Class update...

So our class was very enjoyable. We got to try 6 different French wines with several French cheeses. We learned about the geography of France and where the grapes are grown. I am anxious to read through all of the information and handouts we were given. This was a fun way to supplement my French studies. (I don't think that I have posted about my trying to learn to speak French in my car. My company has an audio learning program that I can utilize to help with my continued education. I am taking instant immersion French right now and it is rather difficult. My goal is to be able to semi communicate in French when my partner and I win the big trip to Paris one of these years. Of course, it will be French with a very strong West Texas twang, but at least I am going to try. I think my French wine and cheese class will come in handy as well.) Anyway, next month we will go back to learn about Australian wines. I am looking forward to it.

French Wine and Cheese Class

Tonight I am taking a continuing education class through Angelo State on French Wine and Cheese. I can't wait! If only I could have taken classes like this at A&M I may have had a better GPA.:) I have had wanting to learn about wine on my bucket list for awhile now and fortunately Lori works at ASU so she got us signed up. I have my notebook and bottle of water ready and now I am just waiting on Sutton to get here so he can drive me to the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts for class. I will post about it later this week.

Dinner for Mary Louise

Two years ago I served on our Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) at church to find our new head pastor, Bill Proctor, and met several dear friends. Our committee got together last Sunday night at Patty and Randy's house and we had dinner for our friend, Mary Louise, whose husband, Hunter, passed away a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful night catching up and being there for Mary Louise. She is a dear lady and I am so thankful we have gotten to know her. The cool thing is that Sutton is now serving on the PNC to bring a new Associate Pastor to our church. I hope he and his committee enjoy each other as much as my committee did. Here are a few pictures from the evening...
Mary Louise (far left), Sutton, Sandy, Lanee, and Liz (in front)
Lee, David, Lee Ann, and Bill
Sutton and Leroy
Lee, Sandy, Leroy, Sutton, Patty, Randy, and Lanee

6 years ago today....

It is hard to believe that it has already been 6 years since we married. In that time we have bought our first home and land, found a church home, beaten cancer, made it through a layoff, changed jobs, gotten 2 new brother in laws, 1 sister in law, and 7 nieces and nephews, travelled throughout Texas and the U.S., made great friends, raised 2 dogs, and loved more than we could have imagined. We are so blessed and I thank God today and every day for allowing me to spend my life with my soulmate and best friend. We are in Regan this weekend, but we will celebrate our anniversary next weekend with a trip to Cibolo Creek Ranch south of Marfa. Hope you are having a nice weekend.

I can't wait-

to watch this...

I hope Betty gets rid of Henry. I loved them together, but the whole Charly thing got very old. Have you ever watched Ugly Betty? I bought the first season on DVD and fell in love with it immediately. I am always rooting for the underdog and I love that Betty always pulls through in the end.

and this...

I wish they would just let Derek and Meredith be happy for a minute, but I don't think that is going to happen. Sutton and I have been fans of Grey's Anatomy since almost the beginning. It used to be our favorite Sunday night tradition, but now it gives me something to look forward to during the week.

I have to work tonight, but we recently got dvr so that I don't miss a minute of either of my favorite shows! Fall is officially here now that the new primetime tv season has begun.

Prayer requests and update....

This is a busy weekend for us with church activities and also the Walk to Emmaus. I had the honor of sponsoring my friend, Ali, this weekend. The Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal weekend. It is a weekend full of God's love and it is absolutely amazing. I went on my walk in 2006 and Sutton was my sponsor. I would have to say it is one of the highlights of my life. Sutton went on his walk in 2000.

-Please keep Ali and the rest of the participants in your prayers. I can't wait to pick her up tomorrow afternoon and to hear all about her experience.
-Sutton's dad recently had back surgery and is suffering from complications. Please pray for healing and pain relief.
-Thanks to everyone for your prayers for my dad. His diagnosis was acute renal failure. His bloodwork has improved some and we are cautiously optimistic, but I ask that you continue to keep him in your prayers.

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful, fall weather and that you are having a nice weekend. Tomorrow is going to be hectic, so I probably won't post again for a couple of days. In the mean time, take care and I will post again soon.

