Year in Retrospect

I'm writing this entry a little prematurely, but I have noticed that more and more friends and family members are sending out their Yearly Newsletters & Christmas cards, so I am in the spirit. This will be our last holiday season as an unmarried couple and in the midst of finishing up wedding related tasks, I will not be doing Christmas cards this year. Gasp! I am looking forward to being able to send cards and a Newsletter out next year as The Copelands, so I did not want to ruin the novelty of that.


I do not think that 2009 could have been a better year. I really feel as though I will look back at this year, and realize how pivotal it was in my life. Of course, this year has not been with out trials and tribulations. The economy has been dismal at best, but we are fortunate to live in Austin, one of the cities that has been least affected by the recession. Saying that, Dave and I started out the year, January 1st, 2009 at 12p.m. having to face the news that he was laid off from his position as a restaurant manager in Elgin, Texas. Wow, ouch....The layoff had been somewhat predicted by Dave, he knew it was coming, but wow, on the 1st, REALLY? The good news of that day was that I was off and we were able to spend it together. As a recent graduate from Texas State with his masters, Dave knew this was a position he had outgrown. It was a blessing in disguise to be pushed out of the door with a reasonable severance package. He now had all of the time in the world to find a new job. And he did. A wonderful job that has allowed him to sort of use his degree in Legal Studies. He is now working as an Engineering Specialist (he hates when I tell people his title because he says it's misleading) for the Railroad Commission of the State of Texas in the damage prevention division. Best part of this job? We work 1.5 miles away from one another in downtown Austin. It makes life convenient sometimes.

I began the year of 2009 very determined. I would graduate this semester. I was 3 credits away from completing my Masters of Liberal Arts degree in Legal Studies. All I had left to completely was my Applied Research Paper...this was the largest academic obstacle I have ever had to overcome. First of all, I'm not a great writer, second, I don't enjoy writing, third, Dave had just graduated and I was dragging my feet finishing my own paper. So I wrote, and I wrote and I wrote. I turned in multiple drafts to my advisor, and I pulled multiple overnighters after ignoring my paper over the weekend and feeling guilty about it come Monday. I finished the paper in April 2009, sat in front of a review board challenging my paper in early May 2009, and walked the stage May 15, 5 days after Dave and I got engaged. I have been at my job as a paralegal for the entire year of 2009. Life as a paralegal in a boutique law firm has provided me a wonderful opportunity to learn and practice all the things I studied getting my masters.

We witnessed a best-friend get married, we ran our first 10K together, we had a couple of garage sales together, we moved into our first house together, we went through Dave's career change together, we went through two surgeries on our dogs together, we had countless family get togethers side by side, we made the decision to spend the rest of our lives with one another, we've planned a wedding...mostly together :o), we traveled together, we went deep-sea fishing together.

I look back at 2009 and realize how lucky I am to have Dave in my life. It's like we just fit together. I'm blessed that my family has really accepted him as one of their own, they all love him, and the feeling is mutual. I'm blessed that Dave's family has just as equally welcomed me with opened arms. I'm looking forward to meeting more of Dave's family in 2010 and at our wedding. I'm blessed that I went from having the best support team ever growing up, my mom and dad, to my future husband who has been just as supportive, if not even more, of everything I want to accomplish in this life. Life seems limitless when you have a cheerleading by your side. I look forward to growing our little family unit. I look forward to the challenges we face as a couple, and the opportunity we will have to make decisions together to reach each of our life goals. I look forward to leaning on Dave for support, and being there for him to lean on for support.

I don't usually have New Year's resolutions, other than the generic, "I will get in better shape and eat healthier."  I really try and do that year round. Key word: try.  However, over the next year there are things I would like to work on.  First of all, I would like to try and live in the moment more. I still want to plan ahead and I love daydreaming and talking about the future, but often, I overlook the awesome right now moments. The times when we are just together with people that we love, usually not doing anything special.

I want to try and relax more. I don't mean like sitting and watching T.V. kind of relaxing. I mean, not worrying about things that are out of my control. I resolve to be less fixated on things out of my control, especially if it's midnight on a Monday and what I'm fixated on isn't for weeks away. (If you know me, you understand this aspect of my personality.)

I want to get closer to God. I've drifted from where I use to be religiously and I want to get back. I'm lucky that even though Dave and I believe differently, we are accepting of each other's beliefs. I want to read the Bible more this year.

I would like to live more simply. I don't need a lot to be happy and sometimes I surround myself with things that are unnecessary. I'm not very materialistic for the most part, but while planning our wedding I've ousted myself to be fairly high-maintenance.

