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If you know me well, then you’d know that one of my favorite things to do is going hiking.  I just love the outdoors, the fresh air, marking my territory on the great open plane, getting dirty as hell and having an excuse not to shower. What could be better.

On the internet it rated this hike 4 1/2 stars.  Pretty good considering that it was out of five.  It also said that this hike was an easy 3 miles and has a waterfall.  Well, at first we ended  up following random strangers that led us in the direction of the lake.  No waterfall here.

Anyhow, after our short hike down the lake Ray guided us in the right direction.

There was a small stream, and at the end we saw where there would of been a waterfall had there been rainfall.  Not much rain lately so no waterfall for us.

So we hiked our happy asses back to the car and drove home.

Whenever I get bored I find ways to occupy my time, like giving Ray a facial. I’m one of those people that has more beauty products than anyone can possibly need in one lifetime. As a matter of fact, last year, before we moved to Hawaii I decided not to purchase anymore products until I started using up what I had. It’s been over a year and I still have a shit ton of products. Anyhow I look over and  see Ray working diligently at his desk so I go, “you want a facial?”  And he goes, “sure babe.”

And the whole time he just sat there working on the computer, such a stoic man my honey is.

There was a bit left over so I put it in his hair.

So the other day while driving to Dallas Ray says to me that we should of just moved to Dallas since we’re driving down there every other weekend. He went on to say that we could of got a kick ass pad for a lot less than what we’re paying for in Austin. I thought about it and I have to admit it did seem tempting. Dallas had grown on me but I don’t regret moving to Austin. Besides Ray’s lived in Dallas before.

For Father’s Day weekend Ray and I drove up to Dallas to hang out with dad of course. Just so happened that Chris and Marci were flying in. I love Marci and Chris is weird. We all met up for some drinks downtown and even got to hang out with Bisch and Pam. I love Bisch; he’s always happy and so much fun.

So after a few drinks I look over and see this photo of this add on a taxi of this baby. I have horrible eyes, especially when I’m drunk so my first reaction to this was, “oh, that poor baby, some asshole drew a Hitler mustache on him.” And then I take a closer look and realize that this poor baby has a cleft lip. I uncontrollably laughed histerically. I felt so bad for laughing but I couldn’t help it, drunken me. Anyway, I had to take a photo.

A week later I’m on the computer and Ray goes, “hey, we’re suppose to drive to Dallas today. Bea is flying in.” “Huh, we are? Okay, lets go.” We pack up our shit and head to Dallas.

We decide to eat at Hooters. I haven’t been to that place since I was an Eskimo in San Diego . . . um Halloween. We ordered a couple of pitchers of beer and it came with a bag of ice. Where have I been because I never seen this done before. It’s genus because not only does it keep the beer warm but it also allow a lot less room for beer. We get cold beer and Hooters gets more beer, I guess it’s a win win situation.

I don’t remember exactly what we were trying to spell but we had fun doing it.

Bea had the cutest grandma ever. I just want to take her home and have her watch t.v. with me.

We stayed the night at Bea’s parents house one night. I brought over my wedding dress so Bea’s mom could do the finishing touches on it. Ray and I feel asleep before Bea and Ben. Big mistake because Bea and Ben kept themselves busy toilet papering our car.

Of course Bea and I had to go shopping. We went to a couple of thrift stores. She got a vintage desk for Ben’s kids. How cute does she look!

We’ve been out in Dallas more than we have in Austin. No worries, there’s plenty of time in Austin to catch up.

Our wedding is in two months and Ray and I finally found a place to get married. After searching the Internet for wedding venues my stress lessened. There were so many beautiful places to get married that was exactly what we wanted for an affordable price. By the time we were done looking I had a two page list covered from front and back. I called tons of places and left a bunch of messages and by the next day I was even more stressed. Obviously, we weren’t the only ones with the idea of getting married on 08-08-08. Almost every place that I contacted was already reserved. Anyhow, to make the long story, of the few places that we were able to check out, we came to the conclusion that Memory Lane Bed and Breakfast and Event Center was the place.

We’re planning on having a night wedding outside. There’s lights that wrap around the trees that give the place a really romantic iridescent glow at night, which was what really sold us on the place. Memory Lane Event Center is actually a bed and breakfast located on 16 acres. There’s also a pool and jacuzzi so if your coming bring your swim suit.