Introducing Miss Georgia Tusa...

Ingrid finally posted pictures of Georgia today, so I stole a couple from her blog to share with everyone. We have changed our plans and are going to Regan this coming weekend, so I will have lots of pics to post then. Also, I just wanted to wish Ingrid and Jacob a happy anniversary. Today is their 5th anniversary. I can't think of a better anniversary present than a sweet baby girl.
Miss Georgia
The Tusa Family

She's here!!!

Georgia Pauline Tusa was born at 6:30 p.m. She weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. and measured 19.75 in. I just got the text, but I am assuming Ingrid and the baby are doing well. She is named after her great grandmothers.

Check Ingrid and Jacob's blog in the next day or two for pictures and more information. Georgia is our 7th niece! We can't wait to meet her, but unfortunately we have to wait until the first weekend in October. I will post lots of pictures then. I am so excited for Jacob and Ingrid and just can't believe that my baby sister has a baby...It's crazy!

Any time now...

Ingrid called around noon today to say that Miss Tusa will be arriving very soon. The doctor broke her water and put her in the hospital. I hope to hear the good news any time now...I will keep you posted!

7 Years Ago Today...

Sutton and I met at the West Texas Fair in Abilene. We were both there working the Planet Ag exhibit. Sutton was at the pig station and I was at the cotton station. I will never forget the moment that I saw him. There was something very familiar about him and I knew I had to talk to him. It was not "love at first sight" for me but I was drawn to him like I never had been before. I would call it "instant attraction" and I could not keep my eyes off of him. I did not think he even noticed me, but he told me later that he caught me looking several times. Sutton says he had a feeling that day that I would become his wife. I remember talking to him initially when there were other people around and I thought he was either rude or very shy. When the other people left, he began to open up and we talked for a long time. I could have stayed there all day, but I had to leave to go meet my mom. We did not exchange phone numbers, but I had a feeling that we would see each other again. Sutton got in touch with me later by getting my information from a mutual friend. Tonight we are going on a "date" to commemorate our first meeting. I hope you are having a good weekend and that you get to spend some quality time with your loved ones, too.

Preppers

Thursday night we tried out a new business in town called Preppers. The concept is not new, and there are a couple of franchises in the United States, but Preppers is not a franchise. It is a local business started by local people. Basically, it is a meal service where they do the prep work and you assemble meals. Another option is to purchase meals that have been prepped and assembled for you. It took about an hour and a half, but we walked out with seven healthy meals prepped and ready to cook. The great part is that you just put them in the freezer and cook them as needed. Also, I loved that I could prep for two people so we don't have to eat leftovers for a couple of days. It can be hard to cook for two. We had a great time and look forward to utilizing this business in the future. It makes it easy to know that "dinner is in the bag" especially after a long day at work. If you live here in Angelo you should definitely check it out, and if you live somewhere else and you have access to a Dream Dinners or Super Suppers , you should give it a try.

The Preppers freezer full of our prepped meals ready to take home.
Yolanda and her staff went above and beyond to provide top notch customer service.


Ashley prepping away...


Lori prepping away...

Never forget...

Sutton and I have been watching the History Channel tonight and reflecting on what happened seven years ago today. It almost feels like it was yesterday and it is still so hard to believe that such tragedy could happen here in America. Today we remember all those that were lost that day, and pray that God will continue to bless and keep our country safe.

Fall is in the air...

I love this time of year! I love how you can feel a hint of crispness in the air. Yesterday, I got out my dishes, and put out some of my fall decorations.


I love these dishes because they were my Memaw's and they always make me think of her when I put them out. They are called Friendly Village and they are just warm and cozy and happy. They make me smile. Dishes are another one of my favorite pleasures in life.
This time of year also makes me want to declutter and get more organized. Sutton helped me last night and he hung a set of hooks in my closet so I could organize my necklaces (I think he was getting tired of having to help me untangle them:)...) Here is how it looks...

