Abigail Boatwright Communications - DFW Texas freelancer

December 2011 Paint Horse Journal

2012-01-05T11:24:00.000-06:00

My final article in a 3-part series about breeding is right here! After writing this series, I think I would be prepared if I had a mare that was in foal. :-)

2012 New Year's Resolutions

2011-12-28T21:45:00.000-06:00

I kind of like posting New Year's resolutions to my blog. It keeps me accountable. I guess first, I'll look at last year's resolutions to review.

Kept: Reading a book a month and all my magazines. I started a book club on Facebook and I read 43 books in 2011. Granted a few were via audiobook(hi there, the entire harry potter series), but I more than kept this resolution. Yay!

Kept: Improved my photographer and writing skills. I took several seminars and online classes, and I really feel like I'm making big steps here.

Sort of kept: Keeping to a fitness schedule. I did great till February when I had to travel a lot, didn't do well till about June, then I worked out 4-5 days a week every week till December. I did a boot camp and I ran a half marathon. I didn't, however, get to my goal weight.

Failed: Well, here's where 2012 resolutions come into play.

1) Balance my time better. This year has been unexpectedly and completely different. My mom passed away in March and I took on all of the family responsibilities that fell on her, in addition to being the administrator of her estate. Zach now manages my mom's bread-making supply store, and we're back and forth from San Antonio to DFW at least once a week. Staying at home on a weekend is a rare luxury. Mainly because of all that entailed, in July I quit my full-time magazine job to freelance. Needless to say, our lives are radically different than January 2011. My work/life balance desperately needs to improve.

2) Be more organized. This is how the work/life balance will change. :-) Zach and I are working together to get us both organized so we cross all our t's and dot our i's, now that we have a lot more on our plates.

3) Travel. It sounds ironic, since we travel every week, but we want to get in some travel for fun this year while our jobs are in a state of flux. We've already booked a short trip to Florida to visit my aunt and get some beach anniversary time, and we're going to New Zealand and Australia for a friend's wedding in March. Other trips are on the horizon, so we'll see where God takes us in 2012.

4) Get settled. Hopefully by the second half of this year, we can return to putting down roots somewhere in DFW.

5) Get fit. I want to get to my goal weight and size. I've slacked off the last few weeks. Makes me sad. I want to take a consistent stance again and get in the gym/out running. I can do it, it just needs to take priority.

6) Improve my craft. I have a long way to go in photography, and since sharp skills are even more important as a freelancer I look forward to learning more and more through seminars and tutorials. I also got an amazing new camera that gets out of my way so I can take the photos I see in my head!

7) Get another horse. My last horse died in November 2010, and I haven't been able to get another one. I really want to get another horse and stay involved, because this is the first time in 18 years I haven't owned a horse and it's really strange. So, I hope to get a horse this year.

8) Be happy while being a vagabond. Along with this, I want to get this packing thing down pat. We pack every weekend, twice, and it's getting old... it's about to get older, so I might as well embrace it.

I guess those are my New Year's resolutions. Nothing big, right? ;-) Tell me about your resolutions!

November 2011 Paint Horse Journal

2011-12-22T13:57:00.000-06:00

Here's part 2 of my three-part foaling series! Thanks for stopping by!

Western Shooting Horse Profile on Clint Mortensen

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

I recently began working with Western Shooting Horse magazine. This was my first published work with them--a profile about silversmith/saddlemaker Clint Mortensen. I really enjoyed getting to know his story. From Eurodisney to Hollywood Western sets, Clint has a colorful history behind his work. Enjoy!

Random Maker Profile on Clint Mortensen

Gohorseshow.com Veteran Article

2011-12-19T09:12:00.001-06:00

Wounded Warriors Presentation Uses Horses to Honor Veterans full article

I've worked with Dan Files on several articles. I wrote a profile on the disabled war vet and devoted horse owner for the Paint Horse Journal that you can read HERE. Dan is a very special individual, so when the opportunity arose to write about a ceremony he was involved in that honored other veterans, I jumped at the chance. Gohorseshow.com was kind enough to publish my article, and I'm happy to share it with y'all today.

Magnetizing

2011-12-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

I was walking around the NRHA Futurity a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a collection of magnets on a door. Because the photo was a flashy Paint, I had to take a closer look. :-) To my delight, they were from the Paint Horse Journal... and the photo was one I took! Such a pleasant surprise and I'm honored APHA chose my photo for advertisement. :-)

So here it is:

Happy Holidays from APHA

2011-12-16T14:47:00.001-06:00

Loving this video from APHA. If you look closely, you can see several photos I took while I was there!

December 2011 issue of The Reiner

2011-12-09T12:29:00.000-06:00

Howdy y'all! I'm really excited to share this article with you. It was really technical from an equine medicine standpoint, and I am happy with how it turned out. I also took most of the photos.

You can read the whole article here, starting on page 90. What do you think?

October 2011 Paint Horse Journal

2011-10-10T08:00:00.002-05:00

I'm excited to share two articles with you this morning--both courtesy of the Paint Horse Journal. The Paint Horse Journal chose part 1 of my 3-part beginner breeder series titled Great Expectations as their free online article for October!

The second article, Showing Solo, is a Youth-geared story that's chock-full of tips on how to show without a full-time trainer. What do you think?

October 2011 The Reiner magazine

2011-10-07T08:00:00.003-05:00

Quincy Cahill Allen at the NRHA Cowtown Classic

I love seeing the digital version of a magazine because oftentimes there are additional nuggets of information. Such is the case for NRHA's official publication The Reiner--they have videos embedded in many of the articles! I covered the NRHA Cowtown Classic at the end of August, and it was my first time to work with NRHA. I wrote three articles from the event. My articles and photos were published in the October issue of The Reiner starting on pages 60, 66 and 86. Check out the digital edition of the magazine if you like!

September 2011 Paint Horse Journal

2011-10-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

I wrote these articles during my last few weeks at APHA, but I wanted to share them with you because they were recently published. The APHA Youth World is always my favorite World Show, if I had to pick one, and I love getting to know the future horsemen of our industry. I've also included two of the columns I regularly wrote. All articles are courtesy of the Paint Horse Journal. What do you think?

Is my man a Dr. Pepper Cute Boy?

2011-09-30T17:01:00.001-05:00

So my favorite blog, I Hate Green Beans, has been running a contest that involved cute boys and Dr. Pepper. The perfect combo, wouldn't you say? For September, there are 5 photos competing. The winning photo will be included in an official Dr. Pepper calendar, AND, the submitter wins a YEAR's supply of Dr. Pepper.

So... my husband Zach is one of the photos this month!!! If you feel like it, go comment on the I Hate Green Beans post and vote for him. Thanks! :-) If we win, I'll share our Dr. Pepper with you :-)

Abby

Stephanie and Scarlett's Canine Adventures

2011-09-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

Stephanie Bury was my partner-in-crime at my last job. We spent many an evening riding my horse, watching the Bachelorette and she tried(unsuccessfully for now) to convert me to her love of cycling. She's a talented graphic artist and she's now moved to Nashville. I miss her and her rambunctious lab Scarlett very much. Before she moved, we did a photo shoot at Trinity Park in Fort Worth. I love watching the interaction between dogs and their owners, and these two were a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Faith and Damon engagement portraits

2011-09-24T15:06:00.001-05:00

Faith Pena is one of my very best friends. She actually designed my business card for me! She and Damon are also photographers, which made this shoot at Brackenridge Park in San Antonio even more fun. They are about to celebrate their one-year anniversary, so I wanted to post their engagement photos on my blog. Enjoy!

Western Horseman's Women of the West

2011-09-15T08:52:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited to share today's post with you. Western Horseman chose to use a photo I took of an Oregonian cowgirl named Mary Anne Black for its column Women of the West in the October issue. This is the first time my work has been published in such a widely-distributed and well-known magazine. You can pick up a Western Horseman at any Barnes and Noble near you. Look for my photo on page 34 in the October issue!

Now presenting my new business card!

2011-09-06T11:54:00.001-05:00

If you have seen me at all in the last month, I've probably handed you one of my business cards. I can't help it, I'm just so proud of them. My uber-talented graphic designer friend Faith designed them and I love them! What do y'all think?

Ellie the soccer star

2011-08-14T17:51:00.000-05:00

My husband played in a soccer tournament this weekend. When he got home, our Yorkie Ellie wanted to play soccer too!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

2011-07-26T08:39:00.000-05:00

You might have noticed my blog is looking different these days. Before I'm done, there'll be a couple more changes, and I think you'll like the new look. There's a reason for it all, and let me explain.

This year has been a galvanizing experience. My family situation in San Antonio completely changed and I now have many new responsibilities. After much consideration, I reached the decision to leave my assistant editor position at the American Paint Horse Association to begin a career as a freelance writer, photographer, blogger and social media consultant. I've been at APHA for 4 1/2 years, so it's hard to say good-bye, but I'm so excited about what the future has in store.

For those of you that have read my blog the past few years, thank you for spending this time with me. I will continue to blog about life as seen through my lens, but I may link to published work from time to time so you can see what I've been up to.

If you are new to my page, welcome! I'm so glad you stopped by. Please check out the tabs above to see samples of my work. I'll be adding more samples shortly. Drop me a line if you'd like to learn more. I'd love to talk to you!

Thank you all for your support! Lots of love,
Abby

Guest post on the Manolo's Shoe Blog

2011-04-02T11:55:00.000-05:00

Check out my post on the Manolo's Shoe Blog!

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

2011-03-24T22:51:00.000-05:00

PF Chang's and Pei Wei make amazing lettuce wraps. I had a craving a little while ago, so I set out to make some of my own. I found this recipe that has a ton of ingredients--all full of flavor and nutrients. I've made some modifications, but the original is from today.msnbc.com - Joy's slimming chicken lettuce wraps.

If you have a food processor it can be fairly quick to make, but since I have a small one, I must admit it took about an hour to make.

One more note--you might experiment with the type of lettuce you use. I tried Bibb lettuce and thought it was too fragile, but iceberg broke up too. I've been told romaine wrap lettuce works, so I'll try that next. :-) Good luck! It's definitely worth it.

serves 4

4 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 large red bell peppers, seeded and finely diced
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and finely diced
3 green onions--the white and green part- thinly sliced
1 tablespoon grated or finely minced fresh ginger. *the recipe called for 2 tablespoons, but one is MORE than enough. :-)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey-- at least 90% lean. *The recipe called for ground chicken, but pound for pound, ground turkey is cheaper, so I usually get that instead.
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup Chinese Plum Sauce
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hot chili paste such as sriracha--you can use less if you don't want it too spicy.
1/4 cup unsalted roasted cashews, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro--if you like cilantro. It's optional
1 head Boston or Bill lettuce(or iceberg, or romaine wraps... see above :-))

1. Liberally coat a large skillet with Pam and preheat it over medium-high heat.

2. I would pre-dice everything and have it ready. Add the carrots, celery, bell pepper, water chestnuts, green onions, ginger and garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally until the vegetables soften slightly--about five minutes. You can add a tablespoon of water at a time if necessary to prevent scorching.

3. Add the ground turkey to the skillet. Break the meat up with a wooden spoon, and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. In my case, I had to drain some juice off to keep the filling from being too runny.

4. Add the plum sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and chili paste--stir to coat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until heated through.

5. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in cashews and cilantro. Allow the mixture to cool slighly--about five minutes.

6. Clean the lettuce and break off 12 individual leaves. Trim away the stem end if they are tough. Fill each lettuce cup with about 1/2 cup of the turkey filling.

nutritional facts:

The recipe is confusing unfortunately. I don't know if this is per serving or total. I believe that 1 lb of ground chicken is 640 calories all by itself, so my guess is this is the nutritional count per serving.

Calories – 298 Protein – 27 g Total Fat – 9 g Saturated Fat – 2 g Cholesterol – 80 mg Sodium – 610 mg Carbohydrate – 34 g Fiber – 5 g

The honeymoon: Florence finale

2011-01-12T22:46:00.000-06:00

Finally--the last post about the honeymoon. I didn't get them all in before our anniversary, but I did get it in before it's been a year since the end of the honeymoon. :-) It makes sense in my head. Last year on this day we were in Paris!

We took a bus from Siena to Florence, and a taxi to our hotel, Loggiato dei Serviti--located in the historic Piazza SS Anunziata. Our hotel was beautiful. It used to be a monastary, but it's been renovated and it was just wonderful. Our room was spacious with very high ceilings and a 4 poster bed-DAMASK! Just like Marie Antoinette's bed, if you ask me.

They even had drawings of horses on the wall. Perfect!

We decided to see if there were any English movies playing at the movie theater, so we took a walk. In five minutes, we were at the Duomo. In 10 we were at the Uffizi Gallery, and on to the Piazza Repubblica. I lovvvved how close all the amazing sights were.

We didn't find any movies not in Italian, so we just window shopped on our way to our Rick Steves-approved meal spot--Il Pirata. Check it out--purple, so trendy. I love it!

The food was a deli-style buffet with wine and beer and it was very inexpensive.

