The Stars Must Align

We are in the very beginning stages of purchasing our first home together.  I'm so excited, and I'm even hesitant to even be writing this down in fear of jinxing any good luck we may have on this journey.  However, at this point there could not be a better opportunity for us to become homeowners.   We qualify for a bunch of cool stuff because we are first time home buyers, and newlyweds, and looking at homes outside of the Austin city limits. 

I'm soooo tired of moving around, and for the last 24 years I have been blessed to see and experience so much, that I am finally ready to lay down some roots! Particularly, that last 6 years here in Central Texas, I have moved at least once a year into a new dorm, new apartment or new house. I look forward to living in one place for more than a year without a move. Most importantly, I'm looking forward to building a home with my husband.

Dave steered me in the direction of the absolutely cutest little town, Leander.  Leander is about 18 miles northwest of Austin and seems like a really nice area. At first, and even now, I was hesitant because it seems so far from work, but it's really only about 4 more miles further for us than we are now.  It's right smack in the hill country and there are so many trails and nature things about Leander that I love so far.  Leander is also a great school district, which normally speaks volumes for the surrounding communities.  Lots of things to think about when buying a home, and trying to decide on a community where we can potentially raise our children in for years to come.   This is the area that we are focusing on right now, but are open to anywhere else that may seem like a good fit for us. 

Hopefully in the next couple of months things will work out the way they are suppose to and we will be on our way to another move! The stars must align.  One thing I am being particularly picky about is the size of the yard, must be big enough for my big dog! And, I don't want to be able to breathe on our neighbor!

We are out of the house that we are currently renting in July, and we will need to close on a home by June!  Last week we looked at about 15 houses that we found on our own that we were interested in.  This week Dave has been in contact with a real estate agent, who has found about 25 homes for us to look at, 14 of which we actually would like to see.   So we will be at it again all day Saturday!  This time I will take my camera because we are slowly getting a little more serious each time we look.

A manly dessert!

Dave and I went back and forth about what dessert I was "allowed" to bring to Superbowl Party!  I wanted to bring cupcakes because I have been wanting to make some in my brand new cupcake pans that we got a a gift for our wedding.  Dave, however, informed me that that is not an appropriate dessert to bring to a Superbowl Party.  This information was also followed up with what was appropriate food to eat at a Superbowl Party: wings, chips, pizza, beer, pigs in a blanket, ect.  Wow...have I got a lot to learn.  So Dave got a recipe of a "manly" (ie FATTENING) dessert from a co-worker, and I figured I would give it a shot!

All the ingrediants needed for Bill Nicholson's *Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding

*We used the world famous Round Rock Donuts instead of KK.

2 dozen donuts (minus the two donuts that we ate) cubed

Adding the liquids and other ingrediants

Put into a casserole dish

Butter Rum sauce (butter, powered sugar, and rum)

Baked for an hour and glazed with the Butter Rum Sauce.

This is somewhat feastive because bread pudding is a real New Orleans treat!  Dave had to help me out with the rum sauce because that was a little bit tricky. This is definately a dessert we will make again! Let me know if you would like the recipe!
Here are some fun pictures of my guys on Super Bowl Sunday before we headed over to JonO and Lexi's.

On Saturday we went up to Harker Heights to visit with my parents and see Sarah sing in the Region Choir.  Thor took the trip with us and spending the day and night at his granparent's house really wears him out!

We had such a good time a the party and I'm so glad that the Saints won. Dave's team is the Titans, so by default that who I usually route for, however, Dave also has ties with New Orleans, so we were definately routing for the Saints.  And they won.

Honeymooners

Ahhhhhh, what a wonderful trip.  We needed this vacation so badly.  It was a wonderful time to just re-connect after the crazy wedding week/weekend and spend our entire time together.  I had such a fun time getting to tell people that we had just got married and that we were on our honeymoon.  I loved being able to be around Dave the whole time and get to adjust to calling him my husband, which I am still adjusting to now that we are back home in Austin. 