Busy weekend

Sutton and I had a busy weekend. Sutton farmed on Saturday and judged the Miles Cotton Queen Contest on Sunday. I had to work at the San Angelo Nurse Practitioners Symposium. We set up on Friday evening and worked our booth on Saturday morning. After we finished up, my work partner and good friend, Denise and I went shopping at the Sassy Fox, which is a really cute store here in downtown San Angelo. I was supposed to talk her out of buying this jacket, but it was too cute on her. Here is a fun pic with D and the jacket...This pic is a bit blurry, but the jacket has a zebra and paisley pattern, lime green trim, and these great lime green, sparkly buttons. Then we had a late lunch at Miss Hattie's. The chocolate creme brulee was to die for! It was fun to hang out on the weekend and have a little girl time. We did talk some business, but it was nice to not have to worry about having to go back to work after lunch.
Later I went shoe shopping at Dillard's. My friend, Jeffi, told me about these great shoes that are not only pretty, but comfortable. The brand is Nurture and they are wonderful! I bought these great animal print shoes (Jeffi already bought a pair, but they were so cute and comfortable, I decided I should get them too- Sorry Jeffi!) At first I thought they might not be that practical, but I decided I can actually wear them with alot. It was fun shoe shopping because 3 other ladies saw me try these shoes on and they decided to try them on too. We were all excited to find pretty, comfortable heels, it was like a party. Hopefully, I have not bored you too much. I am not a big shopper, but my shopping experience this weekend was actually enjoyable. I hope you had a good weekend, too!

Update on Dad

Dad went home from the hospital today. Unfortunately, his creatinine levels went up again. He was blue on the phone today and I think it is because there is really nothing more they can do and there is still alot of uncertainty about the long term effects of this reaction and if he would have to go on dialysis at some point. Thanks for the nice comments on Thursday's post. We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers and I just ask that you continue to keep Dad in your prayers.

This makes me happy...

If you know me very well, you know that I love beer...It is one of my favorite pleasures in life. The problem with beer is that it does not do much for your figure. Yesterday, one of the nurses I call on told me about the new MGD Light. It only has 64 calories and 2.4 carbs (Pearl Light has 68 calories, I can only buy it in Abilene, and I realized this summer it does not taste as good as it did back in college at the Chicken). I bought a six pack of MGD Light tonight at Albertson's and I am drinking one right now. It is very light, but if you are in the mood for a cold beer and you are trying to lose weight, MGD Light is pretty darn good.

Prayer request

My Dad is in the hospital. He recently had a colonoscopy and has not been feeling well since. After having bloodwork done on Monday, we found out that he had a toxic reaction to the prep which induced nephropathy. Please pray that there is no permanent kidney damage. This is very rare- The nephrologist said this is only the second case like this that he has seen. I talked to Dad today and he was in a great mood. His bloodwork has improved some, but he is still in the hospital on fluids. I will keep you posted, but in the mean time we would appreciate your prayers.

A trip to the dentist

Well, Sutton and I went to the dentist today...This was a big deal considering it has been 5 years since our last visit. We both dread it and we have just been putting it off. A few weeks ago I was listening to a book on tape and the topic was fear and uncertainty. I decided it was time to get over our fear and just do it. I called and got us in. The cleaning was rough, but worth it. We both have been sore all day. Sutton even got some pain relief during his cleaning- the big baby:)...I just had to tough it out. Poor Valerie the dental hygienist earned her money today. Fortunately, neither one of us had a cavity. I feel very relieved to have that behind me. We both agreed that we are going every 6 months from now on. My little sister called later to tell me about this cartoon in the newspaper today because it reminded her of us. I even said earlier this week that I have been flossing all week hoping that my checkup would not be that bad...Click here for a laugh.

Shower Pics

We had Ingrid's baby shower in McGregor this past weekend. It was a beautiful party with lots of family and friends present. Baby Tusa got so many cute things...She will definitely be the best dressed baby around. Here are a few pics from the shower...

Ingrid and her cute baby bump- Less than a month to go before Miss Tusa arrives!
Our family- Ingrid with Mom, Grandma, Jennifer, Judith, Laurel, Aunt Annette, and myself

The shower hostesses
The sisters- Jessica could not be there. We missed her!
My niece, Laurel, and our friend, Alex.

The flowers and details of the shower were simple, but beautiful. I loved the pink, green, and brown. The food was so good, too...very girly and fun.