We headed back to the hotel, and our nice bellboy brought us champagne and roses for our honeymoon. Totally unexpected and so sweet!

The next day we woke up late because I'd begun feeling sick with a sore throat, but we still caught the hotel's nice breakfast. We went out to explore a bit and go shopping. Here's the Duomo!

We found a creperie with tons of Nutella. yummm

And Homer Simpson's Duff beer. :-)

Walked through the Uffizi gallery on our way to the Arno River

My favorite statue in the piazza :-) Love the hair!

The Arno river

We shopped at H&M, Zara and goldenpointe and visited Ponte Vecchio. I got a new outfit and wore it to dinner with our friends Stine and Massimo. They live in Fiesole, and we stayed with them the last time we visited. The restaurant was Ristorante la Giostra. It was in an old building and the tiny spot has tons of character. Lots of photos of the owner and famous celebrities like Brad Pitt, Christy Turlington and John Travolta on one of the walls.

Massimo and Stine.

We had really good wine in a carafe!

Sampler of delicious Tuscan food

my meal- seafood spaghetti

the interesting owner. Look at that jewelry!

tirimasu of course

Zach's dessert.

Our time with Stine and Massimo was one of the highlights of our honeymoon. We love and miss them!

The next day, I took some photo of the piazza just outside our hotel.

totally in love with the hair on this horse!

We went inside the Uffizi--something I hadn't gotten to do last time we came. It was awesome!

Fleur de lis--the symbol of Florence. This is Zach's favorite city in the world. We have decorated our house in fleur de lis because it's connected to both France(my fave) and Florence.

I've decided I love sculptures the most. Especially this one. I loved the musculature.

Another photos of hair on a sculpture. My hair matched so I posed with him. :-)

Fleur de lis

Back in the piazza, I found an Italian carriage horse having lunch.

hii!

We were a bit under the weather, but we went to the Duomo and climbed the dome's 463 steps.

It was a long way up and Zach's not a fan of heights. But the view was SO worth it.

We locked our final lock at the top, overlooking Fiesole.

Don't look down!

Zach got brave and videotaped the entire walk around the top. In the wind!

Here's where i got scared--going DOWN. eek!

Inside the Duomo, we marveled at the ceiling.

Thoroughly exhausted from all the travel and sore throats, we dragged ourselves to a trattoria in the shadows of the Duomo and had some pasta. It was student-centric, but there were lots of American students so they had some interesting touches.

We took a nap, went souvenir shopping for family and ended up back at the same place for our last Italian meal. I had veggie soup. :-)

It was almost fitting, that they aired Walker, Texas Ranger on the tv in the restaurant the last night we were in Italy. :-)

We woke up at 4 am and took a taxi to the airport for our journey home. Here Zach is watching the video demonstrating chair exercises... it was disturbing. Love him though :-)

We arrived home and here is what I saw! That's my work!

Our honeymoon was wonderful. We had a great time and it was a memorable way to begin our marriage. Thanks for sticking through the recap! It's been really neat re-living it through the photos and I hope you enjoyed them. Maybe you will get some tips for a future trip to Europe!

The honeymoon: Siena and a Tuscan tour

2011-01-09T22:00:00.000-06:00

I'm warnin ya, this is the longest and most photo-heavy post from the honeymoon. :-) I hope you enjoy the photos!

Zach and I left Venice and took a train to Siena. We arrived in the evening and took a taxi the short way to our hotel, Albergo Bernini. Our room was spacious and homey. We dropped off our bags and walked to a restaurant the girl at the front desk recommended - Antica Trattoria Papei. Siena was a nice town to walk around--nothing was too far. We were able to see Il Campo--where the Palio horse race is held. They show this race on James Bond 007 Quantum of Solace. It was beautiful at night.

At the restaurant, we had a down-home Tuscan meal. Check out the glasses!

On the way back to the hotel we window-shopped and had some gelato.

The next day, we woke up and had breakfast on the patio of our hotel. It had a spectacular view, and our complimentary breakfast was delicious.

The girl at the front desk helped arrange an afternoon tour of Tuscany, so we did laundry and walked around Siena in the morning.

We went to Il Campo again, to see it in the daylight.

We also looked in the Siena City Hall.

Next, we went to the Duomo. It was stunning!

We climbed the dome for an awesome view of Siena.

We got lunch at a kebab shop new our hotel and ate on the hotel terrace. We took a quick nap, then headed to a nearby piazza where our tour was to meet.

The tour group ended up just being Zach and I and the guide in a van. It was an amazing 6 hour tour for only 38 euro a piece.

First, we went to a local castle. So beautiful.

Next, we headed to a winery. But first we stopped to look at the countryside. I fell in love with this area.

The owner of the Casa Mona winery was a hobby winemaker, and he let us sample several wines. He also served us balsamic vinaigrette aged 30 years over chick peas and ice cream--surprisingly delicious. The best part of our tasting was his special 800 year old recipe wine. We got to tour his winery--lots of home-grown herbs!

Our next stop was the medieval town of San Gimignano. They filmed some of the Italy scenes from Eclipse here!

This is the passageway Bella ran through to get to Edward. :-)

Our last stop on the tour was Tenuta Torciano. Our tour guide Carlo was good friends with the owner. We had six types of wine, with salami, ham, cheese, bread with olive oil, lasagna with truffle oil-- you name it. We bought several bottles of wine including a brunello and a Super Tuscan. :-)

All of our tour was included in the 38 euro price, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are interested in taking a tour through that company, you can go here--- might have to translate the page.

The next day, we had our breakfast on the patio and went to see the nearby church of San Domenico nearby.

We returned to the Duomo to visit the baptistry. Also beautiful!

We locked another of our locks at a cafe beside Il Campo.

We had lunch beside Il Campo at a trattoria. We had freshly made pasta right there! I'd never seen pasta like this. It was kind of like round linguine in a bolognese sauce.

We concluded our time in Siena by doing a little shopping, and then we boarded a bus for Florence. :-) Thanks for sticking with this very long post. I like my photos from Siena, so I had a hard time narrowing it down!

The Honeymoon: Venice delight

2011-01-04T07:00:00.001-06:00

We decided to head over to Murano after checking out Saint Mark's Square our first day in Venice. We took a vaporetto boat and just chilled. Here Stacy and I showed off our matching camera gear :-)

Murano is a small island near Venice, famous for their glass ware.

Once we got there, we needed some gelato to get us going.

Nothing goes better with gelato than a cappuccino. Not sure why I was hunched over. :-)

Last time I went to Venice, I got a beautiful glass necklace. I broke it in 2009 and I cried because I thought I'd never get another. I really never thought I would ever go back. haha! We ended up finding one just as beautiful from actual Murano--where the jewelry is actually made! Zach found me stunning earrings and a ring there too. Here I am modeling all of it all at once, cause I'm cool like that.

Stacy and Jason got some beautiful goblets from the island. Here are some examples of the glass in Murano.

We saw this couple on the trip back to Venice:

After our jaunt in Murano, we dropped off our purchases at the hotel and went to find a restaurant Rick Steves' recommended, called Ristotecca di Bartolemew. It was inexpensive and very good. We were fans. :-)

That restaurant was located near the famous Rialto Bridge.

On our way back to the hotel, we happened across a store that sold Nutella. My favorite!!!

Check out the giant container!

It also had desserts of every kind. Chocolate cell phones and CD's, you name it.

We stuffed ourselves with the delicious desserts and cappuccinos and walked back to the hotel through the square. One of the most magical places on earth, I'm convinced, is Saint Mark's Square at night.

Random lights--so pretty!

The next day was part II of our Day After session. Check it out if you want to see us freezing our butts off. :-) The photos were amazing though!

At our wedding ceremony, we locked a huge antique lock together, following an Italian tradition. In Italy, lovers lock a lock together--usually at some bridge or famous spot--and throw away the key. In Venice, our first Italian stop on our honeymoon, Stacy captured the moment. Thanks!!

We shot first thing in the morning, so we were done by 10:30 am. By this point, we'd had time to people watch in Italy--great fun. The fashion--in Venice, anyway-- was distinct. Shiny, puffy coats with fur accents, boots and skinny jeans, scarves and aviators were de rigeur. Here's our impression of an Italian couple. :-)

We took the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doges Palace. We saw hidden rooms, torture chambers and the cell where Casanova was held. Very interesting!

I totally could live at the Doges palace.

hmm, the statue looks strangely like Zach...

pigeons!

This uber fat one reminded me of Pierre. He moved like a pigeon parade float.

Here's an example of the fashion we saw everywhere. It could also have been Donatella Versace, but there were lots of women that looked exactly like this.

Venice is a shopper's paradise. There are so many interesting stores. Here was a sticks display--just like our wedding!

While shopping, I got a beautiful Carnivale masquerade mask. I hope this year we can have a halloween party with masks!

Bridges are everywhere in Venice.

This gondola had damask upholstery! Love it!

We went to dinner at another restaurant in the Rialto. We shopped on the historic bridge first though, and I picked up a scarf and hat because it was cold at the time.

We followed up our meal with gelato. :-) After dinner, we got on a vaporetto and took it the wrong way home... so we spent an hour enjoying Venice from the water at night. :-) We had to say our goodbyes to Stacy, Jason and Jason's parents at that point. They went on to Rome, and we would be going on to Siena and Florence.

Zach and I stopped by a wine bar called Hell's Kitchen for a late night drink. It was an affiliate of our hotel. We had the nicest waiter named Oscar, and we really enjoyed our wine and cheese.

The next day, we said good bye to the Bridge of Sighs.

Here was our giant door key. Just had to share. :-)

On the vaporetto, headed to the train station.

Peggy Guggenheim museum

And one more fabulous Italian lady. I hope I look this awesome when I'm her age.

That's all for now! Next we'll be visiting Siena and taking a tour of Tuscany!

The honeymoon: Venetian adventures

2011-01-03T11:02:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! I'm hoping to spend my day off blogging the rest of our honeymoon before our anniversary next week. I've got 70 photos just of Venice though, so we'll see how far I get. :-)

After our quick trip to Angers, Zach and I took the train back to Paris and met up with Stacy, Jason and Jason's parents, who had just arrived from Louisiana that day. We took taxis to another train station.

At the train station, we grabbed delicious French bread sandwiches and waited for our train to leave at 8:30 p.m.. This was a special train-- it had beds. We would be sleeping as we crossed from Paris all the way to Venice, and we would arrive at 9:30 am, ready to go.

The idea was great, but 6 grown adults in tiny tiny beds was... an adventure, I must say. The beds stacked 3 on a side! Here we are before we pulled the beds down.

The other half of our crew.

We had a blast, and the wine we brought made everything even better. I'm really glad we all sort of knew each other, because it would be really uncomfortable sharing that space with total strangers. If you are looking for an overnight train ride that's romantic and private--this is not the one for you! :-)

We arrived at 9:30 in Venice and took a vaporetto(water bus) from the train station to the Saint Mark's Square stop--giving us a great tour of Venice along the way. Here are some of the sights.

Coming up on Saint Mark's Square--yay!

Our hotel, the Dona Palace Hotel was located just around the back of Saint Mark's Basilica. It was a great location. We got a suite at a really good price, and it was the largest room I've ever stayed in ever, much less in Europe! Check it out.

Outside the window, you can see the Bridge of Sighs.

The bathroom was sparkling clean, and it had a jacuzzi.

After we dropped our bags, we met up for lunch at a nearby restaurant called All' Angelo in a sister hotel to ours. Stacy and I got pretty drinks.

I got a spritz--according to my guidebook, it's like the official drink of Venice. It was pretty good. Yay for alcohol for lunch though!

I had a pasta with seafood, of course. It was very good. Yeah that's a crawfish, along with calamari, mussels, shrimp, clams, etc. :-)

Last time Zach and I went to Venice, it was summer, and the crowds were unreal. It was also very hot. We didn't get to go in to Saint Mark's Basilica because of the lines. This time, it was winter, the off season. The crowd's were thin and the weather was chilly--but just fine if you bundled up. Here's a view of Saint Mark's Square from the basilica. We checked out the inside(no photos allowed) and then surveyed the square from a balcony.

Here is the Doges Palace--my favorite building in Venice. I'm so in love with the architecture. We got to tour inside the next day.

View of the water from the square.

The bell tower.

Check out our wedding rings together! They match :-)

Love this pic from the balcony

The Bridge of Sighs--the one you can see from our room!

Pigeons--they're everywhere!

Yay for Venice!!

I think I'll stop here. Next post we visited Murano and saw more of Venice. :-)

Barbecue Skillet Pork Chops

2011-01-02T13:22:00.000-06:00

I made this meal recently and as soon as Zach tasted it, he said "You have to blog this recipe." :-) I think it's really tasty as well, and easy to make. I'm not usually a fan of pork chops unless they are cooked with a flavorful mix of spices, or in this case, a homemade BBQ sauce. Hope you like it--let me know what you think! I got this recipe from my favorite recipe book, Betty Crocker's Quick & Easy Cookbook.

