First Christmas

Brad and I went Saturday and got our Christmas tree. Since we are in a small apartment we decided to get a little one this year. It's simple and little...but it's our first Christmas tree together and that is huge to us.

My newest wordle...

Honeymoon in Paradise

Here is a little slide show of our cruise.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My Top Ten Cruise Highlights

10. Juan (that really was his name) bringing me stuff all day on the beach.

9. $10 watches

8. Being rocked to sleep every night

7. Having my bed turned down every night

6. Chocolates on my pillow every night

5. My toes in the sand on Thanksgiving Day

4. Meeting our new friends, Chad & Stacie

3. Coconut lattes

2. Brad growing a goatee

...and my number 1 cruise highlight...drumroll please...

1. My husband singing his karaoke version of Elvira.

Cutest Thing Ever!

I received this in an email today and couldn't resist sharing!

God's Country

We were on our way home from Oklahoma this evening and I looked over as the sun was going down and realized that there's nothing more beautiful than the sun setting in the big Texas sky.

Names of God

I got an email today that had this wordle in it. It is the names of God, and I thought it was cool.

I can't wait!

It's almost here...finally...our long-awaited overdue honeymoon. I am ready to lay on the beach and play for a week and get away from copy jams, copy counts, projector bulbs, tech carts, and toner cartridges. Here's our itinerary:

I've been tagged!

My friend, Buffy, tagged me and I'm supposed to post 6 quirky things about myself and then tag more blogger buds. I had 6 things down but after reading over them today, I realized that the things I wrote weren't really quirky things. So here's another try...

1. When I'm at home, I can't stand to have bare feet. I have to have on shoes all of the time.

2. In the mornings when I'm getting ready, I have to go in a certain order. If I don't, I forget something major like brushing my teeth!

3. I have a big bump on my head, but nobody can see it because my hair covers it.

4. I'm in love with organization and Office Max turns me on! I'm gold...I can't help it!

5. When I'm by myself and I'm driving up to a green light, I sing "Please stay green; Please stay green; Please stay green, Oh Please stay green" all the way through the light. (To the tune of 'This Old Man')

6. My favorite comfort food is peanut butter.

So...I tag -- Bayn, Kiki, Kim, & Jody.

Delicious

Last Sunday for my birthday, Brad took me to Nicolas, an Italian Restaurant at the Shops of Legacy. They brought us this cake for dessert - Caffe A La Torte. The icing on the inside was some kind of cream cheese buttery whipped heaven. We had chicken lasagna with artichoke hearts and the most delicious marinara I've ever tasted. My 40th birthday was extra special because I got to spend it with the most amazing man in the world...my new husband.

40

So...today I am 40. I was telling some of my friends last night who had a surprise dinner gathering for me that I never have anything to blog about except Knock Knock jokes. Since we don't have any children to give us funny things to tell about, I've decided to think outside the box today. I'm grown up now, I should be able to come up with something good to blog about, right? So...here it is...all the #1 songs from Billboard's Hot 100 for the past 40 years. (Seams wee fergot hou 2 spel inn 2003!)

1968 - Hey Jude - The Beatles
1969 - Sugar, Sugar - The Archies
1970 - Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head - B.J. Thomas
1971 - Maggie May/Reason to Believe - Rod Stewart
1972 - American Pie - Don Mclean
1973 - Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree - Tony Orlando & Dawn
1974 - The Way We Were - Barbra Streisand
1975 - Love Will Keep Us Together - The Captain & Tennille
1976 - Love Machin - Miracles
1977 - Evergreen - Barbra Streisand
1978 - Night Fever - Bee Gees
1979 - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
1980 - Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
1981 - Physical - Olivia Newton John
1982 - Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
1983 - Every Breath You Take - The Police
1984 - When Doves Cry - Prince
1985 - Careless Whisper - Wham!/George Michael
1986 - That's What Friends are For - Dionne & Friends
1987 - Faith - George Michael
1988 - Need You Tonight - INXS
1989 - Another Day in Paradise - Phil Collins
1990 - Hold On - Wilson Phillips
1991 - I Do It For You - Bryan Adams
1992 - End of the Road - Boyz II Men
1993 - I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
1994 - The Sign - Ace of Base
1995 - Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio Feat.
1996 - Macarena - Los Del Rio
1997 - Candle in the Wind - Elton John
1998 - Too Close - Next
1999 - Believe - Cher
2000 - Breathe - Faith Hill
2001 - Hanging By A Moment - Lifehouse
2002 - How You Remind Me - Nickelback
2003 - In Da Club - 50 Cent
2004 - Yeah - Usher
2005 - We Belong Together - Mariah Carey
2006 - Bad Day - Daniel Powter
2007 - Irrereplacable - Beyonce
2008 - Whatever You like - T.I.

