I have walls

So I really like my job, really, it's true. When I first got out of college I worked at a mortgage company for a year and did not love it so much, not much at all actually. So I totally know the feeling of dread when driving to work or thinking about work or being at work - which makes me even more grateful for a job that I honestly like to do and good people around me that are happy to be here too! It really makes all the difference in the world and I really do feel lucky.

About three weeks ago or so I got my own office!! Oh happy day! I am so excited!! Before you see the pictures I have to explain that our office is one of the nicest in Mays Business School, second only to the Dean's office I would say. Everything is dark wood, very elegant and corporate looking, our conference room is sponsored and decorated by Neiman Marcus (when I interviewed in it I thought I had died and gone to heaven), just overall very nice. But the only open office I could move into hasn't been updated to match the rest, so I have a lot of gray and some different shades of...well, gray. Am I complaining about this .... NO WAY! It's awesome to have my own space and my own phone line and someone to transfer my calls from the front desk, it's awesome so I don't complain one bit.






The decorations I have right now include my diploma frame and my Dwight Schrute bobble head that Jared got me for Christmas. Don't be jealous.

However, I did put in and SOS call to my mom (design extraordinaire) because it is a bit bland and I'm not sure just where to go with it. She suggested some vintage magazine covers in frames to add some color and a lot of other stuff that I can't quite visualize. So these are a couple I am liking right now, who knows what will actually end up on the walls. But I have complete trust in my mom, she just needs to get here ASAP!

I'll post some "after" pictures soon.

Old Mexico 2008 - part 2

After a couple days of lounging, sleep, and guacamole we decided to venture out a bit and head over to Chichen Itza and Tulum to check out some old stuff. Chichen Itza was neat to see, there were so many buildings and stories to go with each one so it was pretty incredible. Then we found a whole in the ground and decided to jump in and take some pictures, so easily amused.

Then it got really hot and we were ready to go!

It was a pretty long drive from Playa to Chichen Itza so on the way home we stopped in this little town to buy some ice cream and walk around the park. These little kids were selling handkerchiefs and bracelets and there was just no resisting, they were way too cute. I actually got to use one of the five sentences I know in Spanish and found out their names were Lupita and Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos was not satisfied with the way I pronounced his name and repeated it to me until I rolled my R's enough.

He then gave all of us a little spanish lesson there on the bench by pointing to a bird that was painted on the back of it and naming the different parts in slow spanish (he knew what a moron I was from the whole name debacle). I was so pround that he understood me when I asked him in spanish "Where are the birds shoes?". He pointed to the black toenails on the birds claw and replied "The bird is wearing black shoes". Since the word "toenails" is not one of the ten spanish words I know I tried to think of how to explain it but then just said "Yes, the bird is wearing black shoes." Sure, why not!

There are these things all over the place called Cenotes, basically giant sink holes in the limestone full of fresh water. Some are open like huge pools of crystal clear water in the middle of nowhere and some are more like caves with a small opening in the top. We stopped at one on the way home for a little swim but we didn't know it was the cave-type with freezing cold water. So we took some pictures and stuck our feet in while Jared swam in the freezing water. He said it was really really cold, like iceberg cold.

Tulum was closer to Playa, only about 45 minutes away, and right on the coast. It was AMAZING! I liked it a lot more than Chichen Itza - it wasn't as crowded or overun with people selling you stuff, the guides are much more informed, and the tour ends with the most amazing beach I've ever seen. I think 90% of beach postcard pictures are taken there, it was incredible.

To be continued once more...

Word of the Week - Gullywasher

Having been born and raised in Texas, and being surrounded by native Texans pretty much my whole life, I had no idea that everyday words we use may not be so common outside the Great State. In fact, there have been a few times that I've been stopped mid sentence by a puzzled look from Jared (who grew up in Idaho, Albuquerque, and then Texas), and other friends and family who are Texas converts, when I say something southern without knowing it.

This very thing happened driving home during a huge downpour, we ran inside from the car and I said "It's crazy out there, this is a gullywasher!" Jared looked at me like I had morphed into a 90 yr. old shotgun-carrying grandma from the boonies, "A what?"

