comforting to feel like she was in good, loving hands!

3. Avery had her first Rainforest Jumperoo experience! I finallyyyyyy purchased my dream jumperoo, which I had been looking for on Craigslist in Tyler FOREV, and one would pop up about every 25 days. And they were always asking like..80 bucks! Ridic. I checked the Dallas postings on Monday, and there were about 12 of them listed in ONE day! YAYYYY. She is IN love. Brian and I were CRACKING up watching her swing and bounce around with a jovial little grin on her face. So cute :)

4. Brian, Noah, Aves, & I ate @ Fuzzy's Taco's...voted Denton's best. And it was goooooooood!

5. I found my new grocery store fav :) Okay...so ever since we left Austin I have been DESPERATELY missing Central Market & HEBizzle. For all kinds of reasons, but my fav thing was the "grind-it-yourself" peanut butter! Nowhere to be found in Tyler. Believe me- I searched/called high & low! Well, in North Dallas/Denton it appears that Kroger is the cool place to buy groceries. I was super bummed when I made this observation, but after finally venturing into one last night, I am hooked! THey have my PB! They sell DELICIOUS cakes by the slice (this will probably become a serious problem in the near future)...the only other important thing they lack is a GELATO station! I'll have to talk to someone about this...Anyway, I canNOT wait to have some delectable "grind-it-yourself-honey-roasted-PB-toast" for b-fast in the AM!

Happy Tuesday!

I {heart} Heidi

...and her SERIOUSLY beautiful baby bump!

Texas

Ah, its good to be home. :)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mer's Giveaway

The last day to enter Meredith's "Mommycards" giveaway is TODAY! Click here to read about how to enter :)

WIshful Wednesday: TV Star!

Although her show is no longer airing on TV...I STILL wish I could be Jennifer Garner in "Alias". I was OB.SESSED. with that show during its prime. Her body was BANGIN'. She was a stud. Had the nicest arms EVER. Big beautiful lips. She got to wear a crazy/amaaazing new wig every episode! She had a gooood-looking man in her life. She cried alot. Um....I loved her. She's the reason I love the name "Sydney". And I STILL love her.
Hey Jenn, if I can't be you, can we at LEAST be friends?
PLEASE??

Sleepy head!

My little angel is STILL sleeping!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

HILARIOUS.

click here.

scroll down to the video of el presidente commenting about kanye.

PRI-tty funny.

Thanks aunt Kayla!!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Totalled.

Yesterday I totalled the T-blaze.

I met a friend halfway betw Tyler and Austin to deliver our puppy (now hers) to her and was on my way home. It had been raining PRETTY much the whole way. I had just been thinking about how crazy people are for PASSING in the middle of a rainstorm!!

...And then I started hydroplaning, spinning, went off the road, hit an embankment, flipped, and landed upside down. Some super great boys&men ran over to get me out of the car and then flipped it back onto its wheels.

YUCKY THINGS:
-our car is totalled, so RIGHT after we finally had 2 cars again...we're back to one for a little while :(

SUPER GREAT THINGS:
-God provided a ton of incredibly nice people to help me in the rain, provide me with shelter, help me collect all of my stuff that was all over the place, & who stayed with me until B arrived.
-No one was injured! The only scratch I have is a teeny little thing on my pinky. I barely even have a bruise! Just a sore neck.
-Avery was at home safe with her daddy. I ALMOST took her with me. Thank you, Lord.
-Kylee didn't come along for the ride like she had planned. Again, Thank you, Lord!
-There was no oncoming traffic during the few seconds I was in the opposite lane.
-GOD IS GOOD!

Now I'll be driving a rental car until our insurance company figures out how much our little T-Blaze was worth!

My Brain during the VMAs...

Kanye is evil. SERIOUSLY. What a pathetic dude. I'm not sure why he thinks people care IN THE LEAST about his opinion. And I'm also not sure why he thinks it's okay @ all to humiliate sweet, not to mention talented, little Taylor Swift!! It is SO unfortunate that his music is so freaking cool. Because HE is degenerate.

Taylor Swift is precious. I want to hug her right now.

Lady Gaga MIGHT be the weirdest person I'm currently aware of in this world. However, I think I like her. I'm not sure about that crazy red lace thing she's got wrapped around her face though.

I wish I looked like, sang like, danced like, smiled like...Beyonce.

How is it that Beyonce can dance/dress like a HOOOO during her performances, but somehow maintains her classy image? Interesting.... I'm a fan.

Russell Brand is STRAIGHT UP innaprop. And weird. But he makes me smile for some reason?

So does Tracy Morgan.

If everyone would just continue to boo Kanye every single time his name is mentioned I would definitely approve.

Why isn't Pink singing live? She sounds SO good live. But I guess contorting your body all over the place makes it a little difficult...

It makes me happy that Eminem has finally learned to be a good sport :)

Okay...Beyonce is a SWEETHEART. Thata'girl

Annnnnd, that's a wrap.

Lord, direct my path...

I love being a personal trainer. SERIOUSLY. I love it. It can be frustrating at times, because the money isn't the greatest....at least not in my experience...but it involves everything I LOVE all wrapped into one! I love fitness. I love people. I love trying to make people comfortable with themselves. I love helping people better themselves. I love building relationships. I love the opportunity to encourage. I love being active. Soooo...personal training is THEBOMB.

