The Wedding!

Hey all! I know, I haven't posted yet about my brother's wedding! In a nutshell it was beautiful, emotional, amazing, busy, fun, fancy, and exciting!

I decided Friday night that I wasn't going to worry about taking too many pictures. I figured everyone else was taking pictures AND we would get to order some professional pictures. So, I don't really have any to post yet. If you want to see a few.....check out these blogs in my link section.......Grimes Life and The Sawyers. They have a few pics posted. I will order all mine from Snapfish and Kodak Gallery (ie: other people's cameras) soon so I should have some to post them!

Tracy looked beautiful and Josh looked very handsome. We all had a wonderful time. The rehearsal dinner was SO fun (thanks Mom & Dad!) and it was a very special time all weekend with family and friends.

MY BROTHER IS MARRIED!! :) And, his wife has my same name. It's official......there are 2 of us in the world.

In other news, the option period is up on my condo tomorrow. So far so good! The inspection didn't show a thing wrong (they opted not to do a full inspection, just a basic one) and they haven't asked for anything else. So, when we go to closing all I have to take is my keys!! No extra money because I don't have to pay any closing costs or for a home warranty! Yay!!

Tonight we are going to see Larry & Cheri's new house in Garland. We are going to hang with the fam since Uncle Kirk and Aunt DiAnn came up to help them get settled. Should be lots of fun!

Taken from Mel's Blog

You Are 89% American

You're as American as red meat and shooting ranges.Tough and independent, you think big.You love everything about the US, wrong or right.And anyone who criticizes your home better not do it in front of you!

How American Are You?

Big News!!

We received an offer on my condo...........we countered, they accepted and my condo is under contract!! It was very close to my asking price and they want to close on May 17th if all goes well with the apprasial and inspection.

We actually received 3 offers.....but this one was totally clean and was the best. The buyer isn't asking me to pay closing costs OR for a home warranty!!

We are SO happy! Now we just sit and wait out the option period! :)

The Countdown.........

I am flying to Houston tonight to begin the wedding festivities! I can't wait..........I am SO excited! I am going to finish packing today, run a few errands and then Devlon is taking me to the airport. He is driving down Friday in time for the rehersal and rehersal dinner.

In a few days, my brother will be married, I will have a sister-in-law, and there will be another Tracy Pipes in this world. Fun times!

Happy Easter!

Hope the Easter Bunny visited everyone! Last night, Cheri & Larry came over for dinner. We hung out, ate, visited AND dyed Easter eggs! It was so fun!! The boys really got into it.......the most decorative ones are Larry's & Devlon's creations.

This morning, as I got up, beautiful lilies were waiting for me on the kitchen table. So pretty and so sweet of him. The Easter Bunny did good. I got him a basket of goodies along with the Charlie Brown Easter movie.......we are going to watch it tonight!

We met his parents for church and then went to a nice lunch. We have since been relaxing at home!! Hope everyone had a wonderful day.

New Additions

So we have some new additions to the home. Most of you know that Devlon went turkey hunting with my family a few weekends ago and shot his first turkey (which he was VERY excited about!). He got the mount back today. It is so cool! I have never seen a mount done quite like that. He is hoping to mount a plaque and the bullet casing onto the lower part of the wood. I think he wants to put the date and the name of the ranch he was at. The middle part is a carved turkey. He also has the feet preserved and hanging by a leather strap. They are just gross, I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of them and post them. Yuck.

The rug (I know, I said I wasn't going to buy anything for the house until my condo sells) I found at Pier One for $18.00. I love the colors and I think it gives us a lot to work with. For now, the walls are white so this at least brings in some colors. And note, it does have maroon in it.

That's it! I am glad it is the weekend. :)

A whole lot of nothing........

I haven't been blogging because there doesn't seem to be anything exciting going on! Getting ready for Josh's wedding.......I think I have it all.........

Outfit for rehearsal dinner
Outfit for bridal brunch (I think I have this........I may look a bit more)
Wedding outfit complete.....dress, jewelry, purse, shoes, undergarments to suck everything in
Sunday brunch outfit
Will get mani/pedi on Saturday
Will get hair done on Saturday

Yep, I think that is it.

I went to Austin Sun & Mon for a funeral..........my Mom's college roommate's husband died. He had been sick for some time. Charles was a funny guy! It was a nice service and it was nice to catch up with their whole family.

I am pondering some work changes.........we are opening a NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) and I am interested in the developmental specialist position. I would still be doing very similar work, just with a more focused population (babies and neonates). It doesn't come with a raise or anything, but I would be developing a program on my own with the whole NICU team that is being hired. I would still get to work with siblings (which I love) but I would lose the older kids I see now in the PICU. I think it would be a challenge and give me some good professional growth.