Blondes!

My dad sent me this joke yesterday:

A Blonde is watching the news with her husband when the newscaster says,"Six Brazilian men die in a skydiving accident."The blonde starts crying to her husband, sobbing "That's horrible."Confused, he says, "Yes dear, it is sad, but they were skydiving, and there is that risk involved."After a few minutes, the blonde, still sobbing, says, "How many is a Brazilian?"

Yay!

I got this email the other day. Yaaaayyy!

Knock Knock

We went to church Wednesday night and heard a funny joke. Since it was a knock knock joke, I was able to remember it. So now I will share it.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Control freak. Now you say control freak who.


Isn't that funny?

Btw...the orange font is for my Longhorn friends! (Sorry Buffy. I love you! ;o)

Uncle Kenneth

Wednesday afternoon, my dad's younger brother lost his battle with cancer. I will remember most his highly contagious laugh. In fact...it is a laugh that was passed down from both my grandma and grandpa and that my dad has as well. It's incredible...and just hearing it makes you laugh. When they are telling something that is funny...the story is completely hidden under the laugh and nobody knows what the story or joke is but everybody is laughing. That's how the whole Duke family was and is...happy, joyous people. I hope that joy for life and laugh gets passed down to my children.
I didn't get to see him in his last days; his battle wasn't too long as he was diagnosed only this summer. We received email updates weekly though from Aunt Lucy describing what he was facing daily. I'm glad for him that his battle was not long and drawn out and I'm glad he has been reunited with his mom and dad, D.M. and Miss Lola. And knowing the three of them...they have all of heaven laughing right now!

The Little Things

This weekend was fun. Saturday we ran errands all day and got so much done. Now...let me say that if I had not planned out our route, we would not have gotten half as much done. He's never gotten to experience errands in quite the way that he gets to now that he is married. I know that even though he would never admit it, he loves the new structure that has come into his life! Just ask him when you get a chance how much fun he has watching a Cowboy game with his new wife. He will tell you just how wonderful it is!

We made stops at Office Max, Kirklands (huge sale this weekend), his new office to put up some prints and decorate a little bit. However, when we got to Sports Clips we realized that he left his phone at Kirklands. So I left him there to get his hair cut and went to get the phone. When I went back to get him, I told him that would cost him because going back to one of our stops was not part of the route! We also stopped at Sam Moon. It was a mad house just like it is every Saturday. He was helping me pick out a purse, and there were three other women trying to get to the same purse. All 4 of us were talking at once about the purse and he was trying to listen to all of us. Finally he said, "now I know what it means to be on sensory overload." Of course he got a laugh out of all four of us. I think it was the equivalent to the 'Calgon...take me away' feeling. He also got a haircut, we worked out, and then ended our day by going out to eat to a new Italian place in Plano called Ferrari's Pizzeria! Our waitress there said that I looked like Heather Locklear. Now that's funny! I think we'll visit that restaurant more often.

We laughed a lot this weekend and are refreshed, restored and ready for a new week of work.

My Wordle

Settling in

I was trying to count back to see how many days Brad & I have been married. It was taking too long and then I remembered that I had a counter on my blog. It's been 18 days since my wedding. Anyway...that doesn't really matter. It just makes me realize how fast time passes by. It's been a good 18 days...a few challenging moments...but really good. My sweet nephew and his girlfriend gave us a book called Sacred Marriage and one thing it says that I have found to be very true in the last 18 days is...'being married forces you to face character issues you'd never have to face otherwise'. That statement alone was a huge eye opener to me as to why so many marriages fail...why so many people opt for divorce...because a lot of people don't ever face those character issues head on. It's way too hard to admit the junk about ourselves and way too easy to place blame. I hope that I've learned enough through some very dark valleys that I'm able to face my character issues...to take responsibility for them...to learn from them...and put into practice wise choices when those tests come my way. I heard a sermon one time on relationships and the biggest take away for me was his quote, "Wherever you go...there you are." It spoke volumes to me and really made me learn to evaluate how I view circumstances and my role in the way things turn out for me, and in doing so I've found a lot of freedom.

Gustav SUCKS! San Antonio ROCKS!

