Hello, Hello

Okay... I'm officially back to blogging. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with maintaining the blog, Facebook and Twitter and thought, geez, no one will ever read our blog again because I'm on FB now, BUT, I received an email from a good friend last week and she made the comment, "So I guess FB took the place of your blog?" Thanks to Debbie for the motivation to blog again. :)

Let me catch you up on a few things since my last post was 7 months ago and it was recap of October 2008 -- Good Lord, that was a looooong time ago and a lot has happened!

January 2009 - We celebrated our 1 year anniversary! Wahoo! We had dinner at Fearing's in the Ritz-Carlton and it was delicious. They even brought out a mini-tiered wedding cake for dessert. Too cute!

February 2009 - I almost didn't include this month in the update but then remembered my Valentine's gift from Brent... I couldn't resist providing an image. :) Nothing says "I love you" like a leopard-print taser. Don't be jealous! I give Brent a hard time about it, but the reality is that I refuse to own a gun and do you watch the news? There are a lot of crazies out there so the Taser is the next best thing for personal protection. I love it! Oh, and he also gave me a watch.... I believe he made that purchase after he spoke with my sister and informed her about the Taser. :) ha
March 2009 - Declan was born to proud parents Carrie & Mark! (Baby no. 1 for them, but he's our nephew no. 2). I experienced vertigo for the first time in my life for a whole TWO weeks -- a.k.a. inner-ear infection. I would not wish that feeling on my worst enemy. It caused me to miss the baby shower I was co-hosting for Spring. Boooo!

February 2009 - Not that this is really "newsworthy" but we saw The Pretenders in concert at the House of Blues. That's our second time to see them. Chrissie Hynde is 57 and rocks out! She is absolutely adorable with her skinny jeans tucked into her boots. I hope to be that hip at 57... or perhaps I should be more concerned about if I'm hip now. I mean, I am coming up on thirty. eek!

April 2009 - Tripp and Brooke were born to proud parents Spring & Max! (Babies no. 1 & 2 for them, but niece no. 3 and nephew no. 3 for us). We quickly realized that in order to sustain our current level of gift giving, we'd have to take out a second mortgage. :) My sister Lacey came into town one weekend to visit. We had a great time! Another highlight in the month of April... we saw Fleetwood Mac in concert at the American Airlines Center. Wahoo!!! I love me some Stevie Nicks! :)

May 2009 - We saw the Dave Matthews Band in concert. I never thought he was all that attractive, but wow, when you see him on stage with that guitar singing his little heart out, your perspective begins to change. I think I'm in love Sorry Brent. :) I went to Austin for a girlfriend's bachelorette party and got to visit my new favorite little man, Declan. He makes for some tough competition with Brent. :) We took a quick get-away to New Orleans with our friends, Jim and Allie. I love that city!

June 2009 - Two of our nieces had birthdays! Miss. Claire turned two!! I can't believe it. She is a total scream. We celebrated with her in San Antonio at her pool-themed birthday party. That same month, we celebrated Isabel's fourth birthday at our house. She is growing up too quickly. The weekend included brunch at the American Girl Bistro and a Hannah Montana birthday cake. Does it get any better for a four-year-old? I think not. :) As for music, which we obviously love live-music, we saw Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood in concert. That show was AWESOME. Loved it. At the end of the month, our good friends, Rachel and Jeremy tied the knot! It was a very fun wedding.

July 2009 - BUSY month!!! We went to Playa Mujeres, Mexico with a big group of great friends. It was a much needed break. Brent was out of town for a week for a sales conference. I was in Austin for work and of course visited my man, Declan. Then we went to the beach for my family's annual vacation. I have yet to post any photos online merely because there are over 400 pictures. In addition to the beach, I extended my stay and spent some quality time with the new twins. They are so adorable and such snuggle-bugs... I can't stand it! I wish we lived closer, but we'll see them soon enough because they're getting baptized in August.

Somewhere in all of this time, we received some not-so-good news... 1) my sister's cancer has returned and 2) our Old English Bulldog was diagnosed with cancer. As if I didn't despise the disease enough from the first time my sister battled it, I really dislike it now. It's a horrible, no good, very bad disease and it's extremely frustrating that with all of our medical miracles/discoveries, no cure exists. Carrie is doing well and finally responding to treatment. I found out yesterday that the current meds are stunting the growth of the tumor in her lung. Yay! Praise the Lord! Please keep her and the family in your prayers. As for Elvis, he's in remission. His 6-months worth of treatment is taking its toll on the little guy (he gets a little testy), but overall, his quality of life is good. He now receives chemo twice a month instead of every week. Keep him in your prayers, too, if you don't mind! Also, his brother JT is still battling skin cancer but appears well. He's on the mend. And if you're curious, Lulu and Mr. Hendricks are alive and kickin'. :)

I'll try to post some recent pics of the kiddos sooner rather than later!

hugs,
kk and db

Oldies, but goodies... October 2008 - Recap

Happy 2009! Wahoo! We need to get everyone caught up on our adventures. Considering the last post was in early October, here's a recap of the past few months... First off, October.


