XM Radio

When we bought my Equinox a couple of years ago, the dealer never registered my XM radio.  So for the past two years I have been listening to satellite radio for free.  Yes.  For free.  I even called XM Radio to make sure that they weren't going to try to back charge me, and the customer service rep said that my car wasn't even registered in their database.  Woohoo for me!

Well, a couple months or so ago... whenever it was Friday the 13th last, I had my satellite radio that morning when I left for work, but when I got in my car on my way home this is what I saw...

It was a sad day... a sad day indeed.  But I'm too cheap to pay for it now, but I'm getting weaker by the day because I really miss my commercial free radio.  My cousin Jillian says that I can negotiate the price with them and get a good deal.  I may have to seriously look into it.  For now I guess I will be sticking with the local country stations of Houston, Texas and the not-so-wonderful commercials that come with it.

Christmas Lights

Andy and I have never hung up outside Christmas lights because in Tarkington you couldn't really see our house unless you pulled in the driveway.  But now that we live in a subdivision, I convinced Andy that we HAVE to hang up lights.  So Sunday we went to Target and bought some lights.  Andy spent the afternoon hanging them up, but once it got dark we decided that we want to change them.  Maybe this upcoming weekend we will be able to finalize our decorations, but if not then we'll finish it after Thanksgiving.

I will post pictures of the house once we get it fixed the way we want it!

Thanksgiving at Granny & Popo's

Last weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving with my grandparents on my mom's side of the family.  It's always so great to see family!  We had the typical Thanksgiving meal - turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, chicken noodle soup, banana pudding, and pecan pie!

I have a good looking family!

It was also Blair's (my brother's girlfriend) birthday that Saturday.  Andy and I got her a bag from Vera Bradley.  It's her first ever item from Vera Bradley, and I am so glad that I was the one to start her collection.

We're still alive... I promise!

I think this has been longest time off I've taken from the blog since I (or rather Andy) started it.  I have honestly missed it, but our new life in Katy, TX has been... well... busy.  So here's a brief recap (aka highlights) of the past couple of months.

We started our new jobs with Katy ISD at the end of August and that will require a post all on its own.  Just know that it took us a while to transition to our new schools and our new roles at those schools, but things are finally a little better.

Before school started, our dear friends Brandon and Joy spent some time at our house while they were transitioning from their home in Cleveland to their rental house in East Bernard.  We haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time with them, but it's so nice to know that they are close to us.  Hopefully, once they're settled in their new home and things are somewhat "normal" we can see each other more often.

Andy's parents visited for A&M vs. Bama game, and it was Andy's mom's birthday.  We had good food and good fellowship.  If only the Aggies had come up with the win!

Yummy football food!

 And we got a little crazy... Andy's mom made us a BTHO BAMA sign to put in the yard.  And Andy decided to blow up our huge Reveille for the front yard.  I guess it's go big or go home!

This is how we do it at the Rice house.
Thanks and Gig 'em!

Doug and Wendy came to our house for Doug's birthday.  We ate at Longhorn Steakhouse, and it was delicious.  That was mine and Andy's first time, and I'm pretty picky about my steak but it was quite tasty.  After dinner, we went to Top Golf.  We were told the wait time was 2 hours and 45 minutes, but Doug was determined to stay and celebrate for his birthday.  I assume most people added their name to the wait list but then ended up leaving because we only waited 45 minutes to an hour.  We had a blast!!

 

We took a half day off of work on Friday and went to Tarkington one weekend.  We went to the pep rally, volleyball game, and the cross country meet the next day.  The kids were so excited to see us, and we were so excited to see them as well some of the staff.  You don't realize how much you missed a place or missed people until you haven't seen them for a while.  I definitely had some tears in my eyes.  It was such a good visit.

 

Miss these kiddos!

The Taylor girls basketball team participated in the Race of the Cure run/walk 5K in Houston.  So of course, Andy and I joined them.  Last year, one of their coaches was diagnosed with breast cancer so this meant a lot to the girls.  Andy and I ran the 5K and then walked the 5K afterward with the girls.  We had a good time but were definitely wiped out when we got home.

The crowd during the run...

The crowd during the walk.  There were TONS of people!

My cousin Jillian called me one weekend and ask if I wanted to go with her to College Station to an A&M football game.  Heck yes!!  I hadn't been to College Station in years.  It was such a fun day girls trip.  I love talking to her and getting her opinion on things.  She's such an independent and strong woman.  Here are our pics from our trip. 

Also, it was my first time to see Johnny Manziel play live.  He's much smaller than in real life than he looks on TV.

Since we have actually had visitors stay at our new house, we got our guest room fixed up.  At our old house, we didn't have a spare bedroom with a bed.  Now, we do which makes me really happy!  I love having guests over.

And then we got new bedding!