Siena Visit

As most of you know I love this time of year.  March madness is so much fun.  What always makes it more interesting is Jaime's stories about the teams that have made the tournament and what courts he has played on.  This year Siena made the tournament.  I had no idea where Siena was located until Jaime came along.  Jaime informed me that it was in Albany, New York.  In 1993 Siena recruited Jaime and they invited him to come and take a visit on campus.

Just the other night he told the story of his visit to some friends of ours.  Albany is the state capital and some of the Governor's staff were Siena Alumni.  As part of his visit the coaches took him to the state capital for a tour.  During the tour he was able to go into the Governor's office.  He says it has a secret door behind the Governor's desk so the Governor can get out if things get a little hectic and he needs to make a quick exit.  Jaime was able to sit in the New York Governor's office and visit with the Lieutenant Governor.  I think he even got to go out the secret door.  Now if Jaime could get a similar door put in his office.  

I am glad his visit to Siena went well and that he has an interesting story to tell, but I am sure glad he did not go to college there.  I am not sure that he would have ended up at Tech for law school if he had gone to college on the east coast.

Jaime always picks Siena in the tournament as the underdog.  I have learned after being married to him for 7 years to go with it.  I picked Siena this year as well in the first round and as you know we did well.  I didn't pick Siena in the second round, but I yelled at the TV really loud for them.

Jaime also really likes to share what courts he has played on.  This isn't just done during tournament time, it is all season long.  You really can't make a Saturday without Jaime telling you he has played on the court we are seeing on TV.  At first it was really cute, but now he does it to annoy me.  He knows that it drives me crazy that he has been in more college arenas than I have.

Hope you have a great weekend!  Enjoy some college basketball while it lasts.  You know what I will be doing.

Bracketology 101

What a fun weekend of basketball!  It is really a lot of basketball for one weekend.  It could be better if all the games were televised.  I wish the games were on a different network.  Just think, if all the games were on the ESPN/ABC network you could see all the games.  You could move multiple televisions in one room and watch a game on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.  It would be amazing.

I would also like to mention that I think college basketball gets it right when it comes to a playoff system.  It really is a playoff system and I think college football should take some notes.  With college basketball it all comes down to who you have played and how you played.  I hope President Obama is working on a similar system for football, as he indicated he would.

On to the bracketology.  I did pretty well the first two rounds.  In the first round I was 24-7.  Not too bad.  Jaime beat me out with 25-6.  Bummer!  I would have done much better if I would have picked a number 12 seed.  The number twelves were on fire and I didn't pick one.  I did really well with the 8 vs 9 games.  Sometimes those games are really hard to choose because the teams are so evenly matched.  I was really happy Siena won.  Jaime has a great story about Siena which I will share tomorrow.

The second round I did really well.  I was 14-2.  That is almost perfect.  I was really excited because I did better than Jaime.  He was 13-3.  I know I was only one better, but it is still better and that doesn't happen very often.

It should be another great weekend of basketball.  Jaime and I have picked the same teams in the Sweet 16, except for one.  He has Duke winning and I have Villanova winning.  We will just have to wait and see.  How is your bracket looking?

On a totally different subject, Ann is back.  She is my only faithful commenter and she has been a little busy lately.  Last week she was preparing for trial which started on Monday.  It ended yesterday and she won.  She won her trail and I get my one commenter back.  Life is good!

Fast and Furious

The weekend was extremely busy.  I feel like a need a weekend from my weekend.  I don't think we ever stopped going and we weren't ever really at home.

You know the weekend always starts on Friday.  Friday was CRAZY.  We were in McAllen Friday morning for Wayne's funeral.  It was a nice funeral where we rejoiced Wayne's life and shed quite a few tears.  David spoke and there was not a dry eye in the church.  He did a beautiful job telling about Wayne and what a wonderful husband, father and grandfather he was.

We had to leave McAllen right after the funeral. Jaime had a depo in Corpus at 2 p.m. so we didn't have a lot of time to visit.  We had been on the road about 20 minutes when Jaime got pulled over.  I tell you that boy has a need for speed.  He likes to go about 5 mph over the speed limit, but sometimes his foot gets a little heavy.  The other bad news is Jaime does not have a current registration sticker or inspection sticker.  For those of you who know Jaime, you know this is not unusual.  

