It's The Holiday Season!

This is my most favorite time of the year. Thanksgiving, holiday parties, my birthday, cooler weather, Christmas lights, Poinsettas, Sweaters, Egg Nog, Scarves, Fires, Red wine, Christmas Eve, Baby Jesus' Birthday and New Year's! I mean, I am pretty sure I could continue with the list, but I will stop because I think you get the drift of why I wake up and go to bed with a smile on my face.
E and I are having our first "Joy to Ornaments" Holiday Party with a small group of dear friends. I cannot wait to entertain, feed and gather with some of the most amazing loves in my life. My dear mother is a shopaholic and loves, loves, loves to buy me things that she loves. She went all out on Christmas decorations for our home. I told her we were having an Ornament\Beer\Wine party and next thing I know she is bringing plates, napkins, punch bowls and platters. I am one blessed gal!
To celebrate the Holiday Season, I am going to join in on some blogging fun: 14 Days of Christmas! (I am pretty sure it's supposed to be 12 Days of Christmas, but whatever.) Here are the topics each day...It's fun, you should partake too!

Day 1: Christmas/Holiday traditions
Day 2: Black Friday/General Shopping Tips & Tricks
Day 3: Most meaningful gift/best gift you've received
Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly holiday season
Day 5: Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Show Special
Day 6: Gift ideas (what do YOU want? We all have family/friends reading our blogs...so let them know!)
Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY (If you don't make anything, what do you WISH you could make?)
Day 8: Least favorite thing about the Holidays
Day 9: Favorite Holiday recipe
Day 10: Favorite Christmas Songs/Caroles
Day 11: New Year Resolutions
Day 12: Show us your decorations (indoor/outdoor)
Day 13: Favorite Cookie Recipe
Day 14: Oprah's Favorite Things: What item(s) would you want if you were in the audience?

Happenings.

I can finally relax and breathe. My office move was a success! Thank Heavens. I worked long, hard hours the past month, but in the end it was worth it. It was worth it because I was a huge part of something that won't happen again for 10 years. I saw the project from beginning to end. The ups and downs. The scary moments, the angry moments and the happy moments. I was recognized by our President the first day of move-in. I received a hefty (So very thankful) bonus check and a President coin. The coin is similar to the military coin given out to our men and women who fight the good fight. I was shocked, but so very grateful for the recognition. I have given up the Facility Manager position to focus on being an Operations Executive Assistant to the second man in line. I will be able to learn the budget of the business, I will be able to grow into more of an Operations Manager and lastly I will not wake in the middle of the night worried about how the next day will pan out. The construction, move and stress are over and to that I say CHEERS!
Football season is in full swing and the Horns have totally sucked it up this year! Depressing. It's funny how die-hard one can be when a team is winning, but when they begin to lose it's so easy to lose interest in the team. We will stand by the Horns the rest of the season by drinking bloody mary's, beer and sweet tea Vodka because it could be a very, very sad ending to a legacy of winning!
I haven't been going to the gym regularly and um, I feel it. The past 2 weeks to month it's been very hard to motivate myself especially with so much stress. I went last night and will continue to get back on track. I just need to get myself to enjoy it rather than stress over going and not freak out when I don't go. It sounds so easy while typing, but yea, it's not.
Something else I need to get back into...PHOTOGRAPHY! I love photography. I love pictures. I love capturing events and special moments. I haven't done any of this since probably the Spring. Fall is a fun time to take pictures because I think everyone seems to be happier and the transition of green to brown is exciting. On the to do list...
I cannot wait for vacation. I cannot wait for cold weather. I cannot wait for Thanksgiving. I especially cannot wait until December.
Speaking of vacation...I need to take a couple of books on our trip. What are ya'll reading or have read in the past few months?

September. Finally

I like the Summer season, but I loathe the Summer season heat. It's unbearable, it's miserable, it makes me want to cry, it is just NOT fun. We were fortnate this year to not have 100 degree temps in June or July, so I need to be thankful for that...I guess. I love Fall! There is a crispness in the air. The nights come quickly and this excites me because I hate eating dinner when it's daylight (weird, I know). Es birthday is in the Fall. And most importantly, FOOTBALL season starts. Oh holy moly, I cannot wait until Saturday at 10am. College Game Day is now 2 hours long...yea, I get to stare at Kirk Herbstreit for that long, joy. I am not a typical gal when it comes to football! I have to admit I know more about football than the average male. I grew up with a Father that watched football every single Saturday...didn't miss one game, swear. I never get sick of watching it, listening to it or talking about it. E is a UT graduate, so of course the Longhorns are the #1 team in the household, Florida State is #2 because I adore Bobby Bowden (Yea, I am aware he isn't there anymore), Watching OU lose is #3 and then of course the Texans are watched on Sundays. My dearest and sister-like friend, Leah, always comes to town for the Tech vs UT game, so that is something special to look forward to this month. September will be filled with Pumpkin spice lattes, beer drinking, pong playing, dancing, music, cheers and football! This is THE BEST time of the year!

