I'd like to Play a Game!

RAIN DAY CANCELLATION!
What started off as a planned pool party ended up as a rainy day game day and I loved every minute of it!

On Saturday, September 12, 2009, Ray and I had planned for a day of pool funtivities at our apartment in Richardson with our friends. It was a great time to catch up on some much needed relaxation and fun in the sun. With temperatures in the 90s and no cloud in sight, I made the joke that it would be funny if it was rained out... even hinting in the email that our fun in the sun was contingent on the weather. Well... the very next day it began to rain. And rain it did for a for almost a full week.

So what did we do.... ?!?!?!
GAME DAY OF COURSE!

We asked each group to bring over a game of their choice. We played Bananagrams or Speed Scrabble and Adverteasing?!?! Sorry If I misspelled the title. This became a regular occurrence during speed Scrabble. Simple words like "creators" was somehow arranged as "creaters" and words that are used daily somehow seemed to look different. Until next time... I will continue to practice. Darn you spell check. How I've become so reliant on you. Angry Fist!


Here are a few more pictures of the night! Thanks guys for making this the best rainy day game day EVER!

Game Day Girlies


Game Day Guys!: I vote Dukakis?!?!
James this one's for you!

Snack Set up!

And of course what is a game day without our favorite snacks. I mean plural. I ate and ate and continued to refill the bowls all the way to dinner. Snacks such as these:

Pistachios: My first time to try them! They are super amazing:)
We ate almost two whole bags between us!


Hummus: Provided by Kaylan!


Of course the ever popular Cheez-it!

Of course these were only a few of the items we sampled all day while playing games. For dinner Ray made amazing pulled chicken sandwiches and corn salad while our friends brought over the rest of the sides. It was all amazing!

Quotes from Rainy-day Game Day:
1. Obviously a campaign speech: I say its Dukakis
2. While referring to Bryson... "does he have ears yet": (I so meant can he hear) but that's what came out of my mouth...
Kristin: "well of course but he's only working with one arm and a leg."
Alicia: "It's ok... he's got his primordial tail to help keep him balanced"
3. Adverteasing Game Question: "When it rains it pours!" James: "It's gotta be Zoloft!"

Those are only a few of the running jokes. Thanks guys for such a great game day!

Until Next Time,

Love,
Alicia

Ideas for Halloween Funtivities!

Halloween is just around the corner! After viewing a best friend's blog (thank you Kristin:) I decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to discuss a few Halloween Costume Ideas... especially for those of us that feel like the holiday will be here before we know it!

For us... Halloween is about dressing up, THEMES, decorations, of course food... but really just having a great time with your friends. If you don't know yet, theme parties are something that my friends and I do very well and we do very often. In college, every month and again on holidays, we would find some reason to throw a theme party... may it be a birthday, graduation, National Holiday, or a random Saturday... theme parties were planned and this included location, outfits, food and drink, and of course decor!

As time has progressed and we have moved further away from each other... darn growing up :)... we still throw our usual Halloween and pumpkin carving parties, Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas party. The picture above is from a few years ago at the Fant's apartment where Ray and I were Beauty and the Geek! Home made costumes tend to be our forte and again what we do best! So here are some great ideas that have been done since college and into our adult life.
ENJOY!

Kristin and I: Halloween: 2003 or 2004?!?!


Mike's Punk Party


Stephanie & Adam: Punk Party


Michael & Kristin: Punk Party


Heroes and Villains Party:




Love Carebear and her Flash!


The Fants: Superman and Supergirl!


Sarah and Chris Langford: The Incredibles


Everything 80s!


The Fant's Halloween Party 2007


Albert Einstein: Halloween: 2007


Kermit and Miss Piggy: Halloween 2008


The girlies Halloween 2008


The Boys: Halloween 2008


The Dukes: Dr. and his Nurse:) 2008


The Fants: Bob and Jillian from the Biggest loser!


Checkpast Halloween 2008:


Checkpast Winners!


Dustin's Pub Golf Party 2009


The Ever Stylish Safari Animals 2009

Here are merely a few ideas. This Halloween 2009: My wonderful friends/bridesmaids and I will be partaking in my BACHELORETTE PARTY! I am so excited:) I would love to reveal my costume... but the pictures might be better than words. So for now I'll hold off.

Also Pregnancy Ideas:
1. Jack O Lantern:
2. Fish Bowl
3. Bun in the Oven: review picture above
4. Crystal Ball and gypsy
5. Basketball or any sports ball
6. Pea Pod
7. Deviled Egg: Dress in White, glue yellow circle on your tummy, devil horns and pitch fork are optional.
8. Miss Conception: wear a formal gown with a sash: Miss Conception: you must do the pageant wave
9. Mummy to be: dress in white gauze
10. Bag of Jelly Beans
11. Gumball Machine
12. Grapes or other round fruits
13. Christmas Tree

We will also be getting costumes for the pups this year. We'll see how long they leave the costume on or even if they'll allow us to dress them up. Should be an experience:)
Michael this is for you! Hehe



Let me know what your ideas are for this year!

Love,
Alicia

And the Countdown Continues!

Sixty-Four Days to Go Until the WEDDING!

I figured too much time has past since my latest blog about the wedding. Honestly sooo much has happened and it just amazes me that within almost two months we'll be officially married and all that is wedding planning will be over with. We'll then be able to move forward into the honeymoon/relaxing stage:) I very much am excited about the R&R!

