just watch.

but a warning: this is not dirty, but if you're at the office, use headphones.

i love this little boy.

http://www.whoomp.com/articles/206/1/Injured-Bad

and to commence the evening...

...we had dinner and drinks at b.j.'s in a week-late celebration for molly's birthday. it was quite fun. we ate, had girl talk (read: sex talk), planned wedding centerpieces and other fabulous things like that. we also went to target where i bought a doggy placemat, pet stain cleaner, bones for doc, a stuffed elephant for doc, some unmentionables and a pair of super cute flat shoes because my feet were hurting from my heels. the evening was lovely, and we vowed not to wait so long before we hang out again. we have to keep that vow because it's too much fun to hang out with molly and natalie to wait this long again.

**note: yes, i was having a very bad hair day yesterday. get over it.

the bridesmaids dress.

also extremely lovely. it will be a dark chocolate brown (the BEST color for weddings these days...) and the organza detail will be ivory. there are photos of me in the dress, and i'm extremely grateful to molly for NOT posting those on her blog. they are in my computer and are inspiration to get skinner for this wedding. gross. the dress is fab though. very flattering. i love it.

molly's beautiful dress.

yesterday molly, nat and i went to the bridal boutique in lewisville to look at the dress she picked. it is incredible. she's going to look like a queen. i love the lace. also here is a closeup of the tiara she wants. she's going to borrow natalie's pretty veil. such a special something borrowed!

a lot to live up to...

...i hope i can do it.

a virtuous wife

who can find a virtuous wife?
for her worth is far above rubies.
the heart of her husband safely trusts her;
so he will have no lack of gain.
she does him good and not evil
all the days of her life.
she seeks wool and flax,
and willingly works with her hands.
she is like the merchant ships,
she brings her food from afar.
she also rises while it is still night,
and provides food for her household,
and a portion for her maidservants.
she considers a field and buys it;
from her profits she plants a vineyard.
she girds herself with strength,
and strengthens her arms.
she perceives that her merchandise is good,
and her lamp does not go out by night.
she streches out her hands to the distaff,
and her hand holds the spindle.
she extends her hand to the poor,
yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
she is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household is clothed with scarlet.
she makes tapestry for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
her husband is known in the gates,
when he sits among the elders of the land.
she makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies sashes for the merchants.
strength and honor are her clothing;
she shall rejoice in time to come.
she opens her mouth with wisdom,
and on her tongue is the law of kindness.
she watches over the ways of her household.,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"many daughters have done well,
but you excel them all,"
charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
but a woman who fears the lord, she shall be praised.
give her the fruit of her hands,
and let her own works praise her in the gates.

even more puppy pics.

is it any question what is occupying every second of our time?

the puppy crazniess continues: even though i storm out of the bedroom at 7:30 a.m. when he's yelping from his crate, ready to scold him sternly, i am turned to absolute mush when i see his little ears flatten as he hastens into my arms, crying, "mom! i was so lonely! just hold me, please..."

5 a.m. saturday morning: it's thundering. doc doesn't like thunder. so i have to get up and get him out of his crate. i hold him for awhile, sleeping sitting up on the couch, while he wrestles with my fingers. then i lay down on the couch, and we both fall asleep for about an hour. he isn't scared of thunder while in my arms. only when he's in his crate. my mom's dog, daisy (a 10-year-old basset hound), is terrified of thunder (and any other big noise for that matter) all the time, even if you're near her. so i think maybe doc's fears are an act. who knows. then at about 6, i go back to bed, and he sleeps with us until about 8. time to potty. and no more sleeping in for me on weekends. later in the day landon tells me he thinks he's too selfish for a kid right now because he doesn't want to wake up to feed or hold the baby. you're telling me. he has yet to wake up early once to take care of this dog. i hope that isn't telling of things to come...

1:30 a.m. sunday: i come home after covering a desperados game and find doc in bed with landon - not in his crate sleeping where he's supposed to sleep.

7:30 a.m. sunday morning: landon leaves for the church and puts doc in bed with me. he plays for about 30 minutes, much to the dismay of my ears, nose, hair and, as always, fingers. then he passes out with me until about 9:15.

7:55 a.m. monday morning: i leave doc in bed with landon.

11:30 a.m. monday morning: landon calls to say the baby slept with him until now (must be nice...) and now they are laying on the couch watching tv.

suffice it to say, i really hope doc doesn't get much bigger than 15 pounds (the minimum for male bostons) because i'm very afraid he's getting spoiled about sleeping in "mom and dad's" bed.

but seriously, could you resist?

right now...