Mr. DPS was completely shocked Jaime did not have any current stickers.  It was like he didn't even know what to do about the situation.  I guess Mr. DPS is accustom to dealing with more intense situations.  He informed us that Jaime was going 76 in a 70.  I wanted to tell the officer that wasn't a big deal for Jaime, but I held my tongue.  Mr. DPS took Jaime's drivers license and insurance and headed back to his car.  I wanted to also tell Mr. DPS that he was lucky because Jaime never carries an insurance card.  For being a lawyer he sure ignores the law a lot.  

Mr. DPS returned to the car and told Jaime that the registration was current, but where was his sticker?  Does he really think Jaime knows?  He gave Jaime a "break" on the speeding and didn't give him a ticket.  However, he did give him a ticket for the inspection.  His inspection sticker expired November of 2008.  It ended up not being too bad.

Now on with the drive to Corpus.  We were late getting to Corpus.  Being pulled over didn't help and the border checkpoint was very crowded.  We made it to Corpus in time for Jaime's depo and me to get a manicure and pedicure.  My nails and toes look great.  I decided on "Quarter of a CentCherry"  Isn't OPI nail polish the greatest?  Who comes up with these names?

After all that fun in Corpus we headed back to San Antonio for the Spurs game.  The Spurs were playing the Celtics and I had to be there.  The only problem was there were lots of college basketball games on that I was missing.  We sat in our regular seats for the first half and then got invited up to a box for the second half.  We got to watch the Spurs and college basketball.  Perfect!  One problem, Spurs lost and they had about four chances to win the game.  UGH!!!  We did see Bill Russell leaving the game.  Pretty cool.

Saturday we slept really late.  I love my bed and my little nook.  I know it is bad to have a nook in your bed, but I love mine.  It is just perfect!  It is the right size for me and I fight perfectly in it.  I also sleep great when I am in my little nook.

We had an amazing Saturday evening.  We started with dinner at Ruth Chris.  We had stuffed mushrooms, salad, steak, fries and then a little dessert.  I could not have eaten another thing.  After rolling ourselves to the car we headed to the Elton John and Billy Joel concert.  It was so much fun.  The concert started with Billy Joel and Elton John playing and singing together.  Then Elton and Billy both played separately.  We have seen Elton John a few times, but never Billy Joel.

Billy Joel was great.  He is such an entertainer.  He played the piano, guitar, harmonica and of course sang.  He told jokes and even played "Deep In The Heart of Texas."  He sang all my favorite songs.  "Uptown Girl" and "Piano Man" are my two favorites.  The concert started at 7:30 and did not end until 11:15.  We definitely got our monies worth.

Sunday we were up early for church.  We have been out of town the past couple of weekends and missed church.  It felt so good to be back at church and Sunday school.  My week seems to go so much smoother when we go to church.  I love starting the week with church.

After church we had a little lunch and then split ways.  Jaime wanted to go to the Spurs game and I wanted to go home and watch college basketball.  Good thing I did.  The Spurs lost to Houston and there was some great college basketball on.  

I think that about sums it all up.  Come back tomorrow for some bracketology.

Prayers Needed

Please keep this sweet family in your prayers. In the past year they have become some of our best friends. Wendee's dad passed away on Sunday very unexpectedly. He was loved by so many and will be missed.

Wayne was great with his grandsons and loved them so much. Corbin and Conner loved to fish with there grandpa. The funeral is today. I can't even imagine how tough today will be for Wendee, David, Corbin and Conner. Please just pray for the Lord to be with them during this difficult time.

March Madness

It is finally here. The "Big Dance" is upon us. I love this time of year!!! You can sit on your couch on the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament you can watch basketball all day long. It doesn't get much better than that.

I took lots of time working on my bracket. I waited till this morning to fill it out. I watched a lot of Sports Center to help me out. I didn't keep up with College Basketball very well this season. I guess we were a little busy around here. I also waited for Obama's bracket to come out. He was very conservative. I took a few more risk.

