Maddie Loves the Water!

     We purchased a Brittany Spaniel about 3 years ago.  She was born on October 30, 2009, and we picked her up right before Christmas (what a great present!).  We love her like our own child (since we don't have any children of our own) and have poured tons of time, energy, money, and love into our little ball of energy.  If you've ever met Maddie, you know exactly what we mean by "little ball of energy."  Or maybe BIG ball of energy!  For 37 pounds, she's extremely strong, agile, and quite literally bounces off the walls.


Maddie as a newborn pup still living with her breeders.

Already on point the first day we get her!

      Andy has spent many hours training her for hunting and basic obedience.  She's by no means perfect, but it's good enough for us.  Maddie has been on several hunting trips with Andy and his dad.  Her favorite part is retrieving the birds!  We took her to the Frio a couple of years ago and found out that she absolutely LOVES the water.  So, I had to share some pictures from our most recent trip to Lake Livingston.

And she's off...

She's so fast!!

Love her ears!

Happy Girl!

Camping Trip

     We typically take two "big" vacations in the summer, one in June and the other in July.  June is usually a trip for just us, and the past few years we've gone camping with Andy's family in July.  This summer, of course, has been no different.  What can we say - we're Aggies, we stick to tradition!
      Three summers ago we bought a camper, travel trailer, pull behind camper, or whatever you want to call it.  We searched and searched.  We saw lots of campers and learned that people on Craigslist and RV Trader have very different opinions of "excellent condition."  We had pretty high standards for our price range and really thought we weren't going to end up with a camper.  Thankfully, one Craigslist ad steered us in a great direction, and we bought our camper from a sweet older couple.

Our camper the summer we bought it

        The first two summers we went to Concan to float the Frio.  Last summer we decided that trip was just too far (7ish hours pulling our camper at 60 mph) and stayed in San Marcos at Pecan Park which sits on the San Marcos river.  Due to Andy's dad's cancer treatments we needed to stay closer to home this year, so we stayed at a KOA campground on Lake Livingston (approximately 50 minutes from home).  It's a great campground - nice showers, good laundry facility, playground for children, swimming pool, sand volleyball, horseshoes and washers, and a beach entry into the lake.  Unfortunately, the combination of heat and rain caused the ants to come out of hiding.  We battled ants pretty much all week long, in the camper and outside the camper.  I absolutely HATE ants now, not that I liked them before.

Headed out, camper and kayak in tow

Sawdust LOVES camping!

       Andy brought his kayak with us so he could fish.  He did catch a few fish but nothing to keep to eat.  I layed out at the beach almost every day; it's so much better and more bearable in the water than in my hot backyard with no water.  We fished one night, and I caught a baby catfish.  It was actually quite funny because I thought I had just lost my bobber in the water (because of course I got sidetracked by the turtles and wasn't paying attention to my bobber) so I jerked it up to find it again.  Then I saw it go under water and got very excited that I caught something.  Andy picked on me because apparently I hooked it really well.  I guess that's what happens when you basically hook it twice.

My baby catfish

Maddie loves retrieving bumpers in the water

Blurry, but still a good shot

      While Andy and his dad played golf, his mom and I did a little scrapbooking.  She made bag tags for birthday and wedding presents.  I made thank you and birthday cards.  Both Maddie Mae and Sawdust (a maltese/poodle mix) behaved perfectly considering we had a crafting mess in the camper.

One of the "thank you" cards I made

The only birthday card I made

      Nothing terribly exciting like floating the river, but overall a wonderful and relaxing trip.  We love taking our camper out!  Since we saved quite a bit of our vacation money by saving on the gas, we may be able to take another weekend trip before school starts.  I'm thinking Galveston... but we'll see.