...i'm sitting at starbucks, eating a bagel for which they had no cream cheese, trying to write a story that refuses to be released to my fingertips and wasting time reading people's blogs.

and i'm in the city so the people watching is also distracting.

beth just showed up to chat. she starts at time on monday.

her life is so glamorous.

new york city, real simple, time....

hello, dallas, people newspapers and...

that's it.

i heart google doodles.

i don't know about you, but i use google for everything. especially as a reporter. need to get somewhere? google it. don't know what a word means? google it. don't know who someone is? google it. want to find someone? google it.

it's greatness.

and whenever there is a special graphic, a "google doodle" as the site calls it, i'm forced to smile.

they're so simple, but so relevant. i love the way they look. it's hard to be simple and relevant. google's got it down.

here are some of my favorites and the link (http://www.google.com/holidaylogos.html) to looking at some more. there's also a link inside that link to read about the brain behind the doodles. a 23-year-old!

nice...

more baby pictures.

i'm a bad mama...

...here's our new puppy! doc holiday henry - doc for short. i'm a bad mama because we got him on friday and it's tuesday, and i'm just now announcing his arrival. my stolen internet quit working over the weekend and he kept us super busy so i didn't post then. and yesterday was crazy at work as well. but here he is! he's a 10-week-old boston terrier. we got him from a lady in rice, texas. (horrible place. never go there.) potty training is hard on the third-floor of the apartment complex, but we're working. he does sleep at night in his crate, which is a blessing. he had to go to the doctor sunday because he has worms - round worms though, common in puppies who are around other dogs and not harmful if medicated promtly. he will get his shots in two weeks when he goes back to be sure his worms are all gone. he has a coat because he's so tiny (he weighs 4.5 pounds) and it's been so cold and wet. he hates to stand in the wet grass to go potty. he'd much rather wait until he's back upstairs and do it on mama's new rug. we use the carpet cleaner quite a bit these days. he has teeny-tiny treats that still have to be broken in half because he's so small. he's a fabulous cuddle buddy and will sleep with you (landon) on the couch for as long as you'll stay. he's met great aunt daisy (mom's 10-year-old basset) and cousin molly (my aunt's golden) and he likes to pretend he's as tough as the big dogs with his ferocious bark. but as soon as someone barks back, he's hiding. we're on to him. he likes to ride in the car and wishes he could be carried everywhere. but he also likes to beat the crap out of his stuffed scotty dog that my mom gave him. he's the reason why puppy-dog eyes are that. he's our first baby! and he's definitely convincing us not to have any real babies soon... we love him very, very much.

eeny, meeny, minee, mo...

the last thing we really need to complete the living room (and move on to the bedroom or bathroom or kitchen or one of the many other project we have...) is a coffee table. we may not buy this for a little while since the one we have is basically glass on a wroght iron stand. it works. it's just not perfect. but all of these are from ikea (varying prices), and they match what we're workin with.

which do you like best? call them 1, 2 and 3 from top to bottom.

the living room that stole my heart.

our couch was delivered yesterday morning. it's absoultely wonderful.

after we got the legs on it, we were going to pick up matt and decided to look for a rug at target. (we looked ikea and didn't find anything that knocked us over.) we found a fabulous one - seen here.

then we went to eat and it was 8:02 p.m. landon said, 'what time does ikea close?' i said, 'nine.' he said, 'let's go!' so we went to buy a corner bookshelf (seen here, only twice as tall as that), two side tables (only in black like the bookshelf...$16.99 each!!!), lamps (super cool) and a pillow for our pretty new couch.

the living room is unrecognizable.

it's fantastic. i freakin love it. to death.

the leather on the couch is really beautiful. it needs to be broken in a little. lennon slept on it last night, and i think it was a little stiff. but the couch is comfortable! and it looks pretty! and it fits three people!

bummer: we did find out that the frame for landon's chair won't be in for another two weeks.

but seriously, people. you must come over for a dinner or a party or something. this is something you just have to see.

so excited!

HALLELUJAH!

last night i took down the christmas tree.

DO NOT laugh.

girl scout cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!

i bought so many. it's bad news. i have to give these away to people or something. i have somoas, tagalongs and thin mints - eight boxes total. lord help me... the ridiculous thing is we still have a whole chocolate chip cheesecake at home waiting to be eaten AND pineapple sherbet!

here comes the bride...

...this is what molly is going to wear on her big day! ignore the lady's strange hat. molly will not be weaing that... last thing i heard she was borrowing natalie's veil. i freakin love the lace. it's so fabulous. i can't wait to see her in it!

love comforteth like sunshine after rain. -shakespeare

our valentine's day has been lovely.

it started with sweet good-morning kisses, and i left a card on landon's car at the church.

i ruined the next part though. landon was coming to surprise me at work with roses and chocolates. BEAUTIFUL central market red roses and some fabulous chocolate from there as well. well... i decided i'd leave work early so i could make him a chocolate chip cheesecake. luckily i called when i left and we discovered the mishap before he got all the way to my work. i ended up getting roses in the gloria's parking lot on beltline in addison. just as good. my roses are amazing.

landon came home with a super sweet card, and we spent some time together, drank some wedding-present champagne and just enjoyed each other's company.

