Up, Up and Get Me Away From This Heat...

Well... summer is proving to be summer in Houston. Today's high was 103, and that doesn't include the heat index. Man... it's sweltering out there. We've managed to beat the heat with a little Blue Bell ice cream and a lot of time on the couch!!

This past weekend, Troy ventured to Lubbock for his fantasy football draft, and I spent Saturday with Dave & Teresa, and my favorite mode of air transportation, their Cessna Skyline. We flew the I-10 Corridor to Galveston and then home by way of Sugarland. It was a beautiful morning for a beautiful plane ride over the greater Houston area and beyond. I was able to get some fantastic pictures from our 1,300 feet view, which are posted on my Picasa site.

I told Dave that flying with him is on my top 5 reasons that I love living in Houston, and I can't wait for the next trip!!

Enjoy the pictures... These pictures are fab... if I must say so myself! :)

Vogue.

So, Max & Marlee decided to sit... and shocker... be still for the camera. Max, as always, tries to have the upper hand, and must perch on the sofa for all pictures. Not sure if it suffices for having small dog syndrome, but we'll go with it. Marlee actually smiled instead of running from the big bad camera. I had fun. Here are a few more!

Long Time... Know What's Going On?

Wow. A year. It's been a year since I last posted. This is neither good or good! I am so sorry, readers, that I haven't written in so long. Well... let me catch you up!

As of Troy's 36th birthday, things were going great! We loved our jobs... were tolerating Philadelphia... and dreading, more than you know, the impending winter. We make it through winter, my birthday, cursed the unseasonably warm Spring, and May rolls around. Long story short, we both quit our jobs and decided to move to Texas.

So on June 5, we said our last good-byes and see ya laters in Philadelphia, and started the 1,500 mile trek through eastern United States to the humid, hot, and happy South. We drove through Pennsylvania; took a quick trip through the northeastern most corner of West Virginia; hit Maryland; and entered Virginia. Oh boy did we enter Virginia. From on end to the diagonal other, we drove through the Lover's state, and we hated it. Every mile marker just screamed how much longer we'd be in the that state, and finally, we entered Tennessee where I've never been so happy to see a hotel. Thanks to VIP member points, our free room cost us $100. Well... actually our pups cost us $100, but they are worth every penny!!

The next morning, we headed even further south and drove until we got to my parent's house where a very happy family and friend get-together was waiting!! It was great to see everyone, and ate and ate and ate until our bellies were full as ticks. Life already seemed better just being around our family. Our leap of faith paid off!

On June 7, we pulled into Texas and ended our trip at Prairie Clover Lane. For the next 6 weeks, we resided and played house with Dave and Teresa. It was a circus... a wild trip of 5 canines, 4 adults (sometimes 5 or 6), and 2 kiddos!! We had the time of our lives... until we found our new place!

We now have our wonderful apartment in Cypress, Texas. We are very, VERY happy here and are looking forward to starting our new lives in our new state in our new jobs!

Our third anniversary is approaching, and we're hoping for a great first year in Texas. A first year together where we can start anew and with family. That's the way it's supposed to be.

The Time Has Come My Little Friend...

Today is Troy's 36th Birthday!! We are so excited to celebrate another terrific year together and reflect on the years past! I can't believe that 5 years ago, we met and have not been apart since. I know it's just 5 years, but it's been the best 5 years of my life!!

Our fun will start today when Troy leaves for Dallas. He has a class at Headquarters until Thursday, then we will meet up in Houston on Thursday!! From Houston, we'll head over to Las Vegas for our anniversary and his birthday celebration, and then I'll head home. He'll stick back one day so that he can attend another seminar for work. Great fun!!

I'll post pictures and stories from our travels next week!!

By the way... fall is falling, and it's GORGEOUS here right now. I definitely know why I live here when Fall and Spring come around!!

Have a great week and day, and I'll write soon!!

Amarillo By Morning... Or Whenever We Can Get There!

Following our eventful July 4th, we headed southwest on Southwest for Kevin and Kim's wedding in Amarillo. This trip started as an adventure but luckily, it ended quietly with our making all connections and landing safely in Philly.

