Leaving Austin

Five years ago, we moved from Kingwood (houston tx) to Austin. We were bummed to pick up and leave our home and the friends and ward family that we had created. We didn't know what it would be like to live in Austin TX. I knew nobody, except for these little guys below.

I dug my feet in and didn't really want to come here. I was primary president in Kingwood and we had a great circle of friends. We had an awesome (cheap) house that we had worked so hard to finish. Things seemed to be in order. I didn't know what Austin held for us.

Now I know why we were meant to be here. Of course Heavenly Father didn't give me a crystal ball then, and he certainly isn't giving me one now. But I will have faith and know that Seattle is where it's at for my family for the next while (how ever long that may be). After all, although my attitude of moving here was glum, I met my "soul sister" here. We have made an extended family here and these are friendships that I will never let go of.

On Saturday mornings, we used to do these bike rides to these rocks near our home. Our kids would be bawling after about a block, but we (thanks to Steve's patience) endured until we got to our destination. This is a picture of the kids around the time that we first began this tradition. We decided to try and recapture this moment, then realized that these moments can not be recaptured, only remembered. So the lesson is, is to embrace each moment, even if it may seem painful at the time, the payoff is priceless.

Kids 2005

Kids 2010, less enthused to be forced to sit on a log with ants and take a family photo...

Even though there is much sadness...we look forward (after 6 long months) to reunite with Steve. Can't wait to have a husband and dad full time in our lives again!

I So Sexy

As gross as this is, I just have to post it. I have been on my feet most of the day and decided to come home and rest my leg this afternoon. Michaela thinks it is so disgusting, so she took another picture. It hurts soooooo bad that I am actually grateful that the bruise is there so that I can prove it! You better believe I am going to milk it the best I can...

Silence of the Lambs

Long time no blog, and I am tellin' ya, it has been very interesting over here lately. Over the holiday break we found out that someone had built a fort in our backyard. Our yard has an area that is designated to the Austin drainage system. It is fenced in, and unless you open the fence, you can't see it back there.
One night I was laying in bed and heard noises coming from the left side of my house, directly outside of our bedroom. It sounded like our neighbors had some people over and that they were on their patio in their backyard. I looked out the window and saw no cars. I was too tired to go investigate, and it was cold outside, so I let it go.

The next day, Steve said that the ravine fence was open along with the fence to our backyard. That was very suspicious. He went back there and couldn't believe what he saw. These kids were litterally lighting bonfires 15 feet away from our house in dry brush. Then when you lifted the drainage covers (they look the same as what covers the sewer) this is what he found. This kid had drugs down there, food, clothes, magazines, a tv, fans, toilet paper, knives, stereo, you name it.

The profanity tagged all over the tunnels was crazy. Steve didn't get enough pics, I am going to post some more when his brother sends them to me. It was crazy. I immediately felt sick about the whole thing. I felt violated, someone has been spending hours feet away from my private home.

We wanted to set up some sort of sting operation and bust these guys. But I called my neighbor and when she saw it, she made me call the police right away. They came and we got down there and brought everything up. We actually found a magazine with the boys name and address on it.

The officer went to his house and got him and his dad. Eventually the mom came too. He admitted to doing drugs to the cop. He said that he smoked weed and popped pills. The only thing that his dad could say was, "What were you going to do if it rained?" I wanted to strangle him. At the end of a 3 hour event of Steve pulling all his crap out of there (the cop wouldn't get down there in that disgusting pit because he would have had to remove his gear WHATEVER!), I finally said something to the parents. They kind of just looked at me with this confused expression. I personally fear that this kid doesn't have a chance. It was pathetic. I will update with new details as they come.

For now, this is it. Although I heard that he got busted peeing off someones roof over by the golf course. Wow...

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED (naughty words)

CSI

Okay, so the search begins! I am looking for information leading to the suspect that may have slipped this item into my purse. I have reason to believe that it is Steve Fuller, but he is denying these charges at all expenses! So, if you know of anything regarding this incident, please contact me.

Today I found a $115 gift card to Helena's Day Spa in my purse. What is that all about? Who would do such a thing? Since the husband is denying, I thought I would investigate a bit. Anyone?

I'm Sorry.....So Sorry

We have been planning to go with Stephanie and Lance to Blue Man Group for over a month now. Tickets were a little pricey, but I heard that it is an amazing show, so we have been really looking forward to it.

Then after my visit with Austin Police, Michaela broke her brand new glasses, and with Christmas - I started to feel a little overwhelmed. Considering Blue Man Group is going to be a $300 night, I thought it might be the responsible thing to not go. So I told Steph, against Steve's wishes, to see if there was somebody that would want to go in our place.

