Saga at the Dry-Cleaners

Today I dropped off the following at our dry-cleaners

1 Suit
2 pairs of my dress pants
13 of Steven's dress shirts
1 white athletic sock (Steven's)
2 pairs of my undies....

I'm never going back there again...

I remember...

A blog I read had this great assignment where you are supposed to make a list of the things you remember vividly from your past...I couldn't resist.  I hope some of you will do this too!

1.  I remember crying in the back of my AJ (Aunt Janey) and Uncle Steve's car as we drove away from Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas after visiting my Mom, Dad, and new baby sister Lizzie at the hospital.  

2.  I remember sitting in a tiny cubicle with a curtain with my mom and dad waiting for the nurse to come pick me up to take me back for my surgery to remove my tonsils...she put me in a rolling bed with either Susan (my cabbage patch) or Roger (my bear) and I cried all the way down the hall.

3.  I remember waking my mom up in the middle of the night because I had put the stuffing from my Ernie doll's nose up my own nose....sadly this wasn't the first time I did something like this...but it's the only one I vividly remember.

4.  I remember coming home from school with Haley and Jenna (preschool friends) and sitting on my mom and dad's bed and passing my brand new baby brother James to them.  

5.  I remember the time in Kindergarten when Lindsey threw up her lunch (a hot dog) on the big rug in the middle of the room...I also remember when I "almost made it" to the bathroom a few weeks later and lost my lunch on the bathroom floor.

6.  I remember getting bit by that damn squirrel in Zilker Park at the "end of kindergarten picnic"...running to my parents and taking pressure off the bite and watching the blood shoot up like a volcano...and then going to the hospital with my dad where a guy in the ER was in a wheel chair with a two-by-four sticking out of his foot being held there by a huge nail...I also remember when he fell forward in his wheel chair and the nail went further into his foot...ack!

7.  I remember falling off the front of the swing in preschool and getting a pebble stuck in my forehead...I also remember when my teacher took it out of my head later that day and I got to get a butterfly band-aid at the doctor.  

8.  I remember singing Willie Nelson with my dad in the car countless times.  I also remember making up words to the Santana album because we didn't now what he was saying in Spanish...

9.  I remember spending many Saturday's with my Dad at the office, teaching myself mine sweeper and solitaire (I could never figure out Free Cell), running all up and down the halls squealing, drinking so many ice teas and cokes that I had to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes (thus the running down the hall squealing...)

10.  I remember when I took Mary to school for my show-and-tell in 4th grade, which also happened to be hat day, and she took the hat off of the cutest guy in my class...that's also when I learned the benefits of having a sister 9 years younger than you  (other benefits include getting to watch Disney Channel all through High School with the excuse of "spending quality time" with her...)

11.  I remember the first time my Mom cussed in front of me...I cried profusely

12.  I remember my first (and only) alcoholic drink before I turned 21 the summer after my freshman year in college...I felt so guilty and confessed it to my mom a few years later.  (baha!)

13.  I remember when my brother bit me on the butt when I told him I was going to go tell on him...I also remember my parents laughing profusely and being so unfair by not immediately punishing the behavior...

14. I remember mom having BUNCO nights at our house growing up and how Lizzie and I (we shared a room at that time) would jump on our beds each time the bell rang...not sure what that bell did though

15. I remember making cookie dough with my MeeMee on the lid of the dishwasher since I couldn't reach the countertops

16.  I remember how my Greedad would never let me sit in the bar chairs in the kitchen because he was so afraid I would fall off...I also remember wondering why he had them if we could never sit in them...

17.  I remember when Greedad came to speak to my 4th grade class for veterans day and my mom came to watch...I also remember her nursing Mary (covered) during class...I was HORRIFIED!  still kinda am...

18.  I remember when I came back from college and started wrestling with James (we did this all the time growing up because I always won) and then he picked me up and pinned me on my bed...we haven't wrestled since...

