3 Months

Saturday Jon and I celebrated our 3 month anniversary. We forgot the to acknowledge the first two, so I thought we should at least celebrate our quarter of a year anniversary. This was really an excuse to go on a date and spend some quality time together. Here is how the day unfolded:

Sleep in until lunch
Lunch at Sharky's
Visit the Mercer's (a. to borrow the lawn mower b. to get our baby fix and remind us why we are investing in birth control)
Go to the park, walk and take pictures of things
Jon mows the lawn, Krystina goes to Walmart (fitting into our roles nicely eh?)
Krystina attempts to cut Jon's hair (for two hours!)
Dinner at Spano's
Putt Putt at Prime Time
Home and watch a movie

All in all it was a pretty great quarter of a year anniversary. Here are the few things I have learned in the first 3 mo of marriage:
1. make sure you have separate sinks for getting ready in the morning
2. bad morning breath is killer, keep scope nearby
3. a good nights rest and snuggling don't always go hand in hand
4. remember to turn the closet light off when you leave the house
5. you really don't have time to cook family dinners
6. the weight gain is real!
7. you have to watch his shows if you expect him to watch yours
8. girl nights are necessary, and boy nights too

So far that's it, but I'm sure there is much more to come...stay tuned for the 2nd quarter of a year anniversary.

Heroes Season Premiere

We begin this season with a recap of last season, overall 3 hrs of Heroes greatness! Jon and I did get a little bored being caught up from last season since we just finished it a few weeks ago, so we had to fast forward through the recap. We just couldn't wait to get to the good stuff.

Last season ended with a nail bitter. Nathan Petrelli was shot twice in the chest right before he announced that he could fly. In the opening scenes of the new episode we find Peter and Claire facing off four years in the future. Claire is donning some dark locks which actually look pretty good on her, especially with the dark side of Claire we haven't seen before. Things have not gotten better since they saved the world the first time, and Peter vows to make things right. This is where we find out that Peter goes back in time and is the shooter that gunned down his brother to keep the secret from getting out. The show progresses by updating us on the various stories that have been going on.

Nikki (Jessica) now becomes Tracy, who is the assistant to a corrupt politician. Her aim is to convince Nathan Petrelli to replace a recently deceased senator.

Claire is found by Sylar who eventually overtakes her and absorbs her power. We also find out that Claire is even more special than others and Sylar can't kill her. Also, Mr. Bennet's files on the 'villains' locked away in level 5 fall into Sylar's hands.

Mohinder and Mya discover a way to take 'heroes' genes and give them to others so everyone can have powers. Against Mya's urging, Mohinder injects himself and wakes up with heightened senses and amazing strength. After he and Mya 'bow-chika-wow-wow' he wakes up and realizes that something is very wrong with him. Blisters on his back would indicate...yes.

After confronting Peter about shooting Nathan Matt finds himself in the African desert. After walking what seems like miles he collapses, starts talking to a turtle and then realizes a man is there to help him. I believe this man is similar to Isaac Mendez in his ability to paint the future. However, he says that Matt wasn't supposed to be there and the future has changed.

Hiro and Ando uncover a new destiny for themselves when Hiro's father lets him in on a secret. It is a diagram that maps some sort of molecular structure, possibly the answer to genetic codes Mohinder is looking for. But just as Hiro looks at the diagram and new girl makes her debut as being 'super fast'. I don't remember her name, but she is French. After going to the future, Hiro finds out that he is eventually betrayed by Ando and he feels he can't trust him any longer.

There is much more to the story, but the main idea is that Peter has drastically changed the future by shooting his brother and not necessarily for the better. Mrs. Petrelli (who can apparently see the future) has a bad feeling about what is to come. As do I!

This season is going to be so intense. I can't wait! So if you are not a Heroes fan you need to get on the bandwagon and become one!

Thanks Ike!

We Survived!!! No worries...Lake Jackson is intact. I cannot say the same for our neighbors up the coast :( I talked to mama Hickl yesterday as the power came back on at our house. We suffered minor damage to the fence in the back yard and lost a rose bush, both minor concerns. As the power returned Mom had also just finished cooking the entire contents of the freezer before they went bad. I'm sure the Hickl house was a hopin place with air conditioning, running water and an entire freezer worth of food.

Now on to Surfside beach which was not so lucky. Several beach houses were down or had the dreaded 'X' marked for tear down. But do not fear! Several of our favorites are still intact! Kitty's purple cow survived...




and a very surprising performance was given by the Surfside water slides. I believe theses were closed down about 10 years ago, I always thought they would have collapsed even without hurricane force winds. But it out-performed some houses! Very impressive!




Surfside is not the same, but at least we have these few landmarks to hold onto. In times like this I ask myself why the ugly brown beach houses didn't get ruined instead of the pretty ones. Those ugly ones always outlast, and maybe their longevity is the source of their old ugliness. Who knows, at least Surfside can't get much worse and we can only go up from here.

The 11th and 12th days of 12th day!

Please tell me this whole time you've been singing these blog titles to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas. I can't stop singing it in my head and it makes me super excited for Christmas in 3 months!!! Now on to the reveal!

Day 11: If you are an employee of ACU you guessed it...Starbucks coupon. This only days after Hayley (the boss man) said that this idea was nixed. I guess the idea box was running empty. But who doesn't like to fuel up in the morning or mid-afternoon! Homemade coupon pictured below.



Day 12: There is much jubilation and a sigh of relief as this is the last day students can leave and the campus blame it on us! Sing along with me now...'On the 12th day of Freshmas, my big boss gave to me...a comp day to take for free!' I can't say that I wasn't expecting this, after all the idea box is empty remember! What else do hard working successful employees want besides cupcakes, Starbucks, Krispy Kreeme Donuts or even, shall I say it, a raise? But we've already gotten the first three and we are all crossing our fingers for the 4th to come. So hoorah! Pictured below was the deliverer of this great news. Note the little man...this, of course, was the response of everyone in the office minus Jeremy with his gimp knee.