After much discussion I wouldn't budge from insisting that it is a real word, used by people under the age of 85, and not just in Texas either! So we took some pictures so I could blog about it and ask for some support on this. Help me out here, is this a passed down Murray farm word or is it legit?

On a side note, I really like lightining, but I HATE thunder. It scares me.

Old Mexico 2008

So we got home from New Mexico with Jared's family on New Year's Day and three days later hopped on a plane to meet my family in "Old" Mexico for eight days on the beach - talk about an awesome holiday break! It was the most fun we've ever had.

My parents rented a house on the beach in Playa del Carmen for the week (actually my sister Melissa found it - our family travel pro!), but we had pretty much no clue about Mexico since we'd never been there. Little did we know that it is AWESOME! It was warm and the people were so nice, we did so many fun things and ate like it was going out of style.

I also took way too many pictures, shocker, so I'll do more than one post to save you from scrolling for days. When we got there we spent a couple days catching up on sleep and laying in the sun - heavenly. It was amazing how close the house was to the water, it was practically IN the water.

We met our cook for the week, Candelaria, and her husband Martin. They didn't speak a word of English so we quickly nominated Melissa to be our translator. Our spanish teacher from high school, the Ferg, would be quite ashamed of us I'm sure. But she brought a cookbook with pictures so we just did a lot of pointing and thumbs up. She made the best guacamole I've ever had in my life, I think it had crack in it or something. So we asked her to bring it every day! (she wrote down the recipe so I'll share later!)

A masseuse came and we got massages on the porch, she was so good that she came back at the end of the week too! It was the most relaxing thing ever. We got her card so Kellye and Sean can call her when they go on their honeymoon in June, so if any of you need a good masseuse on vacation I'll totally hook you up.

But the coolest thing from the whole trip were the monkeys! This lady in the market had little monkeys that you could hold and take pictures with for $5, SOLD! Their little hands are the cutest things and they are so friendly. I wanted to stuff one in my purse and take off running but I think it read my mind because just then it bit the tar out of my finger. Back to your home little guy!

To be continued....

Foot Duvets changed my life

My parents gave Jared and I foot duvets in our stockings for Christmas and I'm in love. They look a little like moon boots but when you put them on you won't care what they look like, I promise.

My feet are always cold, ALWAYS! We have a zillion blankets around the house but I still end up shoving my cold toes under Jared's leg to try and warm them up, he loves it as you can imagine. In bed it's the worst! I am always trying to find his feet to mooch some of the warmth, he loves this even more.



So these are my new favorite must-haves. I wear them around the house and even in bed if it's really cold. I've seen some without the furry lining but I prefer them with the fur, they are so soft it makes you want a whole bodysuit made of it. I would totally rock that.

New Mexico 2007

On Christmas day we loaded up the cars with everyone in College Station by the last name of Jacox and headed west, destination - Ramah, New Mexico. Lori rented a cool cabin on a lot of land about two hours west of Albuquerque for a week of rest, relaxation, and SNOW! Here are some pictures from the week:

They actually had candles on the wall you could light!

There was no central heat so Jared and Cody lit the fireplaces every morning, thanks guys!

Staying warm by the fire.

Headed down the road to the Stagecoach Cafe, some of the best hamburgers ever!

Rock band got some serious action during the week. If I never hear the song "Creep" again it will be too soon!

Snow!

Tiffany keeping warm in her new scarf.

This is a waterfall in the summer but it was frozen rock solid!

Cody, Ryan and Jared rockin it.

Jacox family!

Sierra and Lori duet on Rock Band.

Jared and his new iPod Touch, fancy!

Lori and I in the kitchen.

Our woodchopper for the week - Jared Jacox himself.

Things I learned in New Mexico:

1. I need to make more time to read. I read a book while I was up there and realized I used to read all the time and I miss it!
2. Foot duvets are a must have - I plan on doing a whole post about them later, get excited.
3. If you can't give yourself a week to eat whatever you want (and not feel guilty about it, or talk about how bad it is for you) then you really aren't living. Especially a week that Lori is cooking.
4. You can rent books on tape from any Cracker Barrel and return them to any other Cracker Barrel for like $3.00/week, pretty sweet deal if you ask me.
5. Rummikub (pronounced Rummi-cube) is the coolest game ever, I'm officially addicted.