October 10, 2008 :: We hosted our annual TX/OU party (or as Brent calls it "OU/TX") on the eve of the big game and had a great turnout. The event actually turned more into a 'house warming' party and my 29th birthday celebration (October 9th), but there was still plenty of trash talk exchanged between the attending Longhorn and Sooner fans. Good times. You can check out all of the photos on our SmugMug page.

October 18 & 19, 2008 :: This weekend was 'Wedding Shower' mania. We attended a shower on Saturday night for Stephanie and Manni and helped host a shower the following day for Annie and Tyler... both couples were married in November (pics to follow in later post).

Steph & Manni's Shower

Annie & Tyler's Shower

October 25, 2008 :: Annie's bachelorette party! Wahoo! We celebrated in Uptown. I think the bride-to-be had a fabulous time.





October 28, 2008 :: Through the Junior League of Dallas, I volunteer with an agency called The Senior Source. We visit an assisted living facility and provide companionship to the residents whether it be through individual visitations or group events. Once a month we host a themed party for the residents and of course this month we celebrated Halloween (one of my favorites)! We were invited to bring our four-legged family members and enter them into a costume contest. Brent wasn't too crazy about the idea of dressing up Elvis, but he definitely got a good laugh out of the bumble bee costume. Unfortunately, Elvis wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a good picture, so this will have to do...


Here we are on the "cat walk" for the residents' viewing... Elvis was a little spooked by the wheelchairs.

Group shot...
And here are a couple of shots of the kiddos...

Who wants cupcakes?

Sprinkles Cupcakes is really big here in Dallas. If you haven't had one, you're not alone. Everyone talks about them, but I haven't tasted one... that's about to change folks! I can't wait to place my order for our TX/OU party. They're offering "Longhorn Vanilla" and "Big Red Velvet" cupcakes in honor of the big weekend. Proceeds from each cupcake will be donated to Children's Medical Center Center Dallas and Children's Medical Research Institute at the OU Health Sciences Center, respectively. In 2007, they raised $3,500 for CMC in Dallas and $2,500 for the OU Health Sciences Center.

Hook'em!!!!

It starts at the local and state level...

FYI: This post isn't my regular "fun" post, but it's something that's important to me and wanted to share... but don't worry, my next post is about cupcakes :)

I don't want to get on a soapbox here, but I hope you truly realize the importance of participating in the local and state elections. You may already be aware of this information and my intention is not to insult your intelligence, but rather, encourage you to take action (if you're not doing so already).

No doubt voting for the next President is important; however, it is just as important to educate yourself on the local and state candidates running for the Texas House of Representatives and U.S. House of Representatives.

The bills passed under a President's term start in the House of Representatives, hence the importance of electing representatives with platforms on which you agree. My experiences at Strategic Partnerships and our close ties to state and federal government officials have opened my eyes to the importance of voting at the local and state level.

If you're not certain of who represents your district, enter your address here

FAQs on Texas House of Representatives

U.S. House of Representatives Legislative Process

Congress Q&A

Texas Republican Candidates for the November 2008 election

Texas Democratic Candidates for the November 2008 election

and for fun... here's the history behind the elephant and donkey!

The Democrats think of the elephant as bungling, stupid, pompous and conservative -- but the Republicans think it is dignified, strong and intelligent. On the other hand, the Republicans regard the donkey as stubborn, silly and ridiculous -- but the Democrats claim it is humble, homely, smart, courageous and loveable. (source)

1870 Harper's Weekly Cartoon (rise of the donkey)




















1874 Harper's Weekly Cartoon (rise of the elephant)














hugs and rock the vote people!!!
Kimberly :)

Under the gun...

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend thus far. The Spivey household is a happy one today because both UT and OU won their games last night. Wahoo! We watched the games with our friends, Preston and Sloane, at a new sports bar. Sloane attended Alabama so she was SUPER excited they beat their rival, Georgia. GA was expected to beat AL by 24 points, but AL pulled it through with a final score of 41-30. It was a fun weekend for college football because there were a number of upsets, but alas, UT and OU stay strong. :) After the AL game, we went to a small get-together at a home in Highland Park where I saw an original Picasso painting hanging on the wall. It appeared to be from his "Toros y Toreros" / "Don Quixote" collection. I've never seen an original Picasso outside of a museum so I though it was pretty cool.

