We're here!!!!

Well, we both made it. Luke left a few weeks earlier than I did because he had to start work, and I stayed behind waiting on an offer to come in on the house...which never did come...so I finally decided to surprise Luke and arrive a week earlier than planned. I showed up Thursday night and it was fun to see the surprise on my little bored bachelor's face.

We've been having a lot of fun here in the last few days. Friday we explored the area together and Saturday morning we got up early and went rollerblading through the trails at the local state park. The park has about 10 miles of paved trails winding along the river, and it is really serene and pretty. I'm getting a little better and the stopping thing...but I did take one crash down a little hill. (Note to self: ski-like traverses do not slow you down on rollerblades...it just makes you out of control and going really fast.) No injuries, besides my pride though...

Watching to see if I make it in one piece down the stairs with my rollerblades on:


The trail with a cute covered bridge:

On Saturday, we also made a trip up to Chicago and saw a White Sox game. There was a group going from Luke's work, so we decided it would be fun to see a game. It was pretty darn cold and rainy, but we had a good time and our streak is still alive...So far the home team has always won whenever we are in attendance. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

Wow...fast.

It's official. We are definitely moving to Chicago. We have a written offer in-hand and Luke is starting in 3 weeks! That's a bit quicker than we were anticipating, but they're anxious to get him up there.
Yikes! This has all happened so quickly, but we are very grateful that Luke has been given such a great opportunity.
Wish us luck!

DA BEARS...

So, we finally got some good news! FINALLY! It has all happened really fast. Luke had his first phone interview with this company about 1 1/2 weeks ago. A few days later, they called him up and asked him if he'd be willing to fly up there for a face-to-face interview. After six agonizingly long days of waiting (yes, I know it isn't that long, but it seemed like a month to us,) this morning, we got a job offer! 

The position is for a pharmaceutical company that specializes in research and manufacturing drugs for blood diseases, such as hemophilia and others. It is exactly the field that Luke has been wanting to get into since college, so we feel extremely blessed.

So where are we moving? The title should be a hint...

We are moving to...


CHICAGO!

More to come soon.

Have I told you I like spontaneity?

When Luke's last day came on the 28th, I decided that we needed a little celebration. Well, I'm not sure if celebration is the right word, but something to kick off our new adventures -- whatever they might be. I was wracking my brain that morning and trying to come up with something special; some sort of surprise that would make the day a memorable one, and I had a brilliant idea! Granted, a little bit complicated idea, but with a little bit of reshuffling, it could work. I remembered that a friend had offered her beach condo in Florida to anyone who would like to use it. Since Luke didn't have to be back for anything the next week and my work schedule was flexible, I decided to give her a call and see if it was available. It was! As the ball got rolling, I rescheduled any prior engagements we had and made the necessary arrangements to head off to sunny Florida for a week (or however long we decided to stay!)
When I told Luke we were heading off to Florida for a week ('right now, so jump in the car!'), he looked at me like I was crazy...but, with a little bit of explaining he was onboard and we had a lovely week on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen!
It was just what we both needed. A little spontaneous vacation to relax, regroup and leave our worries behind for a while. The weather was a little chilly when we first arrived, but we used those days to explore the surrounding towns and relax in our sweatshirts on the beach with our books. ;) The weekend, however, was really nice and Luke even got some boogie boarding in. (I was a wimp and couldn't hack the so-cold-your-feet-freeze-in-10-seconds water.)
Hooray for road-trips and wonderful, generous friends that let us have such a memorable week!

Truly the best-kept secret of Florida:


Isn't the water and sand beautiful? The sand was so white it almost looked like snow.




We ate a few meals at this place just down the beach from the condo, and they started having some pretty lively volleyball tournaments at the very end of our stay:


The sun was a little bright -- which explains why I can't open my eyes:


Poor Luke had to go boogie-boarding by himself because his wife wouldn't get in past her knees (in my defense, the water was freezing! -- what do you expect in early March?)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Luke and I had a low-key Valentine's Day at home -- getting into a restaurant around here is crazy on a holiday -- but we had a fun time and some great food, if I may say so myself. My gift to Luke was to make him a gourmet meal with his favorite foods -- cheese, bacon and chocolate.
I posted my recipes on our food blog, but we had:

Cheese Fondue:


Pancetta and Fennel Salad:


Roast Beef with Spicy Parsley Tomato Sauce:


Pot de Creme au Chocolat:


Chocolate Dipped Strawberries:


YUM! Anyway, hope you all had a great holiday!

Okay, so they're good

I generally pride myself on eating healthy and avoiding processed, unnatural food most of the time. Luke on the other hand, has a sweet tooth to rival pretty much anyone I've ever known or met. I was hoping in the 3+ years we've been married that my eating habits would have rubbed off more -- but alas, I think it has resulted in the opposite. :) Yes, I'm living with a bad influence. But, I don't mind.