Dental Insurance

     I was debating on whether or not to write about our latest battle, but I figured why not since we have a good ending.  About three years ago, Andy and I decided to take out dental insurance through our school district, and until about a month ago, we hadn't used it.  I know, big waste of money on our part.  Well, little did I know that our insurance is/was actually HORRIBLE!  I am rather irritated with the agent representing our school for not explaining in full detail the difference between the low plan and high plan.  My understanding was that the low plan was better for patients who were just doing preventive care like cleanings, x-rays, etc. and the high plan for major dental work like crowns and root canals.  Oh no, not my insurance.  The low plan is actually horrible all the way around.  You pay this high premium to find out that you will still owe money to the dentist for your preventive care even if the dentist is in-network.  I was and still am very angry about this!
      We wanted to support local business and see a dentist in our own town.  Great idea, until I learned just how crappy our insurance is.  I explained to the receptionist that our insurance would be out-of-network and that I needed to know an estimate of what we would be paying out-of-pocket because I didn't want to look up a month from now and owe them $500+.  I was reassured more than once (because I called back the next day) that most patients pay only $8-10 more than what their out-of-network insurance would cover.  Great, I can do $8-10 more.  So, Andy and I go to our first appointment which consists of x-rays and an evaluation done by the dentist.  Good news, I had no cavities and Andy had just one!!  We are pretty blessed considering we both hadn't been to the dentist in probably 10 years.  We received an estimated cost to have the cavity filled and the cleaning, and everything looked great.  We weren't going to pay much out-of-pocket, and we would both have clean teeth.  Ha!  Then I received my EOB from the insurance company the night before we were to have our cleanings and the cavity filled.  To make a long story short, it was going to cost us more money for the x-rays, evaluations, and teeth cleanings than we paid in insurance for the entire year.  This wasn't including the cost of the filling.  We're talking hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket.  You have no idea how upset we were.  We loved the dentist and loved the office staff.
      The next morning which is the morning of our second appointment, I called the office and had to cancel.  I hate doing things like that because I know it puts the office staff in a bind since we pretty much took up their entire morning of appointments.  At this point, we had a much better understanding of our insurance, and we had no choice but to cancel.  Apparently, the dentist office  has a computer program that estimates the cost of your work based on the average insurance company, and had our insurance not been so awful, the program would have probably been accurate.  Thankfully, we have found a private practice close to home that does accept our insurance.  We are waiting until our new insurance kicks in to have the cleanings done since they will be covered at 100%, but Andy will have his cavity filled in two weeks.
       Now, the awesome part.  We love good customer service and will sing your company's praise if you can offer excellent customer service.  AT&T has the most horrible customer service ever.  We love Oakley and Victoria's Secret though!!  This dentist office that we had to cancel on provided us with some awesome customer service.  Today we received the bill for our x-rays and evaluations...  They made an adjustment to our bill, and we only have to pay half of it!  How awesome is that!!  I am really appreciative of this since I probably wouldn't have ever gone here had I known the whole truth about my insurance.  But, this is why I love supporting local business because they truly understand and want help the members of their community.  I love it when God sends little blessings like this!  He always watches over us, and we are amazed and grateful because we don't deserve it.

4th of July Weekend

     Andy and I didn't do anything for the 4th of July but stay home and relax.  We thought we might have a guitar pickin' to go to, but we never heard anything so we assumed they didn't have it.  Thursday I left to visit my mom and step-dad in my hometown of Shiner, Texas.  Yes, this is the same town that brews Shiner Bock, and this is the only place that Shiner Bock (and other Shiner beers) is brewed.  Shiner actually has quite a few booming businesses within its small city limits - the brewery, a plastics company, and Ranch Hand truck accessories.
     When I arrived to my mom's, birthday presents were awaiting me.  If you know me, then you know I love presents (I don't care the size or the price!!).  I got a Vera Bradley cover for my Nook, new crocs, and a tea maker.  Birthdays are the best!

