Photos of the Holidays

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and is looking forward to 2011!  Our holiday was really nice, a perfect mixture of relaxation and fun.  Here are some fun pics.

Poochie and I made Christmas cookies for everyone. 

James and I before Mass 2 of 2.

Sugar?  Na.

Whatchadoing Wednesday

ATTENTION:

There will be no Gillespie update at this time.

Due to me being in Syracuse with lots of snow and the other reason being that we did nothing on the house last week.

It's the holidays.  We deserve a break.

Get off our backs.

Get off my back.

NO you!

Alright.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve.

Whatchadoing Wednesday - Cont.

Finally found time to upload my camera (we don't have Internet yet at the house, so simple task of uploading photos to a blog is not as easy)

BEFORE:

We actually really liked this fixture, but this is one of our only spots available for a ceiling fan and I love the efficiency of a ceiling fan more than the look of the globe fixture.  Craigslist here we come.

AFTER:

James is becoming quite the handyman.  He doesn't come by it naturally, but he's trying so hard!  Nice job dear.

The perfectly timed demo of the living room floor.... uggg.

My poor little tree.

Look at the DUST.  I was not a happy camper.

This is a picture of me staying out of the way.



Whatchadoing Wednesday

We've actually accomplished a lot this week, but all the good photos are on my camera.  I'll post what I've got and do more photos later.  We are totally finished un-packing.  Now on to organizing and decorating.

Photos I do have:

I installed 4 new smoke detectors (soda not included.)

James installed a ceiling fan (better pictures to come.)  Made me sooo nervous on that ladder.

Destroyed my living room by pulling up the pergo and found rotten hardwoods.  My poor lil' Christmas tree had a stressful weekend.  (More pictures to come.)

Notice the free labor in all of these pics.  All we have to do is feed him and he's ready to work.  LOVE IT.  Thank you Levi.

Christmas Shopping

I'm officially finished shopping for Christmas.  If you've been good this year, you might find a little something special under that wee tree. 

(Except for Clark and Levi... James likes to buy those himself usually on the 24th, so you wont find a gift under there for them, but that doesn't mean they havent' been good...)

Notice the floors are now cement.  That 'fun' little project will be posted on the next Whatchadoing Wednesday.

Whatchadoing Wednesday - First One!

We've been in the house a little over a week. A few lovely pictures.

Our first leak... (awwwww).  There's a leak in the master bath, above the kitchen.  I love when my plumbing and electricity mix it up.  Plumber is out today to fix.

Our favorite appliance.  Its not a microwave and it's not an oven; but it is attached to the oven and does still work.  James wanted to see if it was too hot for plastic.  It is.

Somehow I managed to find time to put up a sweet little Christmas tree.  Don't be fooled, our living room is not that large and I did not put up two trees... that's a mirrored wall.  

Whatchadoing Wednesday - New Weekly Post

I know many of you have been saddened by the loss of Deep Thought Thursday.  So I thought I'd introduce a new weekly post with "Whatchadoing Wednesday".

Whatchadoing Wednesday will mostly be focused on the renovation of our new home.  Sometimes it will big projects, sometimes it will be small projects, sometimes it won't be projects at all.  But it will all be For the Love of Gillespie. 

Popcorn, not delicious

Here are a few pics of us working on the house last week.  We (with the help of my parents, 2 day workers and Ricardo's Handyman Services) removed all the popcorn, mudded, smoothed flat and painted the ceilings; all prior to us moving in!  A few of the ceilings needed a little more work, so they are still in gyp mode, but the rest are complete! 

This is the view from the 2nd floor dining room down to the front door.

My pops in the kitchen, such a work horse he is.

Awww... the decisions of a home owner.  Powder white or snow white?

Next project: closing in the master bedroom loft.  I'll make sure to take before/after pics.

28 is going to be great.

My mom sent me this picture today, it made me tear up:

1: It's the sweetest thing I've seen in a long time.

2: At a glance, you might think she was me, she is 28 in this picture.

3: My hair still looks that way in the mornings.

4: My mom scanned this picture all by herself, she's growing up so fast.

What a Holiday!

I can honestly say I lost weight this Thanksgiving holiday.  After having everyone over on Thursday, we began the moving process and I am happy to report at the end of day today, we will only have keys to ONE home.  Thanks to mom and dad for being free slave labor.