Where to begin?!?!
Basically Ray and I have taken care of all the major wedding hurdles out there from the venue including both the ceremony and reception, DJ, Florist, Cakes, Hotel for the guests, Wedding Attire, Save the Dates, and other pre planning activities. Of course minor set backs have taken place from receiving incorrect save the dates, shuttle service issues, loss of our officiant, to issues with the invitations. As far as our Save the Dates are concerned, I'm sorry to Amy and Jeremy in Colorado. May you have a wonderful wedding next year. That was quickly resolved after a an immediate breakdown and a few calls. All the others have been attended to/in the process of being resolved. What I will say is that honestly things will go wrong in planning a wedding. There will be issues that need to be addressed and maybe a few minor difficulties but in the end it always finds a way of working itself out. Those minor issues aren't what makes a wedding. It is about the love for your fiance/soon to be husband as well as those you love who will help celebrate it with you. I am so thankful that I have such amazing family and friends that are able to celebrate and share our big day with us.

And yes while there were a few set backs, there have been so many wonderful things that we have been so lucky to be apart of. I am so happy to have a fiance that allows me to drag him to every vendor/meeting out there. I try to remind him of that daily:)


And girls don't let him fool you. He gets so excited and has been such a huge part of this wedding.

I have the most wonderful bridesmaids who made picking out there dresses such a fun and eventful day. I know that you girls will look so beautiful and each dress will be unique to you. Thank you for all that you do. I also have a wonderful mother that has bent over backwards to help me in every way possible even though she's in Sugar Land and I'm in Dallas. Next week we have our engagement session with Dorothy Gautreaux!


She is the most amazing photographer and is so talented. Both Ray and I are very lucky and thankful to have someone so talented who absolutely loves what they do and captures such a beautiful moment.

Next weekend on Saturday, Sept 19th is my Dallas Bridal Shower and I couldnt' be more excited about it. Now I have to go shopping:) It's a great excuse! I just can't believe how quickly time is flying by. And while there are days that I want to pull my hair out... I'm also reminded of just how wonderful this whole process is and how lucky I am for those around me!

Latest Calendar of Funtivities: including some amazing birthdays to Michael and Steph:)

1. Sept 17: Checkpast Awards Luncheon: Best Places to Work
2. Sept 17: Engagement Session with Dorothy
3. Sept 19: Bridal Shower (weekend full of fun activities plus my mom and aunt will be in town!) An early thank you to the beautiful bridesmaids/hosts of my shower:)
4. Sept 26: The Boys Triathlon Sprint
5. Oct 9-111: Ray's Bachelor Party Weekend
6. Oct 17: Sugar Land Bridal Shower
7. Oct 22: Wedding Dress Pick up day:) I think the girls get to pick their dresses up in early Oct
8. Oct 31: My Bachelorette Party: Happy Halloween!
9. November 6 or 8: Thanksgiving Dinner at Kaylans
10. November 13: Rehearsal Dinner
11. November 14: OUR WEDDING!

Love,
Alicia

Half Way to 30?!?!

Big 25th birthday!

September 4, 2009: I first have to thank all my amazing friends and fiance for making this one of the best ones yet! I'll be honest though. This year my birthday definitely snuck up on me. I'm not saying this is a bad thing by any means... but this year is absolutely flying by.

So "Half way to 30?!?!" Yes I know. Of course you know that anyone over the age of 15 is half way to 30... but the story goes a little something like this. A good friend of ours and previous roommate of Ray's was turning 25. And its been a few years so the story has gotten mixed up a bit... but the gist of it is that Ray and Mike were apartment searching/signing and the lady asked for his drivers license. She then said oh today's your birthday! He said yes... and the next thing out of her mouth was... oh and you're half way to 30! But again most teenagers are as well... So that's our little joke...
PS: The story could have also taken place at a restaurant... but again its been a few years... so we'll keep it like that.

So my morning started off amazing. I went to work and had this done to my desk:

Thank you Checkpast! I feel so loved:) I also received 3 tubes of Chapstick and a bottle of cherry coke from Amber! Seriously a great start to my morning!


For lunch Ray took me to the Olive Garden where I ate all you can eat soup and salad. Before we started our meal, our waitress offered the usual glass of wine. Before I had the opportunity to tell her "no"... she looked at me and said, "oh honey I'm sorry are you legal to drink?" I definitely was carded for my 25th birthday!

At 4:00PM we were let off of work for the holiday! Pete's was on my mind and within a few hours I would be spending it with 8 other amazing people singing some of our favorite songs and celebrating a great start to a long weekend!

Here are some pictures of the night!

Ray and I getting ready for Petes!


Girlies at Pete's Piano Bar!


My awesome work ladies!


Yay Pete's Picture!


My Duckee and I at Petes!
Brings back some fun memories;)


Daniela and Robert!
My old roommy and new lunch buddy:)


Singing loudly to Journey with my beautiful friends!


I love this one:)


Adam and my wonderful Fiance:)


Pete's group as the night was winding down!


Stephanie & Adam: Until Next Time Petes! We love you guys!


What an amazing night! Thanks Pete's!
Steph and Adam... I LOVE LOVE LOVE my PURSE!

Thank you all for making this an amazing birthday! Until next year:)

Love,
Alicia

PS: and to all of those who could not celebrate with me... those that were out of town or just unable... Thank you for all the birthday wishes! They sure mean the world to me.... AND... you better believe that there will be more celebrating in the near future;)

Update:
I received the cutest gift from my soon to be sister-in-law that I wanted to show you...
It is a flower cup cake! Almost so good you could eat!




Thank you to my Alabama Family:)