Eat. Pray. Love. 10 year reunion. Life.

Let me start by saying I love the book Eat. Pray. Love! I have read it twice and could read it few more times.

Oprah Winfrey did a sit down interview with the cast of Eat. Pray. Love as well as Elizabeth Gilbert. She asked them to talk about their favorite Eat. (meal). Pray. (where they find spirtiual peace). Love. (obvious).

Here are mine:
Eat.

I heart Mexican food. Like I love it with all my being and I crave it about 100 times per week. But, I have to say my meal is my Mom's Carbonara and Escargot. I can cook Carbonara, but it never turns out like my Mom's.

Pray.
It's going to sound quite odd. I feel most at peace and spiritually sound while I am swimming laps. I tend to reflect on my life, my decisions, my way ahead, my family, my friends, say a few prayers to a higher power while I swim. I don't listen to music. I am calm. I am at peace in the water.

Love.

My husband. My family. My friends.

10 year reunion.
I cannot believe it's been 10 years since I graduated high school! It's amazing to me how fast the time has gone by and how much I have changed. It's amazing to me that I have been with E for 10 years! I didn't attend the 10 year reunion because of my brother's birthday and that little something called...um...owning a business. I would have loved to have gone and reflect on the past with all the lovely gals I grew up with in the good ole K-town!
Life.

We have been super duper busy and life isn't slowing down. It's funny to think how boring our lives were before Rita's. Like, what did we do on Friday nights? Oh yea, something called Party. We don't do that much, but it's worth it for now. Rita's is doing amazing! The UT students are back in full force and it's helping our business. We have received write up, after write up in different Austin area newspapers as well as internet write ups. We have over 20 reviews on yelp which equal 4+Stars. :) It's an unbelievable journey! Blessed, needless to say.

Our puppy dog, Marley, is now blind in his right eye. It's a total bummer, but we are dealing with it. He is on medicine after medicine for both eyes because we don't want to lose his left eye's vision. He is just so precious and most likely will become a pirate dog. Pirate dog= A bedazzled eye patch made by Aunt K-K.

My company move is in less than 30 days. I feel like there is so much to do in these 30 days. I wake up at night thinking about different things that need to be complete. It's sick. I know I am unable to do everything, but feel like I am doing everything (Totally not the case!). I know I will receive an extraordinary award when we move...knowing I had a huge part of an 80k sq ft build out! It's an experience nonetheless, which I am very grateful. I have already put in for vacation time after the move because I know I will definitely need a minimum of a week off! I have been working and will continue to work way more than 40 hours a week, so to have a countdown to vacation is helping me.

We are going here on vacation:

We cannot wait. It's a new island we have never visited, so it should be awesome! Come on countdown...go a little bit faster. For now, I will daydream about blue Caribbean waters, ocean breezes and drinks with little umbrellas...

25 Randoms about E.

An old friend did a "Random 25 Things about my Hubby" post and I just have to copy because I think it's so cute!

25 Random things about E:

1. E is the oldest son. he has a younger brother. these 2 are pretty much best friends for life. they own a business together. they work together everyday. they talk on the phone everyday. they play golf together. eat together. laugh together. and cry together. they make me want a sister.

2. E is a University of Texas graduate. Hook 'em!

3. E lived in 6 states prior to the age of 15. Texas has been his home since 1996.

4. E's parents live in Texas 6 months out of the year and Maine the other 6 months.

5. E was arrested when he was in high school for stealing a glass coffee pot from Foley's and running from the rent-a-cop. Ha.

6. E's top row of teeth are fake. He lost a battle with a bike and concrete when he was 13.

7. I have NEVER seen E throw up from too much alcohol.

8. E's favorite drink is Crown on the rocks or Scotch on the rocks.

9. E is Italian. The older he gets the more Italian he looks.

10. E is an unbelievably fast swimmer!

11. E naturally has HUGE calves and biker thighs.

12. E begins his sleep with 3 pillows. by the morning, his arm is his pillow.

13. E hates sheets. we sleep with a quilt and a flat sheet.

14. E hasn't done his own laundry in 10 years. his wife does it all for him. every sunday.

15. E is an overly organized mess. he has nothing on his computer desktop. he has nothing sitting in his car. his desk HAS to be cleaned off at the end of each day. he walks around with a clip board with lists. he literally scratches off to-dos from this clip board list.

