2009 Recap!

To say that 2009 was a good year would be an understatment! This past year was one for the record books..the best one yet! God truly blessed us this year. Here is a recap of our year:

•  Jonathan and I were married in May, which many of you already know..best day of our lives to date. So from January to May we or I spent a lot of time with some of my favs planning our wedding.

• We traveled to Napa for our honeymoon and we cannot wait to get back there. It was one of the best vacations so far that we have taken together. Tons and tons of beautiful vineyards that you could go every year for a long weekend and never see all of them.

•  I graduated from graduate school! After two long years...I walked across that stage and received my degree..it was a great day! I owe some major thank you's to my grad class. Those ladies are truly amazing. And I owe a big thanks to my non-school friends who supported me everyday.

• In August I landed a job and started to work full time in an elementary school in Houston. One of the best decisions I have made to date. To have holidays off has been a blessing. It has allowed me to focus on our house and family.
• In October we bought our first home. Talk about stressful, but so glad we did it. We are now 10 minutes from both sets of parents and our location couldn't be anymore ideal for us.

• We also took honeymoon part 2 to Cozumel in October. We traveled with a great couple and had an unbelievable time in Mexico. Also trying to get the hubster to approve another beach vaca for 2010!

• We hosted Christmas for JJ's family this year. It was a great day..we ate and exchanged gifts and drank a LOT of wine. It was so special to have his family at our home.

That is a short recap of 2009, but that is what we accomplished this year. I have decided that 2010 will be a relaxing year for us. I want to travel and enjoy being married to the one I love. Like I told Mer and my family..I am taking 2010 off! Laying low is the plan and just enjoying life.

I hope everyone has a fabulous and safe New Year's. 

Handy Man..who knew?!?!

As I said before I would post pics of the latest project the hubster tackled.

The sign reads:

Merry Christmas

From Ours to Yours

From The Lenzs

He did the whole thing himself! He finished the candy canes today as well! So proud of him!

Here are two pics of our guest room complete for now!

Disregard the big red box..that is his mom's xmas present!

So there you have it..that is what we have been up to as of late!

peace.love.christmas!

what we have been up to lately....

life has been pretty non-stop at our house the past couple weeks. we have had christmas with some friends and family, christmas parties, ornament exchanges, christmas shopping and looking at christmas lights.

since december 1st it seems that we have had something every night of the weekend and even week nights...sadly i dont have many pictures to show yet..still wanting on some ladies to email me them!

i had my potluck lunch at school and am officially off until january 5th! it sure is nice working in public education..good choice megan!

monday i met jenn for lunch and christmas! she got us a precious ornament that says "our first home"..it is on the bar as we speak! i promise to post pics of it!

yesterday i picked up reyann and we went shopping and made homemade sugar cookies! it was quite an experience! a 12 year old out baked me yesterday and i am ok with that. then we had dinner with her fam.

so needless to say we have been on the go! this afternoon jonathan's godson is coming over to do christmas as well.

did i mention we are having christmas here for jj's family?!?! starting to stress a bit, but i know it will be fine and a fun-filled day!

and now that jj finished his latest project for the yard..i will post a pic of that this afternoon after i have finished wrapping presents and cleaning the house!

peace.love.christmas.

Shout Out

Just wanted to give a little blog shout out to the hubs. He is surprising me more and more everyday with the things he accomplishes around the house. He has truly embraced being a homeowner. He is building things and tackling projects I never thought he would want to take on. He recovered our dining room chairs, he hid the wires behind our tvs that are hanging on the wall, installed a dimmer switch for our entry light, the list goes on and on...he is now in the process of making something that I beyond excited about..I simply could not love him anymore.

Happy Thursday everyone! I only have to show up to work 6 more days before the break...ahhhh the joys of working in public education!

peace.love.christmas.