The old house was two stories and the new house is four.  My mom and I now have buns of steel. 

I wanted to upload a sweet pic of us in front of our new home, but blogger is being a booger.  Soon, I promise.

Oh Boy!

I knew it.  I have a knack for these things. 

Now Conman will have a little "Tootiebop" to wrestle with.

We love you G2 and can't wait to meet your sweet face!

We WON!

Remember a few weeks ago when I was trying to make you vote for a stupid McDonald's contest (seems like I'm making you guys vote a lot lately huh?)?  Well, it was in the midst of us buying our home and honestly, about 24 hours after we submitted the video, we lost interest.  Life was just too busy.  We only voted sporadically and not with a  lot of enthusiasm.

Well, today James got an email saying we were a RUNNER-UP!  Ha!  $100 gift card to McDonald's and a year supply of Dr. Pepper.  Guess who's gaining 10 lbs real soon?!

If you're hungry, give me a call... We'll swing through the drive-thru on Fitzhugh and hook you up with a McNugget or two.

Polls are Closed!

After a grueling day of counting and re-counting, counting and recounting (my math skills are weak)... the voting has ceased. The public wants a GIRL!

Final Count:

Pink 13 - Blue 6

PS: G2... be good tomorrow so we can find out your REAL identity!
PPS: G2... even if you are a boy, we will love you and spoil you just the same.

Who will it be?

Pick one.

P or B

Dear Sir or Madam.

The company of Neatos & Associates is conducting a survey of the utmost importance, and greatly require your participation. Before November 23rd, 2010, I need you to please wear either BLUE or PINK, snap a photograph of yourself wearing the color of your choice and send it to me.

Your color will then be submitted and tabulated as your prediction of the sex of G2 (my sister April's second kiddo). I hope to have all colors and predictions prepared and forecasted prior to the 24th of November. Any sort of photo submission will work: camera, phone, computer, hand drawing... please just send to katielynn.mail@gmail.com.

We understand your time is very precious, but your participation is vital and if you don't do it, I will slash your tires.

Thank you and please forward on to any others who may have interest in this specific poll. The more applicants, the better the world will be.


Sincerely,
Katie Lynn

President,
Neatos & Associates

Agreed.

3 Years Strong

Yup, our lil' family is 3 years old today, happy anniversary to us!  And once again embarking on new adventures.  I hope we never run out of adventures.

Lookin' Good.

Don't we look completely different?

Today we are bonafide homeowners.

Pictures of the home to come... and many, many, many 'before & afters'.  Let's the sweat equity begin!

Veteran's Day

We'd like to give a shout out to our favorite veteran!  SHOUT. 

In case you were wondering, that's you Clark.

Thanks to all those veterans out there.  We owe you one.

Stilly

James, Levi and I went up to Stilly this weekend for a good ol' trip down memory lane.  It was the first football game that we've been able to attend since we graduated and since they built the new stadium.  Here's one of the few pics I did take, showing how good our seats were...and how fabulous our Pokes played.

A few things that reminded us that we were back in Stillwater:

1.  Stillwater people are real chatty. 

It made me a little uncomfortable at first.  But I finally realized I wasn't in Dallas anymore Toto, and managed a smile and a courtesy laugh to Chatty McChatterson in the hotel lobby.

2.  Taxi cabs are not of abundance. 

We had the same cab drive 3 times in a row.  Her motto for getting the drunk kids off the strip at 2 am... "Stack 'em and Pack 'em!"

3.  If you want a cab, you must call them (not readily available on the curb)

and you then wait 30 minutes.

4. Smoking indoors still exist. 

Blah, one thing I do not miss.

5.  The wind. 

It actually does come sweeping down the plains.

Oh, Stilly.  You hold a specially little spot in my heart.  I don't miss you, but you still bring me great joy.

Perfect.

There are some things that without trying, bring me simple joy.  But as of late, I've been a little (a lot) stressed and haven't made a lot of time for those simple things.  But today as I was working, I found this chart and it made me smile and realize that I have to make time for things that I love or I will go crazy (even more so).

I love graphically interesting charts.  I love pure fonts and simplistic palettes.  I love quirky humor.