She has been stressed this week too with all these appraisers coming to her house, not feeling good, ect. I call her everyday to ask her questions about Saturday, in which she has not had a single answer. This morning, after enduring a little heated commentary with my husband, I called her to ask the same questions that I have been trying to get from her since Monday. Still, not a clue, exec pt for she finally had a price on the tickets.

I guess I came down on her a little hard.! Oops. We are always meanest to the ones we love...I told her that I had to know, ya know? And a few other things, that I will not go into. After getting off the phone with her, I thought, "now I probably just came across really rude!" I called her again to apologize and she sounded like she was scared to answer the phone.

SO SORRY! She got the brunt end of Steve and I's conversation, AKA argument. I send my most sincere apology. As I was walking through the mall tonight, waiting for Michaela new glasses, I saw this T-Shirt. It said, "I saw a therapist for my schizophrenia, we are doing fine now." I thought that I might buy that and wear it to the show. It is a wonder I have friends, really.

Scotts Final

So, as many know, Scott (Steve's brother) is in Florida going to Full Sail for some artistic computer animation program. We have been excited to see what he learns while he is there. People go on to work for Pixar and other things alike when they graduate. So he had his final on shading and lighting. This was his design. He said that he created everything including lighting, texturing, shading, photoshop manipulation (for textures), layered shaders, bump maps, etc.

Hats off - pretty cool. (Sorry we didn't call you back last night, Addison started throwing up)

Pink Dolphin

My friend emailed me this picture. Apparently this dolphin has been spotted in Galveston near the ferry. Finally someone was able to sneak a picture of it. It looks like maybe it's an albino dolphin, ya think? Have you ever heard of such a thing? I have been watching a lot of ocean shows lately. There are all kinds of "wonders" in that water. Pretty amazing really. Whats really amazing is that there are some more than frightening things in that ocean, yet we still find it in ourselves to actually jump into it. I am starting to question the intelligence in that.

Reece Witherspoon, put that in your handbag!

Me and Bridget

It was a blast! Short but sweet, and we did Juicy Hollywood together. I hope that I was clear and that I explained blogging well and did it justice. Hope you tuned in! I will be getting a CD of it, and posting it on my blog if you missed out, sometime next week. Watch for that if you didn't hear it today.

It was a great time seeing Bridget again. She looked beautiful with her new extensions (both eyelash and hair). I think she gets the hook up with just a few perks from being a DJ on Mix. She is really great and down to Earth. I was looking to post some pics of us in the past, but haven't yet run across them. Here we are at the studio:

Candice is on the AIR Tomorrow

So, some of my close friends know that last year I won the Mix 94.7 "mommy makeover" at Lifetime Fitness. It was a 3 month program of intesive training and dieting that I got to do with Bridget from mix 94.7 and Tonya Kerr from KXAN news. It was a great experience and although I didn't walk away with a "killer body", I did make a great friend - Bridget.

She called me today and we were shootin' the crap. She logged onto my blog last week and really loved the idea of blogging. So, since Carey is on vacation, she asked me to come in tomorrow and talk on the air about blogging - why, how, ect. So I am on it. Tune in from about 3-5 pm and it should be on. I will be in the studio from 3-4.

Most of you are familiar with the Happy Hour Show, but incase you aren't, check their site:

http://mix947.com/pages/298186.php

Bridget was named "Radio Personality of the Year" last year here in Austin. So SHOUT out to her. She is hilarious, you must tune it.

Only in Austin

So, since I have nothing fun to report (other than a bad flu bug and rolling on my bathroom floor), I thought I would share this great story with you.

I am sure that most have already seen this, but my friend Natalies husband won the Ice Cream Eating contest right here in TX! He is the man. They must be so proud. Get the full story at

www.100percentcottam.com

You are so cool and admired by our family. We are glad to know a local hero!

GOOD BYE

My favorite show is over. I thought Danny was the for sure winner this year, but Sabre took it home. I still loved her and she was an amazing dancer - especially for being 'new' to the whole dance scene (only 4 years). Plus my girls from Riverdale. All the Riverdale Hootchies say "HEY". I am a dancer in a fat girls body. What to do?

So now that its over, and what to look forward to...THE TOUR. They are coming to San Antonio November 14th. I might buy tickets, but am not sure. Anyone wanna go? They are a pricey $100 ea. Whats your thoughts? Should we stay home and enjoy the reruns?

Did I say that OUTLOUD?

