Happy Birthday, Bailey!

Today is our puppy love's first birthday! To celebrate the occasion we ate pizza for dinner (because the boys love the crust) and sang "Happy Birthday" to Bailey. He even had his very own special birthday party hat.

After dinner, we served Milk Bones with cream cheese (a big favorite) for dessert - only to the dogs of course! I think Bailey really enjoyed his birthday celebration.

What a difference a year makes!

We love you, Bailey!

100 Innings!

Now that is a lot of baseball.

The season has officially kicked off with the annual fundraiser - a 100-inning game. It has been a very successful fundraiser for 3 years now, and I am proud to say that Jamie brought the idea to Friendswood. Since they began doing the 100-inning game, funds raised by the team have TRIPLED and continue to increase each year. It is pretty exciting!

It is also very tiring. They play on Friday until 10pm, then all day on Saturday as well. Elise and I went up to the field last night for a few hours, and we got to see Jamie play. I love the 100-inning game, because it is the one time each year that I get to see my love in action. He's awfully humble, but I've been told by others that he was a VERY good baseball player. Before he tore his ACL and shattered his knee cap, he had potential to be in the minor leagues from what I've heard. He would never admit that, though.

Athletics are a big part of what brought us together. We were both former collegiate athletes, so we relate really well when it comes to that. So, I think it's pretty special to see him play, even though he's about 15 years older now and a bit rusty. Love you, honey!

We had really nice weather for the game this year. Last year it was so bitterly cold that Elise and I nearly froze and could only stay for a short time. I went up around noon today, because they were serving BBQ and faitas during the mid-day break. It was fun to sit and eat with Jamie, the other coaches, and their wives. The fundraiser has been combined this year with a youth mini-camp, so the little ones were playing during lunch. They were so cute!

Hopefully we are gearing up for another great season! Go Mustangs!

Super Tuesday!

I'm intensely interested in this election for many reasons, so today is a big day! I am about to tune into CNN once I can get Elise settled in bed. I'm actually nervous to see the results - I hope that I won't end up with a "lesser of two evils" situation. It stinks that the TX primary is held so late.

"Me and all my friends, we're all misunderstood

They say we stand for nothing, there's no way we ever could

Now we see everything is going wrong with the world and those who lead it

We just feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting, waiting on the world to change . . ."

~John Mayer, Waiting on the World to Change

YES WE CAN!!!!!!!

Two of a kind

They say that sometimes when an owner forms a strong bond with their pet, they will actually begin to physically resemble one another...

Lessons Learned

It hasn't taken me more than 2 days as a brunette to realize that this change is quite the eye-opening experience! It has almost turned into my very own little social experiment. So here is what I've learned so far:

- It took me less than one day to realize that blondes are treated differently than brunettes. I get MUCH less attention as a brunette. Last night Jamie, Elise, and I ran into one of the baseball parents while we were out shopping. During the course of a nearly 10 minute conversation, not ONCE did this parent even glance in my general direction. I felt truly invisible. I thought it was so interesting, because this type of thing never happened when I was blonde. I feel invisible everywhere I go now, and it's actually kind of nice. This brings me to point #2...

- Men are such pigs! LOL, just kidding. But seriously, society has some pretty strong ideas of what constitutes "beauty". Of course I knew that before, but I guess I never realized it until I went against the whole "blue-eyed, blonde, skinny, big boobs" look. I'm happy to be going against the grain for a while. It is my own silent protest.

- You can't wear the same make-up with brown hair that you wear with blonde hair. It just doesn't look good! I spent about an hour yesterday during Elise's nap digging out some old eyeshadows and trying to figure out which ones look good with brown hair! I'm still pretty clueless, so any of you brunettes out there, feel free to offer suggestions.

- Bleach really does a number on your hair! My hair has never been this healthy, shiny, and full before. Also, I used to have to clean out my brush once a day. I've had this brown hair for a full weekend, and there are only a few small hairs in my brush. Interesting.

- My husband is a doll (again, I already knew, but this just proves it). I know he prefers blonde hair. I know he probably hates the brown. But all he said to me was, "If you like it, then I like it. I love you."

- It makes me a little sad that with this new hair I look nothing like Elise. The blonde hair was really the only physical characteristic that we shared (besides the blue eyes), and I miss resembling her.

I am planning to put blonde highlights back in my hair in about 6 weeks. But it sure has been an interesting experience!

Who says blondes have more fun??

Well, here is my new look!

I've always wanted to do this just to see what it would be like. It's not bad! I am still getting used to it. The stylist advised me to go a shade or 2 darker than I really want, because it is going to fade over the next few weeks. We'll see about that!

Elise's reaction was pretty funny. She asked me why I have black hair, and where is my yellow hair?? She's asked me at least 100 times why I don't have yellow hair. Then she asked me to change it back.

Jamie isn't crazy about it either. He loves blondes...but he said he will adjust.

Sometimes you just need a change, you know? And it's only hair. It can be dyed back later. For now, I am going to keep it, because I kind of like it. I feel like a different version of myself. It's fun!