Thank you stupid chart for making me smile and even a small chuckle.

FAN OF THE SEASON - VOTE

Alright guys, what would you do for $10,000?  Make a really corny video and ask all your friends to vote for it for a month?  Well, we would. 

Here's the DEAL. 

Go to http://www.fanoftheseason.com/entries/index.asp?offset=-1 and vote for James Lynn as the McDonalds Big 12 Fan of the Season.  Winner gets $10,000 for their own fan cave!  Each person gets 10 votes a day, so basically your routine for the next month... check email, check facebook, vote for us!  Use multiple email addresses if you have to!

A friend of ours is in charge of advertisting for McD's and ask us to participate.  Now, we MUST WIN.

Please vote.  Please vote.  Please vote.

Happy Halloweeny!

I hope everyone had a safe and spoooky Halloween!  Ours was low key, as always, but we did have the cutest little duck swing by for a treat. 

C-Man

This past weekend I got to spend some QT with the ConMan.  We spent the time talking about names for the new baby, (Sally was our favorite) Hot Wheels and how he prefers his pizza with cheese on top and crunchy on the bottom.  We were going to hit up the arboretum and enjoy the pumpkin patch, but alas, it storms on the one day I have outdoor plans.  So we went to the Muesum of Natural Science instead.  There was a dinosaur exhibit that was a little too scary, so we spent most of our time in the more appropriate 6 and under area. 

Here's a pic showing his "AWESOME" thermal energy.  Notice the blue on his shirt... it was where he spilt his juice.  hehe.

MORE BABIES!

My bestest college roommate announced she is expecting a baby this spring and I couldn't be more excited for her.  The only bummer is she lives in New Hampshire, where it's winter all year round, and too far from me.  Can't wait for that red headed baby!

This picture was taken many moons ago, when we slept a lot more.

Nana Turns 80!

This past weekend we celebrated James' grandmother's 80th birthday!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Texas State Fair

Guess who got their Corn Dogs on??!!

and fried frito pie

and fried cheese curds

and fried snickers

barf.

La Condesa

Sorry for being such a blog bore lately.  Life has been a little consuming.

ANYWAYS... this past weekend James and I headed south to Austin to meet up with some friends that were in town for a convention.  We had a lovely time and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  Our friends that we met were traveling from northern New York and they were amazed with our "summer-like" weather.  I kept laughing... this is fall!  Summer is brutal! 

We drank, laughed and ate a lot... it was lovely. 

While we were there, we hit up a great new restaurant, La Condesa.  The food, atmosphere and decor were really top notch.  If you are in Austin you should definitely check it out.  Here are some pics.

Neato

I stumbled upon a Neato Shop.... Neato. 

http://www.neatoshop.com/

Cupcake Party

There's a special little Punkie turning 1 very soon, so I made her a sign so she'd make sure to remember and invite me to her cupcake party.

Can't wait to celebrate!

Auntie & Unclie

Wahhhooo!  We get to have another one of these!  We are expecting a new niece/nephew in early April and are super excited!

These baby pics of Con-Man are so sweet... I can't believe how fast he's grown!

Lifetime Renters

James and I are at a critical crossroad in our habitat situation: Rent or Buy.  We've always been big fans of renting; with our lifestyles it's just made sense.  But we've gotten to a point (my new job) where buying is looking better and better everyday.  But as we crunch numbers, look at properties and pretend like we know what we are doing... we can't help to think how easy it would be to just sign another lease. 

We understand the long term benefits of buying, but the short term benefits of renting just look so inviting.

So I'm making my pros and cons list...

Pros of Renting

Ease of the Gypsy Life - Feel like moving?  Do it.

No Maintenance

No Surprise Expenses

No Maintenance

Cons of Renting

No Equity

Pros of Buying

Equity

The Potential of Eventually Up selling

Freedom of Design

Feeling Grown-up

Cons of Buying

Commitment

Maintenance

Responsibility

Commitment

Surprise Busted Water Heater

Taxes

Commitment

Feeling Grown-up

Yikes.

Totally

Here is the fortune I received in my cookie today at lunch:

Klazy kookie have You going around circles.

Almost as good as a JBL Deep Thought Thursday!