We started trying to get to Amarillo at 3:25 PM EST on Friday via a stop in St. Louis and connecting flight in Dallas. We would have arrived in AMA at 8:40 PM CST and been fully rested for the following night's festivities, but did this happen as planned? Nope... not at all. You see, I insisted on working that Friday, and the All Star game was being played in St. Louis, so we took the last available flight out and well, missed it. It was completely full.

So we headed down to TB's office to wait for the next flight to HOU that would take us to DAL for the night to meet TB's parents then we'd get to AMA by 9 AM CST the next morning. Once again, no such luck. We made our listings for the flight only to find out that the flight was delayed due to mechanical problems in Pittsburgh and was scheduled to be in PHL for take off 2 hours late! At this point, we started looking for alternate route to get to Dallas on Friday, and our other option was to go through Chicago. Sounds like everything is set, right?! Wrong again! That flight departed 10 minutes prior to the news of the delayed flight from Pittsburgh. UGH!

Meanwhile, I am on the phone with Dave and Teresa and trying to decide what to do with their flights. We decided that it was best for them to head to DAL, and we'd stay in HOU overnight. So... I call the best B&B around and luckily, TKA&I had one available bed and 2 available couches to put us up for the night. At 10:30 PM CST, Todd picked us up from Hobby, and we headed to Missouri City. The girls were sleeping, but we got to spend a little time with T&K and got to see the girls for a few minutes on Saturday morning. It was great to get unexpected Abby and Izzy love!

So... at 8:00 AM CST, we were on our way to DAL where Troy's parents were anxiously awaiting our arrival. We checked in for our flight to AMA and landed safe and sound (and tired already) around 11:30 AM CST. By this time, we'd been trying to get to AMA for 17 hours. We headed into town for Teresa's hair appointment; my brief shopping excursion at the Amarillo Mall; and then for lunch with Dan, Mary Helen, and Tamara. Nothing is as good as Mexican food in Texas... you just can't beat it! After lunch, we headed back to Meadowland Drive for wedding day preparations.

Since we've made it to AMA, things seem to be headed down the right road... until we open my luggage. My face wash punctured a hole in my quart size baggie and then proceeded to leak all over the inside of the baggie and because it was so squished in my luggage, it leaked OUTSIDE of the plastic baggie. Gross, right?! Not as gross as the nice spot it left on my brand new red shoes (purchased solely for this event). They are unwearable except for with long pants to cover the spot where the face wash ate the red dye off of the leather. Great fun. Teresa ironed all of our clothes, and Dave and I set out for the mall, again, to look for shoes. I didn't' find any, but was glad that I was able to wear the extra pair that were stowed away in my luggage. I guess Clinique means what they say when they call it scrub the day away face wash... some of their makeup could be considered dye, so that mess would have to be potent to get it off. I'm just upset that it works so well!!

Clothes ironed... check. Shoes in tow (all 4 shoes with 1 ruined and 1 without a match now)... check, check. After all was taken care of, we loaded up the rental and headed to our suites over looking the power plant at the La Quinta Inn. The rooms were nice and sufficient for what we needed. We showered, dressed up and headed out for the brief journey to Canyon, Texas and Whitaker Ranch where the blessed event was scheduled at 7:30 PM CST.

We got to the Ranch and made our way to the water fall and barn area where the wedding was set up. It was a beautiful day and the scenery just as lovely; HOWEVER, it was hotter than the core of the Earth, and we were baking in God's convection oven with the blistering breeze that was blowing our way. Although it was a bit stifling out, it was hard to focus on the heat with all of our family close. We haven't seen everyone in a while, so it was nice to visit with everyone.

After the wedding, we headed to the baseball field for the family picture... yes, you heard me correctly, the baseball field. There are about 1, 237 members of Troy's family... not really, I think Dan said that Kim made #40, but unlike my teeny family, this crew won't fit on a park bench for a picture! The setting was fantastic, so we all gathered around and the photographer snapped the picture of our crew. We ate, visited, drank lots of Gatorade, and watched the newly weds dance with each other and the kids play in the fountain. Needless to say, it was a great day!