Barbecue Skillet Pork Chops

4 pork loin or rib chops, 1/2 inch thick (At least 1.25 pounds)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper(These measurements I threw out the window--just season to taste. ;-))
1 can(15 ounces) of chunky tomato sauce with onions, celery and green bell peppers. I always use Ragu, but you can use your favorite sauce.
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard

1. Spray a 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.

2. Sprinkle both sides of the pork with salt and pepper.

3. Cook pork in skillet about 5 minutes, flipping it once, until it's brown.

4. Stir the remaining ingredients(tomato sauce, brown sugar, white vinegar, ground mustard) into the skillet.

5. Heat till boiling and then reduce the heat.

6. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pork is slightly pink when cut near the bone.

This would be perfect with roasted potatoes or beans and potato salad. I made it with salad for Z. :-)

Nutritional information:

1 serving: calories 230. fat 8g. cholesterol 65mg. sodium 560mg. carbohydrates 16g. dietary fiber 1g. Protein 24g. Diet exchanges: 1 starch, 3 lean meat.

I resolve...

2011-01-01T08:00:00.005-06:00

I can't believe 2010 is over. This year has flown by. There's been ups and downs, but I have to say, it's been one of the happiest overall yet. The biggest change was getting married January 10, and settling into life with my new husband. That has been wonderful. :-) I'm so grateful for him.

Because I'm now sharing my life with him, the daily routines have changed. Zach is a self-motivated and highly disciplined guy. He's really helped me a lot in areas I'm weak. But I still have resolutions! :-) So, here they are:

1) Read a book a month, and read all my magazines. I spend way too much time watching tv and mindlessly surfing the internet. I've got stacks of magazines to read at all times(yay magazine job and free subscriptions) and lots of books I want to explore.

2) Keep to a fitness schedule, get to my goal weight and accomplish an event. This year, I did p90x for 3 months and trained for a half marathon. I also had spurts where i'd only do cardio once a week. The last three weeks, I worked out with weights and cardio 3 times a week. I started going to classes at the gym, and my resolution is to keep it up. I want to lose that weight, tone up and be fitter overall.

My friend Faith has been trying to coax me into doing triathlons with her. Now that I don't have Willy anymore, I have a little more free time to say... train. I don't have a bike, but I might get one this year. If I don't do a triathlon this year, I'll at least do a running race or two.

3) Improve my photography and processing skills. I have so much to learn, and I hope to take more classes and seminars. I'd also like to become a better writer.

4) Be more organized. Zach keeps his papers and things in order and I.... don't. :-) Hopefully he'll continue to rub off on me and I can get that part of my life organized!

5) Balance my time better. I feel like every weekend is jam-packed with things to go and do. We both love spending time with friends and family, but both of us would like to take time to be at home on the weekends too (Zach wants to get things organized :-)). Maybe that means more phone calls, e-mails and such to keep friendships strong.

I guess i should put that I want to blog more. This week has been a record though....pretty sure 6 days in a row of daily posts is some kind of personal record! I don't plan to blog every day... maybe 1x a week or every other week. :-)

We'll see how these go! I have high hopes for 2011. :-) What are your resolutions?

Happy in Angers

2010-12-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

You might remember the town Angers, if you've been reading my blog for about 2 years. :-) I studied abroad there in 2005, and Zach and I visited on our last Europe trip in 2008--blog post here.

We left Paris on the third day of our honeymoon after checking out the Garnier Opera House and took a train to Angers, which is about two hours southwest of Paris, near Nantes in the Loire Valley. We arrived in the evening and checked into the Hotel du Mail. The hotel had a modern lobby and hallway, but it was a charming historical place.

Our friends we were going to visit were tied up for the evening, but it was our first evening to be just the two of us, so we decided to explore and find a place to eat. We walked for a bit and ate at a place called Les Varieties. It was kind of a French diner with a "variety" of food. :-) We had fish soup, omelettes and salad with the first beer I ever liked, Kronenburg's 1664. I didn't take my camera, or I would have posted the photos. :-(

After dinner we walked around a little bit before it started raining, so we called it a night.

The next morning, we packed our bags and left them with the front desk and decided to see some of Angers' sights before we had to be back at the train station in the afternoon. Here is the front of the hotel :-)

This is the oldest building in Angers, called Maison d'Adam. It was built in the 1500s.

Next we visited Angers cathedral, one of my favorite cathedrals I have seen in France. Check out the fountain--frozen in this photo!

After we finished looking around the cathedral, my former host dad, Max, called us to invite us to lunch at his home. We'd just bought baguettes(tres french and less than a Euro. :-)) so we brought them along when he picked us up!

Max and Patricia Charbonel were my host parents, and they are some of the most hospitable people I've ever met. Language is never a barrier, thanks to Max's trusty english/french dictionary. :-) I was definitely rusty, but it's easy to converse with them all the same.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch with them, including this homemade(Max is a retired chef) apple pastry with cream.

Our friend Marie, the sister of Claire in Paris, came over to see us for a bit as well. It was great to see her!

On the way back to the train station, we saw the Fiat 500--the car I really really have a crush on. It's smaller than the mini-- and it's coming to the US in 2011!

So ended our too-short time in Angers. :-( We boarded the train, met back up with Stacy and Jason and started the most interesting adventure yet... in the next europe post. :-)

The honeymoon: The Phantom's Paris

2010-12-30T07:00:00.003-06:00

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade!

This post wraps up our last day in Paris. It's a bit short, but I'm hoping to get to the rest of the honeymoon before our 1-year anniversary!

January 13, our third day in the City of Lights, we had breakfast with Stacy and Jason, packed our bags and stored them, and left Hotel Londres Eiffel to spend the day in the city.

Zach and I took the Metro to my favorite spot in all of Paris-- the Garnier Opera House. I'm a huge, huge Phantom of the Opera fan-- I've read the book, seen the movie and play countless times and memorized the soundtrack. Fellow POTO fans might know that the story is based in this very opera house. There is a lake underneath, and the inside? Well, you will have to see.

Does this look familiar? The opera house was opened in 1875.

Remember the Phantom, singing from the roof top?

I am in love with the architecture of this building. Check out the reliefs on the ceiling. This is 3D!

The statues are so beautiful!

My favorite song from POTO is Masquerade, when the cast dances up and down these stairs. :-)

The opera house has a rainbow of colored marble throughout. It's incredible.

A peek into the boxes!

A grand hallway

Second floor balcony

Lovely foyer

After spending a few hours in the Paris Opera House, we returned for our luggage and boarded a train to Angers, a smaller town west of Paris. What did you think of the Opera House?

Oven roasted green beans

2010-12-29T07:00:00.001-06:00

Oven roasted green beans are my favorite green vegetable right now. They are easy to cook, and because you use fresh green beans, they are fresh and crisp. I love chopping the ends off of the green beans. It makes me feel domestic. :-) I got the recipe initially from Cooking Light's Chicken for Dinner magazine.

I make them about once a week, and tried them out on my family for Christmas. They approved. :-) Hope y'all will, too!

Oven Roasted Green Beans

Serves 6 (The magazine says 12, but... we like our green beans. :-))

2 pounds green beans, trimmed
4 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place a baking sheet with a lip or large glass casserole dish in the oven for 10 minutes.

3. Place the green beans in a large bowl.

4. Drizzle the green beans with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat the beans with the mixture.

5. Arrange the green beans as spread out as possible (a single layer if you can) in the pan.

6. Bake at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes, or until crisp-tender. You don't want to cook them too long!

Nutritional facts per serving:

Calories: 37 Fat: 1.6g Protein: 1.4g Carbohydrates: 5.5g fiber: 2.6g Sodium: 196mg Calcium: 29mg

Pesto Quinoa

2010-12-28T07:00:00.001-06:00

So, I'm a little behind on the superfoods trend. A few weeks ago, Zach sent me a link to an article about Quinoa and it was the first time i'd ever paid attention to the food so many people raved about. I tried this pesto recipe that night and we both became huge fans. It's SO delicious!

Like everyone says, it's a really versatile seed. It takes on the flavor of pretty much whatever you mix it with, it's high in protein and really filling. We're not vegetarians, but we'd like to eat less meat ($$$) so recipes with quinoa tend to fill us up better than say, eating a salad for dinner. :-)

Make sure you rinse the quinoa before you cook it. We haven't experienced any bitterness in the quinoa, but you might as well be sure! It's kind of messy, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of herding the tiny dots eventually. :-) Let me know what you think! I got this recipe from allrecipes.com.

Pesto Quinoa
Serves 4

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and trained
2 cups chicken broth-- you can substitute veggie stock if you'd like
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 tomato, diced
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Bring the chicken broth and quinoa to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the broth is absorbed.

3. Remove from heat and mix in the pesto.

4. Stir in the tomatoes.

5. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve it up!

Nutritional info, per serving:

Calories: 207 | Total Fat: 6.4g | Cholesterol: 5mg

Courtney and Cade

2010-12-27T07:00:00.001-06:00

Courtney and Cade are some of my favorite repeat clients. Courtney has had me take photos of Cade since he was a year old, and this is our third shoot together. He's grown from a baby hanging on to Mom to an independent little boy in such a short amount of time.

We played in a park in Fort Worth on a cold November afternoon for this shoot. Cade's become quite the athlete, showing us his golf and football skills. But we did get some nice portraits--when he stopped to catch his breath. Thanks Courtney for letting me capture your little one!

David & Alysha

2010-12-26T08:00:00.001-06:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted any photo shoots. I had a string of shoots this fall, and I'm really excited to show y'all what I've been working on. I'm also trying out a new format to how I blog them... and introducing my logo--finally! My friend Faith designed it and I'll be showing it off more later. :-)

My youngest brother David and his girlfriend Alysha had recently celebrated 6 months of dating when we did this shoot in October at Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. Here's to many more month's y'all! Thanks for letting me photograph you!

What would Willy do?

2010-11-28T21:06:00.000-06:00

Tuesday I said good-bye to my best friend Willy. The horse I'd owned for 15 years suffered a bout of colic and lost, so we had to put him down. It's been hard and I'm really sad to have lost him. I can't imaging another horse like him-- he was one in a million.

I wrote a long blog entry on that day, but I just wasn't ready to post it. My dear friend Alice, the woman who taught me how to ride, broke Willy to saddle and helped sell him to me wrote a sweet poem to commemorate Willy. I decided her poem is a much better way to memorialize my big red horse. I'd like to share it with y'all.

WILLIE

by Alice Scott

Willie Wonka was his name

Workin' cattle was his game

Foundation breeding was his line

The cowy, smart, athletic kind

Upon his head a tiny star

A gorgous guy from near and far

In countless ways he was a winner

A gutsy, cowy, tough team penner

No temperment was ever milder

Except his best friend, Abby Wilder

Willie Wonka, Abby's dream

The perfect cowgirl-gelding team

Those who knew him won't forget

The love between this great duet

She cared for him through all his years

He wouldn't want her shedding tears

Willie was that kinda guy

He wouldn't want his friend to cry

His life was happy, good and long

He's now in grass thats green and strong

But he'll still gladly do his share

To sort and pen the cows up there

Oreo bites

2010-10-19T07:01:00.002-05:00

I have to credit our fabulous APHA interns Hillary Yetter, Megan Crudup and Megan Brincks with this recipe. They sealed their role as BEST INTERNS EVARRR at their very first snack day by bringing these tasty morsels. I commissioned them to make them for a bridal shower and they were a hit. They are absolutely fabulous, and I can say this because every single person who has eaten them has freaked out. :-) The interns also made cake balls, but I haven't personally made them. I'll include the recipe for them at the bottom. Again, I'm crediting the interns. :-) I made these balls a few weeks ago for a bachelorette party, so here's my experience. Give yourself plenty of time to make these, they require several stints in the freezer. :-)

Oreo bites
1 package Oreos
1 package softened cream cheese
1-2 packages Baker's Chocolate
1 package Baker's White Chocolate (Drizzle)

1. Crumble the oreos as small as you can and then mix them with the cream cheese. I used a food processor to crumble and my hands to mix.

2. Roll the mixture into small balls and place in the freezer. Chilling is important, otherwise they'll fall apart when you dip them. I put them on a cookie tray. I recommend bite-size balls. Too big, and the balls are just too rich to eat. The smaller you make the balls, the more balls you will have! I planned to make 2 dozen and I ended up with like 7 dozen.

3. While the balls are freezing, melt the chocolate in a small saucepan on low heat. Don't turn the heat too high or you'll burn the chocolate. Stir the chocolate until it's smooth and slightly drippy, then remove from heat.

4. Once the balls are hard, cover the oreos in the chocolate. I dropped them in the chocolate and rolled them around with spoons before placing them on a cookie tray covered in wax paper.

5. Return the chocolate covered balls to the freezer and then let them harden.

6. Melt the white chocolate in a small saucepan. Take the balls out of the freezer and drizzle them with the white chocolate. I used a spoon.

7. Return the Oreo bites to the freezer so they can harden again. I store them in the fridge before serving so they don't melt together.

If you are feeling adventurous, check out the cake balls. They take an extra few hours, but they are very good.