I have Pitt winning the whole thing. I think they are the best, but we will have to wait and see. It was really close between Pitt and Louisville. There will be some great games coming up in the next few weeks.

It has finally started, but will be over way too soon. The only good news about college basketball almost being over is that college football is that much closer. Good Luck with your bracket.

And On And On....

This is really bad, but I am still really tired from the weekend and I am still doing laundry.  You will have to enjoy a few more pictures before I get to the stories.  Sorry.

The Party Went On And On

I can't even tell you how much fun we had in Houston.  It was an incredible weekend full of family and fun.  We really had a great time and the wedding was wonderful.  I am so tired from the weekend that I am only going to post pictures today.  I will be back tomorrow with the whole story.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday.  I am so lucky that I have him as my dad.  He is an amazing father and an amazing man.

He loves God first and foremost and then comes his family.  He has always been there for me.  I learned a lot about God and life from him.  We had our differences when I was growing up.  I gave him a run for his money.

I might not have been the easiest daughter to raise, but he stuck to his guns.  I turned out perfect thanks to him.  When Jaime came along, dad accepted him like a son.  Now I say he loves Jaime more than me.

The most amazing thing about my dad is you can ask him anything and he will have an answer.  He would be my lifeline on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," if I ever made it on the show.  Does anyone know if that show is even on anymore?  He also loves to come visit Jaime and I and fix all the things we have broken since the last time he was there.  He loves us like that.

One of my favorite memories of my dad is hanging out with him at Texas Tech basketball practices on Saturday mornings.  Forgive me, but my mind really does not recall the order in which these events occured.  We would go to basketball practice and I would be the only kid there.  I got all the attention from the players, which you know I loved.  It was also a good time hanging out with my dad and playing some basketball.  Dad and I would also go over to the athletic dinning hall and have breakfast.  It was the coolest thing around.  I thought I was hot stuff when I was 5 and 6 years-old.  

Thanks dad for being so wonderful.  Jaime and I really appreciate all you do for us.  You are the best!

What To Wear???

Jaime and I have a big wedding to go to this weekend.  MacDaddy is finally getting married and will no longer be MacDaddy, but I will still call him MacDaddy.  He and Kathleen are getting married in Houston on Saturday.  I had all my outfits picked out and I was ready to go until I looked at the weather.

I should have known since it is Spring Break that basically it would be almost snowing in Houston.  The only time it is cold and rainy in Corpus and Houston is during Spring Break.  It works out perfectly for all the college kids at the beach.  I did not have my thinking cap on and I planned on wearing all these cute spring dresses that are sleeveless.  Not going to happen.  It is suppose to be in the 50's on Friday and Saturday and rainy.  Perfect hair days!

I have had some time to rearrange my outfit choices and now I need help knowing if they are appropriate and of course cute.  Please help me out.

The first outfit is for rehearsal dinner.  I wanted to wear something bright and spring like, but still be warm.  What do you think of this outfit?

I would like to mention that I will not look this skinny in this outfit.  I tied the belt on the jacket to my "ideal weight" size.  I know black pants and black shoes are boring, but hopefully the yellow jacket and the little clutch add some color to me.  

I found the clutch about a week ago and thought it was cute, but I wasn't sure if it was really me.  I ended up buying it yesterday hoping it had turned into me.  What do you think?

Next is my outfit for the wedding.  I planned on wearing this dress all along, but now had to make a few changes.  I needed some sort of wrap of sweater to go over it so I might not freeze.  The chance of me freezing is highly unlikely since I am so hot natured, but I wanted to be prepared. 

I went to Nordstrom to find a wrap, shaw or sweater of some sort.  I found this really cute, young, stylish looking girl to help me.  I told her about the dress and showed her the clutch I purchased.  She loved the clutch and told me it was perfect.  She said we could easily find a wrap to go with my dress and clutch.  Right when we got to the accessory department she picked out a plum wrap.  I was not sure about this, but still bought it because surely she knows more than I do since she works at Nordstrom.  See what you think.