As we were tying up loose ends in Austin a few days before our wedding, we watched the weather channel closely...of course...because of the impending hurricane...Gustav. We were hopeful and gained more confidence with every update that said it would make landfall late Tuesday since we were planning on leaving on our cruise from Galveston on Monday, September 1st. We called the cruise line late Friday to see what the status was regarding debarkation and they gave us hope as well. They said that they might even leave a little early and notify passengers and those who could make it would get to sail and those who couldn't would receive a refund. They even said that the cruise might go to different ports than originally planned and to proceed as planned and if there were any changes they would notify all passengers 24 hours ahead. So we did. We were sooo excited! Sunday we stopped back by my sister's house to pick up a few things we had left at her house. While we were there, Brad got a phone call from a 1-800 number. Thinking it was the cruise line, he answered, and the automated message said..."This is the Carnival Cruise Line and we are calling to notify you that your cruise has been delayed." We are thinking...'ok...not a problem...it's just delayed'. The automated voice continued..."The cruise will leave on Wednesday, September 3rd at 4:00 to...NOWHERE!" They were going to set sail from the paradise isles of Galveston and cruise around the Gulf of Mexico! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Who's honeymoon gets cancelled!!! I said, "That does not sound fun to me." So, we opted out of it, got a full refund, and drove to San Antonio...and here is a picture of us in the pool on top of the Hyatt in San Antonio, TX. But it's all good...1)because I married the most wonderful man in the world, and 2)we're going on our honeymoon during the week of Thanksgiving.

Hooters???

My dad is an ordained minister and of course was our first choice to perform our ceremony. The night before the wedding we all went out to eat and he was telling about one ceremony he performed a while back where a Dominoes pizza was delivered during the ring ceremony and the ring was inside the pizza box. As we laughed about how corny that was, my groom piped in and said, "I'm having Hooters deliver Deanna's ring." We laughed and enjoyed that funny little joke. My husband will do anything for a laugh, and I guess that's one thing that attracts me to him because he is just like my dad. During the ceremony, as my dad was waiting for the best man to give him my ring, he asked Brad, "Did you call Hooters?" He forgot that he was wearing a lapel microphone!

I Assumed You Moved On!

Those were the words I heard from the florist 3 days before my wedding! My sister and I went in to this flower shop back in June to secure a florist for the wedding; we really liked the guy and were confident he would do a beautiful job on flowers for my wedding. After all, I didn't want anything that was difficult...just roses...that's all. So, I emailed him the first week of July to tell him exactly what I wanted. I even sent him pictures. He emailed me back with a quote, and I replied immediately with a go ahead. I did not hear back from him. So...I emailed him again and asked for a confirmation and what the next steps would be. I did not hear back from him. So...I emailed him again and asked for a confirmation and what the next steps would be. Still...no response. Well...I let it go because by that time I was dealing with no air conditioner in my town home and all the moving fun was just occupying all my time. After that...I started back to work and let the florist issue fall through the cracks. Needless to say, when I arrived in Austin 3 days before the wedding, I felt the need to pay him a visit, and what I found was..."Well, I didn't hear back from you so I assumed you moved on." Those are not good things to say to a bride 3 days before her wedding! To make a long story short...we had some exchanges and I did not have to be a bridezilla. He came through and the flowers were gorgeous! This is a picture of my bouquet and my bridesmaids' bouquets.

Friendship on a whole new level...

Today I sat down to catch up with all my blogger buds...to take a peek into their lives to find out what's going on with them and what is big to them right now. What I found was passion, emotion, pride, excitement, humor, love, and a myriad of other emotions. And...as I did so, I was overwhelmed with emotion myself. I listened a few days ago as two of my blogger buds were talking about how they get emotional when a football team rushes onto the field at the beginning of the game. I so understand this because I, too, tear up at things that surprise me sometimes, and again today felt my eyes well up with tears as I looked at Bella Donna sleeping in her person's hands; and read the post from the newlywed writing about the amazing man that she married; the swimmers who excelled at the swim meet in San Antonio; the Super-Tech Chick who enjoyed a movie and junk food with her kiddos. And then I laughed at my friend, the speed bowler, who cannot contain her excitement over Michael Phelps; about Riley's person getting excited over electric bikes; and of course the hysterical little boy who so eloquently said to his mama, "Let's roll out, Mamasita!" A wave of excitement swept over me as I watched the slide show of my friend who went to Mexico...knowing that I get to do that in just a few weeks. I wanted to put on a cheerleader's uniform and hug my friend who is setting weight-loss goals, celebrating successes, and pressing forward with determination. I know that road personally and want to say..."If I can do it, ANYONE can do it." ;o) You go girl! And I think about my friends who know me so well that they knew today I needed a hug and a shoulder to cry on.

