Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a match...

The future Mr. & Mrs. Derek Bockhorn

Well, in the name of LoVe, I thought I'd share a story of real beginnings and forward-looking, 'happily ever afters'.

It started in 2005, while I was dating a certain boy, that I met my friend Derek Bockhorn. He was best friends, teammate and roommate to my current bf at the time. Therefore, we were around each other...A LOT. I got to know him really well & our own friendship began to grow. I even met his parents at one of their baseball games a couple times (who, by the way are super friendly & so nice). There was another roommate involved who had a gf at all times too, so Derek always happened to fall into the position of what everyone knows as the '5th wheel'. Not a cool position for anyone to be in. Don't get me wrong, he had no problem getting a girlfriend, he was just tired of wasting his time on the 'nobody's'. I learned this information in a little 'heart to heart' convo we had about his previous girlfriend and how bad she sucked at being a girlfriend, haha. So, pause this story for another segway below.

On one of the first days of junior high school, I met my friend, Brandi Cantrell. We played sports together & had the same mutual friends coming into Jr. High. She came to my birthday parties & we did some awesome, fun things through junior high and high school. She's just an all-around great girl and her family is so sweet. Through all of those years, I saw her date several people & knew she wasn't really 'looking' for anyone at the time in 2005. She was just focused on school at ASU and getting things done and didn't care if she did it with, or without, a boyfriend. Kudos to her! :) But that wouldn't last for long.

One day near Christmas in December 2005, I had an epiphony. I thought about Derek & I thought about Brandi. For some reason, they were both on my mind at that time. They were two very similar people with very similar families. So similar, it was actually almost kinda creepy. Both sets of parents are 'country-loving types', so sweet, tight-knit families, with 4 members each, & the weird kicker was that Derek's younger sister's name is actually Brandi (with an 'i') too. And if that's not good enough for you, both of their middle names are 'Nicole' (enter twilight zone music here). When I told Derek that, he said..."ohhh, that's kinda weird...not sure if I can get over that"...haha. Well, it also happened that Derek's dad has a nickname for him while he's on the field in which he refers to him as 'Duke'. And what do you think is the name of Brandi's dog?? You're correct. It's Duke, too! haha. Totally random, but a funny coincidence all the same.

I thought, 'hmmm, maybe they could really have a chance at something fabulous'. Maybe he'll be game for meeting her and vice-versa. I'm gonna take the chance and ask 'em. So, I had called Derek to tell him that I got him a potential girlfriend for Christmas & told him enough about Brandi to get him interested. Then, I called Brandi and pitched the idea of Derek to her. They were both having it, so that leads me to the process of their meeting below.

Sooo, I happened to be at the bowling alley in San Angelo with the boys on a Friday night and knew she wasn't busy that night, so I called and asked her to come up there and hang out with all of us. So, she did. They immediately (after a small introduction) got to talking and hit it off right away. It was just like 'that' (insert finger snap here) and the rest is soon to be made into vows.

I am going to San Angelo this weekend to be there for their wedding. I am so excited for them and so happy that everything has worked out so beautifully between them. I feel a small sense of accomplishment that I could help two wonderful people find each other. I have no doubts that they will live a fabulous and extremely loving life together from now until forever. I want to wish them the best of all things and a happy, long, blessed life together. You two are awesome people and I've very blessed to have you as my friends! I can't wait until the wedding! :)

Addicted...

I have recently become addicted to flipping through all kinds of decorating magazines in my spare time. Chad & I are so excited to have a new house someday and I just love to think about the millions of home decorating possibilities there are. My favorites mags to flip through are Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Home & Garden, & Elle Decor. I usually look through them with the spirit of only wanting to find inspiration, because buying their actual products is usually wayyyy too expensive.

I spend a lot of my free time going into stores like Ross, TJ Maxx, Target, Big Lots, Tuesday Morning, & even Burlington Coat Factory just so I can know what the store has to offer me. I'll walk through with my eyes open to who carries the softest and cheapest towels, who has nice mirrors and glassware for cheap, where to find similar accessories to the pictures in the magazines, and how to use a piece of furniture for multiple things. I keep a mental journal on where the best places are to find specific pieces and I think it's really going to help me save a lot of money when we actually do move into a new house and need new stuff.

I also search online through several websites that I like. They include Overstock.com, Ballard Designs, Ikea, Plow & Hearth, & BHG.com. They all have awesome furniture and some really great items and ideas for classy spaces. I can't wait to have a blank canvas to work on in our next house. I really didn't get to play around and make our first house that much of a home. The place was brand new with new paint, carpet, tile, and fixtures and there really wasn't any reason to change it. So, we made it work and tried to put our own little flair on it, but nothing extraordinary. So, it's exciting for us to get to move somewhere we can really feel at home and like it's a special space.