19.  I remember when I took my first flight alone (elementary school aged) from Austin to Dallas to visit my AJ and Uncle Steve and I got to be a "special flyer" with Southwest Airlines...I also remember the cutest, sweetest old lady sat right next to me and offered me one of those strawberry candies...I took it from her but didn't eat it because my parents always told me not to take candy from strangers because they are poisoned...

20.  I remember waking up at AJ and Uncle Steve's (a few years later) with Lizzie and AJ telling us that our baby sister had been born...still not sure why we weren't there...

21.  I remember throwing up in the back of Mr. Luckett's car

22.  I remember getting a spaghetti noodle stuck in the back of my throat at the dinner table and pulling it out with my hands...I also remember my mom being really grossed out by this :)

23.  I remember always getting in trouble for leaning back in my chair at the kitchen table

24.  I remember taking apart my bell kit in 6th grade (each individual piece) and counting it as practice time 

25.  I remember watching the Atlanta summer olympics at the beach in Gulf Shores Alabama

26.  I remember during recess when everyone was making fun of a girl named Amy, I went up to them and told them to stop and walked with Amy to play at a different part of the playground.  (This still might be my proudest moment...Lord knows I haven't always stuck up for people when I should have).

27.  I remember when our PE coach told us we needed to start wearing deodorant

28.  I remember when I sat down with my parents to have the "sex talk."  they asked me if I knew how sex was done (which I did) but I didn't want them to know so I lied and said "it's when a guy puts his thing in a girls belly button."  I was so afraid if they knew I knew the real answer I would get in trouble. (baha!)

29. I remember asking the vice-principle who was leading the girls sex-ed class in 5th grade what an applicator was (as in a tampon applicator).  Everyone laughed at me and then when the VP asked someone to say what it was nobody knew (sweet revenge!)

30.  Lastly, I remember taking my troll doll with the jewel, kissing it and saying my wish that "I could fly" and then jumping off my bed in hopes of never touching the ground...sadly my flying powers have yet to be discovered. 

Oh So Organic

Well Steven and I finally bit the bullet (what a strange saying...).  After a year of debating about whether we wanted to buy organic food, discussing the pros (our nutrition, health, the environment) and the cons (the COST), we finally went to Whole Foods on Saturday night and bought all of our groceries organic.

Our bank is saying "ouch" but just after 2 whole days my body is already screaming "Thank You!!"

I can hear it now..."really Katie?  After only 2 days?"  and friends I must be honest, I'm not even joking.  Now granted I think a lot of it has to do with the recipes I chose for this week, all from Wholefoods.com.  They are very bean and veggie heavy and only one has meat in it (that was by complete accident, I didn't even realize it until I got home).  So far we have tried two of the recipes Layered Vegetable Enchiladas and Three-Bean Salad with Quinoa.  Both were delicious, very satisfying, and unlike so many of my dinners didn't leave me feeling "weighed down" and bloated.

The cost was definitely the thing keeping us from going organic in the past.  I mean who wants to spend more money on food?  Definitely not a young married couple with one still in school for another year and one who just started a new job...(oh and plenty of grad school loans to pay off...).  But we realized there will probably never be a time we want to spend more money on groceries.  Once we pay off the debt we will probably have kids and they are certainly expensive etc. etc. etc.  So we decided if we were ever going to do this we just needed to do it asap.

To be honest we went a bit over our grocery budget for the week.  It seems like we will really have to cut back on how many "involved" meals we have every week (involved = meals with lots of ingredients).  I'm on the lookout for simple dinner options which will help us save some moo-lah, and lets be honest, probably make me want to cook more often since when I come home from internship the last thing I want to do is cook an involved meal.  (so basically it's a win - win)

Let me know your thoughts on Organic food.  If you buy organic fill me in on some simple recipe ideas!  If you are debating like Steven and I were until just a few days ago let me know that too!

I'll leave you with two pics (from Whole Foods) of our last two dinners.  Both were delicious and I would definitely recommend the recipes!

