Everything Pumpkin!

This weekend was one of the best that we have had in a long time. It was another successful year for the Jared Jamail Golf Tournament! My family is so blessed to continue this each year to celebrate Jared's life. He was such a special person that even after so many years, it is still hard to believe he is gone.

After two weeks, our Aggies finally made a come back!!! Let's hope they can continue this win to next weekend when we play Baylor at home! At least we will be playing a team with a little more class...

Although it rained all day Sunday, Andrew and I still found a way to enetertain ourselves! We carved a pumpkin, baked pumpkin cookies, roasted the pumpkin seeds, and drank pumpkin spice coffee! I have to say all were pretty good!

Lastly, we found the perfect Halloween costume for Charlie!

We have been busy!

I am sure you have noticed that I haven't blogged in almost a month! It's Aggie football season!!

We have been busy keeping up with work, football, and as always Charlie...He has been doing quite a bit better. We have him going on daily walks and he is not dragging us!! Once he gets back from the walk in the evening, it is all down hill. He eats and lays around until bed time. He did however find his hidden talent last week and has been using it almost daily....

HE DIGS HOLES IN THE BACKYARD!!!!!!

He has discovered that is long legs are used for digging quick deep holes in a matter of MINUTES. He is up to 4 holes in less than a week. Thursday morning he decided to dig a hole while I was getting ready. He had dug a hole where the ground was wet and decided to come back in through the doggie door. I could see his exact path from the door through the living room and all the way upstairs. We live in a house with WHITE carpet...So, Thursday evening I shampooed carpets!

This is where he sat outside while I cleaned the carpet. Why does he have to be so cute?

Moving on...

I got to take a day off to spend with my family but mainly my neice's! Paisley is growing up so fast! Walking and talking!!!! I got to surprise Audrey at school by picking her up!

Lastly, although Texas A&M started off strong in football, we had a little hiccup this week. Hopefully, we can get it together to continue strong through the rest of the season. I wanted to share a short video I took this Saturday at the game. Although we didnt finish strong, we started that way.

This is the true spirit of the 12th man and what Aggie Football is really about!

Thanks and Gig 'em!

Miranda

It all started 5 years ago today...

5 years ago today, I went on my first date with the most amazing man. I never knew that a last minute date to midnight yell would put me where I am today.

I met Andrew about 2 weeks before he started his first semester at Texas A&M. We met and went on our seperate ways that night without ever exchanging numbers. I finished up summer school and left for vacation with my parents to the Bahamas...all while Andrew was just entering FOW week in the Corps.

It wasn't until the Friday before the first home game that he suddenly thought of me. See, his upperclassmen threatened the fish and that they all needed to bring dates to midnight. Sadly, I wasn't his first choice but he eventually called a mutual friend (Lindsay) to see if I would go with him. I guess you could say, I was his last resort??? :)  Thank you to the 2 girls that turned him down! I never spoke on the phone with him but just told Lindsay to tell him that if he could find me in the crowd, I would be his date! As luck would have it, HE FOUND ME! And the rest is history...just kidding!

Since then we have never looked back. Yes there was a FEW bumps in the road due to outside obligations...Corps. We worked through it and took life as it came We dealt with the curve balls that were thrown at us. LET ME TELL YOU, TEXAS A&M CORPS OF CADETS THROWS A LOT OF CURVE BALLS.

 Andrew proposed in the exact spot we stood that night for midnight yell. I remember spending New Years with him the year we met and telling him that night that I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I can still look at him and see my entire future. He is and will always be the love of my life and I am so lucky to finally call him my husband. Andrew, thank you for sharing the rest of your life with me. I love you forever.

Good boy!

After a long week of Charlie destroying stuff around the house, I called a close friend that has trained dogs. She pretty much told me that he needs more attention and exercise. So, last night we went for a walk and today I got him this Kong Wobbler that she recommended. It is different than a normal Kong...it screws off and you can put small treats or dog food into it and has he plays with it, it drops them out the side. Here is a video of him figuring out how it works!

As I type this, he is getting more and more forceful with it! She also suggested I get an Egge. This should help get some energy out! It's basically a large sized plastic egg that he can chase around the yard. If you search Egge dog toy on facebook, you will see some pretty funny videos of this toy in action! I had to order it online but here is a picture of one.

I hope these help him NOT to chew everything in our house! I will post a video of him and the Egge once it comes it...I am so excited!!

Lately..

I have come to realize I am terrible at this! I have yet to blog about the sewing machine I got for my birthday! AHH! With Andrew being out of town so much, I am pretty much worthless with the blog when he is here.

First, last weekend we went to College Station and learned we have some new follower! Who would have ever thought that some of Andrew's highschool friends would be interested in this blog!  We were able to meet up with Pat and Hamilton!

Here is a picture of the pups on the way to College Station...

Charlie is continuing to grow even though he is already 50lbs! He is fully of even more energy...he seems to only be interested in taking things he is not allowed to have and then run for it! I spend most nights chasing after him. Hopefully, this stage will end soon!

I will end this post with a picture of Andrew and I at a wedding in July! I love this picture!

Aggie Football

Exactly 20 days until Aggie football starts and we are ready!!!