I checked Big Mama's blog because she had done a post about the color wheel and what colors go together.  After re-reading the post and checking the color wheel I learned that red and plum go together.  I still was not sure that anyone with any fashion sense would wear the two colors together.  I told Ann about my dilemma and she said that on "What Not to Wear" last week they paired a plum dress with red shoes.  SOLD!  I totally trust Clinton and Stacy.  By the way if anyone wanted to nominate me to go on the show I would be totally indebted to you and love you forever.

I am pretty comfortable with the outfit for Friday night.  I don't really think wearing black pants and a yellow jacket is a step out on the ledge.  Saturday night outfit is a different story.  It is a big step out on the ledge.  Red dress, plum wrap, gold shoes and a multi-colored clutch???  Please help me.  I need your honest opinion.  If you don't like any of it please tell me.  I would rather hear it from you than hear all the whispers at the wedding.

House Guest

When Jaime has big presentations for work (aka - mediation) his brother, Derrick, usually helps.  Derrick knows a lot about video production and editing videos.  All stuff that I have no idea about.  

Derrick and Jaime worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday on this project.  Derrick ended up driving to San Antonio on Sunday night to finish the presentation and then did something very technical to get the presentation from the computer to a DVD.  I really have no idea. 

The great thing about Derrick coming to help Jaime was that he brought Grason and Kendra with him.  Now I need you to know that I love Derrick and Kendra and was happy to see both, but I was super excited to see Grason.  

We didn't have much time together before it was time for me to go to bed, but the two hours we did have were great.  Grason stays up a lot later than me.  He was extremely happy the entire time.  He is crawling everywhere and loves to hear himself.  Best of all  I never heard him make a peep during the night.  I am not sure if his parents were awakened by him in the middle of the night, but I was not.

I volunteered at The Foundry Monday morning and didn't get to see Grason.  I guess because he stays up later than me he also gets to sleep later than me.  I left all the house guest sleeping when I left for the coffee shop.  I was so jealous.  

I did get a few pictures of Grason on Sunday night.  I must say that all the little boys in the

 family love that hat of Jaime's.  By the way if you happen to see the hat for sale anywhere, please let me know.  We use to have two hats and have seemed to lost one.  I know it is a little odd to have two of the same hat, but one was backup.  Now we have no backup.  It is a little scary!

 

Make sure and come back tomorrow.  I need fashion advice in a bad way!!!

Quick Trip

I know I haven't been around in awhile, but it is because we really aren't that interesting at times.  I am not sure we are interesting now, but I at least have something to post about that is worth a post.

We took a quick trip this weekend.  So quick, we were barely gone for 24 hours.  We left Saturday afternoon for Phoenix.  Jaime and Paula needed to go out to Phoenix to meet with clients.  It was such a quick trip that we were home by 6pm Sunday night.

While in Phoenix Jaime and Paula met with clients and I worked on the computer.  I did a little research for Paula and joined Facebook.  I am now a member and looking for friends.  The fact that one of my readers is a member of Facebook shocked me.  I can't even explain my surprise.

After Jaime and Paula were done meeting with clients we headed to dinner.  We went to Eddie V's in Scottsdale.  The food was pretty good and the restaurant was really cool.  After a nice dinner we headed straight to the hotel for bed.  Jaime stayed up until 7am Saturday morning working on a presentation for Monday.  I went straight to bed, but Jaime still had more work to do.  I think he finally made it to bed about 3am.

We got up Sunday morning and walked around the hotel for a little while.  We were at the mall by 11am much to my and Paula's delight and Jaime's dismay.  We only had about an hour at the mall before we had to head to the airport.  We had enough time to make a few purchases while Jaime got us lunch.  Off to the airport and home.

The only problem with the weekend was figuring out the time difference.  Arizona does not participate in Daylight Savings.  This made it a little interesting trying to figure out what time it was where.  Maybe we are not smart, but we finally got it figured out.  Just so you know, Arizona is an hour behind us in the winter and two in the summer.

Now I have tons of laundry to catch up on and it looks like a tornado went through our house.  Here are a few pictures from our quick trip.  All of them are from our hotel and do not include people, only plants and birds.  Enjoy.