What being snowed in has taught me

Apparently I have no self control when it comes to snack-junk food (yes Mom...I'm finally admitting it :)

I was CRAVING Chex Muddy Buddies Mix yesterday (Also known as snow man poop, monkey munch etc.)  I am completely going to blame the Winter wonderland craziness that landed in Dallas this week thus leaving me shut in my apartment alone since Tuesday while Steven goes off to work every morning (apparently the stock markets don't close when Dallas has an ice storm...).  I was about to go insane yesterday until I realized I should make this snack which was obviously created by The Almighty.

A picture of Muddy Buddies from Betty Crocker

Only thing keeping me from making this delicious treat...I had no Chex cereal, and there was no way I was going to venture outside to go buy some from the grocery store...so I just used Honey Nut Cheerios.

I must say the substitution was perfectly acceptable in my book.  Then again you could add butter, chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar to a piece of cardboard and it would taste heavenly...

So what is the problem you ask?  I can't stop eating the stuff!  I swear it must be laced with crack or something.  I begged Steven to take the tub to work this morning, but he forgot...and I've had it all. day. long.  As in it is the only thing I have eaten today.  I mean I usually have Cheerios for breakfast so instead I just had some Cheerio Muddy Buddies.  And then for lunch I usually have a PB&J...so of course I just had some more Muddy Buddies since they already have peanut butter in them.  And then they are the perfect snack so I'll probably just have some more in about an hour...

I blame Steven...I really really do.

So while I don't buy junky snack food I apparently should not buy semi-sweet chocolate chips (for baking), peanut butter, cereal, or powdered sugar since I'm perfectly capable of creating my own junk...

...remember though, it really is Steven's fault...and the weather

Thank goodness for sisters

For Christmas every year our family gets desk calendars...exciting I know.  And this year my two sisters were in charge of finding calendars for everyone.  Imagine my surprise when I opened up mine and found this

According to my sisters I am WAY too nice and need to learn my fair share of comebacks in order to be successful in this world.  So I've taken their advice and am storing up as many self-centered "bitchy" sayings as possible until I'm ready to unload them on some un-expecting but very much deserving person.

I decided the best place for the calendar would be the kitchen since I do my fair share of complaining in that room already and might as well learn how to be a bit bitchy while I'm at it.  You never know, maybe one day I'll get the nerve to throw the sauce-pan across the room in a fit of rage...or maybe just slam the refrigerator door really hard.  You have to take these things one step at a time  

Is anyone out there?

Well apparently some of you read this thing because I have gotten several threats friendly reminders to update my blog.  It's funny how when I'm bored I can find an endless amount of nonsense to blog about, but when I'm busy I can't bring myself to take the time to update the world on my awesome adventures!

So this is my formal apology for being such a crappy blogger this past month...phew...I hate admitting I messed up...just ask Steven...he knows better than anyone

So I technically have 15 minutes to spare before I go down to Wednesday night church and meet even more new people at the amazing Wilshire Baptist Church where I am currently interning...i LOVE it here, but there is simply not time to explain that all right now...

Basically I thought I would let you all know how ECSTATIC I am about the two new books I just ordered on Amazon

Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis

Saving Women from the Church: How Jesus Mends a Divide

Oh don't worry friends, I am completely aware that the first book title is perhaps the most loaded in all of literature...which is the main reason I ordered it.  And I do realize that depending on your theological perspectives the second book might seem a little off...in which case the first book probably seems REALLY off.  For me these titles made me drool profusely all over my computer as I hit the "add to cart" button.  But what I think is great is the fact that not all of my friends (including some of you) will agree with me on these issues, which I think it pretty fantastic actually.  If I've learned anything from seminary and social work it is that you must maintain a balance of perspectives around you so that you never stray too far off the path.  This is the same approach we must take with the Scriptures.  The Bible is an amazing book, but read alone (both without the Spirit and without counsel of fellow believers) can lead to dangerous interpretations.

So this is a shout-out to you my fellow readers.  First of all for caring enough to threaten...remind me to update my blog.  Secondly (and most importantly) for accepting me regardless of if we share the same theological, political, etc. views.  You enrich my lives with your perspectives!  I hope to share a review of these two books once I finish them and hear your thoughts!

