Our New Ride!

No, we didn't get a new car (I wish!). Mom & Dad got a boat!!!!!!!!! We are so excited for summers at the lake pimpin' around in this beautyWe're having a B-day party for Chris on Saturday at the lake. We invited both of our families, so we are really looking forward to having all our loved ones together. I'm totally bummed that Liz can't wakeboard though... Dang pregnancy :)

Tonight's mission is to find Chris a wakeboard (my parents are getting him one for his birthday). The store in Amarillo only sells Body Glove boards, and after reading reviews we decided to shop around. We used a crappy wakeboard at Nocona last summer & Chris couldn't get up, so we are hesitant to purchase a board that got poor reviews. We are new to the whole "lake" thing & we are clueless about wakeboards so we asked our experienced lake friends for advice. Everyone had a different opinion, so I think we're just going to make a decision & stick with it.

I'm so excited to be a "lake person." I grew up thinking it was so cool how spent their summers out on the lake & now we are those people! It makes me so happy that my kids will grow up going to the lake; just like I'd imagined.

&&& I love my husband because he's been doing pull ups & push ups every evening for over 2 months in preparation for lake season. Boy is deterrrrmined to get up on a wakeboard this year.

Happy Happy Birthday

On Wednesday my hubbie celebrated his 25th birthday. He officially rounds up to 30!! (I have enjoyed rubbing that in since I round down to 20 for the next 6 months). He was really excited about his birthday this year, more so than ever before. Who knew 25 would be such a joyous birthday for him?!?!


We decided to go out to eat at Victor Tangos, a hip restaurant near our apartment. Their menu is the most unique I've ever seen. The have food ranging from "lamb lollipops with a sweet potato glaze" to "chicken and waffles." Good food & 2 bottles of wine made for a great birthday celebration.

I had a bit of a breakdown about the gifts I got for Chris. He does SO good purchasing gifts for me, so I wanted to make this birthday really special for him. I had been making little mental notes on stuff he mentioned liking & I felt really confident about the gifts I had for him. But the night before his birthday I just fell apart. I was so worried he would be disappointed on his birthday & I would be the cause... ***side note: We realize that the joy of celebrating a birthday does not come from gifts. However we made a pact early in our marriage to always make a big fuss over birthdays. We never want to be the old married couple who skimms over birthdays like they are "just another day." We want each other to feel special and appreciated, and for us birthdays are the perfect time to show it. It all worked out & Chris absolutely loved the gifts I got for him. I worried over nothing....

&&& I love my husband because.... we make birthdays a BIG deal in our house.--even Ollie & Oxfords!

Prom. Then & Now.

How in the world is Codi old enough to attend prom? Last time we lived under the same roof she was in 3rd grade & now she's old enough to go to high school prom? This is proof that time does fly by.

Since Friday was Mom's Bday & Saturday was Codi's prom I made a trip back to the A-M-A. My flight was miserable. I realized at 3:00 that it was going to be delayed for 25 minutes, which was no biggie. I figured it might be since the weather in Dallas had been iffy. Everything went smoothly until we boarded the plane. We sat on the plane for 1 hour and 45 minutes. No joke. After an 1.5 hours of sitting there they came over the speaker and announced that they lost our co-pilot. Lost him. As in can't find him in Love Field. Evidently he got off the plane during the layover & never came back.

So I finally made it back to the Panhandle. We got to celebrate mom's birthday at OHMS on Friday followed by a midnight movie. Saturday was Canyon's prom, so we spent the majority of the day getting Codi ready.

She looked gorgeous.

All the prom talk got me thinking back to our senior prom. I was lucky enough to go with my husband. How cool is that? And since we went to different high schools we got to go to 2 proms in 1 year! We even got to take a horse drawn carriage to the Canyon prom.

2004

&&& I love my husband because we have so much history together. How many couples can say they went to high school prom together? Twice!?

ABC's of Me!

Area Code: Still reppin' the 806. I have the same phone # I had when I got my first phone.

Bed Size: Queen.

Chore I hate: Dishes.

Dogs Names: Ollie & Oxford.... aka Ol & Ox... aka Pooter & Poozie. They have too many nicknames. Sometimes I wonder if they get confused because I am constantly calling them by a different name.

Everyday Essential: coffee w/ lots of creamer. I cannot function without it.

Favorite Color: pink.

Gold or Silver: silver... I hate to mix silver with gold & since my wedding rings are white gold I feel tacky when I have on both.

Height: 5'3". We took this picture because this was a very generous measuring stick.

Instrument you play: Chris has attempted to teach me guitar on several occasions. For a couple of weeks I will be a good student, then I get bored and move on to a new hobby.

Job: Butler Schein aka ButSchein.

Kids: Cannot wait! I never though I'd get here, but I think about children on a daily basis.

Living arrangements: w/ the hubbs in the a.p.t.

Mom's Name: Jana

Nicknames: Shannie. It's what all my family and closest friends call me. I think it sounds like a little ethnic child.