CAKE BALLS:
1 Cake Mix of Choice
1 container icing of choice
1-2 packages Baker's Chocolate
1 package Baker's White Chocolate

1. Bake the cake like normal. Make sure it is cooked all the way through.

2. Let the cake cool down. After it is COMPLETELY cooled crumble it up into small pieces.

3. Pour semi-melted icing into the cake. Mix together and form into balls, then follow the same steps as the oreo balls :)

Nutritional info: desserts don't apply. ;-)

The Honeymoon: Paris

2010-09-01T18:00:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited to share with y'all photos from our honeymoon! Though we only went to four cities, I took a LOT of pics, so narrowing them down will be a challenge.

Our honeymoon was an absolute blast. Zach and I have both been to Europe several times--once together, as you've probably read. :-) This time was different. We were married, of course, so that was awesome. This was the first time we'd ever gone to France and Italy in the winter, the off season. And we were accompanied by a suitcase of wedding clothes and our photographer, Stacy Reeves--along with her man Jason and his parents at times. There's lots to tell, so I'll get right to it!

We left our wedding at the Piazza in the Village and headed to my hotel for a quick change before Zach's brother Grant took us to the airport. We were still dazed from the wedding when we boarded the plane and I was excited to sleep on our overnight flight! No can do, as loud babies cried all night long. We arrived in Frankfurt for a layover, and after walking a couple miles inside to get to our gate, we had some good German coffee.

I was so excited to be able to lay horizontally for an hour and I fell asleep, despite my coffee. My new husband gleefully took my photo. Not nice!

By lunchtime we were in PARIS! The city of looove! The city of lights! ok ok, I'm getting ahead of myself. We took a taxi to our hotel-- Hotel Londres Eiffel -- and took the tiny elevator up to our room. Though it was called the Poets Room-- the door said Victor Hugo-- one of my favorite French authors. yay!

Inside the small but very neat room, we were treated to walls covered in sheet music.

And the chair! And curtains!

This is the quintessentially French view we had outside the window-- Le Tour Eiffel, but of course!

We quickly changed for the weather and met our touring friends Stacy and Jason downstairs. Stacy had been to Paris before, but Jason, a fellow Francophile--and a native Lousianan--had not. First stop was the oh-so-close Eiffel Tower. I love that our hotel was *rightthere*

Next, we headed over to the Seine to take a boat tour. Stacy's beret is so French.

We listened to our Zach Morris phone audio tour with interest.

Notre Dame

Musée du Louvre? Correct me if I'm wrong.

The Grand Palais

Sigh. I love this city.

I love how the Eiffel Tower sparkles at night!

After our tour, we walked over to a nearby cafe, Le Champs de Mars and enjoyed a leisurely dinner. Good times were had.

My cappuccino. So good!

After a much-needed good night's rest, Zach and I were caught up from jet lag and ready to see some sights. We met up with Stacy and Jason and ate breakfast at Le Dome. We took the metro to the Louvre and walked through the exterior.

frozen fountains!

Next, we went to a place I was DYING to go to. The flagship Christian Louboutin store!!! If you know me at all, you know about my obsession with these fabulous red-soled heels. Someday I will own a pair!

check em out!

Stacy found a pair and she bought them!

This is the first place I saw this pair that matched Zach's wedding ring exactly. They now have them in the US, but... There's no way I'm paying $1800 for a pair of shoes. Even as sexy as these.

Love these!

I'm super glad I didn't know about these shoes before our wedding cause... HELLO?! Louboutins. purple feathers. omg!

Prying them off my feet when we left was pretty much impossible.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a patisserie and had some sandwiches. Then it was time for our day after photo shoot!!! Check out the pics HERE. There are photos from Venice too, but I'll get to venice another post.

OK, next came THIS story. Read and then come back, K?

Jason proposed to Stacy at the Eiffel tower! And we were there! yaaay!

Subway shots :-)

After our photo shoot and the epic proposal, we went to a seafood restaurant called Le Winch in Montmarte with my dear friends Maude and Claire. I met them while I was studying in Angers, France, and they, in turn, studied abroad at A&M where we became close. Last time we were in Paris, Zach and I stayed with Claire, and it was great to see them again.

Claire, Maude and I.

We all enjoyed our delicious seafood, great company and fun drinks like the kir royale.

On the way home, we saw the sparkling Eiffel Tower again. :-)

So concludes my the first few days of our honeymoon recap. :-) Next up is the Phantom's Opera House-- Garnier Opera House and Angers! Thanks for reading!

Delicious and healthy miso soup

2010-08-30T17:45:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge fan of Japan's food staple-- miso soup. Delving into that little bowl of tasty goodness is a great part of the sushi experience to me. I think miso soup is good for the soul, and studies show it's good for the body, too. After a long hunt for some random ingredients(dashi granules, anyone? I can't even find them at Central Market, and combining several recipes/substitutions wasn't working) and several unsatisfactory attempts, I've finally found the right recipe for my husband and I. Found in the exercise program P90x's recipe book, this miso soup is healthy and delicious--and most importantly, a cinch to make. So, check it out! Let me know what you think!

Side note: I apologize for the badly focused photo. I was so excited to eat my soup that I was in a hurry. :-)

P90x Miso Soup

1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/3 cup shallots, finely chopped. These are a mild onion but they look like reddish garlic cloves.
3 tablespoons miso. I found white miso paste at central market. This is the most important part!
1 quart vegetable stock. I used Kitchen Basics original-- it's 20 cal/0 fat/330mg sodium(way lower than any other stock)
1/4 cup firm silken tofu, diced is what they recommend, but I used an entire package. Good luck dicing. ;-)
3 tablespoons scallions(green onions), sliced

1. Heat the sesame oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until translucent.

2. Add the miso and vegetable stock and whisk the miso to mix. Bring the soup to a simmer--just under boiling. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. You don't want to boil the soup--it'll make the miso paste grainy.

3. Add tofu and green onions a few minutes before serving.

Now, p90x says you can add protein powder just before serving. This sounds disgusting, but if you are all into p90x by all means, go for it. :-) We thoroughly enjoyed our soup and it was great reheated the next day. I served it with a salad topped with chow mein noodles and light asian sesame dressing. Enjoy!

Nutrition facts:

107 calories

3 g total fat - 23% calories from fat

16 g carbohydrates

1 mg cholesterol

1,052 mg sodium(this could be lower because i used low sodium veggie stock)

London and Jane Austen Land

2010-07-27T22:53:00.000-05:00

Zach and I just returned from a vacation to Boston, and I realized, sadly, that I never finished blogging about our first trip to Europe. As in, the one we took in 2008. All I had left was London and Bath... it'd be a shame not to finish up the story! Skip on by if you don't want to read about something from 2 years ago, but I busted out my black and white damask journal to remember the details, so here I go!

We arrived at Heathrow from Milan and were overwhelmed with the sparkling Metro. It was like entering a theme park--the Metro employees were so welcoming and everyone stood quietly in lines. After the mass chaos of the Milan airport it was a relief!

We rode the Metro to the Victoria train stop, where we stowed our bags. We had plans to meet up with our friend Stephanie, but not until much later, and we'd both grown really tired of carrying around our big bags.

After dropping our bags, we moseyed about, enjoying the culture and stopped into a pub-style restaurant called Garfunkels to eat lunch.

We were actually tired of touring by that point because we'd been traveling for 18 days, and we had both visited London before, so we decided to take it easy and check out a few places close to each other. We saw the Royal Mews.

Buckingham Palace.

Parliament and Big Ben.

Westminster Abbey-- Sadly, I still haven't been in there and this is the second time I've tried. It was closed that day. :-( I really want to see inside!

Beautiful statues

Hobbit houses(just kidding)

After walking around for a while, we sat in a park by Buckingham Palace and rested. Zach played with a British Squirrel--they were fearless.

We decided to ride the London Eye because I'd never ridden it before. It was near dusk, but we could still see really far. So cool!

We rode the metro. fun!

We goofed around too. Funny how my name was on everything!

Stephanie lived in a cute 3-story house. I think it looked a little like the houses from 101 Dalmations from the top of the roofs.... at least that's what I wrote in my journal. :-) What do you think? Her house was very nice and she was a great host.

The next day, Stephanie had to work, so we hung out and did laundry. We headed into her neighborhood of Chiswick(Chisick) to check it out. We ate at this restaurant.

Stephanie cooked a chinese meal for us-- so good! We hung out with Stephanie and her roommates after dinner for a while.

caveat-- if you don't love Jane Austen, you will be bored for the rest of this entry. I'm just warning you!

The next day, Zach, Stephanie and I went to Bath-- a town about 115 miles away. If you are a Jane Austen fan--as you probably know I am--you would be just as stoked as I was to be going there. This was Jane's hometown, and many of her books mentioned it. In fact, Northanger Abbey is even set in Bath! I actually didn't connect all of this till we got off of the train. So it was a great surprise. :-)

We saw the town church--there was a wedding going on, and everyone leaving was all dressed up with hats on. So cool!

We first went to the Roman Baths. I've seen some ruins before in Israel--and we'd seen some in Pompeii, but these were much more elaborate and kept up. It was fascinating.

We all ate lunch, and then Zach and I went to a history of fashion museum and Stephanie stayed with another friend who'd come with us. It was pretty interesting, with lots of neat clothes. We even went into the Assembly Rooms(!!!) to see some of the clothes. The Assembly Rooms of Northanger Abbey drama. :-)

We were short on time before our train was to leave, and so we almost didn't go on the tour at the Jane Austen Centre on Gay Street, where Jane lived. Zach insisted and it was a great decision. It was our favorite part about Bath by far. I learned so much about one of my favorite authors! I wish we'd taken a walking tour, but we didn't know about them until it was too late.

I just thought this was funny.

After seeing Jane Austenland, we headed back to Stephanie's house before we went out to eat at a Thai restaurant and pub with Stephanie's roommates and friends.

We passed by Colin Firth's(MR. DARCYYY) store so I had to take a pic. We went to another pub and enjoyed our last night in Europe.

The next day, we eventually headed to the airport, but made a stop at the Harry Potter metro stop. :-) We are tourists. and fans. :-)

We had a wonderful time in London and Bath. I look forward to when we can visit again. I hope to see all the castles and spots where Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters based their books... and Chatsworth house... Pemberly in P&P the movie. ;-)

So ends our 2008 Europe trip! I hope to write about our honeymoon and trip to Boston ASAP. :-)

A different kind of riding

2010-05-27T21:29:00.001-05:00

Growing up, the main athletic activity I engaged in was riding horses. I played a little volleyball, but riding was pretty much it for me. I enjoyed working out with my equestrian team in college--except for running. I hated it and I wasn't good at it.

When I moved to Fort Worth and started dating Zach, my eyes were opened to the benefits of exercise. Zach was a personal trainer and he'd been a star soccer, cross country and tennis player for most of his life. He guided me toward a habit of working out often and correctly. And I really like it! :-) I decided to try running, since he ran 3-4 miles in the hills by his house almost every day. It was a major struggle for me. Running is HARD, and i worked up minute by minute to run my first mile in February 2008. I decided to run a 5K that fall-- 3.4 miles! Zach helped me train and we ran it together. I felt a major sense of accomplishment for that.

So in 2009, I decided to step it up and try a 10K- 6.2 miles. Faith and I signed up for one in August called the Hottest Half. I was really worried about running that far, so I enrolled in bootcamp with The Body Firm for 2 months. Ended up being the most fun workout I have ever done and I got in really good shape! The 10K was very hard-- Zach had an alumni soccer game in Arkansas, so he didn't run in the race, but he helped me train. We ran another 5K last September, then I took a break from hard core exercise and running to survive the hectic fall and our wedding.

Back to a normal routine this year, we just finished the 3-month program p90x. It was a very good program, if a little time-intensive. I also decided to sign up for a half marathon, which is two 10Ks--13.1 miles. I've been training for the Wounded Warrior Half on June 13 for about three months. It's getting really hard, and I have just a few more weeks to go! Zach's going to run it with me. I really think this is as far as I want to run. I've gotten to where I enjoy 3 miles and I can do 6, but any further is just no fun. So what else can I do to push myself?

Faith's been bugging me to do a triathlon with her for like, years. She even sent me some info about some tempting tris a few months after the race. The problem is, I've never ridden a road bike before and I suck at swimming any kind of distance--despite being a lifeguard and swim instructor for two years in college. It's ironic, I know.

My friend from work, Stephanie, is big into cycling and she offered to take me out on her road bike. Exciting times! I figured I might as well try it, maybe I will do a tri eventually. There's less running involved in a tri but it's still a challenge. So... yesterday, Stephanie and I went out to the Trinity Trails to bike. Regular bikes-- I'm a pro. used to ride all over campus in college and I loved riding around as a kid.

I'm very intimidated by the road bike. The tires are the width of my finger, for goodness sakes! The whole experience was so much like when I take new people out to ride my horse--only in reverse. It was so funny! Stephanie lent me her gear--helmet, jersey and bike shorts--who knew they had a giant pad sewn in the bottom?? The right equipment is necessary, just like a helmet, boots and jeans are on a horse. We loaded up the bikes in my truck--just like loading the horses in a trailer to head for the trail. She oiled up the gears on her mountain bike and road bike--just like grooming the horse. She adjusted the seat for me to be comfortable--stirrups, anyone? and we set out on the trail.

