Wine Class

The week before we left for vacation, I got together with 2 girlfriends to take a wine class at a local wine shop, Cova. They had a very yummy menu & lots of great wines to sample.



This was one of the first wine bars we'd visited a few years back, and I wasn't too thrilled with it. I had a much better impression this time & I'd love to go back (after we try all the other new wine bars in Houston).



Marci is a former tenant & neighbor of mine when I lived at the duplex. Her mom was in town helping her to pack for a short work-related move to New Mexico.



I wouldn't normally order duck for myself, but this was a very tasty dinner! I was too eager to eat the Tenderloin and forgot to take a photo.



Our host was a very neat & entertaining guy who had a great style of teaching. I'm still totally wine clueless, and can't tell you if it smells like wood or grass or fruit or stone! I thoroughly enjoyed the class & hope it go back for more with H.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: At 7 days of vacation, I'm already up to nearly 2,000 photos! Dubai was surreal, Cape Town was spectacular and we've been face to face with an elephant!

Year 27

YEAR 27 (April of 2007 to April of 2008)

Of course, my life changed on June 27th when my Nikon D-80 showed up! I'd started playing around with the office camera & taking an interest in photography as a hobby. I needed something to do now that I wasn't planning a wedding anymore. This was my very first photo, of course it's Zoe!



In July, H's mom's fiance passed away. He had a long and difficult struggle with alcohol addiction, and it was tragic to be a part of their lives and not be able to help either of them in a more substantive way. It was a horrific experience that I wouldn't wish upon anybody, but it was also an opportunity for me to see the devastating effects of alcohol abuse and develop a new understanding into this incredibly complex problem.

I took Humberto to my favorite place on Earth- Colorado in July for a mini-road trip.

Several of my friends were joining the blogging world & I started following many, many more blogs thanks to Google Reader. I gave into peer pressure and started a blog in July, mostly to have something to do with all my new photos I was going to be taking with my camera.

That fall, I started volunteering at a local ministry outreach tutoring math GED. I was only able to do this for one semester before I got swamped studying for my own test to pass the engineering licensing exam in April.

Fall of 2007 was H's first really big season & it was insane at his work- lots of late nights and weekends. We did manage to get away to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin in September though.



In January I completed another Houston marathon, and this time H's mom tagged along to help him do "road crew".

February anniversary trip to Brazil & Argentina.



We went to see the future President of the United States, Barack Obama, at a rally in Houston.

Zoe skins problems started in February, and she had 3 Mast cell tumors removed from her right rear leg. Her skin problems continued throughout the summer & eventually led us to think she's developed some type of food allergy.



As part of our ambitions 101 in 1001 Day of Marriage list, we started a garden to grow vegetables in our backyard.

Took the PE Exam in April and officially a licensed engineer in June!



I also wrote and presented a paper at the SAE World Congress in Detroit on my birthday, where H & I took a little weekend getaway to be tourists in Motown.

Year 26

Year 26 (April of 2006 to April of 2007)

Year 26 was very exciting, as I spent most of it planning our destination wedding in Mexico, but it was not a very good year for my grandparents as their health really started to decline. Dad had to sell their house and move them to a nursing home, and Grandma had several bouts with a recurring knee infection.

After we decided (*hee hee) to get married & moved forward with the wedding planning, H moved in with me around May.



My younger cousin was married in Austin in June. Unfortunately, that didn't even last until Thanksgiving.

Dad & Company rent a house every summer down at Galveston, so we went down and spent a night with them and the kids.



In June, we went on a scouting trip to Puerto Vallarta to do wedding planning.



We were "officially" engaged in August, although I'd been planning the wedding for months ;)



In September, Stephanie came to down for a visit and we tore up downtown Houston.



In October, we went out to California for my friends wedding. We took our engagement pictures, toured vineyards and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur.

Spent lots of time counseling with parents, planning the wedding, firing photographers, organizing travel for our guests & being single mindedly obsessed about everything wedding.


In November, H bought his first big splurge purchase & invested in a big 'ol plasma TV.
And we got satellite.
And our life was never the same again.


We also went camping again in November, this time to Brazos Bend State Park- the last trip for a very long time :(



We hung out with some family friends & H's mom for New Years.



Ran & finished the Houston marathon again this year! I think it was Mickey's last year to make it down as a spotting device.



Went to Minneapolis in January to visit a bunch of girlfriends.



January, I had a Mexican themed bridal shower.

In February we were married, we were married atop a hill overlooking downtown & the bay in Puerto Vallarta with only our closest friends and family.

As a condition of marriage, I gave up my bright pink bedroom & H worked on painting the bedroom a more manly color. We then moved onto the living/dining room & kitchen areas for paint & decorating.

In April, the Rockets went to the play-off's and we went to a few game with friends.

Year 25

Year 25 (April 2005 to April 2006)

I started off my 25th year by skydiving & I spent the rest of the year literally taking the plunge with H. I continued doing periodic (sometimes monthly) wine dinner with a group of good girlfriends, volunteering to teach sunday school for kiddies & being active in our church visitation program.



Final visit out to Miami to visit H in law school in May. We went to the Miami Zoo, the Miami Seaquarium & the beach. Yes, I still loved him when he was too poor to afford the fancy hair cuts ;)


Bought current house in May, bought some ugly green couches at a garage sale in the neighborhood, Zoe still knew she was queen! (Photo from September)

Trip to Italy &Greece in July which was an amazing time, and probably the start of our obsession with traveling the globe. H started his current job in sales late August, and last year he was #7 for sales for the entire mid-west region.



In August, Gram gifted me with the two wonderful trees that are now so big in my backyard.



October, we went camping with friends (the first and last time with these particular friends) to Pedernales Falls outside of Austin.



We went camping again in Nobvember, just the two of us and Zoe at Lake Livingston State Park.



We spent New Years Eve with our friends at the Great Greek in downtown.



I finished the Houston marathon for the 2nd time (3rd marathon). I swear at one point I had a list/log of all my races and my times, but, sadly, I can't find that any more.

He'd been home from school for over a year and was trying to decide if he wanted to return to school that fall. We went out to dinner for our anniversary in February and that was the night that I remember throwing down the "So when are we getting married?" line.

In March, it was obviously destined to be when H caught the garter at my co-workers wedding.

Year 24

Year 24 (April 2004 to April 2005)

I spent the spring & summer totally head-over-heels in love with H & in total denial that H was leaving me to go to law school in Miami in September.


For July 4th, we took a long weekend trip to Lake Tahoe and went hiking, white water rafitng, sailing & horseback riding.

In July, I also went on a mission trip to Ecuador with singles group at my church.

October of 2004, we took family photos with my ex and the dog. Yea, he was still a part of the family, but we're not going to divulge into that awkwardness here

In October, I went out to visit H in Miami and we did all the tourist things, including sit holed up in a hotel during a hurricane!We went to the Venetian Pool and to the historic Vizscaya house, and took a quick, mosquito laden trip to the Keys.

November I bought my first new car- a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee- sort of like this one, but without the after-market stuff.


We spent our first New Year together at the Hyatt downtown, like we did this past year. 2005 was my 3rd full marathon & the only year that I did not finish. I started getting sick at mile 13 and had nothing to prove!


February, I just happened to have a week long training course for work in Miami, so I got some bonus time with H. We did more tourist stuff, including the zoo and seaquarium.