Music Update

i added Christmas music to the blog! the first song is for JJ because he loves Elvis! I love instrumental..manheim and transiberian are two of my favs! someday the moms and i will go to one of those concerts!

i also finished shopping for my mom and brother today! another two people off of the list! now i just need to tackle my dad, his dad and his mom. Luckily I know what I am getting them!!

jenn and brian came over for dinner tonight! it was so good to catch up with them and chat for a bit. they both are wrapping up finals this week, so a quick prayer for them! then they head out on their cruise! lucky ducks!

jj is working in the Christmas cards. it is his thing. he got it from his dad who sends out 100's of them every year. one less thing I have to worry about!

i cant believe it snowed on friday and it will be in the upper 60's by the end of the week! disguisting!

headed to relax and do some online browsing!

peace.love.christmas.

Bliss.

Since the weather is yucky rainy and dreary here today i wanted to post another photo of the snow on friday.

My parents neighbors. JJ sent me this picture on Friday while he was moving in their plants, so I could enjoy the snow! Gotta love him!

Happy Monday.

peace.love.christmas.

Christmas Cheer Part II

As promised here are pictures from our busy but very fun weekend.

the snow on the ground at my school. the kids loved it!

Our Christmas Tree.

Our entry table with my snowman village. I think I have a problem...

Our entry with the big red bows on the chandlier and star from Pottery Barn.

Kitchen/Bar

Our mantle. Handmade stockings by my Nanny. Early Christmas present from Jenny...3 red hurricanes..just what the mantle needed! They are perfect.

Kitchen Table. Disregard my pink puffer and laptop!

Our trees and shrubs out front.

Garage with lights. The hubs did this today in the rain...i love him!

Close up of the front door and windows!

So that's what our weekend consisted of..very productive!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

peace.love.christmas.

Christmas Cheer

A recap of our day bulleted style.

• slept til about 10ish.
• wrapped the front trees and bushes with lights
• put out decorations in the house
• JJ installed a dimmer switch for our chandlier in the entry after I casually mentioned it this afternoon. it is amazing how something so small gets me excited!
• finished the bows for the wreathes on the front windows
• decorated the tree
• mantle decor is about 80% finished.
• hid wires behind in the tv hanging on the wall in the bedroom (JJ and a friend)
• cooked a decent dinner.
• tried the new bud select 55 not too bad
• received a giant box from the grandparents..it is our first legit package to be delivered! however we are NOT to open it before xmas morning! I promise nanny!
• made a HUGE mess after having the house cleaned yesterday!
• I did not have any starbucks today..probably for the best i take the day off from the insane calories in those delish drinks!
• met a new neighbor and LOVE her!
• BAMA beat the Gators! YAY!!!!!
• UT beat Nebraska in an ugly win!
• the officiating was terrible in the Rockets game tonight that I am considering not watching anymore!
• Christmas is less than 3 weeks away! Can't wait.

I think that is all for tonight. I will post pics of the tree and yard tomorrow!

peace.love.christmas.

I must admit

i was quite shocked to hear about the tiger woods drama.

i will not be making a point to discuss scandals here on the blog, but is anyone else already tired of hearing about it??

its not like he is the first person to do this..he is a man... i am in no way saying whatever happened is okay because it is not, but arent there better stories out there than this?everytime you turn on the tv there is a new update! i find it sad that people are so consumed with the wrongdoings of others...

yes he is a pro golfer and in the spotlight, but he and his family do deserve to handle this privately. what would happen is everytime a man or woman cheated it made headline news..there would be no other news!

suffice to say, what he did was wrong if he indeed did cheat on his wife, however i am tired of hearing about it already!

how about the news takes a turn and focuses on good things happening around the world instead of focusing on all the negative??? i mean it would be comforting to hear something good every once in awhile....

that is all..no more talk about these scandals anymore!

it is looking like we are headed for snow tomorrow..should be interesting at school!

PS i did buy a heater for my office last night..couldn't handle it anymore. and i also snagged another cup of hot chocolate from starbucks yesterday..this could be a BAD addiction this winter..2 days in a row. will i make it 3 today?