I want to complete our first half-marathon together!! We have been training for quite a few months, and it can get overwhelming at times, but we've given ourselves lots of time to get in shape. We are running on February 14, 2010, which is like icing on the cake. I'm looking forward to registering us for the race as Mr. & Mrs. Copeland.

Christmas is just around the corner, and then I feel like we will be non-stop until January 18th, 2010 when we return from our honeymoon. It's going to be a whirlwind and I can't wait!!! I'm going to try and start practicing living in the moment...once it all begins.  For now I'm still in major planning and scheduling mode!

Wedding HoopLa

Thanksgiving was wonderful! This is the first time ever that I did not spend the holiday with my family, but at the same time I did spend it with my family. My new family. It was a Copeland Thanksgiving, and it will be a Jimenez Christmas, with the Copelands as well, in San Antonio. I know that sharing the holidays is important, I just wished that Thanksgiving & Christmas were two days each so Dave and I could see everyone. Then I also realize that we are very fortunate to live so close to both of our sides of the family!


We weren't going to decorate for Christmas this year, at least that was what I had kinda submitted to. Every additional ounce of our budget has gone towards wedding expense, and with Dave’s new job transition his regular paychecks won't take effect until Jan 1. Needless to say, our budget has been very tight for November and December. That is okay though, we are rich in many more ways than money. Health, family, God, employment, love, each other, roof over our head.

Low and behold though, Dave got an itch to get our Christmas decorations out! He got the tree down from the attic last night, and I pulled out what little decorations we do have and plan on finishing that up tonight, and then picking up a few little things that strikes up my fancy this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend.... it’s going to be very busy for me! Bridal portraits on Saturday and Bridal Shower on Sunday! Wooohooo, and I have to drive to San Antonio both days, so that is the part I'm not looking forward to. My veil is in San Antonio and I need it for my portraits in Austin on Saturday, and then my Shower is in San Antonio Sunday afternoon. So lots of running around and lots of business to take care of! On top of that, I still have not found what I want to wear to my bridal shower...so some shopping must also occur tonight! Oh, and we bought my wedding jewelry tonight. LOVELY. Love it. It is a sapphire pendant earring and necklace set. It matches the dominant wedding color perfectly...& it is also my something blue!!! Something old = mom's veil, something new = wedding dress, something borrowed = ?, something blue = wedding jewelry.

Everything really seems to be falling into place.  We really need to do our Christmas shopping for our families, niece & nephew and wrapping gifts, ect.  I'm pretty sure I know what I would like to get Dave, but he knows what that is already so I still want to find something to surprise him with.

It is suppose to snow today here in Austin....but we all know how that goes! 

Sooo behind

So much has been happening lately in life. It's like one thing after another. I really can't keep up with my blogging because I feel like we have be on the go non-stop. So I am going to try and get to wear we are right now.

1) We got in a car accident! It was scary and crazy, but no one was hurt, other than our car and the other drivers' car. The Jeep was taken to the shop and luckily it was not considered totalled and we get it back brand spanking new today/tomorrow! We are very fortunate that Dave and I both work downtown and less than 2 miles away from one another so car pooling, as we usually do, just continued, but in his car M-F.

2. Jae, Claudia and Ava came into town for a weekend! It was a whirlwind weekend and just kinda spontaneous. They were originally planning on traveling to San Antonio in mid-November for my Dad's 50Th birthday, but they just couldn't make it then with their work schedules. We were so lucky to be able to see them before the wedding since we will all be spending the holidays apart.

These pictures aren't wonderful because they are mostly from my mom's iPhone, but they capture a little bit of the weekend. We were able to see relatives from both sides or our families so it was fun!

3. Our first Halloween in a house and handing out candy occurred. We carved a pumpkin the week of Halloween and then had Dave's parents come over for dinner and the UT v. OSU game while trick-or-treating was going on. We had a really good time with the Copelands and I love when people come and visit us at home. I was actually excited about the number of trick-or-treaters that we had. A lot of people around here were either doing carnivals or church events rather than going door-to-door. We still have about half of our candy bowl left over, but that is just because I was over zealous about being candy this year. This is a picture of Hillbilly Bill, inspired by the vampire Bill off of True blood, and then at the last minute Dave wanted to make him a hillbilly.

HILLBILLY BILL

Carving of the pumpkin and Hardin looking for pumpkin scraps.

4. Thor's toe was removed. The. entire. toe. Gross and sad, I know. He has had some problems with this particular pinkie toe for the past year. The toenail flipped off one hiking trip and has since never grown in correctly and either become infected causing him to limp for a week or so, or like this last time was so irritated (not infected) that he licked a spot on the toe raw. Each time this has been happening it costs about $100 in vet bills for the visit and any subsequent medication, so the vet recommended we just amputate his toe. Ohhhhhh, I have probably been more miserable about it than he has been.