When we get to Denton, I don't know if I will continue training. Right now, the scheduling has become quite a challenge, with a new baby and all. I don't know where to find childcare for Avery in Denton. I don't know what kind of job opportunities there are. There are so many things to figure out... Everything is just all up in the air!

I'm going to apply to PT school before I start looking for a job though, so that will give me a couple of weeks before I have to really start looking! I'M SO EXCITED to finally be applying! I had planned to go to PT school throughout most of my college life, but suddenly changed my mind. It's funny how things work out, because Brian and I would have a COMPLETELY different life if I had gone to school right after graduating! Now, though, I am so so excited to have the opportunity to apply. If I don't get accepted, I can live with that....at least I have the CHANCE! And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out! I think I could be happy doing a million different things :)

My Last Friday...

Today was OFFICIALLY my last day @ work! SAD! I have ABSOLUTELY loved my job here in Tyler. I have been so amazingly blessed to be in such an uplifting, encouraging environment at work everyday. Surrounded by people who love the Lord and who treat their work as their mission field has been pretty awesome. I AM, however, excited about new opportunities that wait for us in the Dallas area!

Brian got back today!! YAY!! Aves and I missed B and are soooo happy he's back. On Monday we'll all head to Denton together and "move in" (kind of) with Noah for a while. We're going to occupy a vacant bedroom upstairs in his house until we can figure out what to do! STILL praying so hard that our house sells soon!

Hurrrcut

Yesterday, after I opened the email from my mom with some pics from our Abilene trip, I almost threw up. My hair is (well...was) O.O.C. (out.of.CONTROL.) WAYYY too long. To all of you who call yourselves my friends...HOW could you let me go through everyday with that knappy mess hanging down my back? EW.

I couldn't rest (literally) until my dilemma was FIXED. So... I chopped 4 inches off of my hair yesterday afternoon. With dull kitchen scissors. It might be a little bit uneven...when Brian gets back in town I'll have him check for me. I think it looks good from the front. But all that matters is no more long-knappy-nastiness. It may not be perfect, but I can sleep well tonight :)
(But, I'm still mad at everyone for not telling me that my hair was disgusting...)
MADlove.

GLEE

I have a new fav show.

It's called gLee.

If you didn't see the pilot episode a few months ago OR tonight's episode, catch them online. You WON'T be sorry.

I want to be in Glee Club.

{Love}-ly Labor Day

We did a LOT over labor wknd! Quick run-down:

Thursday- Headed to Denton to meet B, but stopped through Rockwall so that Aves could meet her (Brian's) Aunt Linda. We met up with B @ our hotel and got ready for our big evening @ Maggiano's. Aunt Amy babysat while B and I went to a speaker-dinner for his new company, Alcon Labs. I always meeting new people, so I was excited to meet his new teammates...plus I learned some cool new stuff about nasal allergies/meds!

Friday- We slept til the munchkin woke up, loaded up the car, and set off to explore the communities just north of Dallas! We checked out Denton, Lewisville, Carrollton, Frisco, Lake Dallas, Old Elm, Flowermound...and a few other little places, and then finally set off to meet the fam in Abilene! Little Aves was in the car for EIGHT HOURS and did a super amazing job :) We dined @ Rosa's for dinner (YUM) and then got to see Uncle Rileton briefly before team curfew. The remainder of the night was spent hanging out at the hotel with Nonni & Big Poppy.

Saturday- Reidster & Riles joined us for breakfast @ our hotel, me and Big Poppy worked out while everyone else (including Avery) watched football, then we met the Goforths & Nug&Kayla @ Harold's for some BBQ where we were serenaded with a GREAT song from Harold himself! "His eye is on the sparrow"...one of my all-time favs! I'm SO sad I couldn't get my camera to work while he was singing! Back at the hotel, the girls participated in our own impromptu arts'n'crafts hour. You see, I forgot to order a Trinity onesie for Avery, so we ran across the street to purchase some supplies to make a homemade onesie! That evening the wholllle crew went to see Trinity beat McMurry. Uncle Riles even scored a TD for us! I think the little home-made onesie was PROBABLY his good-luck charm :) Afterwards we had a quick visit with the Martin/Campbell families! Linz's babybump is growing and she looks BEAUTIFUL! :)

Sunday- We churched @ Southern Hills. I SOOO MISS THE BEAUTIFUL SINGING @ CHURCH OF CHRIST CHURCHES! It moved me :) We said our goodbyes and then B, Aves & I killed time dining with some of my old kiddos from my summer interning @ First Colony. We saw GI Joe, which I really liked! We met Chris & Kylee Hay (our GREAT friends from Tyler) @ Chris's parents house in Abilene and spent the rest of our weekend there!

Monday- The boys played golf. The girls lounged, watched tennis, and dominated the newspaper crossword puzzles. THANK YOU to the Hays for hosting us! We then FINALLY headed back to Denton where we spent the night....and then Aves and I got up early Tuesday morning to head back to Tyler for her doctor's appt.

BUSY wknd, but SO GREAT to see SO many people that we LOVE SO MUCH!! Thanks to everyone for just being great. And for loving us and being such a big part of our lives! We love you all!!

Now...the pics :)