We did not have anything planned for the evening except to catch up on life and enjoy family time.  Mom and John (my step-dad) cooked a delicious dinner of pork tenderloin, onion potatoes, green beans, and salad.
      My mom had to work on Friday, so I hung out around the house.  Watched quite a bit of TV and read on my Nook.  Kevin (my little brother who's not so little anymore) came home in the afternoon, and I was happy to see him.  Friday evening I met Kevin's girlfriend Blair, and she's a sweetheart!!  I think she's really good for him, and my mom can't say enough positive things about her.  Us three girls decided to see Magic Mike that evening!  I do not go star-crazy over celebrities (even the cute ones), and this was no different.  Was Channing Tatum smokin' hot?  Yes.  Was Matthew McConaughey equally as hot?  Probably not, but he did not disappoint.  I did enjoy the movie and hanging out with just the girls.


Mom and I before Magic Mike

     Saturday was Shiner's Halfmoon Holidays or 4th of July celebration.  We started out the morning with the parade through downtown, and ended the night with fireworks at the Green Dickson Park.  I got to hang out with Kevin and Blair some more which was nice.  Mom and John grilled steaks, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob.  Yummy!

Mom and I at the parade

Salute to our Military

Only in Shiner, Tx would there be a Polka float!

Motorized HEB cart - so cool!

I love the fireworks!

      I came back home on Sunday, and boy was Andy sure glad to see me!  He is more than capable of holding down the fort while I'm gone, but he sure likes it better when I do.  :)  This week we are packing for our annual week-long camping trip with Andy's parents.  Then it will be back to the grind and summer will be pretty much over.  BUT, it's not over yet, thankfully!

Birthday Weekend

     This past weekend was my 27th birthday.  Eek - just the sound of it makes me feel old!!  As I mentioned in a previous post, my best friend came to visit me.  I haven't seen Rachel (yes, her name is the same as mine) in probably three years, so this was an extra special birthday present.  She came in on Friday evening, and we stayed up until about 2:00am catching up on life.  I am totally out of shape for staying up that late so we slept in Saturday morning.  We just hung out at the house Saturday afternoon, and then went to The Woodlands that evening.  We had dinner at Chili's and then headed to The Fox and Hound for drinks and a few games of pool.  Rachel left Sunday after lunch, and I was sad to see her go.  Even though we hadn't seen each other in a long time, it felt like we had never been apart.  I love her to death and wouldn't trade her for anyone else!

Rach and I

I love him!

Good thing I'm cute because my pool game stinks! lol

He's too good!

Rach was on her A-game that led us to our victory!

Yep, I probably missed it.

Trying to distract Andy.

Tried dancing this time... Still didn't work!

      Sunday evening we invited Andy's parents over for steaks, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  And of course, I got to open all of my presents!!  Andy's birthday presents tend to be themed - golf things, fishing things, sports things, etc.  Mine on the other hand tend to be a lovely smorgasbord of gifts.  I got several scrapbooking things (stickers, sew-easy tracer, blank cards, stamps, buttons, scrapbook album), Vera Bradley cosmetic bags (small, medium and large), Bath & Body Works plug-in freshener refills (Sea Island Cotton - my favorite scent for the house), spandex shorts for working out, Thorlo socks for running, Victoria Secret Cotton pajamas, Sonic gift card (I love Happy Hour!)... and other things that I can't remember at the moment.  See, like I said, a smorgasbord of gifts.  I absolutely love my birthday, Andy's birthday, just family gatherings in general!

Birthday girl!

 

  

The BEST husband a girl could ask for!