I had the sensation that this must be what it's like to ride a horse for the first time. I've never been afraid of riding horses and I always feel in control--maybe because I started riding when I was young and fearless. Tiny road bike--not so much. I had a death grip on the handlebars and I wobbled for quite a while. I worried a lot, cause that's what I do. Worried I'd run into Stephanie next to me and crash like all the awful videos of bike races I've seen. Worried I'd wobble into the guys coming from the other direction and I'd fall--to my death--down the hill into the river, after killing Stephanie's expensive bike. Worried I'd get the tiny tire stuck in a rut and crash. Worried my shoes would slip off the little pedals. sigh. the list goes on and on. I crouched on that thing with a death grip just like every new rider does on a horse. I just had no hide to dig my heels into or bit to jerk on.

Gradually, I realized this thing could go pretty fast--like 18 mph! and I was covering some miles and I wasn't breathing hard like I would be running. I passed a bunch of runners who looked like how I feel running-pissed off and working hard. I was smiling on the bike--when I wasn't worrying about any of the above reasons. When we'd gone 6 miles, we turned around and it was even better. I could control the bike better, I knew where the ruts were and I was flying. Air conditioning for the win!

Then we hit cloud after cloud after cloud of bugs. I thought inhaling bugs while running and riding a horse was bad. Hoo boy. This was like riding through RAIN of bugs. I didn't have sunglasses with me, so I had to squint and they got stuck in my eyelashes. If I looked down, i could hear them going through the slits on the helmet into my hair. I ate a whole lot of them, which was preferable to getting them in my nose. And... when we finished the ride, I had probably 100 bugs stuck in my jersey and sports bra. Good times.

We had a great time and I'm so thankful stephanie let me try out her bike. We burned 800 calories and rode 11 miles in less time then it would take to run half that--plus it felt way easier. So that's a huge benefit. :-) I am not sure I want to do a triathlon any time soon though. I have a major phobia of riding around other people--which most definitely would happen in a race... and i still have to figure out how to swim far. But, I really enjoyed the bike!

The Dove's Nest White Chili

2010-04-27T21:55:00.001-05:00

This was a recipe Zach brought home from his mom's house as a favorite, so I thought I'd give it a try. It has a lot more ingredients than anything else I'd made before, and the preparation took me about an hour. But man this is a delicious meal! I have to say it was worth it. It's surprisingly spicy and a hearty soup.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or--my recommendation--2 10 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies
6 tomatillos, chopped. These really add flavor--don't omit them if possible!
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 cups chicken stock. I used chicken boullion and water.
1 17 ounce can of chopped green chilies
2 cups chopped cooked chicken. I sauteed chicken breast in a pan and then chopped it.
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup--heaping of fresh cilantro. I used a tablespoon of dried cilantro.
2 19 ounce cans of cannellini or Great Northern Beans(my choice)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream for serving
shredded monterey Jack cheese to top soup
fried tortilla strips

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, but don't allow the garlic to brown.

2. Add the tomatoes, tomatillos and jalapeno. Cook until the tomatillos are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the chicken stock, green chilies, chicken, oregano, cumin, cilantro, beans and lime juice. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Ladle the chili into serving bowls.

5. Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla strips.

Hope you enjoy!

Shrimp Florentine Stir-Fry

2010-04-06T12:39:00.005-05:00

I got the basic idea for this recipe from my favorite recipe book, Betty Crocker's Quick & Easy Cookbook. This book has gotten me through college and beyond with easy and tasty recipes. It's the book I use the most!

We made shrimp Florentine stir-fry for our 1-month anniversary of being married. We picked this recipe because we had a big bag of spinach leaves we wanted to get rid of. It's fresh and tasty. Hope you enjoy it too!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes

Ingredients for 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil. When in doubt, we usually opt for olive oil for most recipes.
1 pound medium size uncooked, peeled and de-veined shrimp. If you get it frozen, run some cool water over the shrimp for a few minutes to thaw it.
4 cups of fresh spinach leaves
1 can(14 ounces) of baby corn nuggets, drained. I used regular corn and it worked just fine. :-)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped, drained roasted bell peppers - from a 7-oz jar. I found these in the aisle with Mexican food--not something I usually get. :-)
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves. I used dried--my tarragon plant keeled over this winter.
1/2 tsp garlic salt
lemon wedges. We didn't have these, but I don't like lemon on seafood anyway, so I didn't miss them. They are just for garnish.

And here are the directions!
1) Heat a wok or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. I used a deep skillet because that's what we have! Add the oil and coat the sides and bottom of the skillet.
2) Once the oil is heated, add the shrimp to the skillet. Stir fry 2-3 minutes--stir constantly--or until shrimp are pink and firm. Add the spinach, corn, bell peppers, tarragon and garlic salt. Stir-fry for 2-4 minutes or until spinach is wilted. You can add lemon wedges for garnish.

Nutritional info:

Calories: 175(calories from fat 45)

Fat: 5g (Saturated fat 1g)

Cholesterol: 105mg

Sodium: 480 mg

Carbohydrates: 20g (dietary fiber 3g)

Protein: 15g

Diet exchanges: 1 medium-fat meat, 4 vegetable.

See? Pretty easy. Let me know how it works for y'all and if you do anything to it!

Recipes: yes or no?

2010-03-23T10:34:00.005-05:00

Hello blog land. I would like your input. A few people have asked me to share some of the recipes I've cooked recently. I always cook from a recipe, but in the last few years, being a single working girl, I pretty much only made something more than pasta+spaghetti sauce on the once or twice a week occasions when Zach came over. Now that we're married, I make something probably 3 times a week. One of my favorite parts of having him around all the time is the chance to try recipes I've never made before--I have stacks of books and allrecipes.com at my fingertips, so it's been really fun!

My question for you is this: Would you guys like to see some of them? It seems like it's a newlywed trend to post recipes, and I haven't done it before simply because I didn't think there'd be an interest. I make what looks good to eat--to me--and stuff that's pretty healthy.... and most importantly, meals that are quick and easy. I'm not Rachel Ray by any means, and I don't have hours to make a meal most of the time! I tried to make a recipe of hers once and her 30-min dish took me 2 hours to prepare and make. I also haven't been all awesome photographer-y with the food. I make food and then take a pic with my point and shoot--just for posterity. :-) I could do better, I suppose... ;-)

If you don't want to see recipes, you can post that too. I know it's not something everyone likes. If you want me to e-mail you instead, tell me that! Just looking for input. :-) love y'all!

test

2010-03-11T15:21:00.007-06:00

Don't mind me! I'm revamping my blog and photos to look way better, thanks to my friend Faith's help! It's slow going, but I am excited about how things will look!

We've been BLOGGED!

2010-03-01T08:49:00.008-06:00

Photo courtesy our FABULOUS wedding photographer and friend Stacy Reeves

Dude. That's me, and Zach. At the Louvre in Paris on our honeymoon. It's surreal looking at the photos and realizing, hey, that's me! But yeah, I was there, I almost froze! :-)

Friday was an epic day on the interwebs for Zach and I. I have some links to share with y'all, if you haven't seen them already. First, I'll go with Style Me Pretty's post about us--thanks to Stacy submitting her photos!

Stacy posted lots of our photos on her blog as well. It was really cool to see them on her blog because proofs are tiny! ;-) HERE is the wedding, and HERE is the day after photos in Paris and Venice.

And then! The makers of my bolero, Bonzie and Ger, posted about us on their blog!

This is all probably overload, but I just wanted to share. :-) Have a great day!

New Chapter

2010-02-10T16:29:00.001-06:00

photo courtesy our fabulous wedding photog, Stacy Reeves.

Hey y'all.
Wow, I have really fallen off the blogging train! It's so cliche, but I got engaged and then all my spare internet time was sucked into wedding planning. 8 months of planning, 7 friend/family weddings, moving, lots of work assignments and more, we had a wonderful, joyful wedding. We had a fabulous honeymoon in some of the most romantic cities on earth in Europe, and now I'm settling into a new phase in life-- being a wife.

I have several photo posts I'd like to share... and I never did blog about England-- the last stop of our European adventure in freaking 2008. That's so sad! I really would like to catch up here and move forward with what's going on now. :-) Like... some photos from the wedding and honeymoon... and just life in general!

What does it mean to be a wife, in addition to working full-time and having a very busy life? Got any tips? I wonder what our life will be like these next few months. I am loving things so far. It's amazing to have Zach to come home to every day, and it's fun to just live out the mundane things together. I hope I'll become better at cooking and cleaning though! :-) Working on it! There's just not enough hours in the day.

I've missed blogging. So... here I am, back on the wagon--I hope. I might post with less photos in the future. Maybe that would take less time. :-) It's a February-resolution, i guess. :-)

What's been going on in your lives? Do share! Better yet-- blog. :-)

D-Jones needs your help!

2009-10-28T15:35:00.003-05:00

Hello all! I hope you are doing well.

My fiance Zach is vice president of a small company named D-Jones Tailored Collection. The owner, Drew Jones, has been nominated for a new entrepeneur of the year award, with a major cash prize for the winning company--but right now they need your help. Please take a few seconds and go HERE to vote for them, every day from now till November 6. It's a small thing, but it will really help!

Also, if you'd like to pass on this info via e-mail, twitter, linkedin, facebook, your own blog... for the next 10 days they need as many votes as possible to make it to the next round, where Drew will go to San Francisco November 18 to earn part of $100,000 in business grants. you can vote once from your computer and once from your smart phone per day.

Here's more info about the contest.

This is D-Jones Tailored Collection's home page.

Check out this video overview of D-Jones Tailored Collection, thanks to photographer Stacy Reeves.

Thanks so much,
Abby

Gruene love!

2009-09-15T20:57:00.016-05:00

A few weeks ago I got to shoot engagement photos for Chris and Christi. I've shot couples before, but not engagement photos, and the energy was amazing! These two had a great time laughing and hamming it up, and I have to say these photos are some of my favorites. What made it even sweeter is both their first date and the proposal happened right there in Gruene, so it was only fitting for them to have their engagement photos taken in the same location. Hope you enjoy, and congratulations to Chris and Christi! If you'd like to see the rest of their photos, check out my photo site.

ATTN: San Antonio photography clients

2009-08-16T14:06:00.003-05:00

Hello y'all! I'm headed to San Antonio the last weekend in August and I've got some openings if any of you are interested in having some portraits done! I can do family, pet, kids, engagement and bridal portraits. Check out my smugmug site to see my work!

I have times Saturday early evening and Sunday morning. E-mail me if you want to set something up!

abbyw06@gmail.com

SEE you at the wedding?

2009-07-27T08:53:00.005-05:00

Hey guys! I hate that I haven't posted in a long time, but work's kicking my butt and I've been doing a fitness bootcamp 3x a week- 6AM while training for a 10K 4x a week... and the weekends have been busy too. I miss blogging, a LOT. Last year at this time I was wandering around the Cinque Terre in Italy.... and here I am a year later with photos from London left to blog from that trip. It's my goal to get to that this week. :-)

Anyway, I read this blog post this morning from one of my favorite blogs A Practical Wedding. Here's a quote that stuck with me:

..."People keep saying things to us like, "I'll see you in two weeks, but I won't SEE you." or "You'll be too stressed to talk, but I'm excited to be there." or "I'll see you from afar, but you won't have a minute to talk," or, or, or.... and all I can think is if we don't get to hang out with people over the weekend of our wedding, if we don't have chats, if we don't have gossipy drinks, if we don't have teary hugs, and excited arm waving conversations, if we don't really SEE people, then... this is one over-priced party.

So, sanity check, my wedding graduates. I suspect that, if you put your mind to it, you will actually see people at your wedding, and actually enjoy time with them. It's like remembering your wedding... if you want to, you will..."

I think that is so great. Our guests are really important to us, and both Zach and I hope we'll get to visit with each and every one of you at our wedding!

Anyway, I've got a lot of deadlines today so I need to make this short, but I hope you all are doing well!

FINALLY

2009-06-30T11:15:00.001-05:00

Our wedding web site! Let me know what you think!

www.mywedding.com/abbyandzach

All the pretty people, down at El Cerrito Place...

2009-06-12T07:40:00.001-05:00

Hey y'all! I had a BLAST last weekend with Randi Beth in Los Angeles--my first time to really explore the City of Angels. I also got my wedding dress from a girl there and transported it home in my big suitcase. I have tons of photos, but Randi, being awesome with technology, made us a montage video! Check it out at her blog HERE and let me know what you think!

Bachelorette time!

2009-06-03T09:18:00.004-05:00

I know I swore I was done with the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows after Jason was so mean to Melissa last season, but... of course, I'm watching again. Never seen the Bachelorette before, and it's definitely a little bit different! The point of this post is to funnel any bachelor/bachelorette fans/haters to the greatest recap blog ever- I Hate Green Beans. It makes me laugh OUT LOUD every tuesday after the show. THIS is the reason I watch the show. Check it out!