Lush

As many of you know, James and I do not shy away from a good cocktail.  Teetotalers, we are not.  Which is not always a good thing (seldom is).  So, to show some control... James and I have given up drinking for an entire month.  (No, I'm not pregnant, I promise.) 

We are almost half-way through our dry spell and it has proven quite difficult.  Our lovely friends have continued their habits in our presence, almost annoyed with the fact that we are on the temporary wagon.  Thanks guys. 

Our Non-Alcholic Goals:

Lose a couple of pounds

Save a few dollars

Give our livers a rest

We'll let you know how it goes.

Syracuse

Woohhho.  I've been busy lately.  I'm pooped. 

Spent last week in Syracuse, NY... and decided to catch a plane home at the same time the tornadoes were barreling through NYC.  I love me some airport delays.  Needless to say, I didn't get home until 2 am that night.

But anyways, I'm still trying to catch up on life and laundry.  I'll blog more later.

Me.

Last night my mom said she was tired of looking at that fat baby smoking on her screen.  So I thought she might enjoy a picture of a different fat baby smoking.

Sorry mom, we couldn't hide my juvenile smoking habit forever, all the old Christmas pictures are full of me and my ash tray.

Fat Baby Smoking

Has anyone else been following this story from Indonesia?  Ardi final quit the habit.  Which in a way makes me a little sad.  For some reason I had a real fascination with this little guy and his tiny hands smokin' the cigs. His fat lil' baby hands are like a contradiction in themselves.  He's really cute in a cartoon sort of way.  I know a lot of people were really upset with this, and yes, I do think 40 sticks a day is a bit much.  But honestly, I'm fascinated by it and he makes me giggle a bit.  I think he could make a lot of money by making event appearances as "Cupid" or "Baby New Year".  Maybe I'll contact his folks and cut them a deal.   
Anyone else want to teach their baby how to smoke?  I'll turn you into MILLIONAIRES!  or thousandaires... whatever.

Either way, you still hold a weird place in my heart Ardi.

My friends are cooler than yours. Kinda. Ok, not really. But maybe?

Oh man, Levi is going to be so famous soon... and James and I are totally going to make him pay us back for the million of dinners, beers and all around free-loading that he owes us from the past 6 years. 

Levi (pictured above) has been cast as "Buffet Server #1" in the new Fox TV series, "Lone Star" (pictured below), coming out this fall.  How did he get such a prestigious role in such a popular show... well, he didn't really do anything actually.  The show is filming at his work, The Joule Hotel (which is also one of my companies hotels... its a small web in the hospitality industry, trust me).  They asked a few employees if they'd like to partake and he said 'Hell Ya!'  His girlfriend will be planning the role of "Restaurant Server #2".  So keep your eyes peeled.

Their first day of filming is today, I can't wait to hear how it went. 

The show has actually been filming all over Dallas and North Texas lately.  Even sighted in lil' ol' Muenster!  The story line looks dramatic, but you can bet I'll be watching it every week.

Go Pokes.

We've started planning a trip up to Stilly for the OSU vs Baylor game on November 6th.  Yahoo!  It will be our first game to watch in Stillwater (and the new stadium) since we graduated; 5 whole years!  Looking forward to some orange power, waving wheat and all around OkState goodness.

Not looking forward to seeing all the happy-go-lucky college students reminding me that I'm old and stressed. 

Babies!

Last night I watched the movie Babies.  So stinkin' cute.  I think Bayar and his brother from Mongolia were my favorite.  Just goes to show that before we become products of our environment; we're all just babies.

Days Like These....

...that I'm so glad I am married.  Sunday I came down with a little bug in my belly... by Monday morning that bug had turned into a full blown alien.  It was vicious and violent and very unattractive.  James ended up going to work, but came home around 11 after I called to tell him I had past out on the bathroom floor and woke up to find throw-up all over the wall (TMI?). 

I hate being sick, and even more, I hate being sick alone.  Honestly, as I was wallowing in my misery, I kept thinking, thank goodness I have a husband.  Thanks dude for taking care of me, you're top notch.  But maybe the next time you cook, you could not give me food poisoning?

McNamara Alumni Center

While in Minneapolis I toured the new U of M Alumni Center by Antoine Predock.  It's awesome and to be able to walk a building by a famous modern architect is pretty cool too.  Here are some pics, look him up if you get a chance.