Sad part is we still have a little over a year before we're supposed to be transferred somewhere new. There isn't much we can do about that though, so we're just looking to the future with positivity and excitement. And I enjoy daydreaming these things out. Decorating is fun! :)

I love this rain shower and REALLY want one! We'll see how that goes! :) And the Japanese Soak Tub is an awesome alternative to the traditional bath tub. I think it would be fun to have. I think the seperate chair living room is an interesting concept. And the last bedroom is just really pretty, warm, and comfy.

And these are just 4 of about 40 pictures I've saved. Sad, I know :).

A Fabulous Day of Lovin'...

I must start this post by saying how blessed I feel to have had my husband here for Valentine's Day this year. This is the first one that we have been together for since we met. And, although I feel like V-Day is super-commercialized & somewhat silly, it was nice to not be alone while everyone else was with the one they love. So, we took full advantage of the day and it was fabulous.

We woke up & ate donuts for breakfast. Yum! Then Chad gave me a card with a heart of Dove chocolates & a red heart balloon that reads "Feliz Dia de San Valentin", hahaha. My first reaction was a laugh, then the question of whether that was the last balloon left or something followed. But, it was really because he thought he'd be funny and get it in Spanish since I'm 'studying' Spanish right now. I appreciated the thoughtfulness. Then we headed out on our special secret surprise afternoon. He took me on a great picnic at Murray Park in Little Rock where we sat by the river and ate a lunch from Jason's Deli on a big, soft blankey. He topped off the surprise with chocolate covered strawberries, two really cute pink-frosting cupcakes, and a bottle of Sparkling White Grape Juice. It was a great alternative to champagne at noon, haha. Nice touch.

We then left the park to head out to my surprise for him. I tried to research and find so many awesome things to do that were out of the ordinary, but had absolutely NO LUCK in getting them accomplished. Turns out all of my ideas were too good for Little Rock. ha. So, I decided to go with an all-in-one type of deal. So, I took him to a little place called Gator Park (no, there weren't any gators). It's a fun place with a little bit of everything; go-karts, an arcade, batting cages, & miniature golf. We bought ourselves some wristbands and had a great time. We did it all and today, I'm paying for the batting cages with severe soreness in my right neck/shoulder. haha. It's all worth it when I recall that I kicked his butt in the first round of mini-golf 41 to 53. Then, the second game, he won 50-53. But we all know who had 3 hole in ones...yes, that was me :). Ah, thank you. After our 3 hours of fun, we left there and picked up a Chick-fil-a sweet tea on our way home to get ready for dinner (we love their sweet tea!!).

We ate dinner at a really cute and quaint Italian-inspired restaurant in LR called Ciao Baci (pronounced Chow Bochi). Chad had a steak and I had a 'collage salad'. It was really yummy and romantic. A great choice for a special night!

We then headed home after our fabulous day of fun and eatery and ended up getting to hang out with some friends at the house. We sat and talked to Shannon, Cassandra, & Dan for an hour or so before breaking out the game of Cranium. We played a round and it was really fun. Unfortunately I was on the losing team, but that's because Cass is known as a Cranium savant...a.k.a. cheater, haha. Not really a cheater, she just knows too much. ;) It was really fun. We finally called it a night with the friends and headed to bed. As we laid there, we got to relax and think about our fabulous day of fun and happiness together.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful and loving husband. We love each other so much. He enjoys putting up with me and I enjoy putting up with him. That's really the secret to a happy marriage. There's no better thing than feeling complete like I do, being married to him. He makes me feel like I am a princess and it's all because he would settle for nothing less. I sign off with a smile on my face...

The trek up Pinnacle Mt...

Yesterday, Chad, Shannon, & I all went into north Little Rock to get our workout on. It was the most beautiful day LR has had since we got here in December. About 70 degrees with the sun shining and crisp air. We just couldn't stay inside all day, so we decided to climb Pinnacle Mountain. It's a mile up, and a mile down; quite steep in places with a lot of large rocks to maneuver. It was perfect. It was a hill that almost anyone can do. And there were A LOT of people there. A couple hundred probably, and several of them brought their puppy dogs. Corkies, Boston Terriers, a Poodle, Jack Russells, Labs, Yorkies (can you believe that?!), a Bull Dog, a puppy Pug, and a couple of little Dachshunds were all making the trek too. Made me really want a doggy of my own to take on walks and hikes. And, I burned 515 of my calories just on the way UP. Then, another 280 on the way down. It was fabulous. Definitely what I love to do on a beautiful day. I'm gonna do a little more research on the surrounding area here to see what other fun things we are missing out on & don't even know about!

Here are some pics!

Touching...

Here is a video that my mom sent me in an e-mail. I watched it and will admit that I was moved by it. A little tiny tear of joy squirted out of my eye for this little guy...and that isn't a very normal thing. :) I figured, everyone loves a 'feel good' story, right? So, now I'm sharing...