Much love!

Because I'm bored...

We're all moved in to our new apartment in Dallas!  Wohoo!

No internet yet which means I finished my two remaining papers in record time this morning.

Just stopped by Barnes and Noble to swoon over the latest literature submit my finals and thought I'd add a quick blog post before I'm disconnected from the rest of the world for another 24 hours.  (not that I mind...)

Steven humored me this morning and let me take a picture of him before his first day of work holding his coffee mug and the lunch I made for him (just now realized I forgot to add a hand-made note...mom will be so disappointed )

Only problem with our apartment...we get 10% off at Pinkberry just for living here...and Pinkberry is right down the street...Steven's rightfully concerned and told me he's going to put me on a Pinkberry budget...jerk

Because we're moving tomorrow...

To commemorate our last night in Waco we will definitely be eating...

Definitely something I'm going to miss the most about this place I've called home for the past 6.5 years.  

Because you lost...

Dear Baylor Football,

It's me again.  Well, apparently my request meant nothing to you...it's ok I'm over it.  Lucky for me I have very sweet in-laws who did not rub the victory into my pitiful Baylor face, but still, I would have preferred to be the one extending grace to their pitiful Aggie faces.  Oh well, I live to see another day.  Fortunately I've been a Baylor fan for a while now (4 generations...remember?) and I'm used to the gut-wrenching feeling of losing a game we could have won, but for some reason I still get all worked up about it.  Lucky for you I am too busy with school to really make a big deal about it so this post will be all you get from me this time.

Still forever at your service bleeding green and gold thru and thru,
Katie Ferguson Murray

I can hardly contain my excitement...

I had every intention of blogging about our two most recent vegan recipes (both a huge success btw) but to be honest I had to share my excitement about who I get to see tomorrow!!

HUDSON!

and his precious parents AMBER and RYAN!

I first met Amber and Ryan almost 5 years ago now (wow!) after I had been dating Steven for several months.  They both went to high school with Steven in Oklahoma (Ryan is Steven's best friend) and then both went to Oklahoma State University together.  

Now those of you who know Steven well are familiar with how incredibly goofy he can be.  When he is around Ryan it's like 100x worse better ;)  They both start acting like 15 year old boys and thus Amber and I have learned that it's best to just let them do their thing and back off which has allowed us to become really good friends as well!  I so treasure our friendship with them and wish we could all live in the same city.  We keep trying to convince them to move to Texas and they keep trying to convince us to move to Oklahoma.  Perhaps we should call a truce and move to another state together...ha!

And we are so so so excited about seeing Hudson again!  The last time we saw him he was just a little bitty 6 week old baby and now he's 10 months old! (or almost...He was born in mid January)  To be honest Steven was a little disappointed that Hudson wasn't more interesting at 6 weeks old, he kept saying to all of us "he doesn't do anything" (another reason we aren't quite ready for children yet...) but Amber has assured Steven that Hudson will keep him plenty busy this time around.  

The five of us back in March at Ted's Escondido, our favorite Mexican Restaurant we visit every time we go to Oklahoma.  We were honored to be there at Hudson's first Ted's trip :)

So needless to say I am beyond excited!  I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to share once we get back (Amber always takes pictures which is great because I always forget! ha!)

Going vegan for dinner in november

Friends It's VEGANovember at the Murray's!

For the past few months Steven and I have been trying to do something "out of the ordinary" each month in an attempt to either save money, be healthier, or both.  

September: no eating out.  We weren't perfect at this, but we certainly gave it a go.

October: no coffee unless it is made at home.  aka: the birth of our own pumpkin spiced latte :)  we only broke this 2 times all month!

November: we are trying to go vegan for each dinner meal we make at home.  This does not include thanksgiving (duh) or eating out at restaurants.  No worries Amber and Ryan!  (our dear friends we get to see in Dallas this weekend!!!!!!)