16. E will always have a Jeep Wrangler. regardless if we decide to have children one day, there will be a Jeep parked in our garage.

17. E makes my coffee 7 days a week. i am literally incapable of making my coffee. it never taste as good as when i make it.

18. E is a shoe freak. i am pretty sure he could buy a new pair of shoes every week.

19. E loves Lacoste. he would get rid of everything in his closet and just have J Crew jeans and Lacoste shirts.

20. E loves Mexican food. he could live and breathe salsa and chips. italian food is almost his favorite.

21. E is the one that taught me how to cook. the first italian dish i made him was burnt and absolutely disgusting. poor italian kid married a pure Texan.

22. E has never met an enemy. he rarely has something negative to say about someone or something. there is one person he literally has said he dislikes in the 10 years i have known him. he finds positive in most situations and people.

23. E is a total white boy, but loves thug-life-ghetto rap music. Wu Tang is one of his favs.

24. E didn't have a cell phone the first 6 years we were together. crazy. yes.

25. E has the largest collection of under garments i have ever seen. literally, probably at least 50 items in his drawer. crazy. again. yes.

8 things. Why not?

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to...
1. Weekends by the pool.

2. Changes.

3. Getting off work.

4. Getting to see my parents!

5. Sunshine.

6. Seeing my BFF.

7. Corporate move.

8. Being honest and telling someone how I really feel about them.

8 Things I did Yesterday...
1. Cried.

2. Got really frustrated.

3. Entered 18 pages of emails for the Rita's birthday club.

4. Developed a PA map.

5. Talked to my Mom.

6. Sat in traffic.

7. Craigslist search.

8. Spent time with the hubby.


8 Shows I Enjoy...I don't really watch tv, this may be hard!

1. House Hunters.

2. Deadliest Catch. (Saddest show right now)

3. Dateline, 20\20.

4. Golden Girls.

5. The Office.

6. House.
7. Tour de France

8. FIFA World Cup Soccer

Good life.

Life is good.

We have been acclimating ourselves to the new schedule: E really not being home. Me working Monday through Friday. Store being open until 11 on Fridays and Saturdays.

I love seeing the smile on E's face when customers walk through the door of Rita's. It brings me joy knowing that he is loving every single minute of owning a business. He is putting his whole entire being into it and I know it will be a success because of this. The store has been open a month, wow. It's doing really well and continues to grow! We receive many comments from people that visit: "Goodness, y'all must have been open for a while. This place is the talk of the town." "I have been waiting for 10 years for a Rita's to open in Austin." Comments and Remarks like this make my heart flutter. The employees are wonderful after we canned 3 of them. E and B are beginning to release some duties to the kids, so they don't have to be there all the time and are able to focus on marketing. Marketing and branding the name in the area is tricky, fun and time consuming, but so far, so good. Apartments around the area will have approximately 3000 students move in August. THE University of Texas will have a rush of students return for the Fall semester. These 2 things will be HUGE for the store, so Cheers to school starting even if the traffic is horendous!

I am having serious employee disgruntled-ness! (I don't think that's a word, but oh well.) I have worked for this company for 5 years and it seems like I am the new kid on the block because of how I am treated. I am sick and tired of it. Chhhh-chhh-aaa-aaa-nnn-ggg-eee-sss, hopefully real soon.

My Dad has been dealing with hip pain for about a year and my Mom finally forced him to visit an Orthopedic Surgeon. Typical man, he put it off and put it off and put it off. Finally, he had a full hip replacement yesterday! The surgery went really well. It's crazy...they do the surgery within a bubble in the OR because of the risk of infection due to cutting of bones and such. He will be up and at 'em this morning per the Doc. If you live in the Katy area, you each are very lucky to have such new and nice hospitals so close. My Mom stated it resembled a hotel. They call meal service Room Service, comical. (BTW, if you ever need an Orthopedic Surgeon, I know an AMAZING ONE!)

4th of July was fun! We went to a friend's Lake Austin dock. Good food, fun games, freezing cold water, beer and frozen drinks made the day!

Rita's is basically our life. Lame life, but exciting life at the same time.

Cheers to Summer and fun-filled weekends!