What's lighting up my life....

Our dining room is my favorite accomplishment we have completed since we bought the house. But that light fixture was driving me crazy. You know the one... standard brass chandelier... awful! Well, it is no more. I used textured spray paint to cover the chandelier with a charcoal gray stone-like color. I think it turned out beautifully!!! Eventually when I find a good deal I am going to replace the glass globes with mini lamp shades. I would definitely love a more modern fixture but - for the total cost of this upgrade - I think I'll settle for this!


While I was at it, we took down the awful brass light fixtures outside...

(This is a picture from Christmas '07. I promise that Santa is not hanging from my light fixture right now. Haha!)

and turned them into this...

Again... a vast improvement from where we were.

And now for some changes in our living room... My parents got us a foosball table for Christmas but when we returned home from Colombia Sam's had their shuffleboard table marked down and we were able to exchange for almost nothing. We have been eyeing this table for quite some time and it is definitely a crowd pleaser. Even though it is quite long, it fits in our space a little better than the foosball table did, as well.

(The pictures are off center because they are still hanging where they were previously. We've got to do some rearranging of those and get something put on the big empty wall above the table.)

Nose to the grindstone... and in books

Do you know how work can sometimes be slow and you have plenty of time to get your work done (plus a little time for blogging and Facebook)? Then, how all of a sudden you get slammed and have little to no time to breathe at work? Yea... well this has been my life the last few days. I've been a little sparing with my blogging due to an influx - no, let's say tidal wave - of work. I am in no way shape or form complaining though. I love to be busy and needed at work. I think the tidal is over and now I'm just dealing with a steady high tide of work. Which leaves me a little time to catch up with you....

I have been reading a lot lately. I read John Grisham's The Appeal last week. It was a great read and dealt with a favorite issue of mine: political corruption. There is indeed so much. Let me ask you a question: why do we elect judges in this country? That is so out of line with their calling. Plus, they are busy convicting our criminals... do you think they have time to campaign? I'll answer that for you - NO, they do not. Yet they are forced to neglect their duties to be able to hold their own seat. AND - they have to pander to the very people they must rule over. Who do you think funds their campaigns? Many states have gone away from this practice but a lot of states (especially southern states... we like our corruption down here) are still heavily steeped in this practice. Sooo... I'll get off my giant soapbox that most people don't care about. But it does affect you. You can go here to learn how your state selects judges. Take a look at Alabama while you are there. Sad.

As you may remember, I won a giveaway from Sydney not too long ago. I finished reading The Appeal and was really in the mood to keep reading. In her box of goodies, I received Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. How I made it through all my schooling and honors literature courses without having to read this is a wonder. I read it over the weekend. Lucas says I'm a dork for reading Pride and Prejudice for leisure in two days.... but what does he know.. and well maybe I am. Anyway, it is a-ma-zing. I love it!! What an awesome love story. Thank you, Sydney, for delivering a classic to my doorstep and opening my eyes to the world of Jane Austen. I think I'll go pick up Sense and Sensibility from the library soon.

I'll save some more of my updates for a later date. Until then I'll be working and getting to your blogs as often as I possibly can. If I have missed something important or really interesting in the last few days please let me know so I can fast track it to your blog!

Countdown: one week to Mexico!!!

Send something special to your Valentine this year...

Another Epic Game Night

Game nights are legendary around the Linares household... and Saturday night was no exception. We had eleven of our friends over for a little fun (and drinking). Games of the night included shuffleboard, Taboo, Presidents and @$$holes (sorry, it's the name of the game), beer pong, and Wii. Scattered throughout the games we managed to drink more than our fair share of adult beverages.... leading to some very interesting moments, to say the least.

I was so caught up in the games (and the drinking) that I didn't take any photos myself. I stole these game night photos off of Facebook from my friends Justin and Nicole.

Ultimate Hostess..... always

Do you see my pregnant friend, Aida, with her water (and the chips and salsa)? Hehe! Sorry, girl. I can laugh a little longer. ;)More game night action. I don't look too happy but I am. I am standing behind Nicole with the buzzer hoping she says an illegal word so I can buzz. Haha!

Brandon gets started with his legendary Rock Band singing while I break out the beer pong table".... and I'm hungry like the wolves"

We also have some earth shattering video of this performance courtesy of Nicole's camera. It is on Facebook but I'm going to see if she can upload it to You Tube so I can share it with you.... you've gotta see it to understand the complete insanity that was going on here.

Also, I'd like to take this moment to brag. We partied til 4:00 a.m. Yes, you heard that right. 4:00 a.m. We partied like the rock stars we are! ;)

AND.... Do you see that countdown over there to your left? 14 days left, my friends!

Musical Mondays: Our Somewhere

Hosted by Jori and Diane

So I promise next week's Musical Monday won't be wedding related. BUT - this week I wanted to share our exit music. Lucas and I left the lodge under a shower of rose pedals to this beautiful song.... (though the song had to compete with Lucas's brothers and a few friends singing some song in Spanish that I think was a little provocative in nature though I have no idea since it was in Spanish... they had had more than a few drinks by this point.. haha!)



Somewhere Over the Rainbow
by Israel Kamakawiwo (what kind of name is that?)

A Catch Up Day....

I've been blogging every day but I still feel like a few things have gotten lost in the shuffle. So today I want to go back and highlight some things you may have missed......