Around 10:00 PM CST, we headed out to get ready for our return trip home. We packed our bags and laid the day to rest. We met Mary Helen and Dan for breakfast at Cracker Barrel on Sunday morning, and then headed out to the Amarillo airport (where TB was selected to be searched... hehe!) for our trip home. We were headed to DAL then to STL then to PHL without getting off the plane. What a trip! It was scheduled for 6 hours and 35 minutes. We were nervous that we'd get pulled off in STL and would have to re-route through MDW, but thankfully, we made it through!!

We got home, had dinner, and settled in for the night with two very excited pups to have their pup-parents home.

To sum it up... a 52 hour trip, with 19 hours of travel time, and 33 hours of actual feet on land time = one really nice weekend with family. We'd do it again in a heartbeat!! Oh... before I forget... per her request, this is a shout-out to Grandma! We love you both!!

Yankee Doodle Came To Town A-riding On A Boeing...

Oh, say can you see... wait... I'll say what I saw! My mom actually made it to Philly... well, first it was Jackson (she got on the plane) then she landed safely in Baltimore and we drove into Philly after we picked her up!

It was a fun-filled weekend that started with lunch at P.F. Chang's in White Marsh, and then a little shopping in Glen Mills. We then headed home where two very anxious furbabies were waiting. This is the first time that Mom has seen them in a year and two things are constant... Max hasn't changed, and Marlee is a monster! LOL!! They were so excited to see her... and she was just as excited to see them in return! After a stint outside, we came in and relaxed to wait for Troy to get home from work. We all just hung out and visited on Thursday and planned our busy Friday!

Friday started with a haircut for me and KC and a little war time fun for Troy (gotta love it when the mother-in-law's in town and can keep the wife occupied)!! We then got ready for the day and headed north to West Chester for ... wait for it ... do not say!!! The QVC Studio Tour... first we made sure that mom was medicated, for this kind of excitement could just throw her over the edge... hehe! Then we hydrated and headed in. I went to the counter to pay for 3 tickets for the 2 PM tour, and just our luck, the tour was free because of construction... QVC saved us money, once again! We spent about 3 hours at the Studio, then lounged in the QVC Garden, where I almost got stuck in a oribital swing thingy and we headed South to our apartment. We got home and started dinner which was lasagna and garlic bread. It was sooo yummy... I introduced mom to ground turkey in two forms... the lasagna and my turkey burger on Saturday (and... gasp... she liked it!). We then watched some television and relaxed because the big day was Saturday.... the parade and the tour of downtown!

We got up Saturday morning and headed to Panera Bread for breakfast and then to the Old City for the parade. We parked at the airport and took the train into the Market East Station where we walked Market Street into the Old City. When we made it into the parade area, the festivities had already begun. There were people galore and flags were flying high! Troy had to go and play manager while Mom and I visited the Liberty Bell. She was in awe... loved it, I tell ya! From then on... she was one of them ... shreak... a TOURIST! LOL!! She snapped little mini photos with her camera and posed for not one, but several pictures across town. I promise, when the parade started, she stopped and spoke to every street liner that was there and offered peanuts and stickers to everyone!! She fit in nicely! We finished with the parade and took the L-train to Suburban Station where we walked through LOVE Park and showed her where we lived on the Parkway. We walked down the Parkway to Logan's Square and saw the fountain and the museum. We weren't able to get to Rocky because of the concert and such, but she was happy to see what we could see for the day. We then made our way back to Suburban and waited on the R1 to the airport to get home. That night, we finished out our visit with a little R&R and a little M&M!

Mom's flight was at 10:15 the next morning, so she, Troy and I loaded up and headed to Baltimore. It was sad to see her go, but we had such a good time. I can't wait for her to visit again. Check out the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/mandyeblack.

Party Like It's Two Thou-sand and Nine!!

Ok... so this post has been in the draft section since June 23, but it's finally making it's debut!!


On Friday, June 19, we embarked on the journey to Houston for the party of the summer. Watch out CMT Awards... the after-parties of the after-parties of the around the world celeb birthday party trains can't compare to this... Abby's 4-year-old party was on Saturday, June 20 at Bounce U in Sugarland. And it was a screaming, laughing, bouncing good time!