Also check out the host of the show's blog. He's hilarious and has some great behind the scenes stuff. And if you are behind on the show-- go to ABC.com to catch up--you're only three episodes behind, even though they are 2 hours long. sheesh. Enjoy!

Lake Como

2009-06-02T07:34:00.001-05:00

I've had this entry's photos stored for a couple months, but every time I get ready to write the text I don't have my journal or guidebook to fill in the details! Now that Zach and I are actually considering going to Lake Como/Florence again for our *honeymoon*... I wanted to revisit! Hope you'll enjoy!

After saying goodbye at Jonathan and David very early at the train station in Milan, Zach and I took the metro to the Central station and boarded a train to Varenna on Lake Como! We arrived at 9:15 AM, giving us plenty of time to spend on the lake. It was nice and cool outside, which was a really nice change from the heat we'd been traveling through all trip.
We dropped off our bags at the gorgeous hotel- Villa Cipressi- and walked down to the middle of town for some breakfast beside the lake at a cafe.
We had a great breakfast on the lake at the Nilus bar: fruit salad, brioches and cappuccinos. We enjoyed watching the ducklings and swans on the shore and the view!

Cute little yorkie at the cafe!

After a leisurely breakfast, we walked along the romantic promenade beside the lake to the end of town and boarded a boat to explore the other cities on the lake. A big contrast from Milan's business atmosphere and the touristy spots, everyone was just relaxed and happy. We headed over to Bellagio across the lake.

In Bellagio, we walked around the shops, had some coffee and walked through the gardens of the Villa Metzi Gardens. Apparently it was assembled by the vice-president of Napoleon's Italian Republic in the 1800s. The following photos are from the gardens, where we spent a few hours exploring.

We sat at this Gazebo for a while, just enjoying the view.

gorgeous flowers!!

Of course, Zach made friends with the Italian squirrels.

After spending a while in the gardens, we boarded the boat and cruised around to look at the other towns along Lake Como. We realized we were exhausted, so we just stayed on the boat and enjoyed the breeze. :-)

We went back to the hotel and tried to take a nap, but discovered that our beautiful villa had no air conditioning. And it was now very hot. Opening the window opened it up to the busy street below with people across the street calling to each other out their windows and cars driving by.

Later that evening, we went back out on the town for dinner. We ended up at the same place as breakfast! I had fragiolo rosso- strawberry wine and sangria. we shared cold ham with cheese from the region. It was so delicious! I also had fettucine crepes that were kind of weird. Zach had salmon crepes. We shared tirimisu. Sidenote-- i'm so glad I wrote all this down in my journal cause there's no way I would have remembered all the meals we had! :-)

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and took care of some stuff on the internet and connected with my friend Stephanie Lee who we were staying with at our next destination: LONDON. Sleeping in that room was a bit tough, but zach got us a fan. My main memory from that hotel is how hot it was, even though it was beautiful. :-(

July 31 we woke up at 6am, packed our bags and got breakfast at our villa. It was THE best breakfast we had on this trip--and it was included. Check out the view we had!

We took the train back to Milan's central station and took a taxi to Livate Airport. We got there 2 1/2 hours early, and that was a good thing because that airport was so disorganized! Looking back, I think this is a trend with Italian airports. Just a bit different! Here's the view of the mountains beside Lake Como.

Next post about our trip, I'll talk about London and possibly Bath--and then we headed home! Hard to believe it's been almost a year since we went there!

READERS: lend me your opinions!

2009-05-27T12:05:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! Faith has been bugging me to post and I do apologize for my negligence. I have been tied up a bit. This is just a quick post, but I would love some feedback from you guys. So far this blog has been about what's going on in my life--illustrated with photo of course, blogging about my Europe trip(I really do have 2 last entries of photos waiting for text--getting to it soon!) and photos from my photo shoots. Since wedding things are a huge part of my life right now, what would you like to see relating to that? It can be bullet points on the decisions we've made or are working on(photos too), links to cool stuff, short entries just talking about life... pics turned into LOLcats... or wait, that's the wrong blog here. Long story short, I want to know what you'd like to see. You can look at the links to the right on http://throughabbyslens.blogspot.com to see some cool wedding blogs.

Anyway, that's all I have time for for now. Deadline looming. :-) yay!

It's a love story, baby just say YES

2009-05-08T07:28:00.000-05:00

This is an exciting post for me to write. Many of you who read my blog know the story of Zach and I. We first met 8 years ago at a homeschooling bookfair in Houston-- both our parents own homeschooling supply companies, and we met while we were working for our parents. I was 16--he was 19 and a college soccer star/ smoking hot model. His cousin Jonathan was also there. I made Zach sign his model card for me because I knew he'd be something great one day.

We exchanged contact info and kept in touch for the next few years. His brother, sister and cousin went to A&M and I hung out with Zach there once. I worked at the State Fair of Texas in 2005 and called him up on a whim. We hung out and saw Gary Allan together. Though I didn't know it, he was attracted to me! This amazingly hot and cultured guy! Fast forward to January 2007. I moved to DFW for my new job right out of college and I knew 4 people in the area. So I texted all of them. Zach was one, and he called me up to hang out. I was super excited! First time we hung out was supposed to have been going swing dancing with Jashley and Grant

but everything iced over. Zach and I hung out despite the weather, and we were steady companions for about a month before he confessed his feelings to me February 19, 2007.

I could write a book about how much our love has grown since then, but I'll spare you. :-) Fast forward to May 2, 2009. My birthday was just a few days before and Zach's is May 4, so his family held a joint birthday party. I guess you'll have to talk to him to get his side of the story, but 20 of his family and our friends gathered that evening and I was the only one in the dark about the REAL reason for the party. Here is some of the decor, food and cake Zach's sweet mom Sharon set up for us.

Here we are! I'm wearing the new top Sharon gave me for my birthday with jewelry from Zach.

After eating, it was time for gifts. I was terror-stricken because I'd been practicing a song on the piano to play for zach for off and on-- more than a year. Sadly. Prayer for Taylor by Michael W. Smith is his favorite song and it's kind of hard to play! I was so worried about that, but it went all right. :-) Next was gifts. Here I'm opening the purse to go with my outfit and jewelry! :-)

Zach went to open his last gift supposedly from his cousin Jonathan...

"Jonathan's" gift to Zach was a stack of magazines, followed by a box wrapped in newspaper. He unwrapped it and it was a James Avery box. Any Texas girl raised right knows the James Avery symbol on their little boxes-- high quality sterling silver charms for bracelets and affordable jewelry for guys and girls. Since I myself had just received some james avery earrings from my brothers 5 minutes before, I thought to myself, "well maybe Jonathan got him one of those rings we saw the other day..."

Zach fished out of the jewelry bag a very not-James Avery ring... it was all sparkly... definitely not something he'd want! He said "I believe this is for you..." and held it out to me. I froze and started shaking/crying all at once because I knew what that was! He got down on one knee and in front of everyone asked me "Will you marry me?" What do you think I said?

Amid tears I did say yes. :-) And I was shaking for a good while.

Everyone there has been with us for the long haul and they were all waiting for this day as much(maybe more!) than me. :-)

It's still a little surreal that I get to marry my best friend!

We celebrated with our special birthday glasses and a wine made just for us... or so it seems. I'm so glad someone made this brand of wine!

Ok, on to the sparkly details, since if you're like me, you live for this stuff. :-)

Zacharoo designed this ring himself and went through Bova Diamonds, a company based out of Israel... hello! I love Israel! I feel like because my mom's family is Jewish and my first time out of the country was to Israel--this makes the ring EXTRA special.

The main stone is from Baseball Diamonds and it's a stunning and unusual pear shape. It's ringed and accented by a host of pave diamonds. All of which serves to make my ring a vintage-looking and unique part of me! ps- that is alfred's foot and pierre in the next pic. sorry. The cat's are enthralled with shiny things. sigh.

Thank you to all of you who have supported us both throughout our relationship. I hope this fills in the blanks if anyone was wondering the story! We've set the date for 1.10.10 if we find a venue available then. We're close to booking one... I'll keep you posted if you want!

Gruene acres...

2009-04-28T20:51:00.017-05:00

This past weekend I got the chance to take even more photos in Gruene with Zack, the senior you met a few weeks ago here. We went down to the river and went deeper into the area. I think we got some great photos! To see the rest of the photos, go to http://abigailelizebeth.smugmug.com and click on Zack's Seniors 2.

Officially a Texan

2009-04-26T12:50:00.000-05:00

I was born and raised in the great state of Texas, but I've never been lucky enough to take photos in a field of our state flower. Seems like I've been missing out! This year, Zach and I went out to a park near his house to take some pics in the bluebonnets! His parents Sharon and Dean were so nice to take them for us! Check it out! I love them!

I just had to take a photo of our photographers. :-) Aren't they precious?

Bluebonnet Baby

2009-04-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've fallen in love with little Cade. My old equestrian teammate Courtney brought him for portraits last fall and we had a blast! She was so pleased with the photos she booked me for his one-year portraits way back then! For this shoot, we went back to Trinity Park in Fort Worth, but we went to a different section. I had hoped for bluebonnets for our session in the park, but we didn't find any. Luckily I found some right by my work, so we snapped some shots there as well. Check it out! I'm really happy with how they all turned out and here are some of my favorites. Thanks Courtney and Cade for being so fun! The rest of the photos are at my photo site: http://abigailelizabeth.smugmug.com

witwww??

2009-04-06T07:21:00.001-05:00

I just found this post saved away in my list of potential posts. Got some random internet fun for ya!

Pride and prejudice filming locations

I really wish I had seen this site before we went to England last year. :-( I've put them on my must-see places for next time.

City scapes

This is San Francisco made out of cookware! More at this site.

Pandora.com is an amazing invention! Zach's sister Autumn introduced it to me and it's wonderful! Log on to this free site and you can create your own streaming radio station by using an artist or a song you like and it'll tailor-make a channel based on that song or artist. It's a great way to find new music or listen to songs you don't have on your iTunes. Even better, it's a free application for your iPhone... so I can listen to my stations or make new ones on my phone. I can even plug in my phone to my car and listen to Pandora! Zach and I love to listen on long trips. Check it out!

I saved the very best for last. You have probably seen the baby got back wedding dance, but this one is even better, I think! Absolutely adorable. It's like 6 minutes long, but stick it out the first minute and then it gets really good. Whatcha think?

Evolution Of The Wedding Dance - Watch more Funny Videos

Zack goes Gruene

2009-04-03T07:37:00.015-05:00

I've done a couple of photo shoots in Gruene and New Braunfels, Texas, in the past few months. I did a senior portrait session last week in Gruene, but this time we used the town itself for the location. I was so excited to experiment with all the interesting backgrounds and we spent an hour walking around the town and by the river to get his portraits. Even better, Zack brought his dog Taz! I love to bring animals into portraits, so I was thrilled. We had a great time despite the cold. Check out some of Zack's best senior portraits. To see the rest, head over to my photo site: http://abigailelizabeth.smugmug.com.

Valentimes!

2009-03-14T20:49:00.000-05:00

Man! It's been a long time! Work took over my life for the past 6 weeks or so, and spent about half of the last month on various trips for work or at home. I'm glad to be back to semi-normal. :-)

Valentine's weekend was amazing! I've had very few special V-days, and Zach definitely went all out for us! We headed to Arkansas for several reasons-- our first being a day of rest and relaxation--just the two of us. Here's a photo of our luggage-- we packed light. ;-)

Maybe I was delirious with sleep in the early morning, but I thought this 18-wheeler was going to hit us! Luckily it was just being towed in reverse.

We had left Texas at about 5 AM and arrived in Hot Springs, Arkansas, at around 10. We headed over to the historic bathhouse row for our mineral baths and massages. This old building was right next to bathhouse row and I thought it was really pretty.

Here we are at the bathhouse! For around $60 each, we got pampered! I got a whirlpool bath and loofah scrub, time in a sauna, a sitz bath, wrapped head to toe in hot towels, a shower and a massage. It was total heaven!

Zach wanted to sample the historic mineral water fountain. Our whole experience made me understand the appeal for all those bath houses I've seen ruins for-- especially the one in Bath, England, which is another mineral spring-fed town.

Zach said when presidents travel through Hot Springs, this hotel is where they stay. It's pretty magnificent!

We went to lunch at a delicious Italian restaurant and then climbed to the top of a nearby hill to look out over the city. It was really beautiful!

We drove on to Clarksville that afternoon and met up with Zach's professor friend Dr. Strain. We went to a Swiss winery called Weidekers, where we had some Old World food and really good wine. So much fun!
The next day was Friday. Zach went and worked at his alma mater, The University of the Ozarks, measuring for and selling suits to some of the professors and students. I had the luxury of reading my book on campus. It was nice to take a mental break from work and just hang out. Later that evening we went out to eat with Zach's friend Marcos and his family. Here is Marcos' son Marcos. :-) He's a handfull and already doing soccer tricks at age 3.
The boys played a high-energy game of hide-and-go-seek while Marcos' wife Crystal and i laughed our heads off.