Why this particular challenge?  Well Steven and I are trying to loose some weight/be healthier and all semester i've been reading up on healthy eating habits.  I'm not interested in going on a diet, but instead I want to make changes within my eating that will last further than when I finally decide I'm back to a desired/healthy weight.  I've been learning a lot about vegan eating and have heard great statistics on how it is a much healthier way to eat.  (for more info try out these links here, here, and here)

Basically the average American eats way more animal products than he/she needs to which can have harmful effects on their health.  Now don't get me wrong, I love my burger and steak, but Steven and I thought this would be a great way to try out some new recipes and limit the number of animal products we consume each week.  (Thanks Aurelia and Lyle for really introducing us to this idea!) 

So get ready for some new veggie-filled recipes coming to the blog!  I'm about to leave for the grocery store now...watch out produce aisle, and will attempt to find tofu for one of my recipes.  I'm not even sure if HEB has tofu, where I would find it if it does carry it, or if Steven and I will even like it...oh well, this month is all about experimenting!

My thoughts...in no particular order

1. The bears are bowl bound!
2.  I think I'm still wet from the monsoon at the Kansas State game this past Friday.  Sic' em homecoming!
3.  I'm moving to Dallas in less than 2 months...whoa!
4.  Within the next 6 months I will have traveled to two foreign countries.  I've never even left the country before
5. I need a passport (see #4)
6. I'm a really really good procrastinator (strengths perspective)
7. I'm sore from bear cycle today...damn my 3 week hiatus from working out.  what was I thinking??
8. In exactly 2 months I will be having the first Christmas away from my immediate family (thankfully I have awesome inlaws!)
9.  My brother is playing for Louisiana Tech next year!  So proud!
10.  My husband has his first interview tomorrow!  So excited for him and am singlehandedly taking on all of his nerves...I guess that's my contribution.

Why we aren't having children soon

::our conversation after I told Steven that one of our couple friends is waiting to completely determine the name of their child until he/she is delivered because they want to make sure the name fits with the baby's personality::

Steven: Babies don't have personalities right out of the womb.
Katie: Sure they do!
Steven: how so?
Katie: well they can be calm, hyper, alert, looking around etc.
Steven: What?  Babies don't look around right after their born, their eyes don't even open for a few weeks
Katie:...that's puppies Steven...

Things that make me laugh...

...people who call my husband "Steve" after he introduces himself.

For instance, the dialogue below has happened more times than I can count.

Steven: "Hi, nice to meet you (insert name here) my name is Steven"
Person: "It's nice to meet you too Steve"

He used to correct people, but now he just nods in agreement.

But just to be clear...don't ever try to call me Kate because I will smack you down.  Not that I don't like the name Kate, because I do, in fact I have many friends who go by Kate and it doesn't make me cringe...but for some reason I can't handle it being my name.

In fact only my sweet sweet sweet 83-ish year old grandmother is allowed to call me Kate and that's because she's too precious to say no to.

So the point of this post?  I laugh when people call my husband Steve and cringe when anyone but MeeMee calls me Kate.  

I leave you with my favorite picture of Steve and Kate (laughs while cringing :)

Blogs Change Lives

I know what you are probably thinking..."wow Katie, what a self-serving title for a post," but I'm not actually talking about my own blog, although I'm sure it does bring a smile to some of your faces because there are a few of you who get mad if I don't post often...

Thanks to Google Reader I am now an advanced blog reader.  I simply "subscribe" to different blogs and all I have to do is sign in to google reader and it shows me which blogs have been updated as well as the post, talk about convenient!

I've started looking at a lot of different design blogs, DIY blogs, and funny blogs (aka Catalog Living where they take ridiculous pictures from Catalogs and give them dialogue...trust me it's hilarious!).  Anywho I'm doing this mostly because I think I am starting to discover my design style but I want to be sure before Steven and I decide to buy furniture in a few years (yes, I realize this might be a bit over the top, but I am anything but spontaneous so I must plan).  Also I'm learning all kinds of tricks for refurbishing old furniture which hopefully means when it comes time to replace the IKEA college furniture I'll be able to do so in a somewhat green/recycled way :)

Decorating.  There are tons of moms who have blogs (that they get paid to do...how jealous am I?)  and they are beyond crafty (which I am not) but they have step by step tutorials on how to create cost effective decorations for your home!  They also all have a love for pottery barn but not the prices so they will simply look at a catalog picture and figure out how to create it themselves, pure genius!  I'm planning to make this $5 wreath at some point this fall (A Martha Stewart Knock Off).