It was also glorious that we were away in Las Vegas for an entire 8 days and 7 nights.  Many people may think that 8 days in Las Vegas is entirely too long, we however, love Las Vegas.  On the 8th day there I was ready to go home, but usually by the 8th day anywhere I'm ready to be back in my own house. 

We stayed at the brand new resort and casino, Aria.  It opened a little less than a month before we arrived.  It was gorgeous and the service was great from everyone who worked there.  The Aria is just a small component of the construction of the City Center in the middle of the strip.  There are new hotels, malls, restaurants and office that make up this "city center."  For the most part the construction is almost completely done, but not all of the buildings are up and running.  It was also a super high tech room were we were able to control all of the lights, the curtains and temperature from a touchscreen frame, and also through the television.  We also had a very cool view from the 33rd floor of the mountain range (not the strip, which I was grateful for!)

The view from our hotel room. We were blessed to wake up to this sight for 7 glorious mornings. (Not to mentioned that our touchscreen control panel enabled is to pre-set when the curtains would open for us in the morning...now I'm just bragging.)

I just had such a good time.  We would take a little bit of time each day to do what each other likes, and then some time doing what we both like to do.  I liked the shopping, the visiting all the casinos, and walking the Strip. Dave liked the gambling such as the Poker tournaments, playing Craps, and slots.  Then we both loved playing Black Jack on a live table and I started playing Craps some later in the week. We also saw 3 Cirque de Soleil shows 3 of the nights (in order of favorite to least favorite): 1) Lion King, 2) The Beatles "Love", 3) Elvis by Cirque de Soleil.

Me being a dork and showing of my entree slip into the slot tournament!

Dave playing in his first poker tournament! (J pointed out that the lady to Dave's right looks like Phylis from the Office!)

We had a couple of really nice dinners while on our honeymoom, a steak dinner at Smith and Wollinski's, sushi dinner at Bar Masa at the Aria, and Oysters at an oyster bar in Harrahs. For breakfast on a couple of the mornings we would have a pastry or breakfast croissant from this awesome bakery in the lobby of the Aria.  It was called Jean Phillipe and it really reminded me of the bakeries back in Belgium and Germany.  Sooooo good! Soooo expensive too, so for the meals that we weren't splurging on, we tried to eat some cheapies.  One of the days we even did an All-Day pass to a buffet for the low price of 29.99 each!   This buffet was in the Excalibur and we stayed in and around this casino the whole day so that when it was time to eat we could just make our way to the buffet! 

Pastries and Cafe Au Lait from JPs.

All dressed up and ready for sushi.

Dave right before the Cowboys v. Vikings game at Aria's Sports Area on our last day in Las Vegas. 

On our last full day in Las Vegas, we stayed pretty much just in and around our hotel.  It was a big football Sunday and we woke up bright and early for the Cowboys game which wa on at 10am.  Dave kept saying all week that he would have to stake us out a spot in the sports area if we wanted to watch the game.  I really thought he was just being neurotic, but I'm so glad he knew what he was talking about!  We got down to the area around 7am, and by 7:45 you couldn't find and empty seat for the 10am game!  He had his bets in, his cigar, and his coffee and my husband was a happy happy man.  I even placed a parlay bet on the game which made it more fun to watch!  We must have been the only Texans there that were rooting for Favre.  I felt like a traitor....at least until the won!  

Our honeymoon pretty much rocked.

A perfect day

Our wedding was absolutely awesome!  It's funny when people put the high expectation of a wedding being the best day of your life.  It's even funnier when that is actually true.  I had so much fun with all the ladies & my mom getting ready.  Even though we had to start at 6am for our 1pm ceremony, we had a blast gossiping and getting pretty.  Hectic, but fun.