We landed and Teresa was there waiting on us with cold water and cokes... it was soooo hot and humid! We hopped in the Lexi and away to Missouri City we went! After a stop at Target for Princess wrapping paper and birthday cards, we headed to the other Black's house to await the dawning of the girls. The sleeping beauties rose shortly after we got there, and we were greeted by a giant hug from Abby which shortly followed by "I'm the birthday girl. My party's tomorrow. Did ya bring me anything?" As we laughed and answered her questions, she saw the Princess box and said, "that's a girl's present. It has Princesses on it." And a few moments later, paper was flying; ribbon, unraveling; and smiles were on faces... it was great!! After the gifts were ripped apart, we played in the dark with the glowing scary monsters and then Abby got girlie, along with Uncle Troy, and started on everyone's makeovers. Uncle Troy had Snow White with irridescent glitter polish on his toes and multi-colored fingernails which were Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty Pinks, Ariel Blue and Snow White Iridescent polish respectively. For those of you who do not believe this, we have still shots AND video. Izzy even had a go at his feet. Needless to say, it wasn't on his nails, but the top of his feet and toes. She did a great job!!

We stayed for a bit longer then headed to Spring for dinner. We grilled in the 95 degree weather at 8 PM... gosh, it was hot!! We were later visited by TB's friend, Anthony, from high school. It's been quite a while since they have seen each other and were reconnected on Facebook a while back. They chatted and reminised about the days of old, and I do mean OLD (I love you, TB... LOL)! These guys have been out of high school for 18 years now, so there was a lot to talk about. Dinner was phenomenal... we outdid ourselves on steak, chicken, and grilled shrimp with baked potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, and salads! It was so good. Following dinner was clean up and bed time. We had to have our rest for the Four Year Old festivities the following day!!

We got up on Saturday and headed to the party establishment--Bounce U. It's an inflatable fun zone that echoes shreaks of laughter and excitement as the kiddos run, climb, bounce and slide down the gigantic inflatable slides, wrestling rings, and obstacle courses. The giant slide seemed to be a fan favorite. It was worn out by the time our 75 minutes were up and so were the kiddos. We made our way to the red party room, where the Tinkerbell cake and balloons were waiting. Abby got to sit in the birthday throne and we sang a happy birthday to her... the regular one. That kid doesn't like options for the birthday song... just the regular one, she said with a confused frowny face, as opposed to the "happy birthday to you... cha, cha, cha (accompanied with clapping during the cha, cha, cha part). She blew out her candles and got a fairy from the cake, and we were ready to rock. The kids all sat down and devoured their juice boxes, cake and ice cream. The time to leave came and went, and we went and left them with the pile of cake crumbs from under Izzy's chair and the mess we created! It was great!!


The rest of the afternoon included the tour of Toys R Us: The Lakeside Meadow Edition. I've never seen such an array of toys. She couldn't play with them all... even with help from Isabelle. It was like a pinata of toys exploded and rained down on us. I'll bet to date that she still hasn't seen everything that she got!! There were a few favorites, but mainly, they just made the rounds. Barbie came in strong with 4 or 5 guests at the birthday party present gala with Disney Princess paraphernalia following a close second. Fisher Price sorta lost out this year! She's growing up!!!

We headed back to Spring after the day of festivities... tired, exhausted, spent... did I mention tired?! It was a wonderful trip full of wonderful memories. I love those two babies. They are my heart... I can't wait to see them again!

We got up on Sunday and made our way to Hobby. Our flight left at 9:30 AM CST, which is really 10:30 AM EST, so we were able to sleep in a bit. We got through security, went to our gate, and awaited our turn to board the corporate jet. It was full, so we took our seats, one in front of the other, for the long flight home.


Jammed packed weekend... yes. Was it worth it... yes. We love our trips to Texas... even if we only get to stay for 1 day, the time is worth it. We miss our families, but know that one day soon enough, we'll be back (that's we'll be back, not Ab-by Black... Todd, Kelley... you'll understand that one!?). Next weekend, we're on our way to Amarillo. I'll post about our visit with my mom soon!