Maybe I'm so emotional because I'm getting ready to go through a major life transition. Or maybe I'm just humbled by the fact that when I look at the big picture, it just really doesn't matter that someone didn't follow to a T the instructions on the handout that I sent and that maybe...just maybe...they too are excited over electric bikes! At any rate...I'm thankful for my friends; and I'm thankful that I serve a God who gives me gentle reminders instead of a swift kick in the butt when that is what I really should get.

OMG!

19 days! 19 days!

Back to the grindstone!

Along with all my blogger buds, I started back to work this week. We hit the ground running on Monday trying to decide where we would go to lunch! Just kidding. We really did get busy working hard and have not looked up much to breathe. It always takes me a good two weeks to get back in the swing of things and to start feeling rested. I was so exhausted one night that I woke up about 4 in the morning and had to go to the bathroom. As I made my way down the hall, I couldn't believe how dark it was at 4:00 am and was having to feel my way to the restroom. Finally I reached my destination, turned on the light, and realized that my eyes were closed! Now...that's tired...or...blonde!

Brad Paisley

Last Saturday night we went to see Brad Paisley in concert at Smirnoff. He was incredible! I was going to take my camera, but Brad said he didn't think that they would let us take cameras in. OMG...I can't believe I believed him. Well, yes I can; but can you believe he told me that! Now I realize that he didn't want to have to carry it! Luckily...I had my camera phone. Keep in mind that this picture of Brad Paisley does not do him justice and would have been much better if I had had my digital camera with me.

Wow!

It was so much fun for me last night to spend a couple hours with family and friends at the bridal shower that my mother and two sweet sisters hostessed in my honor. I was truly 'showered' with kindness and am grateful beyond words. I received many beautiful things to wear and am sure that my new husband will be grateful as well. Since there are some men who view my blog, I will not disclose details on this posting! ;o) Anyway...thank you so very much to my friends and family for spending your evening celebrating with me.

I need caffeine!

Today...I am exhausted and a tiny part of me is wishing that the a/c had not gotten fixed because that would mean that I would have laid by the pool yesterday instead of packing boxes all the live long day! But it's ok because I got a LOT done. My sweet sister came over and helped me pack and without her I would not be so far along with this task. I have cleaned out so much and thrown so much away which is a good feeling but also makes me realize how much I have that I absolutely do not need.

Today...reality sets in for the bride and groom. I am moving several things over to Brad's that I am going to need to live after we get married till we move into a house. He will come home to a smaller apartment tonight than what he left this morning! The rest is going over to storage and this chapter of my life is coming to a close. I've been through so much transition in the past four years and have realized that transition...even good transition...is hard. I've also learned to embrace transition because with each new circumstance comes many blessings. And for me...the two greatest blessings I've encountered over the past four years is 1) deepening my faith in God and my relationship with Him, and 2) the many many wonderful people He has placed in my life. Those two things blow all the difficulties of transition out of the water.

As you were!

My A/C got fixed today so I can resume normal activity. However, I sooo did not feel like packing this weekend; so, today I hit the gym first thing and hit it hard. Then, Brad & I and I sat by the pool for 3 hours. It felt so good to just relax. Tomorrow...more of the same.

The heat is on!

I'm a week away from moving out of my house and the packing was coming along nicely. However, it came to a complete halt last night after my air conditioner went out. Brad and I were packing my kitchen and it was soooooooo hot. I put a maintenance request in this morning and they said that someone would call me to come and fix it today. Let's see...it is 4:57 pm and I still have not heard from anyone. The packing will get done. The packing will get done. The packing will get done. The packing will get done. The packing will get done...won't it?

Sweetie & Mike

Since I'm moving next week, I have been in 'clean out/organize' mode for the last couple weeks. As I was sorting through pictures on my computer this morning, I found this video clip from Thanksgiving last year. This is my brother, Mike, and Sweetie, Megan's (my niece) dog. She is the cutest thing ever! She can stand on her hind legs and beg like this for the longest time.

Still friends after 21 years!

Last Thursday night, Brad & I met some old high school friends for dinner. It was fun to reconnect and reminisce with my high school buddies.

Registering...