Thor's surgery was on Monday morning, this picture was taken Monday night when we got him back home. He was soooo dopey, the only other time I have seen him like this was when he was going through his whole giarradia stomach problems. So, I got down next to Thor to pet him and just make sure he and I were going to be okay and I fell asleep for a good half and hour. My lovely fiance took that opportunity to watch his science shows and take pictures of us :o). He seems to be doing okay, he has not been putting pressure on that foot at all, but really seems to hop along with 3 feet very well. The vet tech predicted that there should not be a change in his gait once the toe actually heals, but only time will tell.

5. Dave has a new job! Better and permanent and with benefits and good. Ahhhh, this was such a relief for us. He will be working for the Railroad Commission for the State of TX as an Engineering Specialist. Sounds really exciting, huh?? Yay! Phew. I cannot express the sense of relief and pride I had for Dave when I found out. He is so deserving of this position.

6. Dave and I are playing on a fall co-ed rec softball league and had our first game last night! We lost 3-9, but we still had a really good time and this team seems to be a little bit better and in the right league level than our team last year. We only have 5 more games left this season, but I'm really pumped about them! Kelly is also playing this year and has asked a couple of her friends to play so it really looks like we are going to have a good time.

So that is a pretty up to date of all the things that have been going around here. Really each event felt like it could have used it's own blog, but there just doesn't seem to be the time for that right now.

IBM 10K

What a wonderful weekend!!! Friday after work Dave and I went on our "date night." We went ring shopping at the Lakeline Mall. I was able to find the ring I loved in after only the 3 stop! I love love love it. Dave got fitted at one of the stores and I ordered his ring on Sunday from Tungsten World online. I also had out wedding date enscriped in the ring in ComicSan font. We went back and forth about this, I wanted it to be enscriped in a nice cursive font, elegent, but Dave wanted Comic type font because he loves comic books. What a big dork, but he won because it is his ring, afterall! So following shopping we had dinner @ Fuddruckers. Believe it or not, this was the first time I had ever eaten here, and it was so-so.

Saturday we layed extremely low and spent most of the day with Dave's dad, Reese. Reese brought over a massive amount of barbeque for lunch & dinner. We watched UT Football, drove to the spot where we were running the next day just for a run through, saw Whip-It and ended the day by watching a couple of boxing matches on Showtime. It was an overall very enjoyable day and Dave & I had a good time hanging out with Reese.

Sunday morning, Dave and I headed out for our first race together! It was SO much fun. I really enjoy that now I have a lifetime running partner. We did so much better than I anticipated, too. We ran an average 10:30 minute mile for the 10K and finished our race around 1:07. I'm so glad my parents & sister were able to make the race, too, because I completely forgot my camera that morning. Mom got some good pictures.

This is Dave & I right before the race started @ 8:00 a.m. It was a cold morning in Texas!

Right after the gun went off!

This was around mile 4, finally some downhills allowed us a chance to smile and enjoy the run.

Finishers! Yay! After the race.

We are still in the middle of our training program and the next official race on the books for us is on February 14, 2010. Austin 1/2 Marathon!

Identity Crisis & Wedding Planning Updates

So, I knew long ago that when I got married, without a doubt I would take my husbands name. When I met Dave and found out his name was Copeland I was pleasantly surprised because that is a really nice last name. I'm really excited and honored about changing my name, however at the same time I can't help but feel a little sad about losing Jimenez. I love the last name Jimenez because it's mine and my parent's last name and it embodies the Mexican heritage that I come from. I've been throwing around the idea of hyphenating to Jimenez-Copeland, but that seems really silly and I always give people the eye slant when I hear a hyphenation. I know, I don't mean to judge, but it just happens. Plus, Dave does not want to hyphenate our children's last names once we are blessed with children, so then I realize there would not be a point in my hyphenated last name. I've also thrown around the possibility of dropping my middle name and putting Jimenez in it's place, but I really like Marie as my middle name.

In the end, I know I will simply change my name to Copeland and drop Jimenez. I'm I am really so excited about it, I just need to learn a new signature! Also, I hear legally changing my name can be a pain in the rear, but it will be so very worth it. Amanda M. Copeland, has a nice ring to it, no one will ever suspect the mexican lady whom it belongs to.