I decided to stop trying to decorate Devlon's house. It has been driving me crazy! I decided to wait until my condo sells and I get to move everything over. Until then, I am going to paint and decorate our bathroom. I think I will use this shower curtain

http://www.blackforestdecor.com/anlushcu.html

I think it will work.......both for what he likes and what I can do with it. He says I can put whatever I want in there.....but I want it to be something he likes too! I think this will be a good compromise b/c the shower curtain is kind of antiquish and vintage so it doesn't seem all boy to me. With some golden yellow paint, red bath mats, etc. I don't know!! Mixing households and decorating styles is stressful!!!! All of my bathroom stuff is really girlie so I am putting it in the guest bathroom (pink & black colors with vintage black & white pictures). The kitchen will stay as is, as will the living room. Once all my stuff comes over it will be far easier to make this house look like ours and not just his with a few of my pictures here and there.

Well, I am off work today and so far have done nothing productive. So, I should get ready, clean up the backyard a bit and run some errands. Happy Thursday!

Spring has sprung........

Well, it appears that spring is here! The weather is warming up, we have had a few April showers, and it is still light when I get home from work!! Devlon and I made a trip to Home Depot Tuesday night to buy some flowers and planting supplies. I also had bought some flowers in Canton this past weekend that we wanted to plant. So last night we spent an hour or so on the garden and the yard.

We planted Serrano peppers, Jalapenos, bell peppers and tomatoes in the garden in the back. We planted petunias and some other type of flowering plant in the front (the ones I bought in Canton, I have NO idea what kind they are). We planted Salvias and Sunflowers in the back, along with an elephant ear plant. We (well, Devlon) cut back some of the bushes in the back and the front, trimmed the bushes and trees, and now we have a pile of limbs that need to go in the trash. We fertilized and placed weed and feed around the yard. Devlon cut the grass earlier this week and we need to edge the fence.

I will be excited when they all bloom and fill out. I will have to take a picture and post it so you can see. Apparently, the petunias will fill out the main bed in the front nicely. It looks so nice!! It's nice to actually have a house with a yard! My Mom has always had such a green thumb and I have never been able to see if I have one too........so maybe this will be a good test. Happy Thursday.........so glad tomorrow is Friday! Devlon and LG are hitting the road for Galveston for the big bachelor party. I hope they all behave. CG and I plan to shop! :)

High School Songs

Today I was driving to work and heard a song that took me back to my high school days..........Hey Jealousy by Gin Blossoms. I can totally picture Melissa and me, piled into a friend's old camaro, driving around and smelling like exhaust/gas. Fun times! It is funny how a song can take you back in an instant to bring forth a memory that you hadn't come across in years. Here are a few other songs that take me back to the good ol' high school days......

John Deere Green
One Moment in Time
Good-bye Says it All
The Dance
Anything by Gin Blossoms
Pour Some Sugar on Me

What songs take you back to high school days/memories??

Wedding Shoes??

What do we all think of these shoes with a black fancyish dress for my brother's wedding??? I was looking for shoes with rhinestones, but these may have to do. Comments please!!!

Canton = TIRED

Laura and Ryan picked me up at 9am for a fun filled day of shopping in Canton. I left with a few things, but nothing major. I bought a flat of flowers to plant, along with 2 hanging plants. A few little decorations for the house, but nothing that is considered "re-decorating". Just some girl touches. I was home by 7pm and then ran a few errands here (grocery store, target). I am pooped out to the max.

I talked to Devlon briefly tonight and he shot a turkey!!! He sounded so excited and I am so proud of him! I told him to shoot a pretty turkey so we could have a nice feather mount in the living room. It sounds like he is having a great time with the men of my family. I do miss him though!

I am about to hit the sack since we *spring* forward tonight. Yuck. Meeting his parents for lunch tomorrow and then to find the elusive black shoe for the wedding. It is proving to be quite the hunt. Good night all

Theater going folks

So we have had a busy week! Monday night we went to see Delirium, the new Cirque de Soliel show. It was great! It was very different that their other shows because it was a "musical event". They combined all the music from their various shows and had all kinds of dances, acrobatics, hula hooping, etc to go along with the music. So because the emphasis was music, their wasn't alot of their traditional stuff......like the acrobatics and fun body twists. I really enjoyed it. If it is coming to your town, I recommend getting a ticket! The stage was awesome as was the music/dancing.

Thursday night we went to see Phantom of the Opera. I have seen it before, in Los Angeles, but Devlon never had. It was at the Music Hall at Fair Park. AWESOME show! I love Phantom and this touring company did a great job. We decided we might look into getting tickets to the summer musicals because Les Miserables and Mamma Mia are coming and we would both like to see them.

So we had 2 late nights during the work week, which makes for a tired girl! Devlon left yesterday to go turkey hunting with my Dad, brother and Uncle. I went to Devlon's best friend's (Eric) house last night for a big dinner with his family. It was very nice......great food and great company. I am waiting for Ryan and Laura to pick me up to spend the day in Canton at Trade Days. I joked with Devlon and told him I was going to re-decorate the house while he was hunting. :) He didn't think that was as funny as I did!

I plan to spend the rest of the weekend searching for shoes to wear to my brother's wedding...........a much harder task than I imagined. I also need a top for the skirt that I am wearing to the rehearsal dinner. My condo showed yesterday, so far no takers. I am expecting a long wait, since condos take a while to sell vs. a house. But we shall see...........