Overnight hospital stay: nope!

Pet Peeve: bad drivers & braggy people

Quote from a movie: where do I start? I love stupid movies.

"& don't trample the pansies!" --Father of the Bride

"She's magically babe-licious." --Wayne's world

"Yes, I would love some chocolate ass cream." --Austin Powers

"Here. Hold my poodle." --White Chicks

Righty of Leftie: righty

Siblings: Codi Sterling

Time you wake up: Depends on if it's a hair wash day.

Underwear: not picky. whatever's clean.

Veggie you dislike: MUSHROOMS. The thought of eating a fungus disgusts me.

Ways/Reasons you're late: traffic. Otherwise I am very punctual.

Xrays you've had: Elbow. I dislocated it & tore all the ligaments falling from the top of a cheerleading stunt. Turns out jumping off of the top is a bad idea.

Yummy food you make: My cinnamon cake is pretty bomb.

Zoo animal you like: I can't pick a fave. I love them all.

Reason #415 that My Parents Rock.

So this weekend was Mother's Day & in honor of the holiday here's a shout out to Juju. I am so thankful to have such a close relationship with my mom. She really is my best friend. She's my best shopping companion. She loves silly girlie movies and will watch them 10 times over with me. She loves her family so much and would do anything for us. For her I am truly grateful. So all I can think about recently is Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii... When I get bored at work I plan my vacation wardrobe. I have searched high and low online to find the cutest vacation apparel. My only problem is that we don't have tons of disposable income this month. Yes, I make a decent income, but May happens to be really tight for us; Mothers Day + Mom's Birthday + Chris's birthday= not very much spending money for my wardrobe.

Juju and Dr. D to the rescue. Just when I am down-and-out thinking I'm going to be frumpy and un-stylish on vacation they come through and give me some "fun money." Seriously, best. parents. ever. It's not like I need new clothes for Hawaii, but it's so fun to have vacation clothes.

My 2 best purchases:

So now am all fixed up and ready for the Hoodlums to go Hawaiian. We leave in exactly 27 days... Not that I'm counting down or anything.

&&& I love my husband because he helped me shop for Hawaii. I think anything sounded better than sitting in the library studying the law.

Melasma & a trip to the Derm.

For a while now Chris has been bugging me to go get my moles checked. He's not a moley person, so my moles freak him out. To me they're no big deal. My mom & sister are moley people too. They don't phase us.

So this morning I went to see Dr. Ream, a dermatologist near my work. He checked all my moles and said they were, "beautiful." Not exactly the adjective I'd use, but I'll take it. He showed me his nifty brochure on melanoma and what changes to look for in my moles. Basically Chris was worried for no reason. He was relieved when I told him.

The other reason (for me the main reason) I went in this morning was the dark circle around my mouth. Here recently the skin on my upper lip has gotten darker and darker. It grosses me out. So I asked Dr. Ream what is the cause?! His answer: hormones and sun. He diagnosed me with a skin pigmentation called Melasma. It's more common in women (90%) , Hispanics (70%) & women in their reproductive years. Basically the sun and my hormones combined and caused my skin to freak out... resulting in an awesome mustache looking ring on my upper lip.

Melasma.

The good news is that it can be fixed. Hallelujah! He wrote me a prescription for some bleach cream, and gave me ample samples of sunscreen SPF 40. I have never even owned a bottle of sunscreen much less SPF 40. He instructed me to use it daily & to never step foot in the sun without it. He followed with, "Now I know you're young and you aren't going to follow instructions, but if you don't use it the melasma will come back in a flash."

So I'm officially a sunscreen user...

&&& I love my husband because he was genuinely worried about my moles. I like that he worries about me & wants me to hang around for a while

05*14*2011

Will be the best day of my life.

I have been curious as to when Chris's law school graduation will be, and according to the SMU registrar website we have an official date. Woo hoo! It seems so real now that I know the date he will officially get his J.D.

Now all we have to do is survive the next 375 days... NBD, right?

I get really down & out during this time of year. I spend most evenings at home alone & wake up to an empty house. I feel like a 24 year old divorcee. For 2 weeks every semester my husband leaves me for someone else; Dedman School of Law Library. During these 2 weeks we are lucky to spend 30 minutes together. IF we do have dinner he leaves immediately after for the library. I'm not much for sharing, so law school finals-- could you hurry up and get over with!?! I miss my husband.

On the up side of life: Chris starts working full time NEXT WEEK! I am so ready for another D.I.N.K summer.

&&& I love my husband because he gives 100% to his school work... something I never quite mastered....

**Aunt Shannie**

I am pleased to annouce that I will be "Aunt Sh" for the 3rd time. Liz and Eric are going to be parents! I cannot think of a better couple to bring a baby into the world.

Oh, and the due date is December 25. How cool is that? A Christmas blessing. Maybe, just maybe, we will get to spend Christmas in the hopsital welcoming Baby Clark.

&&& I love my husband because... with him came an awesome brother and sister-in-law. It's like a 3-for-1 deal!