However, I was horrified when Luke brought these home to eat for breakfast:

That's not a proper breakfast! It is pure sugar and little else. Luke conceded that it was indeed a sugar bomb, but that even I would think these little pellets were delicious. I had no intention of trying them -- I'm not much for sweets at 7:00 a.m., but this morning I was running late for work and, on a whim, I decided to try them.
I hate to admit this, but they were really, really good! Even at 7:00 a.m. Dang it! Luke's sweet tooth really is rubbing off!

Christmas in Portland

Luke and I flew up to Portland to be with his family for Christmas this year. For the first time in almost two years, we had the entire family together. We've had a great time together and enjoyed the chaos.

Making gingerbread houses -- a great Werrett tradition:


Christmas dinner featured with my sister-in-law Betsy and my cute nieces Alex and Elizabeth.


Christmas morning mayhem:






My new skis -- I'm a lot more excited about them than it appears... :)


Luke's new toy:

We had so much fun catching up with everyone, staying up late playing games and eating all sorts of yummy food and treats. A very merry Christmas it was.

Snow!!!!

I know snow in December isn't front page news anywhere else, but in Houston, TX, it is a big deal. Yesterday was a miserably cold, wet day and when Luke and I got home from work we noticed the rain drops had turned into teeny-tiny snowflakes. We threw on our coats and went for a walk around the neighborhood to observe other people's reactions. We had to laugh when we saw two kids had pulled out their sleds...probably not quite enough snow for that...not to mention there isn't a hill for a good 150 miles. ;) 

For some reason, this tiny bit of snow made it feel more like Christmas. I guess I miss the snow more than I thought! ;) Merry Christmas everyone!

Luke's marble-sized snowball that mostly melted before we could get a picture:

Life Challenge

Rules are: Anything you have done has to be in bold.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

It looks like I've got a lot left to do! How much have you done????

Promises Kept

Luke and I did what we promised last year we would do...If you don't remember my post from last year, you can read it HERE.

Thanksgiving

Today I'm thankful for family. My parents are in town for a week and a half, and it is so nice to have them here. We had a great time preparing all the food this morning and eating our delicious feast.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!



Eva waiting for her food already:

I PASSED!!!!

After lots of studying, an unanticipated delay (long story) and about a week of major stress, I finally got to take my NSCA Exam on Thursday and I passed. I wasn't too worried until I looked at the statistics of how many pass on the first try -- and let's just say it didn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But alas, I'm done and now I guess I can say I'm double official. ;) Hooray!

Fiesta Texas

Luke and I have been wanting to visit Six Flags in San Antonio for a while, so we decided what better time than a nice, cool November day. The weather was perfect and the lines were short. Can it get better?

We love roller coasters, and we made sure we hit every one of them at least once and our favorites several times. With the short lines, we were able to get off one ride and circle around and get on it again before it had even left again! We had a blast.

Luke's attempt to get a picture of us on the roller coaster and get the camera secured in his pocket before the ride took off:


House of Looney Tunes:


Ya, we rode this one too:


Thanks Tad and Jessica for your hospitality. We had a great time staying with you -- as usual.

Happy Halloween!

Last night Luke and I went over to Mike and Mindy's and had our own little Halloween celebration, complete with "blood", "dirt" and "eyeballs". We had a good time and finished the evening by watching two classic mystery/spooky films, Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window", and "Wait Until Dark" with Audrey Hepburn. I'm not into gory horror films, so these were a good compromise. :)

It's that time of year again!

Luke and I hosted our annual Pumpkin Carving and Caramel Fondue party last night and it was a great success! Everyone's pumpkins looked great and the caramel didn't burn...always a plus. ;)

Heather finishing up the pumpkin -- with her cheering section looking on:
Cute Mindy:

Enjoying the caramel:

Our creative collaboration:

Luke's menacing pumpkin:

Halloween is going to be tough this year...

Who dunnit?

Friday evening, the Williams' and the Baugh's planned a Murder Mystery evening. It was a Texas theme and we all were assigned characters, aka "suspects", in the Murder Mystery. No one knew who was the murderer -- not even the one that actually turned out to be the killer -- and as the dinner progressed, we "revealed" clues and information about ourselves and our situation. We each had "playbooks" and, bit by bit, we got more information from everyone. It was so much fun! We tried our best to stay in character, and it was so much fun to witness everyone's "acting" skills. In the end, no one guessed the true killer, but I got the most votes as the most likely. ;)

Luke, also known as "Rowdy Lawless", a convicted felon, showing off his tough guy pose (notice the teardrop tattoo...):


Discussing the latest revelation in the thickening plot: