Painting with a Twist

Painting with a Twist is a fairly new business in College Station. They combine painting with drinking wine--which promises to be an entertaining experience to say the least!

Stephanie saw on their website that they were hosting a paint your pet class, which we (obviously, being the pet-lovers that we are) jumped on!

 I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination and realized quickly that our decision not to partake in the wine was probably wise for our painting's sake.

With so many different paintings, the two artists who were walking around assisting us, had their work cutout for them! It was kind of stressful because I was so scared I was going to ruin my painting. They kept promising that anything we did could be fixed, if need be, and that we would leave liking our finished products.

I greatly needed assistance for Carter's nose…No matter what I tried, it kept getting bigger and black-blob-ier. I was thankful that the artist was able to salvage the nose!

There were several ladies around us that we very artistic. I left being OK with my painting, but feeling that mine looked like finger paint compared to some of the others! After I got it home and sent picture to my family and friends, I decided I didn't do too bad!

Next time, I think I will stick to the classes where everyone paints the exact same thing, that way I can enjoy the wine part!

A Bittersweet Goodbye!

A couple weeks ago, I found this little cutie wandering around the school where I teach and coach. 

My first thought was that he escaped from one of the nearby houses, but after going door to door, this did not seem to be the case. One of the neighbors thought that someone may have dropped him off. 

Since it was after 5 and there was a basketball game that night (meaning lots of traffic), I decided to take him home until I could figure out to whom he belonged.

I sent out an email at school and talked to the kids in my classes about him to see if anyone knew where he came from. When none of that was productive, Jason and I entertained the idea of keeping him.

It took a couple sleepless nights and a few too many accidents in the house coupled with Carter's diminishing spirits and tolerance for the little guy to realize that we aren't really in a place in our lives to properly care for a new puppy. We started asking around and finally posted him on Craigslist.

There was an overwhelming response to the Craigslist post that finally landed the pup, that we formerly referred to as "little dog," now Charlie, a new home.

A recently married medical student came by to meet us and Charlie. It was mutually love at first sight! She took him home to her husband to get his approval and called back to happily say they wanted to keep him.

Although we will miss Charlie's cuddling and playfulness, we are happy that he has a good home with people that are looking for the responsibility of being puppy parents!

We celebrated Charlie's new home at Downtown Uncorked with some Friday Night Flights and Port Chocolates!

Welcome to 2013!

2013 started out with a bang! Jason surprised me with a trip to Barton Springs Resort & Spa for New Year's Eve. The resort and grounds are gorgeous, but unfortunately the weather was not. It was overcast, misty and really cold.

Due to the weather being so gloomy, these are the only pictures I took.

For our New Year's Eve celebration, Jason and I went to Vespaio for an AMAZING dinner and dessert, then came back to our hotel room to drink some awesome wine (thanks Dad and Mom!) and watch the ball drop…it was perfect!

The next morning, we went to one of our other favorite Austin spots for breakfast, Magnolia Cafe. I even treated myself to a mimosa to welcome 2013!

While on our mini vacation, Jason and I discussed our goals for 2013 and brainstormed some strategies for achieving them! It was a very relaxing, yet productive, getaway!

OUR GOALS:

1. Eat at home. Being busy, on the road, and just plain lazy has lead us to eating out for most of our meals over the last couple months.

2. Eat healthier/more "clean." Luckily for Jason and I, we actually like healthy food. We just really like unhealthy food too. We are hoping to tip the balance to eating healthier options as much as we can. When we cook at home, we eat pretty well, its when we go out that we run into trouble…so in achieving goal #1, we will also knock out #2.

So far, we have done quite well on this! We made spaghetti squash, pizza with cauliflower crust, quinoa spanish "rice", homemade black beans and other yummy dishes!

3. Workout more consistently. Jason ordered P90x from iTunes and I reactivated my Golds Gym membership. We both feel better when we workout, it is just starting the workout that is the battle. We are hoping to hold each other accountable for staying on track. 

With my school/coaching schedule, the only time I have to workout is either early in the morning before work, or after practice. I have tried the after work and my effort is not good. I have started the 5:30am group exercise up again. Yay!

4. Get serious about saving money. We would like to move into a "big girl house" sooner rather than later. We have mapped out a savings program that will get us there in 3 years. We don't want to take out a long mortgage or compromise on our list of wants in a new home.

There were many more that we listed, but these four are the ones we are going to focus on!

Happy 2013 everyone! :)