We are going to look at rings this weekend and I'm pumped! I found a ring that I feel in love with at the Zales Outlet in RR, that was really reasonably priced for the quality. I love the vintage look of any wedding ring and because my engagement ring is a solitaire I feel like I have so many options. I think I may want a solitaire ring enhancer, or a wrap, but I'm worried that on days I just want to wear my wedding ring, I won't have that option & will need to get another ring. Hmmmm, so that may work in my favor. I also am pretty sure that D and I have picked out his ring, but he needs to be sized so that I can order it. Everything is becoming so real as the time is flying by. I know that I complain a bunch about the things that must be done, but occassionally I step back and try and enjoy even the stresses of planning. Many years later, I hope that I will look back and remember this time of planning our wedding and starting our lives together fondly.

Oh, something else that is WAY cool, is that my dress has gotten altered and is ready to go for my bridal portraits on December 5th!!! The portraits are going to be taken in Austin around 3 in the afternoon in hopes of getting some nice twilight pictures as the sun goes down. Dreamy, I know. I hope that we can take some at the capitol and then also on S. Congress there are some really neat buildings and a cool Welcome to Austin mural. My veil is my next big focus. I will be wearing my mom's veil that she wore for her wedding almost 30 years ago. It was exactly what I wanted before I even so it in person. I had seen lots of pictures of the veil, but it looked SO eighties. However, when I saw it at my parents house several months ago, I loved it. It needs some restorations and some serious TLC on the lace, but my grandma seems pretty confident that it will be wedding ready for me. I'm really looking forward to wearing it and then to keep it in our family in hopes that one day I can pass it down.

Oh, also! All out-of-state wedding invitations have been mailed....Yay!

Exciting Halloween

This blog may be a little premature, but I just can't help being really excited for our first Halloween in a house together!!! And then Thanksgiving, and Christmas and New Years, OH MY! Then of course...dun dun dadunnnn, The Wedding.

I've mostly all of a sudden gotten really excited about Halloween because this means that we will be able to stay at home and pass out candy to all of the kids in our neighborhood! Yay! Also, Halloween is on a Saturday night this year so we should hopefully get a steady traffic flow of kids. Dave suggested we even dress Thor up as Frankenstein. How funny would that be. He may scare kids away though, so more than likely he will stay in the backyard.

This weekend Dave is going to College Station for the OSU v. A&M game. Go Cowboys! My parents are going to come down on Saturday to keep me company and hit up some stores. I am hoping to get my Halloween decorations this week. I'm only looking a couple of things because however ever much I want to go all out for the holidays this year, any extra ounce of money we have for extras is going for wedding related items. Things I'm looking for:

1) 2 good sized pumpkins for carving. I want to carve one and one for Dave.


2) A fun door decoration, or possibly even a scary door cover. Ohhhhhhhh.

3) A candy bowl


4) Halloween candy, however, I'm pretty sure that if I can hold off and wait till the Saturday morning of Halloween I will be able to start getting the discounted candy.


5) Ideas and recipes for a Halloween themed appetizers, dinner & dessert. I may try and have a couple that we are friends with over if they are not working/going out. If not it will just be a fun dinner for Dave and I.
I think when the weather really starts to change I get excited about the holidays. This morning was cooler than normal, even though last night when I went to bed it was 89 degrees out still!

I'm also more excited about the holidays this year because our wedding is shortly after and this is our last holidays as single people and this transition to a married couple has been exciting in general. So hopefully I do not go overboard with the Halloween stuff and still have energy and money left for Thanksgiving and for Christmas!

Working around the house Saturday

Saturday started out with an awesome 5 mile jog with Dave & Thor at 6:30a.m. Then we got ready, and headed out to the grocery store for the upcoming weeks meals and really stuck to our list and bought almost ever single item with a coupon or the item was on sale. Yeaaa. With the combo loco deals and all additional coupons we saved $24.75. By far the most we have saved on any single grocery trip. That made me happy. We then came home and had a late breakfast around 11am which consisted of any and all leftovers we had in the fridge.

Prior to heading out to the store when I was doing an inventory of our fridge & freezer to see what we needed to buy I realized that my frozen rotten banana stash was getting out of hand, I had about 6 rotten bananas stashed in the freezer. Time to make banana bread, found a recipe and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the only ingredients I was missing was sour cream, cinnamon, and walnuts. Yay. So I made banana-walnut-raisin bread from scratch and it came out really good! Dave even liked it and he is the biggest critic. Success.

Dave worked on replacing airvent things and hanging up our last picture frame. He also worked on putting up our "nightstands".

We just have not been able to find nightstands that we want so Dave suggested doing these shelves for now and eventually getting real nightstands. I'm happy with them so far. We need a bed post next. All in due time.

Thor & Hardin were very helpful today too, they stayed out of the way :o).