When I walked down the aisle with my dad to David, I was overcome with joy.  The ceremony felt so intimate even though we were being witnessed by over 150 people.  Our vows felt so right:

I, Amanda, promise
To love you without reservation

To honor and respect you

To comfort you in times of distress

To encourage you to achieve your goals

To laugh with you and cry with you

To grow with you in mind and spirit

To be open and honest with you

To stay with you for so long as we both shall live.

I take you my beloved

My best friend and chosen one

Through all of our lives together.

I give you this ring which is bound to my heart.

Wear it always as a symbol of my love for you.

I was so happy all day.  My face was exhausted by the time we left the reception from genuinely smiling the entire day.  It was such an honor to have so many of our friends and family member with us on our wedding day to share in such an exciting celebration for Dave &  I. 

Everything turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.  We owe so much to those who helped us make the day happen.  My parents were really the foundation which allowed for me to have the day that we both wanted.  Dave's parents were so supportive and also hosted a beautiful rehearsal dinner for us the night before our wedding.  My grandparents were so helpful running lots of the wedding related errands in San Antonio that had to be done leading up to the wedding.  All of our siblings and brother/sister-in-laws, our bridal party and their significant others.  Everyone!

Oh, and the weather!  The week of our wedding was the coldest week of January that Central Texas had seen since like the 80's, something about an artic blast coming from Alaska.  However, on the day of our wedding there was not a cloud in the sky and it was a crisp 48-50 degree day! Perfect.

I had the most amazing dynamic duo of photographers!  The photographer who did my bridal portraits, Monica Brown, (http://mjbphotography.weebly.com/) was there from start to finish.  Although, she has done numerous shoots before, our wedding was the first full wedding she had shot before on her own! Yay, for gaining more experience!  Then a wonderful friend and guest of ours, Christa Sherrad (http://www.sherrardphotography.com/), who also happens to be a photographer was at our wedding and took some absolutely gorgeous shots!

My Dad walked me down the aisle.

I kissed my husband for the first time.

Our parents were so happy!

Romantic pictures at the Mission San Jose in San Antonio,Texas.

We ate.

We were introduced to our guests!

We danced our first dance.

We caught a gorgeous sunset over the golf course.

And, we danced, alot!

And danced some more.

Cake!

Toast from my parents and sister.

Toast from the Copelands.

A little garter toss.

Bouquet toss.

And, we are off!!!

(All photos above where taken by Christa Sherrard of Sherrard Photography. Love 'em!)

Bridal Portraits

Bridal Portraits taken in December at the capital building downtown Austin, Texas.

Photography done by Monica Brown (http://mjbphotography.weebly.com/)

Photography done by Monica Brown (http://mjbphotography.weebly.com/)

Christmas 2009

I have a big family and it just keeps on getting bigger and bigger each year!  Our Christmas family tradition has almost always been to make it to my maternal Grandparent's house somehow.  Even when we lived overseas we would 95% of the time make it to San Antonio for the holidays.  Santa sure had a wonderful way of tracking us, because he always make it to the right house.  Christmas this year felt and was really big. Big in food, family and fun!  All of my mom's brothers and sisters and all of my cousins were able to make it the my Mama and Popo's house, even my in-laws-to-be were there! YAY! The only family missing was my brother's family, who spent their holidays in Chicago this year. 

Christmas Eve was spent making tamales for most of the day.  It was so much fun, this was the first time in about 10 years I have been part of a Tamalada, and the first time ever my mom's side of the family made tamales.

Contreras Tamalada 2009!

Teamwork!!!

Some of our finished products.

 We had a really good time, and a bunch of family came to help out.  I think over all we made about 20 dozen tamales.  Once we left the day after Christmas, there were 3 dozen left!!!   After the tamale making, we hung out with family, played games and played outside.

Dave, Sarah and I "hanging out" outside on Christmas Eve.

Sarah and Dave playing Just Dance on Wii.

Mom & Sarah dancing.  Mom was a pro after awhile even though Sarah has professional training. 

Dad, Adan and Dave during our Battle of the Sexes game.

The men's team, aka The Dream Team during Battle of the Sexes.