Happy Birthday Mom

Today, we celebrated my mom's birthday! I'm sure she would not want me to tell you how old she is but she is still so young! I cannot begin to write the feelings and love that I have for my mother. She is my hero, my best friend and, THE strongest person I know.

She is selfless amd passionate. I know I will never meet anyone else like her...even though people do say I am just like her. :) She is a busy woman and deep in her soul, she is here to make other people's lives better. I do not know what I would do without her. She is a very special person to not just me but, many others in this world.

 Mother, I love you and I hope your birthday was extra special.

Part 2 of Pittsburgh

The last night we were in Pittsburgh, Andrew took me out to dinner for my birthday since he would not be home that Tuesday for the actual day. We took a old cable car up the side of Mount Washington to the restaurant he picked.

It was a beautiful view from the top!

Dinner was wonderful and the best view of the entire trip!

This was the perfect way to celebrate my 25th birthday!

Next up...Chicago in October!

Updates!

I guess I am not too good at blogging...but I promise I will get better. I feel like the past week or two has been crazy! So, here we go!

I met Andrew in Pittsburgh last weekend for a little getaway! We had a great time just walking around downtown. We walked a LOT!

We just so happen to be in town the same weekend American Idol was conducting their first round of auditions! There were news stations everywhere waiting to interview the people that made it through the first round! Andrew liked to go stand RIGHT behind them! It was very entertaining to see some of their reactions!

We also ate at one of the Food Network's reccommendations..Primanti Brothers! The sandwiches were HUGE but I dont think they were really our style. All the sandwiches came with fries and coleslaw on the sandwich.. eh

Heinz Field from across the river





Primanti sandwich!

A German restaurant that imports everything from Germany!

Andrew has a huge beer!

More to come tomorrow!



Lately

 I am finally posting a new blog! I really fell behind in updating everyone...Andrew was able to spend more than just a couple of days at home, so I tried to enjoy every minute we had! And now...he is back to travelling to Pittsburgh :(  Instead of writing all the things we have done lately, I am going to post some pictures...

My mom brought my niece out to stay the night. She said she had a "great idea", which was going to Tutti Fruitti!

New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys concert!

(No, Andrew did not go...its was just my sister and two of her friends...see next picture)

 She felt 8 yrs old all over again!

We found this wonderful seafood restaurant down 1960! We had raw oysters and steamed crab!

Audrey taking over at Paisley's 1st Birthday!

 

 My 2 beautiful nieces!

Paisley digging into her cake!

And finally...We went to a moving sushi bar Friday night! It was great food and even better prices!! 

Stayed tuned for a new post on my upcoming trip to Pittsburgh this weekend!

Still Couponing!

Just a quick blog about couponing! My mother and I found this great coupon holder online! Great price! $12.99 at http://www.thecouponwallet.com/. They have tons of cute fabrics! I  love mine!

The black strap on the outside allows you to attach it to the shopping cart! It came with dividers that are already labeled and small scissors that fit in the back.

I am sure some of you think I am a nerd but this makes couponing SO much easier!

Things I have learned from my dad!

My dad is the one of the most important people in my life and I am so thankful to have learned so much from him in 25 years. (I will be uploading a picture later)

Here are a few things....

Be patient

People are always going to do what they want to in the end

Work hard for the what you love

Work even harder for the ones you love

Sometimes silence is the best

Some people are just crazy

A few cooking tips

Relax
Always say I love you

Do what makes you happy ( I can hear him say that)

No matter what, my mom will always be right

Here is a few things I think he has learned from me...

You can over fertilize your garden

How to text, email, turn on a computer, upload pictures...basically anything electronic (I am not the one who taught him short hand text though)

When you live with all girls, you will be involved in a couple of arguments

Check to make sure your razor blade is actually new and not just replaced with a used one

Giving your baby away at her wedding isn't such a bad thing 

The word "No" isn't in your vocabulary

Thank you for being the perfect dad and always being there for me. You always have the best advice to give for every situation and I am so blessed to be your daughter. Thank you for all the support throughout the years...I am sure there is plenty more to come! I love you will all my heart. Happy Father's Day!

Savings!

Since our weekend wasn't too exciting, I decided to share some savings tips I have learned recently!

First, we do most of our grocery shopping at Kroger. Make sure you always have a Kroger Plus Card! This will save you some money at the pump! For every dollar you spend before tax, you will get a point on your card. For every 100 points, you will receive $.10/gallon off at any Kroger or Shell gas station! I always stick to the Kroger gas because it always seems to be cheaper! If you buy a lot of groceries, you can earn up to $1.00/gallon off! BUT, the points do not roll from month to month. If you read your receipt after shopping, it will tell you at the bottom when those points expire! Last week, I paid $3.32/gallon!!!

The secret is to find a store that is running an in store special on an item that you have a coupon for! Last week, I had a coupon for $2.00 off paper towels and Kroger was running a special for them. $5.99 plus $3.00 off if you used your Kroger card! That's right...I got 6 double roll paper towels for $.99!!!

One last tip! You can register your Kroger Plus Card online at www.kroger.com. Once you do that, you can upload digital coupons to the card!