Unbelievable...

the weather that is.

it is insane to me that it feels so nice outside. minus the fact that my office is freezing along with my feet and hands.

i am loving this weather!

thanksgiving week was amazing. waiting on emily to send pics. we ate and ate and ate. i dont think i have ever consumed so much food in a single weekend.

the barbers were in town and life was great. they bring out the best in my family. but i do feel bad for JJ sometimes because when the barber clan is in town anything goes.

i think it is hard for him to figure how he fits in with that crazy mix of people. the odom clan is more loud and wild and crazy with the barbers than normal. people pick at each other but it is okay. we have a weird dynamic but i love it. so hopefully as he spends more time with them over the years we can find a nice place for him to fit in.

we shopped, got our hair done and shopped some more. i have finished shopping for JJ and started for my mom. i know what i am getting my brother and NO clue about my dad. oh well there are plenty of days left to figure it out.

the rest of the weekend and so far this week the hubster has been working hard. we made another trip for flagstone, hooked up the fireplace, programmed all the remotes and have cleared out most of the garage. JJ is a rockstar around the house..he has taken homeownership by the reigns and surprises me everyday with new projects.

i am hoping to decorate the house this weekend for christmas, but need to make another trip to find lights for the exterior. lots of inspiration is swirling in the Lenz house!

had my first cup of hot chocolate from starbucks yesterday and it was delish...probably stopping again today!

sunny 99.1 is set on the radio and i have been enjoying our fireplace. life is good.

now if i could just find that easy button for our home office life would be superb!

december 25th will be here quick!

PS. there is a chance of "snow" in houston friday morning...

PSS..quick prayer request for my dear friend Jenn. she is okay, but is facing some decisions and she could use the extra prayers right now.

peace.love.christmas.

Life is Pretty Good...

Life has been pretty good for the Lenz's lately. We are celebrating 6 months of marriage today..I am celebrating with oral surgery, but in 2 weeks I will have a crown and will no longer be missing a tooth! So needless to say things won't be very exciting tonight when J gets home from work. We finished the dining room chairs, picked up our headboard for the guestroom, starting laying stones for the path around our house to the backyard, picked up a new TV and finally set-up the desk! We had a very busy weekend! I love seeing the progress at the house and watching it transform into our home.. JJ cleaned the house yesterday before I got home since he was having a guy's night to watch MNF..there is no better feeling than walking into a clean home after a Monday! Thanks JJ!

Tonight and tomorrow I will be prepping the house for the Barber fam. I will finish hanging pics, washing sheets and making sure the house is tidy. I cannot wait for them to be here tomorrow! It will be so great having them here for 4 days! Emers and I are getting cut and color on Friday and then meeting the rest of the family at our favorite place..Lupe Tortilla's. I can taste those delish beef fajitas now!

I am working on a giveaway, but it will have to wait until after Thanksgiving. It is going to be some of my favorite things for the holidays. A random assortment of goodies. So be sure to check back on Monday.

I have been so terrible about posting pictures lately and will hopefully get back on the bandwagon this week since I will be off starting today at 12!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Almost forgot again! I am thankful for the Lenz family. They are a great blessing in my life. They are loving, caring and treat me like one of their own. Thanks for welcoming me into your family with open arms. Love you guys.

Help..

Ok ladies I am needing some help..any tips on where to find a cute sweaterdress for less than oh I don't know 70 bucks?!?! I have a grey one but was hoping for another one a little more colorful. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

On a side note I hit the jackpot at Hobby Lobby and Target last night with my mom. Scored a 9 ft lighted garland for 8 bucks, 4 plain wreaths for 16 bucks and the ribbon for the bows for 5 bucks for 90 feet! I have also officially checked two more people off the Christmas list...yay for progress!  Now I just have to buy for another 6 people.

I have also just realized that our event calender for the remainder of the year is getting quite full and I have already double-booked us on two nights! Yikes! It will be crazy but fun this holiday season.

And last but not least...I am so thankful we decided to move into the neighborhood we did. It is absolutely heavenly that I can be at my parents house in 10 minutes!!! We have eaten dinner with them twice this week and I am simply loving it! Thanks for the meals mom and dad! I am eating leftover tortilla soup from last night and it is delish!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday! I for one am super ready for it to be Friday!