My cousin, Kinnidi Marie, trying to play Wii, too!

Sarah trying her first tamale, ever. She needs to get out more.

We (my immediate family) also opened most of our gifts that we were giving to one another, which is sort of a tradition in our family. This tradition really throws Dave off because growing up he wasn't able to/didn't want to open a single gift before Christmas morning.  He has been a sport though!  My dad and I are also the WORST secret keepers when it comes to gifts, so it's better to open them early before we ruin the surprise.  OH! And we danced & dance!  My mom bought Sarah a new Wii game called Just Dance, and it was so much fun (that what those two pictures above of Mom, Sarah & Dave looking like crazy people).  We must have danced for a couple of hours, so much so that I was sore the next day.   I loved it.

Christmas Day was wonderful! Aside from getting a flat tire on the Jeep, everything went off without a hitch. Dave and I started out our day with a little jog and then we all went to visit my paternal Grandparents.  We were not able to make it to my other side of the family's Christmas, unfortunately, because there was just so much going on.   Dave's Mom & Dad joined us at my Mama & Popo's house.  I loved that we were still able to spend Christmas day with the Copelands, and with my parents as well.  There was a gift exchange, a white elephant game, Just Dance on the Wii, lots and lots of eating, and talking.  

Annette, Dave, Reese and I on Christmas Day in San Antonio

Dave, Dad, Mom, Sarah & I on Christmas day at Mama & Popo's house.

Our traditional Left-Right White Elephant type game.  Our family circle has really gotten bigger.

My little family.  We were trying out Popo's Christmas gift.

The only ones left in the Jimenez household. Haha.

My niece, Ava, in her Christmas outfit in Chicago.  Precious baby!

Christmas always comes and goes way too fast, but I was excited about how everything turned out.  We really had a great time.   Christmas night, Dave and I spent at Mama and Popo's one more night because we needed to get the flat tire fixed.  We finally found a shop right by the house that wouldn't charge an arm and a leg to plug 3 holes.  We then spent the rest of the day running wedding related errands with my Grandma, Sarah and Mom.  Mom finally bought her wedding dress!!!!  I was sweating it!  She kept saying, "oh, I'll find something, don't worry"....but we were just 14 days away and she still did not have a dress. Luckily, the 3rd dress she tried on was perfect! 

We finally got back to our house Saturday evening, and spent the rest of our weekend literally doing nothing other than house chores, and catching up on our Netflix movies.  We did pick up some firelogs and had a nice fire going almost all day on Sunday. 

Ohhh, our fireplac ablaze!

Thor also enjoying the fire.

Next up, Christmas with the Copelands!  Jeani, Mike and Reese come into town on January 1st and we will be having a Christmas meal at Annette & Reese's home.  I'm beyond excited about finally getting to meet Dave's brother and sister in law, and especially his nephew!  They have been living overseas and have  been able to come to the states and spend Christmas with Jeani's family and be here for the wedding, as well. 

Then following the New Year...dumdumdum, the WEDDING.  Whew.  I get knots in my tummy everytime I realize it really is just around the corner.  Not because I am nervous in anyway to get married, or anything like that.  It's more about the realization that there is so much to be done before the wedding.  I know deep down that everything will work out as it is meant to, but I love being prepared.  It's my A-type personality.  I was told by multiple family members over Christmas to just relax and it will all work out.  To most people that may seem rude, to be told to relax.  I welcome it.  I sometimes just need the reminder to CHILL OUT. lol.

However, my favorite quote, the one I have tried to live by: 

"The will to succeed, means nothing without the will to prepare." - Juma Ikangaa

This quote has kept me going many times when I have wanted to quit.  Like studying during college and for my masters, when I was working as a waitress, when running my first marathon, or even now at work when I don't give an important project my 100% effort.   This quote has also helped me stay on my toes about this wedding jazz!  Plus, this quote allows me to rationalize for my neurotic tendancies. :)