Next, Food!  Ok I have no idea how weight watchers works but there is a blog (Skinny Taste) where this woman puts tons of recipes online that come complete with weight watchers points.  So what do I do?  Simply look for meals that have lower points than others which hopefully means they are healthier.  Seems reasonable right?  I have some Turkey Chili in the crock-pot right now (3.125 points...again have no idea what that actually means) so I'll have to let you know how it goes.

Lastly, inspiring families.  Steven and I are pretty much in sync with many of our decisions, something that comes from a healthy habit of good communication; but we are starting to think of what type of family we want to be (not that we want kids any time soon...sorry moms!).  We are starting to sort out our "grown-up" priorities and I've found that there are some great blogs out there to get ideas from.  One that I came across last week is Young House Love.  They are a young couple, live in a fixer-upper, recycle, buy organic, grow their own produce when they can, and have a 4 month old with cloth diapers. I'm not saying I want to be exactly like them have found several similarities with values Steven and I have: not being the American-consumer family, budgeting, helping the environment, working on house projects ourselves instead of paying for labor (within our skills), focusing on what's important and not what is "trendy" etc.  I would really suggest perusing through that blog for great ideas on how to save money, DIY projects, and how to live simply!

The only downside to all of this?  It keeps me from my ever growing pile of homework...

Rainy mornings

Started off this morning getting my butt kicked in bear cycle with Aurelia.
Quick meeting at  Truett Seminary
Impromptu Common Grounds outing with Morgan where we sat and talked about life whilst drinking soyboy caballeros with moca java blend

All in all one of the best mornings I've had all week.

Also since Aurelia and Morgan are my top blog commenters I felt I should honor them by mentioning them in my post :)  Thanks for a great start to my day friends!

Body, Mind and Soul

Watch out world.  Steven and I are on our way to being the newest power couple on the block...aka we will soon be replacing Bragelina and I'm sure get lots of offers for our own reality tv show.  :) Having one year of marriage under our belt we decided to examine our relationship and see what we could improve.  We came up with two areas and hit the ground running with a new semester of school!  This week has been filled with strengthening our body, mind and soul.

#1 Body:  Steven and I both decided that we need a little more consistent exercise in our lives.  I feel like I should tell you my philosophy on exercise here for clarity.  I am completely against weighing myself because I never want to be unsatisfied with my body if I don't fit within a certain number range on the scale.  To be honest I really don't know how much I weigh and I am completely ok with that. But I have noticed that when I exercise I have more energy (which is a must in grad school) and my pants fit a little better (which is a must when you are on a budget and can't go out and buy more pants. ha!)  So this past week we started working out every day at the SLC at Baylor.  I'm also attending my very first spin class tomorrow with my friend Aurelia!  I am scared out of my mind, but so excited!  It has been so nice to step away from the books for an hour every day and go lift weights/do cardio.  Hopefully we will keep this up throughout the semester!

#2 Mind:  I'm in grad-school...need I elaborate more?  To be honest this wasn't one of the areas of marriage Steven and I decided to work on for the time being, but I needed to add it in order to have the relevant title for this post :)

#3 Soul:  There is always room for improvement in spirituality, so Steven and I decided to look at what specifically we could work on as a couple.  We both realized we are really good at talking about the theology of our faith.  Between my seminary/social work classes and Steven's love to talk about faith and politics we have conversations around these topics pretty much every day.  Something we both struggle with though is the devotional side of faith.  I attribute this to our almost identical Myers-Briggs types: INTJ (Me), ENTJ (Steven) which highlight our amazing ability to analyze things based on facts but our struggle to be more in-tune emotionally with our faith.  We decided to start doing a devotional every night before we watch our Friends episode...um...I mean go to bed :).  We are using "A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants" as our liturgy for these devotions.  I would recommend this book for anybody (couple or individual) who struggles in their devotional life.  The best thing about this tool is that it does all the structuring for you.  It follows the church calendar and for each week provides you with a liturgy full of prayers, scripture verses, reflective readings and even a hymn.  It really has made the experience of leading a devotional life together very enjoyable for Steven and me.