*Also I wanted to add that over the weekend Jon and I used the 2nd day of 12th day gift card to Century Cinema to see Tropic Thunder. Rating= 3 out of 5 stars. I'm glad we didn't have to pay for it, but it was entertaining enough for a Friday night in Abilene. Disclaimer, don't be deceived by the opening previews for ridiculous movies, Jon had to clue me in that they were part of the movie and supposed to funny. After that realization it made much more sense.

The 9th and 10th Days of 12th day

I missed reporting on yesterday's commemorative gift because it came late in the day. So, I am combining both the 9th and 10th days.

9th Day: Black nalgene-esk water bottle with rubber comfort grip, white ACU logo on the front. The top also works as a handy hook to attach to a belt loop! Pictured below.




10th Day: Krsipy Kreme Donuts all around. This would have been another good one to announce beforehand so I didn't eat double breakfast.

ANTM Has Returned: Season 11

Last night I turned on the tv and looked at the shows recording for the evening. To my pleasant surprise I see America's Next Top Model with a little red dot next to it. Finally! The absence of tv drama from my life was making things dull! But lucky for us, last night kicked off the season with a two hour episode. I must say Tyra was thinking outside the box with her 'futuristic' theme. But nobody can complain about full length leotards and tie up stiletto boots. I must say that the season premieres are a little cheesey for my taste, but props to Tyra for keeping it light and fun for the contestants. I know some of them can take things a bit too seriously. In no time we get to meet some of the contestants. Here are a few to keep your eye on in the upcoming weeks:

Elina-The sometimes lesbian that is open to loving anybody no matter what their gender. She announces mid-way through the show that she has a crush on Clark (we'll get to her in a bit). My favorite part of this episode is how the camera man cathces a hug between the two as Clark is handed her spot in the house and Elina rejoices.

Isis-The born in the wrong body he-she. 'She' believes that everything about her is female except the physical...and no 'she' hasn't not had a complete transition to female...enough said. Some are concerned about any nude scenes that may come to pass, and I am too!

Hannah-Grew up in a small town in Alaska with no electricity or running water. In her interview she runs around like a moose while Tyra strikes fierce run for your life poses. Claims to be very naive as their are no people where she came from. Seems like a 2008 flower child.

Clark-Overly confident barbie doll who admits she will use and manipulate people to win. She places toward the end in the first round of pictures while they 'talentless' girls give her a run for her money...including bff Elina.

Marjorie-Shy and sometimes spastic girl from France. She came to the US when she was 7 and then was home-schooled...not a good combo for a foreigner trying to fit in... She ranked first in this weeks competition, but will her unconfident awkwardness get in the way like it has for so many others?

Sheena-The ghetto asian. Currently lives in the Bronx and brings a sort fo 'flava' to the mix. She kinda reminds me of Cha Cha DiGregorio from Greese for some reason.

McKey-The boxing cage fighter. She's a fiery red head who skated by the first round of judging with her back to the basics boxing pose. Good call to take the fight against global warming so literally! But it may not work next time.

Best part of last nights show was when Tyra announced who would be staying. I wasn't aware of who was who, and for about 15 seconds could not figure it out! They were both crying and hugging...finally one of them said I'm sorry and I finally felt some closure as the Sharaun fell to her knees and sobbed. It was so dramatic! Especially for the first elimination! I can't wait to see what else is in store.

On The 8th Day of 12th Day...

So at work we are currently having the 12 days of 12th day. Similar to Christmas, but without Jesus' birth and including the freshman class...so Freshmas. We are celebrating because the 12th day of classes is when official enrollment numbers are taken and we can all breathe a hopeful sigh of relief! In the spirit of hopefulness our boss is presenting us with small tokens to commemorate each day. Lets get everyone caught up shall we?

Day 1: Same Kind of Different as Me-book the Freshies are reading and everyone else in the world apparently!
Day 2: Two movie tickets to Cinemark Theatre
Day 3: 2 cupcakes because 3 cupcakes on 3rd day is just predictable
Day 4: Wear jeans to work on 5th day
Day 5: (Wearing jeans from 4th day) Get fav Sonic drink for mid-afternoon snack
Day 6: $10 iTunes gift card I have yet to receive
Day 7: The Three Amigos (Which meant more to me than anyone else because Jon and I searched high and low for a dvd version the night before! My crave was fulfilled!) plus an astounding amount of candy and drinks and popcorn
Day 8: Mini-massage for 10 min...Mandy was great but it was a real tease!

I will keep you posted on the upcoming 4 days of Freshmas. So far, so good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a 'take the day off' day.

Six Flags

This past weekend I had the pleasure of going to Six Flags with Megan and Brooke! I haven't been to a theme park of any sort in about 4 years, so it was long overdue. I now finally understand why my parents never took me as a child and would bribe me to not go. I distinctly remember one time I wanted to go to the local fair with my mom. I was about 7 I think. As we were pulling into the fair grounds my mom, in a last effort to avoid the horrible day in store for her, offered to take me shopping for toys instead. But I was determined! I said no, of course, because the fair came only once in like 10 years so we HAD to go! My poor mom was throwing up after just a few rides because for some reason children love the rides that spin around in nauseating fast circles. She never took me to the fair again after that. On Saturday I finally felt her pain. I wasn't bent over a trash can at any point, but ever since the second round on the Batman ride I've had a continual spinning headache. This was the first time I have gotten even remotely sick on a ride, which I think means I'm finally an adult.