In all honesty there were a few other places that we probably would have rather chosen to have our wedding at but they were either taken or not accommodating for our guest. Our wedding is going to be fairly small, although Ray keeps giving me e-mails to send out more invitations to, so we really wanted all of our close family and friends to be close to us. Also we know weddings are expensive so we wanted to have a place for those who were strapped for cash to also have a place to stay. However, the place isn’t huge so if room runs out before you let us know you are planning on staying with us your gonna have to reserve a place at Kelly’s Country Cottages. Also if you have issues with staying in a large house with all of our family and friends, then I probably suggest that you get a place at Kelly’s Cottages. The place is out in the country about 45 minutes away from the venue. So unless you plan on bringing your own vehicle or renting one please stay within driving distance for us to come and get you and drop you off. Ray and I are planning on renting a large van but we are not planning on being a taxi service at our own event.

I want to say that this place is perfect, but we had to compromise accommodating for style. This place is really country. By the way, if you have a blow up mattress please bring it along with you because we probably will need it.

Well that’s it for now folks. Keep stopping by for more wedding updates or to just see what the hell is going on in our lives.

When we first got to Austin we rented a cheap ass hotel for two days in hope that it would be enough time to find an apartment.  Well it wasn’t and in an effort to save money Ray called up Chris, Shane’s brother, and we ended up staying at his place for about five days.  He has a beautiful wife and four growing boys.  His boys are some of the cutest, well behaved boys I have ever come across.  Here are some photos I took of them.

This is Piellei, the eldest of the boys

Ray’s getting ready for fatherhood.

The second to eldest and the most hyper one, Adrian.

There you have it.  I found my new family in Austin.

I miss the beach and the weather, oh and rainbows.  I know Austin is my new home now and I’m totally excited to be here but Hawaii is where my soul calls home.  What I would give right now to be on the beach just soaking up the sun.  Texas feels like hell, or a very hot oven.  I laugh when I hear someone say, “today sure is a nice day.” Ha, if they only knew.  They have no idea.

It’s been a month since we left Hawaii and still we have no home. WTF!!! Seriously. It’s actually been 6 days since we drove to Austin, but finding a place to live has proved to be quite challenging. Ray and I drove straight shot to Austin only stopping twice, but for no more than a couple hours. We rented a hotel for two days and nights and took that time to search for a place to live.  We found a place at the Domains.  It’s not exactly the place that I have envisioned but it’s second best and when you limited with time, money and patience second best will do. However, because Ray is self employed renting an apartment is a lot more difficult for us.  I don’t really want to to through the details but it’s been really frustrating.  Thank God for the Semmlers.  We moved out of Shane’s apartment in Hawaii only to move in with his older brother, Chris and his family.  We didn’t actually move in but it sure as hell seems like it.  Chris and his family kindly took us in so we don’t have to waste all of our money on a hotel while waiting for the people at the Domain approve us.  An address they pulled up on Ray’s report ended up being his work address where he had his mail forwarded about five years ago for convienence so they need to call to verify that Ray never lived there.  Since it’s a holiday weekend we won’t find out until Tuesday.  Anyhow, it hasn’t been all that bad.  I’ve grown to love Chris and his family.  He has a beautiful wife name Tiffany and four of the cutest sons I have ever seen in my life.

This is how stuffed the car still is.  There was no way to even see out of the rear view mirror and somehow, Kola still manages to mold himself into the side of all our shit to sleep.

Why, yes he does.

May 22 is a very important date to remember because that day is my friend, Mark’s birthday.

Unfortunately, Mark and I haven’t seen much of each other for some time now, which sucks balls because I miss him very much.

Everybody needs a friend like Mark and if everyone had a Mark in their life I’m certain the world would be a much better place.  He was definitely fun to party with.  Wow, we has some crazy party days.

When I totaled my car Mark let me barrow his jeep for as long as I needed, though, it was horrible on gas.  Oh, and he let me borrow his camera when I went on vacation and even let me borrow money once.

He’s great lunch partner, and most of all, a friend I can always count on.  I could call him at any hour of the night and tell him I was in jail and he’d be there the same night with bail money in hand. That’s the kind of friend his is.

Mark is what I like to call a timeless friend because I know that no matter what we’ll stay close friends through the test of time.

I love you Mark, Happy Birthday!