House Update
Our Saturday wasn't anything too crazy, but the house "to-do's" are definitely keeping us busy. While at lunch yesterday, we drafted two lists: "Must Do by October 9th" and "Want to do by October 9th." Our annual TX/OU party is Friday, October 10th and we are determined to have the house in a condition that is somewhat suitable for entertaining -- or at least finalize those things that ARE under our control. We spent several hours yesterday at Lights Fantastic selecting the remaining light fixtures. The only two we have left to buy is the light above the dining room table and the light over the master bathtub. I picked out one for the dining room, but Brent is a little nervous about it... Lacey told him to trust me, but I think he was hoping she'd say "I'll talk her out of it." :) ha! I'm ordering it online today so it should be here in plenty of time. As for the light over the tub, we'll have to make a final decision on that today.

After lunch, I plan to purchase our hardware for the kitchen cabinets; mirrors for the upstairs bathroom; towel bars and toilet paper holder etc. for the upstairs bathroom; hardware for master bath cabinets... the list goes on. I'll try to get as much done as I can today because there's just not enough time during the week with work. I'd love to watch the Cowboys game at 3pm, but I find that when they have a home game, that is the best time run errands because Dallas is like a ghost-town. :) I need to get moving with my day!


Randomness
This article on Yahoo! Finance, "Towns That Could Be Hit Hardest By The Financial Crisis," caught my attention because I was curious to see the top ten markets. Interesting enough, University Park is listed at number 8 and the only Texas city listed in the top 10.

8. University Park, Tex.
Share population in finance and real estate: 18.83%
Nearest large city: Dallas
Population: 24,582
Median salary: $110,976

more later...
hugs,
kk and db

Horse Pills

My head is killing me today, but luckily, I went to the doctor this morning and got some antibiotics that could quite possibly be used for equestrian purposes. I would give anything to be able to lay my head down right now, but alas, I'm at the office and must work. I'm trying to save my PTO for when we unpack all of our boxes (all of our sick days, vacation, etc. are lumped into PTO). Brent keeps telling me to go home and rest, but honestly, the dust and fumes in the house only aggravate my allergies more. You know I must be sick if I'm willing to be at the office rather than at home -- or the dust and fumes could actually be that bad. :)

For your viewing pleasure...






Most of you know what an animal lover I am so when I saw this picture on Yahoo! news, I had to post it.CAPTION: In this three picture combo, played out on the front walk of an Amish family in Middlefield, Ohio, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008, a black cat approaches a resting dog, and then makes herself quite comfortable with her new-found friend. Family members, who preferred not to share their names, said that the dog belonged to a neighbor, and the feline was one of their many barn cats. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

More when I'm feeling better...

Hugs,
kk and db

Allergies. Shmallergies.

For those of you that do not have any allergies -- I envy you. My allergies are making me miserable! I'm afraid I developed a sinus infection so I scheduled a doctor's appointment for tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll get some antibiotics to knock this thing out.

We had another eventful weekend. I returned home from Washington D.C. on Friday night about 9:30pm. Preston and Sloane came by for a few hours since they were out celebrating her birthday. On Saturday, Brent and I ran some errands, packed our bags and got on the road to Oklahoma to celebrate his grandmother's 80th birthday. We literally got to the TX/OK border and Brent's SUV downshifted to 2nd gear... not the greatest feeling when you're cruising on I-35 at 75 mph and then suddenly drop down to 4o mph at 3000 rpm. The only solution was to tow the truck back to Dallas so... we rode along in the tow truck with our 75 year old driver. He was actually quite interesting and I enjoyed hearing of his days working on the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and serving in the Army while living in Alaska. I digress. We drove my car to OK on Sunday and ate lunch with Brent's family. It was a really nice visit. JAC and Isabel are growing too fast!! All of the pictures will be posted to our SmugMug page soon.

The Kids
Lulu, Elvis and JT are still adjusting to the house. Lulu is moping around crying because I was out of town last week for work and then gone most of the weekend. I spent some quality time with her tonight and she's feeling better. :) Brent took JT to the vet today because we noticed he's experiencing hair-loss on his back. Turns out, he's under a lot of stress with the new house and it doesn't help that he is spending more time outdoors. Once we get the dog door installed, both of the dogs will be able to come and go through the garage and yard. Elvis is looking pretty slim these days. We boarded the dogs last week while the back patio was built and apparently, he didn't eat much while away. I'm not worried though, because he's making up for it now that he's home. :)

House Update
The backsplash in the kitchen is coming along nicely. I'm really pleased with the tile we selected. Tomorrow they will add the grout. Here are a few pictures... the top one is the left side of the kitchen and the bottom pic shows the hole where the cooktop will be placed (you can click on the pictures for a larger view).


Also, a backsplash was added to the master bath vanities. It's the same riverstone used on the border of the floor and shower wall.


More pictures of the house will be posted soon when I'm not so wiped out... hopefully I'll be back at 100% in no time.

Hugs and good night!
kk and db