I know that planning a wedding and all the stuff that goes with it can be quite a stressful time in a couple's life and that things that are meant to be joyful can turn into events and circumstances that do nothing more than steal your joy. I would just like to say that I am the luckiest woman on the planet. Last Friday, Brad & I went to register at a couple stores. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about doing so because I so wanted it to be fun and enjoyable for both of us since this is our only chance to do this. I should know by now that that's not something I should ever worry about with Brad because he makes me smile and laugh every day; and this event...of course...was no different. I'm thank God for him every day and know that walking through this life with him will be the biggest blessing of my life.

4th of July

My mom and dad came down from Oklahoma and we spent the evening with them and my sister Sherri. My dad grilled ribs and then we went to see the fireworks at Pizza Hut Park. I believe that all of Texas was there as well!

It took me 39 years...

...but I finally saw the Alamo! Shelley and I were in downtown San Antonio walking to the convention center with our Starbucks foo foo drinks. Shelley was telling me about coming to the Alamo when she was eight years old and how it looked so big, but then when she saw it as an adult it wasn't all she remembered. I told her that I had never been to San Antonio to see the Alamo and she tapped me on the arm and said, "Hey...there's the Alamo." For some reason I had always thought that it would be down some dirt road that you would ride a tour bus to go and visit. Didn't think it would be in the heart of downtown across from Dillards! Needless to say, I took a picture.

VIV 2006

Blessings on a Monday morning...

I'm not sure where to begin except to say that I stand in awe of God. I'm so ashamed of myself that I ever wonder if He cares about the little, ordinary, and mundane circumstances that cross my path every day. Every time He answers a prayer that I consider small, I am in disbelief that He would do that for me and humbled by my lack of faith.

Let me preface this story by saying that the last few weeks has been hectic, tedious, and wearing on my joy. I've allowed frustrations to dictate my moods and the way I treat people I care about. In short...selfish and so in my flesh! So...this morning as I started my summer vacation, the enemy decided to stick with his plan and rob my joy once again. I logged on to check email and received the message that I've been receiving for the last 30 days that my internet security is now expired and I am not being protected any longer. Normally that would not be something to get me riled up. However, in keeping with the theme of the last few weeks, this small matter riled me up to the point of tears...and it was only 8:30 am! Reluctantly, I began the process to renew my subscription...and...of course...ran into brick wall after brick wall. Tears streamed down my face as I sent an arrow prayer toward Heaven..."Lord, I can't take one more thing. Please do something."

I went to the online chat support, and a rep named Omit greeted me. After filling him in on the problems I was facing, he asked to have control of my computer so he could check my settings and so forth. I obliged his request and he took over. As I sat and watched my computer screen, I saw in front of me my cursor moving back and forth clicking on things that were not under my control. I couldn't see this guy, nor could I hear him. However, I watched him do his thing on my computer...coming from knowledge he had that I did not. I waited and did as he instructed. As he worked, I could see that he began to uninstall my entire Norton Security program from my computer. Two things happened to me: one side of me grew very anxious about this person that I did not know on the other end of the connection controlling my computer. After all, the world speaks of how dangerous it is to trust anyone on the other end of an internet connection...and not only that...I gave him full access to my computer. The other side of me fell to peace and I grew very emotional because as I continued to watch all I could see was someone uninstalling a very old version of Norton Security and installing the newest version of security for renewal price I had already paid...which was much less than buying the version he was upgrading me to. If you knew all about my situation, you would understand just how big that is to me. I don't know if Omit is a Christian or not. What I do know is that the Lord did his thing through Omit, and I realized as well that the Lord does care about those little things that I try to tackle on my own every day, and He does hear me when I cry out to Him. He knows when I can't take anymore and He knows just how to draw me back in to His protective arms.

I believe if you are reading this posting today that there is a greater purpose behind it. If you are wondering if God cares about the mundane and ordinary circumstances of your life, let me encourage you to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that He does. All He wants is for us to take it to Him and He'll do the rest. This was His message to me today, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I hope you can find rest in Him as well.

We have a wedding date!

Saturday, August 30th, 2008 in Austin, TX.

Exciting News

Last Sunday the man of my dreams asked me to marry him. On our way back home from Austin, he said, "I'm thirsty. Let's stop and get something to drink." So he exited in a small historic town called Salado. In the middle of town is an historic bridge with giant trees hanging over. As we walked down the bridge, he stopped and said, "I have something that I need to ask you. Take your sunglasses off so I can see your eyes." Then he took the ring out of his pocket, got down on one knee and proposed. It was a perfect day, in a perfect setting, with the perfect man for me. Here is a picture of us right after we got engaged and a picture of the beautiful ring that he gave me.

Jody's Wedding

Here are some pictures from Jody's wedding. It was a gorgeous day for their wedding.