Christmas with our friends...

We had a belated Christmas party a few weeks back with our good (and we would soon learn.. pregnant) friends! Right off the bat they told us their good news so we had a great night!!! We exchanged presents then our 'children' exchanged presents. Of course, we have no pictures of us or our presents but lots of pictures of the dogs.

Rafa helping Rocky open his presents...

Rafa not cooperating during the present opening...


Yay! A new present!


Oh, but the little dog takes it away.


'My toy now, Rocky!'

Rafa got two stuffed animals of his own but he wanted the big dog's toy. Of course.


Rafa's 1st Birthday...

We celebrated Rafa's first birthday the next weekend. We let Rafa invite his good friend Rocky (and his parents) over to the house. We ate dinner then it was time to open presents.

Rafa hasn't quite got this opening presents thing down yet....
Rocky got Rafa a cute little shirt that said 'I still live with my parents.' Then he started laughing at the little dog who had to wear a shirt. Haha! We got Rafa a tire toy and some bones and greenies.

After presents it was time for cake! I made the adults some cupcakes then made some special little cupcakes for the boys!
Isn't it precious?!? I found the recipe here. This dog is spoiled.... made from scratch cupcakes with peanut butter, kibble, and a bone.

I gave a cupcake to Rafa and he thought it was contraband. He took it under the table to hide and eat it. Poor guy!


He's licking the floor. It must have been good.



Our 2nd Anniversary....

We didn't have big plans for our anniversary. We are planning to celebrate big in 18 days (in CABO!) and it fell on a Tuesday. So I sent Lucas to work with some leftovers for lunch but fully intended to set my plan in motion.

I called Dominos to order a large pepperoni pizza and requested that the pepperonis be placed in the shape of a heart. Look how good it turned out!!!


So I surprised Lucas at work with the heart pizza....


We went to a nearby community and parked in the driveway of a home that was for sale. We had a pretty nice view.


That night we got in our pajamas, ordered Chinese in, watched two movies (My Best Friend's Girl: actually pretty funny; Burn After Reading: interesting but weird), and ate ice cream to our heart's content.

Last year we were on our Caribbean cruise during our anniversary and celebrated big with the Super Bowl (yes, I'm that lucky), champagne, and a fun night on the boat. This year was much more low key but I would argue it rivaled the cruise ship. It was so nice to just relax and cuddle... not worry about dishes, laundry, cleaning, anything.... just enjoying the evening with each other. We need more nights like that (except maybe without the Chinese food and ice cream... Lord knows I don't need anymore of that).

Planet Beach....


Have you girls been here? I am trying to get a little color before we go to Cabo. I found this free coupon for three free sessions and I thought, 'Sweet! Three trips to the tanning bed and I won't have to pay!' So I present my coupon and the lady tells me that the coupon is for one each of their contempo spa sessions. Noooo! I wanted to tan three times! I listened to her pitch about their products and services, and she asked if I'd like to do the entire session. It takes an hour and a half and I had to get to my Wednesday night Mexican so I only did two of the three sessions.

The first session was at the Hydration Station. Listen up, ladies. This is heaven!! It gives you the same benefits of lying in a sauna for an hour but it only takes 20 minutes. I wish it would've lasted an hour! It was great! You lie in a tanning bed like contraption but the bed underneath you vibrates in little pulses while the bed heats up and mists steam and minerals over your body mixed with light radiated therapy. It is incredible!! It helps moisturize your skin, prepares your skin for tanning, and enhances your skin tone.

I'm telling you... if you have a Planet Beach in your area, take this coupon and please go try it out! Now I'm hooked and I want their monthly package. $80 for 4 hydration station uses, 4 mystic tans, and unlimited tanning. The down side is you have to sign a year long contract. They are very big on contracts. Yuck! For now, that is a little too much, too long. So I'm off to use my next coupon at another tanning bed in town!

Future Photo Session...

Our friend Melissa is starting up her own photography business and asked for children and pets to shoot. Obviously, we don't have children yet but you know I'd love professional photos of our little cutie. We are working on getting a session scheduled now. I'm so excited to show you how cute Rafa really is when a real photographer takes his photo!!!

If you live in the area and are interested visit her at www.melissahopper.com!

Think Thin Thursday - Volume V

More of the same... more of the same....

I met my goal but still no change.

I slipped up a few times on food (I've got some excuses but I'm sure you don't want to hear them). But I really thought I've been working out enough to combat that.

Usually I can drop 5 to 10 pounds pretty easily if I set my mind to it. I guess I'm just not eating well enough. I think the beer and Mexican is not helping me on Wednesday nights.

I do feel better drinking more water and working out often. I even got out and played tennis twice this past weekend because it was so beautiful. It is cold again this week but should warm up for some more tennis this weekend.

This week's goal

I would like to work out 6 days a week alternating workouts.
Workout #1 - 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and upper and lower body workout
Workout #2 - 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and cardio ab workout

I'm telling you... I'm gonna make that scale move.

This is going to be a real challenge to get all this in but I've got to get serious with this and just do it.

*** I'm supposed to tell you smart ways to dessert. I could tell you that I keep FF Jello puddings in my fridge but then I'd also have to tell you that I've been bypassing the pudding for cupcakes that Lucas's boss's wife made us for our anniversary and Ben and Jerrys that Lucas bought for us to share on our anniversary. Very bad.