Marcos loves Zach!

Where did he go Marcos?

Cavan is like a little cabbage patch baby, here with his mama Crystal.

Daddy Marcos was inducted into the University of the Ozarks Sports Hall of Fame on Valentine's day. Here he is accepting his honor.... Marcos jr. wanted to be a part of it too. :-)
Several of the Hall Of Fame members made an appearance at the U of O basketball game.
Pretty cool to know such a talented athlete! He's good friends with Zach and they played soccer together.

After the basketball game, we drove all the way back to DFW. I had a great v-day weekend. Thanks Zach!

Get suited up right

2009-03-01T09:35:00.002-06:00

I'm so excited about today's post. My boyfriend Zach Boatwright sells custom-tailored suits with his business partner Drew Jones for their company DJones Tailored Collection. They've had an awesome Web site for a little more than a year, but they've recently updated it completely. Now you can learn everything you need to know to purchase a suit from them after perusing their site. Check it out and please pass it on if you know of anyone in need of an affordable well-fitted suit.

www.djonescollection.com

Bachelor recap GREATNESS

2009-02-17T15:06:00.005-06:00

Just a quick post, because I am under a mountain of work, but if you have ever watched a season of the Bachelor, especially the current one, check out this BLOG. It's even better if you think the bachelor is stupid because it makes fun of the madness. It's a recap of the Bachelor only much, much funnier than the actual show. The writer had me laughing till I cried-- especially a few episodes back. Let me know what you think?

ps: I'm rooting for Melissa.

Pierre the lolcat

2009-01-28T10:22:00.001-06:00

moar funny pictures

Cleaning tips-got any?

2009-01-28T07:35:00.004-06:00

I'm currently iced in to my apartment. I awoke to a temperature of 19 degrees(unheard of in this part of texas) and the precipitation during the last few days settled into ice. YAY! I'm going to work a little later. Last night I tried to clean my bathroom with baking powder+ water, sponges and a toothbrush on the grout. I'm pretty good at getting the rest of the house sparkling, and I'm OK at getting the bathroom clean, but I have this fear about chemical interactions in the bathroom. I don't know what to use to clean, and the stuff I do use doesn't seem to work. Plus I've got a giant garden tub so it's hard to scrub and rinse.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure some of you are a lot smarter about cleaning than me, and some know a lot about being green(Our Green Nest). I'm appealing to any of you with a tip or two. Please share what techniques you've got to make your bathrooms look good!

Meet the Stewardsons

2009-01-25T14:00:00.018-06:00

Welcome to part two of my photo shoot in San Antonio early in January. The Stewardsons are also friends of my cousin Renee. Robin, Rod, Rachel and Tyler were a fun family! They also included their two sweet dogs. We took some photos in their front yard and also in a nearby park--the same one where I took Renee's photos! Again, different lighting achieved a totally different result! The Stewardsons requested more black and white photos, so I've included some of those here.

The Stewardsons were up for whatever I asked them to do--including staging a race!

It's impossible to get a sweet photo when you've got two boys on swings. High-jinks are bound to occur!

That's more like it!

I love the brown outfits the family chose. It worked so well with the woodsy decor.

Thanks again for a fun photo shoot!

Jordan's Seniors

2009-01-25T13:58:00.001-06:00

One of the first weekends in January I went to San Antonio. I was able to schedule two photo shoots for a Saturday morning--both friends of my cousin Renee. The day dawned COLD and WINDY--quite unexpected. But it was cloudy early on, which was perfect for Jordan's photos. He requested some black-and-white photos, and I was only too happy to oblige. I haven't done too many senior portraits, so I was happy to expand that part of my experience. We went to Landa Park, which was where Juliet's photos were taken, but the lighting lended a totally different effect. I did most of the following photos in black and white, but I've posted some with different effects for variety. Check out some of the best ones. :-)

Milano

2009-01-25T10:05:00.000-06:00

Bet you guys thought my trip ended in Florence, since my last post about our Europe trip was months ago! Nope nope! Good thing I wrote about everything in my damask journal-- I have already forgotten some of the details!

After saying good-bye to Stine and Massimo in Fiesole, my brothers, Zach and I shopped a bit in Florence before heading to the train station so we could travel to Milan. By this point, we were all exhausted. I was still getting over being sick, and Zach and I had been traveling for 12 days nonstop. I went to grab a book from the book store and I returned to find my sweet man guarding my stuff while he caught a quick nap.

Milan's train station architecture was really interesting to me. I read that it was built under Mussolini's reign and it's kind of a fascist look. I think it looks like a big hangar or something.Upon arrival, we took the Metro to a stop beside Milan's Duomo near our hotel. I loved Milan way more than I thought I would. By this point, we had become accustomed to navigating around confusing cities, but Milan's layout and public transit were so metropolitan. You could compare it to Paris, London, NYC, etc. It was very easy to figure out--a nice change from the eccentric Italian transit systems. :-)

I was desperate to check out the Duomo--I'd heard the architecture was like none other. I LOVE gothic buildings, and this was supposed to be Gothic to the extreme. I also was anxious to get there while the afternoon light was shining. We were carrying our lives on our backs, so we needed to drop off our stuff at our not--too--distant hotel. We walked through a much more business-like city than I'd seen anywhere else in Italy. Everyone was in sexy Italian suits. Zach was in heaven. I rushed us on to go back to see the Duomo and take a quick photo before the light was all gone.
Image captured, the next thing on the agenda was FOOD. I hadn't eaten much at all all day, so I was famished. We saw a advertisement for Chinese food with an arrow pointing down a street, so we decided to go there. As much as I love Italian(it's my favorite cuisine by far) I'd had quite a lot of it by then, and I welcomed the thought of something different. The city is laid out nicely, but advertisements were not, and we wandered around for a long time looking for that restaurant before collapsing into an Irish publike restaurant. Sadly, I ordered spaghetti again. However, Zach ordered this sausage meal that looks just like--- well, you judge for yourself.

Zach was really hungry, otherwise he probably wouldn't have eaten that after I told him I thought it looked like a big turd. :-D

After dinner we headed back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep. Here's where we stayed! It was a really cute hotel.

The next day we got up really early to try to see "The Last Supper" painting. We weren't sure when we'd be able to go, if at all, so we didn't take our guidebook's advice and book a viewing months in advance. We'd gotten in to the Accademia Museum in Florence without too much of a wait, so we figured we'd try anyway. Thanks to The Da Vinci Code movie, the church where it was located--Santa Maria delle Grazie--had mandatory reservation requirements. There was one ticket available, but there were 4 of us so we passed. I did like the fence around the church!

We set out for a sight I really wanted to see: a replica of Leonardo Da Vinci's horse. It was near the Milan soccer stadium, so I was able to easily convince everyone to go. :-) We took a trolley(so fun :-)) and stopped by the stadium. The futbol boys wanted a photo.

Walking from the stadium to the horse, we passed this cute house with crawling vines all over it.

We passed the trotting track too. I saw my very first trotting track in Saratoga earlier in 2008, so I was excited to see one again,

There were even some horses getting worked! Italian trotters look the same as the ones I saw in New York.

Next was the regular racetrack.

And finally we arrived at the horse, after much direction-asking by myself to police officers and passers-by. I asked in Italian, but even then, I didn't understand their answers and this exhibit was really obscure. If you ask me, there should have been signs EVERYWHERE, but maybe I just got a little excited about it. :-)

Leonardo's Horse is the largest equestrian monument in the world right now. According to Rick Steves' guidebook, it's a modern reconstruction of a model created in 1482 by Da Vinci for the Sforza family(the local rich family). The model was destroyed in 1499 by French soldiers who used it for target practice. In 1999 an American art collector named Charled Dent decided to build a replica based on Da Vinci's designs to present to Italy as thanks for the Renaissance. The statue weighs 15 tons and is 24 feet long. Check out how little Jon and I are in this photo!

I've grown up looking at art of horses in this style and I was totally fascinated. it was SO beautiful and huge!

Ok, moving on. :-) We headed back to the hub of our Milan stay--the Duomo. Now we got to explore!

The inside was awesome, like I expected. This is the fourth-largest church in Europe. Love the ceilings. I'm going to confess I think I love this style because i was wayy influenced by the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. Just sayin! But at the same time, I could also compare it to Lord of the Rings because it was so massive and it had tree-like columns throughout.

The interior had stained glass windows all along the back illustrating many of the stories of the Bible. The guidebook says their purpose was to teach the illiterate masses the way to Salvation. What a great way to learn!

After perusing the HUGE interior, we stopped by a nearby trendy restaurant/bookstore/electronics store to eat some lunch. It was just to the right of the Duomo in the Piazza del Duomo. Then we walked around the exterior of the amazing church and looked at the hundreds of statues embedded in the pink marble facade of the church. Next, we ascended to the top of the church and it was glorious! You could walk among the forest of spires and see all of Milan. I'd broken my point and shoot camera and my 30D camera battery began to die so I was sad, but I still managed to get some great images. This was another one of the highlights of my entire trip.We didn't stay up there too long because it was boiling hot, but it was beautiful. We headed to the left side of the piazza to the famous Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle--a shopping arcade built in 1870, the first building in Milan to have electric lights. We perused the expensive shopping areas for a while, but we made purchases at affordable H&M. I love the H&M clothing in Milan--more than any of the other branches! They had other stores I loved too--like Promod.On the floor in the Galleria, there are symbols in the mosaic representing Italy as an independent country-- all the regions as one-which was what Vittorio Emmanuelle did during his reign. In this photo I'm standing on the symbol representing Torino, a bull. Lots of people did this and it looked really funny. I'm standing where the bulls "balls" are with my heel. You are supposed to turn around on your heel for good luck. :-) It's worn down cause so many people have done it!

Behind that side of the Galleria was another little square. I thought this scene was interesting-- a giant sculpture spelling "amor" among all these amorous couples. Even old people! It's so Italy. :-)

Of course, Zach and I had to get a picture with it. :-)

After shopping for a while, we were exhausted, so we started looking for a nearby place to eat. We decided on a restaurant called Ristorante Belvedere. I ended up eating my favorite dish from the entire trip there-- I had spaghetti with clams and olive oil. We all had a great time at our last meal together in Italy.

When we got back, I took this photo with my brothers--with my camera that Zach fixed!. All of us are wearing clothes we got in either Florence or Milan.

The next day, we packed up and took the metro to the train station to say goodbye to Jonathan and David. They took a flight home. Zach and I headed to a different train station to go relax in Lake Como. I'll save that tale for another post! Thanks for sticking with me through this one!

The Ramirez family dogpile

2009-01-24T18:37:00.000-06:00

Christmas weekend I spent in San Antonio with my family. One of the days I got to take my cousin Renee's family portraits with her husband Reuben, his son Reuben Jr. and their boys Isaac, Nathan and Aren. And their two pugs Sadie and Charlie. We staged our photos on a beautiful day in a park in Cibolo not far from where they live. Renee is so beautiful, and the boys of the family made my photographs pop with their antics. Hope you enjoy a few of my favorites!

Aren the monkey

Isaac's got a great smile.

Portrait with the dogs!

My favorite group photo of the day

They're not related. :-)

Cutie boy always posing for the camera.

I decided to go for some action shots so I had the guys throw the football around. Nathan was super serious.

Trying hard

Isaac is a pro

Renee suggested a dog pile. Brilliant! I LOVE this photo.

Success!

The inspiration for the dogpile-- adorable PUGS! Their fur looks awesome with this filter, I think.

Let it rein

2009-01-17T17:23:00.012-06:00

I've been spending this weekend catching up on photo editing, and I figured it's about time for me to share some photos from the NRHA Futurity! I was there to work the APHA booth, as I wrote about here. I also had some friends show, so I was excited to be able to take photos of them in my off time. Here are a few of my favorites.

Quincy Allen

Katie Cahill

Fred Thomsson

Clayton Eggers

What do you think? I love to take photos of horses. I guess that's a good thing, since I spend a lot of time doing it for work! Reining is my favorite event to ride in and to watch-- and especially take photos.

I've got more photos to work on, so I'll let you go. Look for some family portraits and senior portraits soon!

Honestly, Abby

2009-01-07T23:07:00.001-06:00

This post has been taking me a long time to finish! I've been nominated by my friend Katie to receive the Honest Scrap blogger award! Basically, I have to tell you "10 honest things about me that you possibly do not know." A lot of you know me very well, so we'll see how this goes. Check the end of the post to see if I tagged you for the award too!

1. I wish I'd given campus tours at A&M. Maybe it's because I'm a tradition freak and I love to know and share trivia, but this is one regret I have from my college years. I think it would have been fun to walk backwards, telling potential Aggies all about the school I love. I also wish I'd written for the Battalion school newspaper.