Okay, so I am getting desperate for my Fall shows to start. I do not proudly admit to watching "America's Got Talent", but I do it. David Haselhoff is a judge and makes me physically ill. But this chic is SICK! I have never seen talent like this before. I am not sure what to think of it, but she is very good. I don't know how you market a person like this - gotta watch. Michaela has been going around the house beatboxing for 3 weeks.

Can you Trust Anyone?

So if you read my blog you have probably read about my entertainment center that wouldn't fit into our house. So, I listed it on Craigs list and "luckily" sold it that night for $1200.

SELLERS BEWARE! So this guy that emails me says that he is over seas and really interested in the furniture. He told me that he would send me a cashiers check w/ extra money included to pay his shippers. (He wanted his shippers to ship the unit to his home before he got back into the state.) So I figured "cashiers check" all is well.

He sent the check to me and Steve recieved it yesterday. Okay, so talk about being watched out for: Steve also recieved a cashiers check that we had ordered from our Credit Union which so happens to be America First in Utah. The cashiers check that was from the overseas guy happened to be from America First in Utah! What are the chances?

So Steve opens the checks, but they look just a little different. The weight and color are a little different. But they came from the same place? Everything looks the same down to the watermarks. The guy had sent an additional $2000 to pay his shippers. We wonder what costs $2000 to ship? So Steve decided to call our Credit Union. THE CHECK IS NOT LEGIT!

However, if I would have taken it to Chase bank here in TX, they would have cashed it for me, no questions asked. I would have then given the extra $2000 to the "shippers" and the merchandise. It would come back on me a couple weeks later that the cashiers check was fraudulent and I would be in a heap of a mess. Not only would I be out my furniture, but also the $2000!

So now we are in the middle of a big FBI mess. Plus these guys have my address. I am so freaked right now. I couldn't even sleep last night. I know that our family is being watched out for though. If we wouldn't have recieved the "real" check from America First on the same day, we would have assumed the the fake check was real. I hope that Austin Police/FBI can bust these guys. I think I want to move now. I hope that they don't live anywhere near Austin.

Thoughts?

Wow, that gives us all HOPE!

LOOK HOW PRETTY SHE IS! YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN. THAT MEANS I COULD BE PRETTY UNDER ALL THIS EXTRA FAT, IMAGINE THAT!

STORY:

When Maggie Sorrells looks at her husband, Andy, she doesn't see the man she married. In fact, most days, she doesn't even recognize herself.

The Sorrells lost a combined total of 580 pounds and say they never imagined life could be so good.

Get the full story: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/23/weightloss.sorrells/index.html#cnnSTCText

Gotta have a good pair of Jammies

I bought some really great jammies the other day. I was wearing them the other night, thinking about how much I love pajamas. It is just part of the "end of day-bedtime" ritual. Then I remember this story:

Do you know what your calling is? Every person on earth has one—something unique, something only you were born to do. "That's your real job, to figure out what is your calling and then begin to honor it," Oprah says. For Genevieve, realizing her passion took a little bit of soul searching.As a single woman in her 30s, marketing executive Genevieve Piturro was focused on climbing the corporate ladder. Then at age 38, she met her husband and the pair started settling into a life together—but she says something was missing. Though she never felt the pressure to have her own kids, Genevieve knew she wanted to have kids around her. "I started to volunteer at night," Genevieve says. "I'm a big reader, so I'd go around and read [to kids]. I'd call shelters and group homes and different organizations and volunteer."As she worked at different shelters, Genevieve started to notice that none of the children owned pajamas. They would go to sleep in their regular clothes."I said, 'Where's the bedtime? My mom was a great mom, and everybody has a mom who reads them a story and puts on their pajamas, don't they?'"

Soon after seeing the children's bedtime routine, Genevieve had an Aha! moment. "I was sitting on the subway, and like a raindrop, the words 'pajama program' went into my brain," she says. "And I said, 'That's it! That's it! Pajamas.'"Genevieve got to work right away. She approached an after-school program for child victims of abuse and pitched her idea. "[They] said, 'That would be great! Nobody thinks of that. Nobody gives pajamas,'" she says.The next time she visited the shelter, Genevieve had a shopping bag full of pj's—a pair for each child. "[A] girl came in, and she must have been 6 or 7, and she looks and she says to me quietly, 'What are these?'" Genevieve says. "I said, 'They're pajamas. You wear them to sleep. What do you wear at night?' And she said, 'My pants.'"After that, Genevieve knew that one shopping bag of pajamas wouldn't cut it. She told everyone she knew about her mission, and she gathered as many pj's as she could. Five years later, Genevieve has collected 85,000 pairs of pajamas for needy children!