ARGHHH

That is how I feel after today. It seems that even though we have been productive around the house lately that the list keeps getting longer instead of shorter..why is that?? Why do we add two more things when we cross off one? We did have a VERY VERY productive weekend and a BIG thanks to Danielle and Jenny for coming over Friday and knocking out two more rooms in our house..now we just have the guest bath to finish before Christmas Day. Should be relatively easy..we shall see.

Saturday I got up and hit the Nutcracker Market and I was NOT disappointed. I think I will be skipping Sugar Plums next year and just go to the Nutcracker Market..so many more vendors and deals to be found. I did check some people off the christmas list so that was a plus..just need to shop for oh the rest of our families! I came home and we did yardwork and tackled two of the dining room chairs. They look great! They are however a little bit more difficult than anticipated..but we are saving a few hundred bucks by doing it ourselves so thats a tremendous plus! Jonathan stayed up until about 1 setting up his gym while I passed out on the couch around 11...so pitiful!

Sunday was pretty relaxing..until the Colts v. Patriots game...wowza! Thank you Colts for making a come back and beating those Patriots! Ahhh feels so good! Jonathan however was a bit less happy about the win as he is a Patriots Fan..can't win them all honey. The Colts played pretty sloppy but pulled it out in the end.

This week is an indirect week which means I can get caught up on all the paperwork and not do therapy! Well I would rather do therapy and NOT do the paperwork! Oh well it must and will get done!

I have been bad about saying what I am thankful for each time I blog. These people are pretty stinkin amazing. I have known this family since I was about 8 months old..I have known them longer than my own brother! They are practically my parents..I even spent the night at their house when my brother was born. They are my family, they are always there when I need them and I love them almost as much as my own family. They are a few of the only people I let call me "Meg or Meggy." I have given their son..my longest friend stitches on his head..that is how much we love each other. I was so blessed to have Emily as a bridesmaid, Alex as an usher and Suellen co-host my bridal luncheon. And to top it off they will be here for Thanksgiving..so today I am very thankful for the Barber Family...simply put if my parents would have had to leave us to someone if something happened to us..it would have been them. Love you Barbers.

Sweet Emily..

I would do anything for him...now if I could just have him back in Texas..

Mom #2..how could I not love her?!?

Two of my favorite men telling me how beautiful I looked. Thanks for the tears..

Look how far we have come...

Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather..yay for sweaters and cords!! I LOVE THIS WEATHER!!

PS I am thinking for my 100th post there will be a giveaway...so stay tuned!

Success and Not so much Success

I accomplished a lot yesterday. Ran by my doc's office to pick up some samples of my thyroid meds because let's just say I am not the most pleasant person to be around when those lovely pills run out, picked up the fabric to re-cover the dining room chairs and then headed to some shops until danielle got off of work. Hit DSW..nada, hit Pier1 didn't find what i was looking for but did find stemless wine glasses on sale for 48 cents, so I picked up 6 for my mom and I's craft project. I then walked down to Home Goods to look for some placemats/table runner/tablecloth??? At this point I have not seen much that I like. So we will see what goes on the table in the next few weeks. Do any of you ladies know of a good place to find table linens?? I am stumped! I then headed to MCM to meet up with danielle to hit the Gap. Bought my dark wash straight leg jeans and I am sporting them today! I am loving them more and more...now I just need some boots! (I have some black leather ones, but am thinking some flat ones would be a good gift this year) After we walked the mall and did some window shopping we parted ways...it is still weird that we don't live about 100 yards away from each other.

I then prepped the two rooms that are going to be painted today. My mother-in-law kindly offered to head over once she gets off of work around 1 and then danielle is coming over after work as well too. Should be able to knock it out tonight! Then I get the lovely task of setting up the office this weekend..oh joy!

I am looking forward to tomorrow though...heading to the Nutcracker Market in the AM, hopefully there will be some better goodies at this event.

