***SNOW***

We had our first snow this past Sunday. It was beautiful and we enjoyed going to church in the weather. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy driving in it on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. : ) Not only did we get about 3 inches of snow but we had a ton of ice everywhere due to the extremely cold conditions. (14 degrees one night!!?!?!)

For those of you that know we really well, you know that Texas doesn't get much weather like that and this Southern girl does not do well great driving in them. I love my Honda CRV but it's 2 wheel drive. Fortunately, I made it through the week with my Honda all in one piece and without a ditch experience. The only casualty there may have been is a few of my hairs turning brown to gray! It was stressful!

So not only was the weather beautiful and we still have snow on the ground today for Thanksgiving, but it allowed me to expand my knowledge on a couple of other things:

• Ice Scraper-I snagged an ice scraper this year when I was volunteering for a community event car show. We were stuffing goody bags and someone made the comment that if you didn't have an ice scraper, you should grab one. Oh boy, am I glad I did. Me and my ice scraper got to spend quality time together for at least 10 minutes for 3 mornings. You can say that on my being thankful list is that ice scraper. : )

Before my ice scraper



• Snowballs, Snow angels, and Ski lessons-Scott and I got the bright idea that we wanted to play in the snow on Monday evening. Granted it was dark because it gets dark about 5pm or earlier here. We got bundled up and headed out. I was schooled in how to make a correct snowball and was shown when properly made it does it's job quite well. We made snow angels (Mine was better than Scott's; He even said so). And then I got some pre-ski lessons. Scott was preparing me for our first ski trip that is coming up this weekend. We made a small snowman which I think is cute. We would have made it bigger but the snow wasn't wet enough when we tried the "rolling" thing that you see on TV. Scott went to school in Minnesota so he is educated in all of this very important stuff! It seriously is one of my favorite memories with Scott!



Our little tiny snowman! : )

 We are looking forward to this holiday season and all the festivities that it will bring! ~A.



Amanda + Scott

Cleverer Every Day

After three busy months of wedding planning, if I have one tip for prospective grooms out there, it would be this: Marry a wedding planner. I'm not saying you should leave your current girlfriend, wife, or beloved partner, but I am saying it would probably make your life easier. We have been unstoppable planners, in spite of the fact that, for much of it, I was barely conscious.

This is not just because I'm a selfish and lazy person.* It's just that Amanda is so focused and driven that she makes the Terminator look like a bit of a flake.

Which is not to say that I'm entirely without responsibility. I had to ask my groomsmen, for example. I've also been entrusted with designing our Save the Date cards. I'm glad Amanda has entrusted me with this task, but I'm not an arrogant guy. It's not like I'm so proud of my Save the Dates that I'm going to mention them throughout the rest of this blog.

But wedding planning is more than about designing brilliant Save the Date cards, the likes of which Picasso can only envy. It's also about engagement photos, taken by my very own father. He did a great job, and we can't wait to show you the final product. Keep an eye out for them.

While the National Gallery considers my Save the Date cards for a possible exhibition, Amanda has been hard at work on part of the bridal party gifts. If you're one of our bridesmaids, groomsmen, matrons of honor or the best man, you have something to look forward to! If not, then this paragraph is probably just a bit awkward for both of us. I'm very sorry.

Anyway, we're busting with pride, excitement, and artistic ideas for Save the Dates which will probably endure as a highwater mark for Western Civilization. So we'll run for now, but check back next week! I'm hoping to teach Amanda to ski. We'll see if the wedding is still on come Monday. S

*Well, OK. It's MOSTLY because of it.
Amanda + Scott

Monogram Madness!

Well, the wedding planning is in full swing! Scott has been doing a great job working on our monogram and our save the dates. He's amazing and super talented in photoshop and he's certainly got "skills."

Who would ever thought that choosing colors, shapes, designs, etc would be so fun yet tiring?!?! It's a process but one that we are both enjoying. Scott's the most supporting and present fiancee I have seen in a long time but I am not biased or anything! ; )

In other related news, the umbrella I ordered should arrive by Friday and hopefully we will be taking our rescheduled engagement pictures on Sunday. The hangers I ordered that I will be customizing should be in today! It's fun getting boxes of wedding related material in the mail. Every wedding planners dream. :)

Have a good afternoon and if you aren't greeted by a box or a person that makes you smile when you get home-smile anyways,- well as long as it's not a bill. ~A.

Amanda + Scott

Another Year Wiser

So a terrible, awful, unpreventable thing happened this week, that I truly never saw coming. I turned 30.

I suppose I always thought this could happen. I know a lot of people, good people, over thirty. Some of my best friends are over thirty. Even my father seems to be somewhat north of his thirties, something I've long suspected. But for the most part, it seemed like something other people did. It's not my type thing.

Now it's happened. I'm learning to deal with this as best I can, but it's hard. I'm facing a life of changes. I'll become increasingly befuddled by popular music. I'll likely never again be in a situation where it's socially appropriate to wear a hoody.* My metabolism, already seething with unease, will become openly rebellious.

Sigh.

Still, if you're going to turn thirty, you might as well do it in style.** Which is why I'm terribly grateful to my fiancee, Amanda.

Amanda didn't just plan my birthday party. She planned a birthday weekend of epic enjoyment. She took me to Seattle, baked me (stuffed!) cupcakes, planned a dinner at my favourite Italian restaurant, had wine, had gifts, took me to a piano bar, and is currently making an ice cream cake in the kitchen for the family dinner tonight. About the only good thing she didn't do this weekend was help Liverpool beat Chelsea, and even then I'm almost certain that the winger who assisted for Torres' second goal looked suspiciously cute and Southern.

So if you weren't there, we missed you! But thanks. Thanks to Maren, for a soccer ball I prize more than my eventual firstborn son, to Diane, for the amazing bottle of wine, for Ben and Heather, for always putting up with me in good humor and taking the best pictures I've seen, and to Steve and Abby, for the beer, the singing, the Petron, the laughter, and for the best after-party I've had in thirty long years.

Oh! And thanks to everyone for making me take my clothes off on stage last night. But that's another story. S

Amanda + Scott

*Unless, of course, I become a boxer. Mayweather rocks himself a hoody.
**Style example: This thirty year old still slams out a 6:30 mile. As a warmup. Recognize.