Only in Aggieland...

Let me first preface this post by stating that I am, through marriage, related to Aggies.  My amazing brother and sister in-law both go to A&M and I love them dearly...

Let me also state that I grew up with a father who made fun of A&M all the time and grew up hearing more Aggie jokes than I could possibly count.

Let me also state that when I started looking at colleges my father told me I could go anywhere I wanted, but if I wanted him to pay for college I would not go to A&M...and I'm pretty sure he was completely serious...I never tested him though.

So when I went this past weekend to good old Aggieland to see my brother-in-law Ryan graduate I couldn't help but snap this picture and send it to my dear old dad.  

Perhaps at first glance you aren't really sure what is so great about this picture.  I mean obviously this is an Aggie graduation because of the maroon...perhaps you are chuckling a bit at the man with a cowboy hat on...but then again you aren't to surprised because it is A&M.  What is truly endearing about this picture is that this man isn't drinking coke out of his Styrofoam cup...no friends, that is his dip cup.  Apparently doing dip (which of course implies having to spit it out at some point) is classy enough for a college commencement.  :)

What's even better is that later in the ceremony his father (who is sitting to his right, not pictured, with a cowboy hat on too) at one point reached into his front shirt pocket and brought out a little metal tin, almost like a teeny-tiny embellished trash can which he opened and spat into!  I'm still kicking myself for not snapping a picture of that...he was much too quick and sneaky with his superior spit methods as opposed to his amateur son with his Styrofoam dip cup.  I really wanted to ask them at what point you graduate from a Styrofoam dip cup to a metal embellished travel sized dip spittoon...but I was afraid I would embarrass my in-laws.

This is why I will forever make-fun of the Aggies...even the ones I love dearly :) 

So you will recognize me the next time you see me...

I now come with bangs :)

...and am very excited about it apparently

Anniversary Weekend 2010! (aka longest post ever)

Steven and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary this summer and escaped the thriving metropolis of Waco and headed north up I-35 (east) to our future home Dallas for the weekend.

The trip started e-a-r-l-y...5:00am to be exact.  Because monetary funds are not plentiful in the Murray household we decided to save on gas by having me drive up with Steven Friday morning for his internship.  Luckily my uncle adores me and agreed to meet us at the Italy truck stop so that I could spend the day with him and my aunt :) The man picked me up before 7am, thus making him saint-worthy in my book.  Steven and I stopped by the Czech stop in West first where I had the most delicious strawberry and cream cheese kolache to warm my spirits in the wee hours of the morning.

I spent the day with my aunt and uncle and their three amazing dogs, Sophie (Black), Phoebe (Grey), and Trixie (White).  One day I will make an entire blog post about these precious dogs.  They are herding dogs and thus very protective.  They are hilarious though and I might have fallen in love with Trixie while I was there...  I will have my own Bouvier des Flandres one day for the following reasons (1) they are awesome, (2) they are big (big dogs are a must for me), (3) they are low activity inside and high activity outside (4) they have amazing personalities just like me, (5) they are great with the kiddos, (6) they don't shed, (7) they will scare the living **** (mom reads this blog so it must stay PG) out of anybody who tries to break into our house...biggest bark ever and they are huge!