All I can say is thank goodness it is FRIDAY!!!! Pizza, bevies and painting is on the agenda tonight! Happy Friday!

How Did I NOT know this?!?!?!

I am browsing Hobby Lobby's Ad to check out what is on sale and then i am scrolling down the left side of the nav bar and there it is "Print Coupon" i am in utter shock and disbelief! How is it possible that I did not know there was a 40% off coupon off of regular priced items on the website! I mean COME ON!!!! Granted half of the store is always some percentage off, but there is still plenty there that is not! Thought I would share this relevation of sorts with the blogging world!

Since we are hosting Christmas this year..this might just be what I needed to get some items for the house! Good grief Hob Lob how did I NOT know!

Peace.Love.Shop

I mean how can you not with all these coupons!

Fall into the Gap..

Where else?!? I have my 30% off coupon in hand and will be heading there very soon! They have some super great pieces on sale right now too. Love the boyfriend sweater for only 16 bucks. Love the corderoy jackets on sale for 30 bucks...more importantly I am loving that Gap has gotten it back together. For awhile there I was less than impressed, but am totally loving their fall/winter clothes! Check out these lovelies:

I would gladly wear any of these..i am thinking the red is PERFECT for Christmas Day at our house this year! I am thinking new jeans + plaid shirt + boots will be precious! Now let's hope for some cooler weather!

Any of these V-necks would do the trick too!

And these super cute red booties would be super cute with my red plaid shirt!!

A trip to Gap to pick up my straight leg jeans is for sure on the books today! Hopefully I can contain myself!

I am also heading to Interior Fabrics to pick up the fabric for our dining room chairs. Jonathan is going to tackle that project this weekend, while Danielle helps me finish painting the gym tomorrow after work! It will be very busy around the house the next few weeks as we wrap up the projects and get everything together for the upcoming events.

I PROMISE to post pics after this weekend. Some major projects will be finished, so I will be more likely to add pictures!

PS..YAY for Thursday!

Patience My Child...

If only I had some! I have tried on several occasions to be more patient with my family, friends and Jonathan. But let me tell you...it is most certainly a virtue that I do not possess.  After JJ and I moved into our house we made two lists: "short to-dos" and "long to-dos" most of the BIG projects are on the long list, so it is always exciting to cross something off the list. Like I said previously, JJ crossed some items off the list this weekend. And trust me I am so proud of his hardwork around here..homeownership suits him well. However there are some projects I am more eager to get finished. Our office is the "holding cell" if you will for items we don't know where we want to put yet. The desk has not been set-up and the walls have not been painted. After a nice chat with Jenny (JJ's mom), she has agreed to come help me finish up the last two rooms over the next few weekends. I think once the office is painted I will have a more clear vision for the space. But man it would be so nice to have an EASY button about now.

So we woke up around 9ish headed to HEB, came home and watched some football. I left around 2 to meet Jenn to head to Highland Village for a few things. I did find the second Christmas gift that I have purchased for JJ today. I have only bought for him! I have a list now, but still have no clue what to get our dads. Everyone else I at least have some ideas for..any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! My mom has been asking what to get JJ and I said you can't go wrong with Home Depot giftcards..there is so much we need for the house for the yard and what not, so although she loves giving thoughtful gifts she might have to go with practicality this year!

So what are some items are your wishlist this year?? My list is evolving..Uggs, jeans....I really haven't thought about it much this year since we have been so busy! My mom informed me she is done shopping for me already..i was shocked! I am thinking a quick trip to the Outlets in Cypress will take care of a few of the gifts I need. We shall see in the upcoming weeks.

Thankful Part 3: My extended family-grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and so forth. I am thankful for them because although we don't see each other often we always pick up where we left off. We may be a small family, but I wouldn't trade them for the world.

My family at the reception.

Claire, me and my brother. Claire read a scripture at the wedding.

My Aunt Pat doing the blessing at the reception. It was so special to have her be apart of our special day.

Dancing to "We are Family"

So there is a snapshot of the Odom and Gustavson Clan.

Have a great Monday everyone..