then we left to have dinner at texas land and cattle where my sister is a waitress. we had to stop by the church to get my present before that though. landon gave me a hint a couple weeks ago and said that it "had red on it." i was hoping for a puppy with a red collar, but he assured me that was not it. so then i guessed a cubs hat. i've been wanting one of those. he said that was a great guess, but i was wrong again. so he came downstairs from the church and had a little bag - a good sign. then i pulled out a tiny wrapped package from the bag - another good sign. then i unwrapped it and found a little black box - always a great sign! when i opened it i found a beautiful ring i've been wanting! it's pretty scrolling yellow gold with a 2.81 carat cabochon cut ruby. cabochon cut means it's rounded and not faceted to sparkle like diamonds. it's very vintage looking. it's from the jewelry store where my friend jeanette works. she said no one wanted it and that she didn't really like it. then i put it on and she said she liked the way it looked on me. it's totally my style. i love it! i have such a sweet husband. it's really cool to think about how you'll show your kids your jewelry and say, "daddy gave me this the first valentine's day we were married."

then we had dinner and laura served us. landon had steak and lobster and i had shrimp and lobster. it was fab-u-lous.

now we're just sitting sorta lazy, trying to get motivated to clean up our messy apartment. i don't wanna.

what a great valentine's day. i love my husband.

i'm so lucky.

my life for the past two weeks.

i just happen to work for the only newspaper in america that doesn't have its stories online. why..? i don't know. it's an amazing groups of papers - beautifully done - but for some reason we aren't on the web. if it's any consolation, it's one of four goals for 2006: to have a site up and running.

anyway... not the point of this blog.

i've been working on probably the biggest story of my (short) journalist career for the past two weeks. i just filed the follow up story today. it goes to the presses this evening.

i've been trying to fill people in on it, but there are SO many details, and it's tiring to recount it to everyone and not remember who've i've told what to and blah, blah, blah.

so... i'm going to try to help you read the story. it's tricky. so you'll have to follow me.

1.) go to this site: http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/
2.) scroll down until feb. 10, and you'll see a headline that says "People Papers Have the Poop" (clever, right?)
3.) at the end of the post there are links to the front page and jump page. click on front and it will open a large .jpeg file and you won't be able to scroll down most likely.
4.) click on the .jpeg and drag it across your screen to an open internet window - it doesn't matter if there's already something on it. drop it.
5.) that should open the file in a window where you can scroll down and across if need be (you have to scroll across on the jump page).
6.) repeat for jump page.

this should allow you to read the story.

someone try this, and let me know how it works. i know FOR SURE it'll work on a mac, but i haven't tested it on a pc.

i'll try to get something of the same for the follow up after it comes out on thursday.

oh, and tell me what you think. of the story, i mean.

thanks.

this shouldn't have to be so complicated...

and now...the moment you've all been waiting for!!!!

well..actually just dad.

not last saturday, but the saturday before that landon and i went to lunch with he and cherie.

it was landon's first time meeting her and after the meeting he said, "she's cool."

we went to champ's and awaited the announcement of the hall of fame inductees - aikman and rayfield among them.

it was also my first time seeing dad's lovely apartment. he has done a fabulous job (seeking help for) decorating. i love his sheets. i also like his guest bathroom, which is done in purple and has little butterfly hand towels. is that a telltale sign or what?

i like the purple so much that i'm thinking of redoing my bathroom in a dark, eggplant purple. inspiration!

the visit also provoked a deeper need in the very depths of landon's being for a big-screen, plasma tv.

thanks a lot, dad....

;)

happy now?

a major furniture purchase.

landon and i bought a couch today. we also bought a chair, but that was his valentine's day present. fitting that it's red and black, huh... we also have the foot stool to go with it.

this is really the first major furniture purchase of my lifetime. the couch i currently own, my parents bought for $300 at a garage sale down the street before i got an apartment my sophomore year in college. and...i think everything else (except the tables we got in that same purchase) is hand-me-down furniture.

landon just told me it's the first major furniture purchase for him, too.

guess where it's from...? none other than the great ikea!

we love the look - we're trying to go for a cool, asian thing in our living room. we already have a beautiful quilt hanging that has red and black and my fabulous poppy picture on the wall that i got last valentine's day from landon - lots of red with a jet black frame.

we still need a new rug, new end tables, new lamps, a book shelf and a new coffee table, but we're on our way! and i want a cool (fake) fur blanket to lay across the new sofa.

whatcha think?!

we love. the couch will be here thursday.

molly and me!

natalie just sent me this photo of molly and me at the lovely christmas party at the brown residence.

it was quite a fun night, and i'm sad i missed out on the one at super bowl time.

molly is super cute and is getting married on oct. 15 - one day after our one-year anniversary! she's going to be a beautiful bride and both nat and i are bridesmaids.

i love this pic. it's very cute. i look a little...drunk or something, though.

hmm...

more flowers.

i got another plant to put in my cube. my orchid makes me so happy, and i've been looking for something to add to my little garden. so i got this - a kalanchoe. it's chinese and pronounced ka LAN co ee...i think.

isn't it pretty? i love the tiny flowers, and leaves are very thick and there are lots of layers of them.

they also had fabulous hydrangea plants, but they were $20.

i gave landon the hint that i'd like one.

we'll see how that goes...