PS...is it sad that my phone takes better pictures than my camera? (top photo taken with camera, bottom with my phone)  So to everyone who is considering Christmas gifts for me I would be appreciative of an awesome camera :)

I also got to have lunch with this precious child

She is my cousin's litle girl and she is a-maz-ing.  I asked her to say cheese and this is what I got...love her. We bonded over lunch while her mom and my aunt talked about more grown-up things. Our topics of conversation included (1) her stuffed Big-Bird who made a guest appearance at lunch, (2) her kids cup she got at lunch and all the colors, animals, people, and activities that were happening on it (she is very smart)  (3) my hair band which she called a bracelet, (4) her mac and cheese and using the big-kid-spoon to eat it, (5) my sweet potato fries.  It was quite distinguished :)

After an amazing day and night with my Aunt and Uncle (who have been housing Steven while he has been interning up in Dallas all summer), we headed out Saturday morning to the Dallas Aquarium.  Now for anyone who hasn't been to this aquarium yet be forwarned...it is about 15% aquarium and 75% wildlife preserve.  I have been to my fare share of aquariums throughout my life and thus have high expectations.   When I think of an aquarium I picture a lot of rooms with floor to ceiling glass and a ridiculous amount of fish including whales and great white sharks....the Dallas aquarium is not up to this standard.  There are 4 floors and only the bottom one had fish.  The rest had birds, snakes, monkeys, turtles, alligators/crocodiles ( I still don't know the difference) etc.  Total bummer...but we made the most of it.  

Thanks to Pixar I walked up to the tank and said "look Steven, it's a Dora fish" and then a 3 year old girl walked up and said "look Mom...it's DORA!!!!!"  Proudest moment in my life.

Luckily by the time we walked up to this tank I had learned my lesson and said in my head "NEMO!"

Shark...not as cool as a Great White or a Whale, but it did swim over our heads...I guess that's worth something

The Murrays at the Dallas aquarium lame wildlife preserve thingy with some fish and no whales or awesome sharks or big octipi or a place you could pet the sting rays...

Big alligator/crocodile thing...that was kinda cool I guess.

Rest assured that unlike my tone in this post we actually had a good time.  Steven has never been to an aquarium before so I guess this was a good one to start with.  One day I'll take him to New Orleans and show him what a real aquarium is like :)

We had a great dinner that night at Hillstone (Formerly known as Houston's).  It was a recommendation from our Aunt and Uncle and is apparently one of my cousin's favorite places to go.  We had a great time even though the average age of the people there was about 20-30 years our senior.  Apparently this is the place all the Highland Park parents go to eat on Saturday night, but let me tell you they know where the good food is.  I had amazing crab-cakes and Steven had a huge steak and we topped it off with a yummy dessert.  We were quite shocked when our bill came and we noticed they had charged me for a refill on my ICED TEA. What?!?!  It costs like 2 cents to make Iced Tea (it wasn't even a fancy flavored kind) and they charged me for a refill?  Who does that anymore??  I average about 3-5 glasses of Iced Tea at a normal restaurant, luckily I wasn't that thirsty and only had one refill....gah!

Us enjoying all done with dessert.  Why does it look like I'm pounding the table? Contrary to what you might assume by looking at our smiles in this picture we each only had one drink before dinner while waiting for our table...

May I also take this moment to shamefully plug Priceline.  Steven and I Pricelined (yes you can make it into a verb, thus further exemplifying its awesomeness) a hotel for Saturday night and got an amazing 4 star hotel by the galleria for $60! (that's more than 1/2 off!) When we got to the hotel we got upgraded to a nicer room for free!  If you need a tutorial on how to use this awesome website just let me know.  The Ferguson's don't go anywhere without pricelining first :)  

On Sunday (our actual anniversary) we went to Wilshire Baptist Church where I will be interning in the Spring to experience the worship service...loved it!  And then joined up with my other cousin Nancy to have a tour of Dallas, she is an amazing tour guide :)  We also had to stop at a 7-11 for a free slurpee since it was 7/11 and thus Free Slurpee Day!  This will become a tradition on our anniversary for sure :)  

That evening (back in Waco) we had some of our wedding cake.  We were quite skeptical (as shown by this picture), but were somewhat pleased with the results.  The icing was pretty awful but the cake part was still delicious.  

The jury is still out as to whether or not we actually enjoyed it.  

Ok...if you read all of that you are truly amazing and perhaps have too much time on your hands.