        Wednesday is July 4th, and we may be going to a guitar-picking!  I hope we do because I haven't heard Andy and Doug sing in a while, and it makes my heart happy to listen to them.  I really wish they would make a CD; they're soooo good!  Thursday I will head to my Mom's for my usual summer trip.  This weekend is the Half Moon Holidays in Shiner, and I haven't been in several years.  Unfortunately, the city is changing some things this year (like the location!) so I don't know if it will be as fun.  Either way, I'll at least enjoy the parade!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

     I am a new member of Pinterest (about 2 1/2 months now), and I love the recipes!  We have already tried a few them, and last night was no different.  I actually have three Pinterest recipes planned for this week.
     Last night we had Parmesan Crusted Chicken - aboslultely delicious!  I will definitely give credit where credit is due... The website for the recipe is http://theenchantedcook.blogspot.com/2011/10/parmesan-crusted-chicken-hellmanns-mayo.html.  Her website has more pictures and detailed instructions.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of Hellman's mayonnaise

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

4 chicken breasts

4 tsp of Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Mix mayo and cheese in small bowl.  Spread mayo/cheese mixture on top of chicken.  Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and add salt/pepper (if you want).  Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

I used 2 chicken breasts instead of four.  I did not have Italian seasoned bread crumbs, so I mixed 2 tsp of plain bread crumbs with 1 tsp of Italian seasoning.  My oven bakes extremely well (or fast!) so I baked mine for only 14 minutes.  The website shows eating the chicken plain...  We ate ours like Parmesan Chicken, on top of a bed of pasta and spaghetti sauce.

     We eat a lot of chicken in my house, so if you have any good recipes send them my way please!!  Tonight's Pinterest dish is Cheesy Enchilada Casserole.

A Little of This and A Little of That

     I know, I know... it's been a while since I last posted.  We honestly had some dead time where we simply worked around the house, so I had nothing exciting (ha!) to post.  To wrap up my last post about the Gator Bait Trail Run... I did receive my medal in the mail - very cool!!  We still haven't registered for another race yet, but Andy is now interested in doing a triathlon.  Nope, not me.  I am not a good swimmer and have no desire to become one at the moment.  I did tell him that I would be more than happy to run and bike with him!
     Victoria's Secret is one of my favorite stores - not just for the cute panties and bras (because those make me very happy too) but they have great clothes too.  I placed an order for quite a few things - couple of bras, swim top, swim bottom, and tank top.  Yay for semi-annual sale!!  I typically know my size, but I messed up a bit with this order.  Instead of paying for shipping to return my unwanted items, I took them to the nearest mall.  Ha - that apparently was a mistake!  They shipped my unwanted items back to me!  Who does that!?!  So, I called customer service... That lady was the second best customer service representative ever!  (She came in behind Oakley.)  It saddens me that it's rare to find good and I mean truly good customer service now-a-days.  Long story short, everything was handled perfectly, and I got my items sent back without paying shipping, and I got a $10 off coupon in the mail a few days later!  Yay!
      Andy took another fishing trip, two actually.  He came back empty-handed on the first trip, but successful with one red fish on the second trip.  Instead of eating it that evening, we're freezing it until we have a good amount for a fish fry.  We ended up frying some fish since Andy's parents had some saved up.  Oh and it was yummy!  Andy uses cornflakes (and other ingredients) instead of cornmeal to batter his fish.  It has to be the best ever!  His dad wanted to make homemade ice cream, so we made homemade peach ice cream using fresh peaches from Stonewall.  Very rich and creamy.  We will probably be making more of that this summer.

      Unfortunately, I have been working at school and on school stuff for the last 5 days.  Oh, trust me, there will be no more school work until after our trip to the river.  Friday I had a workshop to attend.  It wasn't too bad since I got six hours of comp time for about two hours of work.  Yesterday and today, I offered to teach our Algebra 1 remediation class for the end-of-course exam.  It's remediation for students who did not pass the EOC test and need to in order to receive credit for graduation purposes.  Once again, not too bad.  I just had a lot of prep work for it since I tend to be the overachiever and perfectionist.
      This weekend is my birthday and my bestest friend from college Miss Rachel Vinyard is coming to visit me.  She was the maid of honor in my wedding, and I haven't seen her in probably two years.  I am SUPER excited!!  It's so crazy because even though we haven't seen each other in a long time it will be like we're still college roommates and haven't skipped a beat.