2. I was a voracious reader as a child. Before the 8th grade, I read every book in my mom's library and my own bookshelves at least once. Sometimes more than that. And many of the (grown-up)fictional books at the church library. My brother David thinks I read faster than anyone he knows. I don't know about that, but I do read pretty fast! I still love to read, even more now that I have time after college. I've always been the kid completely content with a book and even today, if I have a book, I'm not bored. Also tied to this-- I've read several horse magazines consistently every month since age 8. Thanks Mom!

3. I have a very real fear of becoming a cat lady someday. I have always had cats with great personalities, and right now I've got two that are like people. I talk to them like they are human all the time, just like my other cats in the past. They're like my 2 roommates. I didn't even notice this was out of the ordinary until friends pointed it out! For now, it's all ok, but I do fear becoming that single elderly lady with a lot of cats and no other friends.

4. Frizzy hair is my mortal enemy. I've finally made peace with my long, very curly hair, but I've spent more than a decade battling the dreaded FRIZZ. Curly girls know it's the downside to what many people think are beautiful curls. Through trial and lots of error, I think I finally have it figured out, but nothing makes my day worse than ending up with frizz before i have to go out the door. That's when it all goes into a bun. Take that!

5. I would love to visit Israel again and stay for a while. I don't have a scanner, or I'd post my favorite pic from Israel. Just picture me on a camel on the Mount of Olives. This is also a pic of Jerusalem. Visiting Israel in 2004 was life-changing for me, and it sparked a passion to travel internationally. My grandma and I spent 15 days touring this amazing country and I really want to go back. I know things are dangerous there right now, but I do hope to visit again.

6. I took piano lessons for 12 years and have a piano in my apartment. Katie and I both took piano lessons at one time from Mrs. MacReynolds. I tried a lot of things as a young girl: ballet, gymnastics, etc. I finally narrowed down the classes I most enjoyed to horsebackriding and pianos. After graduating high school, I quit taking piano and (obviously ;-)) kept up riding. I played piano off and on for fun throughout college and after moving to Fort Worth, my grandma gave me the piano from her house. Yay! I don't know many people my age who have an upright piano in their 2nd floor apartment--aside from actual musicians and piano teachers. I'm so blessed to have it. I don't play enough and I don't play all that well, but I enjoy playing for myself and I know enough theory to learn songs I think are pretty.

7. I have never broken a bone. Knock on wood, but I've never worn a cast or walked using crutches. I'm past the age where it was a badge of honor, so hopefully I can keep up my record.

8. I'm distantly related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Referring back to #2, I read the entire Little House series literally at least 12 times growing up. When my Papa Wilder told me as a child that Almanzo Wilder was in our family tree, I was so excited. My hero was in my family! I wanted to BE Laura Ingalls. I had the high top boots and all I wanted was a gingham pinafore and a bonnet. I did my hair in braids and I watched the TV show religiously. Hey, it was educational!

9. I was homeschooled all the way from kindergarten to high school graduation. A lot of you probably know this, and if you didn't well, my bonnet photo probably gave that one away. :-) My mom started Drills, Skills & More when I was really young and we traveled to homeschooling bookfairs selling her products all over the country every summer during that time. Because I was homeschooled, I was able to ride my horse with my trainer and compete more. I really think this helped me get on the Equestrian team at A&M. I had tons of friends, was really active in my church youth group, went to two proms and graduated with a group. I didn't have any academic or social adjustment issues in college and had a great time... eventually getting a good job right out of school. :-) There, I think I answered all the FAQ. :-) It's definitely not for everyone and at times I did wish I had gone to school, but once I got to A&M I didn't mind at all. A fellow homeschooler Stepha nie was actually my first roommate at A&M and she did well too!

10. I was a lifeguard and swim instructor for two years and I can't swim freestyle to save my life. It wasn't my idea to become a lifeguard. I'd intended to work the snack bar at the tennis club. But they needed lifeguards, so I signed up to get certified. I barely. Barely passed the swimming part. I can swim like a frog awesome, and breaststroke--I'm on it. Freestyle is the death of me. But I passed everything else with flying colors. Then my future boss required all of us lifeguards to get swim instructor certified. MORE swimming laps and that class was much harder! I eventually passed that too, but I really can't get the hang of freestyle. Or butterfly(as the michael phelps photo shows) for that matter. Sigh. Maybe it'll be like running and I'll eventually figure it out. :-)

This was really hard but fun! I tag Jashley, Alisha, Faith and Megan. I'm interested to see what y'all have to say!

New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-30T13:00:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how quickly 2008 just flew by. This blog hasn't been around the entire year, but it's slowly turning into what I'd like it to be. :-) Photos and all. If you've got any suggestions for how I can make it better, share away!

While now is a time for reflection, it's also the perfect opportunity to set the good ol' New Year's resolutions. I did pretty good with most my resolutions this past year. I worked out fairly regularly, at least once a week or more. I ran a 5K race in November, which wasn't a goal January 1st, but I did buy a pair of running shoes on New Year's day to start the process of running a mile. I rode my horse at least once a week, excluding the time I was in Europe and the first several weeks he'd foundered. I improved a LOT in photography. I still have a long, long ways to go, but I'm slowly able to turn out photos like I imagine in my head. I hit all of my personal work goals for the past year. I didn't get any better with thank-you cards, but I sent out 70 Christmas cards and have gone digital with all of my addresses- thank you iPhone and Mac Book Pro. :-)

I most definitely have things I need to work on! Here they are.

Resolutions 2009

1. Commit to reading a daily devotional.

This post on Stuff Christian's Like makes me laugh, but it's true. :-) I am excited to have found my old favorite Daily Bread where I can order it online HERE. Free! I used to get them at Wayside and I can't find them up here, so now I can start going through them again. Along with that, I want to spend more time in prayer.

2. Live "greener."

Don't laugh, but I watched Wall-E not too long ago and it really made me want to start recycling. It's the least I can do! My apartment complex is starting a recycling program in January, and they claim they'll be trying to be greener. Yay! I bought some cloth grocery bags from H-E-B in San Antonio to carry my groceries here--while representing my fave grocery store. :-) That's a start... I'm sure I'll do more as I do more research.

3. Improve work performance.

These are goals I've set that I hope to achieve this year and you'd probably think they were boring. :-)

4. Work out at least 4 times a week.

Cardio activity is set in my life after this past year. I'm pretty regular about doing cardio on machines or running, but I could go more. I average 2-3 workouts a week. But here's the kicker: I have got to start lifting weights again! My whole mindset changed from college. In college I hated cardio with a passion but I loved lifting weights. Now, cardio takes less thought and I don't have to wait for the weights/machines. I have to figure out how I can get in at least 4 days of weights *and* cardio. It'd be better if I did more cardio, but this is a start.

5. Run a 5K and a 10K.

I enjoyed the last race so much that I really want to do more, and push myself to double the distance to 6+ miles this year.

6. Be better with written correspondence.

I am still the worst at thank-you letters and cards of any kind. These days I'm good about purchasing the cards, but they sit on my desk... defeating the whole purpose. sigh. I have no excuse. I've got stamps and I've got the addresses.

7. Keep better track of my finances.

Last year I gave myself a really severe budget so I could save enough money to go to Europe. And I was miserable and worrying all the time. I'm going to go back to being really careful again, because the money situation is not getting any better this year, but I would still like to save as much as possible. I'm lazy, so I decided to use the free Mint.com to track my input and spending. I signed up yesterday and it's amazing-- SO much less work than my failed attempt at Quickbooks several years ago. There's also an app for my iPhone. Score!

8. Ride Willy at least once a week.

This was a resolution last year, and I plan to keep it. I rode him yesterday at a lope for the first time in 5 months and it was glorious. He's finally better! YAY! He was sooo good.

9. Blog once a week or more.

I've been all right at this, but I really want to post more. I keep thinking it needs to be some long entry, and I know that's not true! What do y'all think?

I think that about covers it for now! I have more goals, but this is a good start. :-) What are your new year's resolutions?

Welch family portraits

2008-12-29T21:41:00.019-06:00

I was able to take photos of my beautiful, longtime friend Juliet with her husband Adam and their two beautiful babies Tyler and Isabella over Thanksgiving. It was such a pleasure, and the fall scenery was beautiful at Landa Park in New Braunfels. I just want to share a few of my favorite photos from our shoot. It was hard to pick! What do you think?

This one is my favorite!

Detachment

2008-12-24T09:38:00.003-06:00

Life is ironic sometimes. Remember my post about my new iPhone? Three days later, while taking down the APHA booth at the NRHA futurity, someone stole my phone. Right off the table. I was SO sad. I'd just gotten acquainted with it and it was gone! I realized just how much I depend on a phone--any phone, not just an iPhone. I've lost my phone before, and I don't have a landline so I was pretty up the creek. Thanks to other technology like Skype, I wasn't too bad off with my iPhone stolen and I had actually packed my old phone by accident, so I was able to use it the next day. It just made me so sad that someone would steal a phone from a horse association at a horse show. I convinced myself a horse person didn't do it though.

I never did find my phone, and just an FYI: if anything happens to your iPhone, Apple and AT&T can't do anything for you. No insurance. My credit card insurance DID cover the phone though, so with a lot of begging to Apple and AT&T I was able to get another at the same price. I don't think that will happen again, so my little phone is bubble wrapped and even more chained to me now.

The more I have this phone, the more I know I'll be addicted to it. Worse than my old phone! It was definitely a wake-up call to have it stolen though.

Also while in OKC the same night, I had some kind of allergic reaction. My eyes got all swollen(probably from crying over the dumb phone initially) and it never went away. I went to the doctor and she prescribed some steroid pills and allergy medicine, and I went on my way. My eyes got a little better and I laid off the eye make up for a few days. This past weekend though, I woke up on Sunday to eyes that looked like Hitch after he ate shellfish.

I'm not joking. I won't post the pic because it's so sad, but I freaked out! I had to be around people all day! I had a meltdown, poor Zach tried to make me feel better. I put on some makeup and thought i looked ok... till I looked in a mirror later and discovered a new principle: makeup sets on swollen eyes with bags under them to form WRINKLES. I looked like I had the eyes of someone decades older than me. I took benadryl, went to the doctor this week and got some more medicine, but I've been without makeup on my eyes this week.

This is something new I've discovered about myself. More than anything like my phone, I'm attached to wearing makeup... I have a complex I didn't even know about! I'm, pretty OK with my looks, but one thing I really take well, pride in, is making my eyes look nice with makeup. Waking up every morning with ultra-aged, puffy eyes this past week has been REALLY hard to deal with. I think maybe God wants me to realize I worry too much about how I look. It's something I do without thinking about--making sure I look presentable, but when one big aspect is taken away, I've had a really hard time. This is such a tiny thing in the scheme of what's going on in life right now that I just really needed to put things in perspective.

All that said, I'm wearing some makeup later today and I am STOKED. :-) Merry Christmas to me! And Merry Christmas to you all!

My name is Abby, and I love Jane Austen movies.

2008-12-19T09:56:00.008-06:00

It's not news that Pride and Prejudice-2005 is my favorite movie of all time. I can't even count how many times I've seen it, listened to the soundtrack and imagined myself in this movie. :-) The book is amazing as well, and we can't forget about the BBC mini-series, but this one takes the cake.

Growing up, I liked watching movies like Sense & Sensibility and Emma, but not as much as other movies. I watched Emma not too long ago and realized how great it is. :-)

Last year Zach gave me the complete collection of Jane Austen novels for Christmas. I've been slowly reading through them. I love to read the books and watch the movies right before or after. This summer I read Northanger Abbey right after visiting Bath in England-- where most of Jane Austen's characters visit at some point or another. It was such a fun read. My friend Alicia is a fellow Jane Austen fan and she has most of the movies in her collection. She brought over the movie. I loved it!

Zach is also a fan of these "period pieces" and he owns Sense & Sensibility(I think it's actually his mom's :-)) so we watched it too.

More recently, Alicia brought over Persuasion... I like it a lot too! Jane Austen books/movies just kind of seem to grow on me. You really have to pay attention, but it's the little things that make them so great. I'm pretty sure one of the best love letters ever written is contained in Persuasion.

Anyone else enjoy Jane Austen's works? Surely I am not alone! :-)

witwww?

2008-12-12T14:08:00.000-06:00

The wedding web site of Angela and Andy from "The Office"

Pretend--and awesome.

Nostalgia blog

From the makers of the lolcat blog, this blog will bring up all your old memories of duck hunt, Bob Ross and more. I think it just started, so subscribe and remember away!

Dress like Ugly Betty!

Sometimes Facebook ads are actually interesting. You can dress like your favorite Ugly Betty star! I picked Amanda because I like how she dresses:

Keyboard for blondes

I want one!

And now, for some videos!

Cat in a diet
This is how I picture Pierre in a few years!

Mr. Darcy(colin firth) and I'm Too Sexy

P&P fans will love this. If you're not a fan you'll think it's ridiculous. :-)

Cowboys herding cats

Funny commercial!

Running with the squirrels commercial

Dressage and reining

If you like horse stuff, this is really interesting. It's kind of a long video, but the performace pairs dressage with reining.

I have a couple things more to post--Juliet's photos and my phone story. Soon enough! Have a good day!