Prayer Requests

At the end of my last post I mentioned prayer requests. As I am sitting here I am realizing that I have a couple of other friends that could use some prayers. They may not admit it, but I know they both have some things weighing on them right now too. So please pray for my friends Danielle and Jenn as well. Jenn is taking an insane amount of hours this semester, so I would like to pray for her sanity and strength to make it through the school year.

Not that everyone couldn't use some extra prayers, but I know these two would really appreciate the extra thoughts. Prayer is a powerful thing and it is important to remember to trust in the Lord because He has a plan for us all. The verse I find myself turning to more and more is: "I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me" - Philippians 4:13.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

First Week of School

It has been one crazy, chaotic, life-adjusting week (feel free to insert you own term)! I showed up Monday early..well what I thought was early to a madhouse! Parents were every where and were 20 minutes early!!!! I think I bumped into about 10 different individuals. I could literally feel the claustrophobia setting in as I was walking the halls. I stayed camped out in my room for a solid 45 minutes. I need to take a deep breath and calm my nerves. After the chaos had died down, I made my way to my supervisor's room and we got to work. We started going through files and so forth. My week has been pretty much the same. Get up early and head to work..go through files, make copies, organize my room. I am being a little OCD about it. It is however almost completely done! So I am hoping to have pictures tomorrow.

In other exciting news, Jonathan and I are putting a contract on a home tomorrow. We have walked the house twice now and LOVE it. We knew when we walked in that it was the one for us. I don't want to give too much away because it is not a done deal by any means, but if everything goes well, we will be under contract on Saturday and start the option period. Jonathan has not been sleeping well this week because he is our finance "guru" and he has been crunching numbers and trying to determine what is best for us in the long run. We made some final decisions today and everything should be good. I just need to get my two paychecks under my belt and then we can move forward with closing. We will hopefully be closing in early October, which is perfect for us! So we are sending up some big prayers to the Big Man upstairs to watch over us during this process. So any additional prayers are welcomed. My sweet friend Meredith and her family could also use some extra prayers as well.

We will keep updating as the status of the house changes. We are ready to get everything in writing tomorrow, so we can both get a good nights sleep.

New Weekly Blog Addition..

Starting on Fridays..I am going to do Photo Friday's. I am excited about doing something every week. So Photo Friday's will be different each week. Each week there will be guidelines for the photo to post. I figure it will be a great way to see reader's/bloggers favorite photos. I will be testing the waters for a few weeks. Who knows if I can come up with enough different categories of photos to last a few months! This week will be...

The photo that surprises you....

This is me on my wedding day. I look at it and I am in awe. I have received so many compliments of this photo. The reason it surprises me is because it is not my personality at all..it is very sexy and simply stunning. That is not how I would normally describe myself. I am the epitome of a prepster..anything JCrew and I am sold. But this picture just takes my breath away.

Can't wait to see what photo surprises you the most.

Back to School Cleaning

So a few changes to the blog..fun fonts which took forever and a white background..I am not totally in LOVE with it, but it needed a little something to mix it up. I am madly in the love with the picture of jonathan and I are our wedding day and that is staying for awhile..we are still newlyweds! It is hard to imagine that we have been married for almost three months! Time is flying by. The reason I LOVE this picture is because it is us to a "T" and Kevin was able to snap us during a break of the photos..I LOVE that I can rest my head on J's shoulders..it is soo comforting to me. I love that he can wrap his arms around me and completely take me in. I love that his hands swallow mine..I could go on and on. So enough of the mushy stuff. Tomorrow is Day 3 at my school. I will be moving furniture around and hopefully will have the room done! I am so ready for my room to be organized and in functioning order. I am all for starting out the school year organized.

Rug Around..

Ok ladies I am in need of some help. My new room at the elementary school is a rectangle and has laminate floors. So I want a rug to soften the room and make the room feel more inviting and warm. Basically I have white walls, some cubbies, a filing cabinet and tables for the kiddos. I am hoping to switch around the room a bit, but for sure want a rug on the floor. So do I do stripes, flowers, circles?? I just don't know. The catch is that I don't want to spend like 150 bucks on something my kiddos will be destroying with paint and other craft items! So here are two I have found so far...Any tips or places to find a cute but moderately priced rug would be greatly appreciated!

Day 2 was a success...tomorrow is another long day..this schedule is killing me!!

Happy Hump Day everyone!

M & J

My Personal Chef..

Since we have been hitched Jonathan has taken on more responsibility in the kitchen. It has been a huge help to say the least. He has become quite the "King of the Grill." I must admit that I enjoy cooking, but will not complain when I come home and he has marinated the chicken and seasoned the veggies. I didn't have to do a thing..all I have to do is clean. I am soo thankful that Jonathan has taken a liking to cooking.



Our recipes tonight:


Grilled chicken breast marinated in Stubbs Chicken Marinade and in Raspberry Vinaigrette..both are liquid marinades.

• Place chicken breasts in large Ziploc bag..add your seasonings of choice. We did two types tonight.
• Refrigerate for a couple of hours if time allows.
• Fire up your grill and throw on the chicken breast until the temperature of the chicken reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit. I bought my man a digital thermometer at Marshalls for a whopping 3.99.

Veggies:

• We quarter the veggies..squash and zucchini.
• Season with garlic pepper salt
• throw on the grill for 5 minutes.

Enjoy your grilled veggies and chicken breast! We sure did tonight.

For dessert will be enjoying fresh strawberries and whipped cream. YUM!

The hubs is also enjoying going to the grocery..I am convinced that it is because we have a fabulous new HEB right around the corner. I also love to grocery shop, but if he wants to do it then I won't object!

Today I enjoyed an all day inservice..let's say I was yawning until about 10:30. I am not used to this whole getting up before the sunrises situation! I have this week to get used to it and then next week the kiddos show up! The rest of this week I will be at my school organizing my room, reviewing files and setting up my schedule.

On that note I am officially making a salary..so about 30 days from now Jonathan and I can make a move on the house front. We are being patient and don't want to get burnt out looking at too many homes before we can make an offer...but we also are under a time crunch as well. As long as we close by Nov. 30th we will still qualify for the Tax Credit. So all we can do is look and hopefully find something we both agree on! Should be a fun process.

I am hoping to add a new something or other to the blog this week..we shall see.

M & J

Weekend Round-Up.

So this past week I was a busy bee. I spent Thursday at my new school and part of Friday morning, until they sent me home because I am a contract employee to the district and do not start getting paid until tomorrow. So my friend Tina and I hit up all sorts of stores looking for items for our rooms. We had a blast helping each other pick different things out from magnets to storage bins we did some damage. So Friday afternoon I met Jenn at Marshalls on West Gray..I needed to return some items and of course I could use to browse the aisles. Well I walked out with two picture frames and she didn't end up with anything more exciting. She and I parted ways and I met Tina over by the Galleria. We hit the Marshalls and Old Navy. More luck at Old Navy. I found the cutest shirt for Mer's son, Carson. I am thinking it will be part of his birthday present, but I doubt I can hold onto it for that long. I just love that precious boy! So Tina and I decided we would have a craft night..we headed over to Hobby Lobby to gather our supplies. I found a great photo board for my room..it was 50% off. This is not it, but looks very similar.
We decided we would make something to hang on our doors. We each made "Ms. Megan" or "Ms. Tina" for our doors. We painted the letters and stenciled on polka dots. They are super cute! I am also very proud of myself! Pictures to come once my room is done.

Saturday I spent the day with my mom..we ran some errands and hit another Marshalls..seeing a pattern here??? Nothing to noteworthy..found another work shirt. Now that's all I buy! Who knew getting a grown-up job meant having to buy grown-up clothes. I think I am set though for awhile. I HOPE I am.

That night we went to the Hrachovy's Graduation Party for their daughter Leah. I have grown up with her family, so it was great to be there to celebrate her big accomplishment. Congrats Leah on graduating from A&M! Jonathan and I crashed at my parents house that night..we watched The Hangover with my parents. I have to say that it was over-hyped by the time we watched it. It was very funny, but we still think Wedding Crashers is better!

I slept in Sunday morning and then met Danielle at Town Center for a few hours. We did a little window shopping...and got some good deals at Forever on tanks..seriously that's all we bought! Maybe I am getting a little old for that store? Or maybe it is just that location? Not sure. After shopping with Danielle. Jonathan and I headed to Pearland to pick-up a fish tank. I have specifically instructed Jonathan that this new, bigger tank will not be set-up until we move into our house...whenever and wherever that may be.

Today marked my last official day of summer..tear. I ran errands and helped Tina set up her room. We had fun organizing her room and materials. She will be kindly returning the favor later in the week. Tomorrow we have an ALL day inservice with all of the SLPs in HISD. Should be fun, but we have to be there at 8am..I feel a cup of coffee already..and I am NOT a coffee drinker.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekends.

M&J

i'm in LOVE...

Not to copy Nina's post, but I got the same email from Tory Burch..I am obsessed!! I think I need a pair or two..since my 25th birthday is coming up..maybe these will be at the top of my wishlist!! I will take any pair..I am in LOVE!!!

What pair is your favorite..I am coveting a few.

Shoe Frenzy..

So Friday night I spent the night at my parents house..my brother Ben was coming in town, plus JJ was going to fish that night with some friends. My mom had to work on Friday, so we waited for her arrival so we could head to dinner. We decided to try the Gringo's in Rosenberg. It was a BAD idea! The service was TERRIBLE!!!! We were waited on by three different people and were there a solid hour before our food even came..needless to say 20% was taken off of our bill. Saturday my mom and I had planned on running errands and do some shopping. Well the boys decided they wanted to tag along..who could pass up DSW?!?! Well my mom and I hit the jackpot..or I should say I did. I have NEVER had such luck there. I left with 5 pairs of shoes. My mom and I had discussed that I would need more appropriate work shoes since I am going to be working full-time now.. I ended up with 4 pairs of flats and a pair of Bernardos..on sale! It was a productive shopping trip. Here are some pics of what I found.

These Rocketdog shoes are satin and have a cute bow on the side. They also come in several great colors.

My next find were these animal print shoes on sale for 25 bucks! How could I pass these up!

My next find in the clearance section were these Bernardos in black..I just had to have them!

I also scored some super comfy Dr. Scholl's in pewter. I know they sound lame, but they were music to my feet.

Today was my last day at the lawfirm..it was bittersweet. It has been such a great job, but I am super excited to start the next chapter of my life as Megan Lenz, MA, CFY-SLP! I am heading over to my elementary school tomorrow morning and plan on taking pictures of my new room. I have a bunch of items already for my office. This weekend Tina and I are going to do a DIY craft project for our rooms..hopefully it will turn out great!

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Let the Hunt Begin

Jonathan and I have been discussing buying a home for awhile...quite honestly too long, but since I am finally going to be a contributing part of society we are now able to begin seriously looking. Our lease is up at the end of October so we have some time, but need to close by December 1st in order to qualify for the tax credit. We have begun the pre-qualifying portion of the process with much thanks to Meredith's husband. We have decided on our criteria..our "wants" and our "needs" and are ready to begin the search. Of course there are things that I think are a "need" but are mostly "wants"! We are focusing on the Katy area, but will expand if needed. We most certainly don't want to settle on a home, but also don't want to look at 40 homes! So if you know anyone who is selling a 3+ bedroom, 2 bath, 1700+ square foot house with mature trees in the yard..feel free to let us know! We are making our first trip out on Saturday....I will be sure to blog about our adventures in being a first time home buyer!

Tuesday I went to the DPS with my friend Tina..to change my name and address! We got there around 9:30 am and didn't leave until 11:15!! We went to the I-10 and Beltway location..not too bad, but still a long wait! They are not in any hurry that is for sure! But now I am officially Margaret Odom Lenz! Just one more document to change and then I am done! Since we are going to Mexico in October I have to get my passport changed as well..so I am leaving that for next week! All in all it has been a productive week so far.

Have a great Friday everyone! I know I will!

are you aFRAYd of BIG beverages?

So two weekends ago I went to the Fray concert. What was supposed to be a girls night out..turned out into 3 girls and 2 boys! Originally it was Cassie and I and we were to each bring a friend. I asked my sweet friend Jenn to go and Cassie asked her friend. Well at the last minute her friend had to cancel and we didn't have a fourth..so long story short Jonathan crashed...we had a great time. We ate at Lupe Tortilla's beforehand. It was a great concert. I LOVE them! There were two bands that opened for them and then they FINALLY came on stage. They played about an hour and then did an encore where they covered a MJ song and a Kayne West song. It was a great night...here are a few pics!

Gotta love the 24 ouncer...
Me and Cassie

Jenn and I. I LOVE her!

The following week was my last EVER at UH. I had four meetings during the week before I could kiss that place good-bye! It was bittersweet on Friday after my exit interview..don't get me wrong I was pumped that I was done, but I knew that some of the girls that had been at the center of my world for two years would be moving away and we would not be seeing each other very often. We have a plan of course to do monthly dinners and do a trip somewhere each month as well. I am truly going to miss this groups of girls. They were one of the reasons I survived grad school and some of the greatest ladies I know!

Friday night Jonathan took me out to celebrate being done with grad school. I came home to a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne! Then he surprised me with dinner at PF Changs..my fav! Much to my surprise he planned for my parents to surprise us! I just love my hubby! My mom of course couldn't resist an opportunity to give me something for my new office..I mean of course I need a Brighton business cardholder! Love you mom.

After dinner we headed to the River. We had an amazing weekend just relaxing..we had champagne on Saturday to toast to me again. Who knew getting your Master's meant so much champagne..but I am loving it!

Tomorrow I am hopefully getting my new driver's license taken care of and meeting Molly and Grace for lunch!

Happy Monday!