S. Hill

that's me!

A friend sent me this picture the other night (well, actually two friends, who were together at the time, both sent me this picture.) They must have been REALLY excited.



Anyway, it's cute so I thought I would share.

Does the giddyness from a new name ever go away? I hope not! I'm enjoying it wayyy too much. It's so funny to me that people at work know me by no other name. To them and every new person I meet, I've always been Stephanie Hill. Crazy.

Flat tires

suck! Especially first thing in the morning.

It wasn't until I arrived at the post office 5 miles down the road that I realized the I had... A FLAT TIRE!! I'm not sure what made me look at my back left tire when I got out of the car, but thats when I saw it! Why I didn't notice it when I started the car, backed out the driveway or drove over the 50 speed bumps in the neighborhood, I'll never know. Oh course, the warning light that was supposed to tell me I had a low tire never lit up either (until I was almost at the tire place and now I can't get it to turn off!). When I realized what I had to deal with, I did what I always do when problems arise (and Alan in unreachable)... call mom!

We decided over the phone that I should drive my car to the Discount tire just down the road, so I did.. at about 15 mph with my flashers on. (Thank you cop, who passed me without seeming the least bit concerned.) Once I got there, they told me that because I drove on the tire, ruining the inside walls, I would most likely have to replace it. But, hello, how else was I supposed to get there? I said "okay" and then waited and waited. I can't complain much though, I had a people magazine in my hands and they were playing the Dixie Chicks on the radio. :)

Finally, the guy told me that they were all finished and that the tire wasn't completely ruined but he went ahead and replaced it anyway because he didn't feel comfortable with me driving on it. The best part was when he addded that he "took care of it" A new $75 tire for free? Yes, please!

Yep,... girl's still got it ;)

Proof that bad mornings can make for okay days. PS- Happy birthday to my love, Shannon Smith. 23.. wooo hooo! Miss you.

A Perfect Sunday

Well, minus the fact that my man had to work all day...

It was my first Sunday off in awhile (like 6 weeks or something) and I couldn't have asked for a better day. Like every Sunday, Alan and I slept in, but were awoken every hour by our pesky K9, who finally managed to make his way up on the bed for some play time (I have the bruises and cuts to prove it!). When we finally crawled out of bed, Alan went to weedeat the yard and I made lunch (yes, it was pretty much lunch time by this point). After eating together and watching 10 minutes of the Cowboys game, Alan was off the work and still has yet to return..

I accomplished lots today.

Cleaned the house. Did laundry. Got my oil changed and tires rotated. Went grocery shopping.. it had been a LONG time since I've gone. Gave the dog a bath. Went to Michael's for fall decor, which happen to all be 50% off! (Alan would be so proud. Although, he thinks seasonal decorating is pointless and a waste of time and money. I have to disagree.. it doesn't cost that much and it makes me happy. Why not do something that makes you happy when you can?)

The new wreath I made for fall!


I think I did pretty good with this.. made it myself!


Kinda hard to see, but this is our dining room table. I finally found something to put in that awesome glass canister.


Pine cones and little pumpkins!


Made tortilla soup. Yummy!



and tonight I plan on eating ice cream and watching the season premier of Desperate Housewives. Welcome to the good life! LOVE IT :)

Zappos Commercial: "Different Direction"

Has anyone seen/heard the zappos commericals? I think they are just adorable so I wanted to share my favorite. I've heard it a couple of times and laugh everytime.

Check it out!

Pilates.. AKA "Sit & Be Fit"

Today, I didn't have to go into work until noon, so I decided to try the pilates class at my gym. Little did I know what I was getting into...

I'd say the first red flag had to be the people in the class. Well, rather the age of the people in the class. Let's just say that when I walked into the studio, the average age became about 60. You do the math (if you still don't get it, this means almost everyone was around 70 in the class and I was the youngest by 2 generations).

The second and third red flag had to be the instructor. A.) She apologized for the "bad behavior" of the class (I'll get to that in a second) and B.) she was a Reagan mom.. ew.

So as the class starts, the instructor announces that first, we will be working arms. This is much to the dismay of the class and the moaning, whinning, and arguing begins. "No, I'm not doing that." grunts an older man in the back. "you can't make me." Now, I know his comment was all in good fun, but seriously?! And it wasn't just him commentating.. it seemed almost everybody was belonged to the peanut gallery! I heard stories about grandchildren, deaths, hip pains, you name it!

Finally, the forth red flag was the actual workout itself, which was about 15 minutes shorter than it was supposed to be. I'll admit that I haven't done pilates in a long time and the majority of my time was spent in front of a dvd I got on sale at Target when I was in HS, but I KNOW it has got to be a better workout than what I did this morning. I'm guessing that considering the clientele, the workout had been catored to an older crowd. (I was at an 8:30 class on a Friday morning.) Even though I felt like we were mimicking as eposide of "Sit and Be Fit" on KLRN, I made it through the class. Who knows, to my surprise I may even be sore tomorrow. Hope so!

Needless to say, I don't think I will be attending this class again anytime soon. To be honest, I probably will not have another weekday morning to go anyway.

PS- And by this post, I do not mean to offend any of my grandparents. I actually applaud the efforts of the people in the class.. I hope I still belong to a gym and do pilates when I am that age. Despite the complaining, most of them were in excellent shape! Also, this group had to be the friendliest of all the group classes I have taken. No other group has invited me out for coffee after the class!

Churchill loses in a repeat of last week :(

You know you are a coach's wife when you listen to the your hubby's HS game on AM radio on your way home from work, stay in the car in the garage yelling are at the radio for an extra 10 minutes and sprint into the house to pull up the online broadcast as fast as possible!

Unfortunately, I had to miss this week's game yet again.. (UTSA soccer lost to TCU 1-3 tonight). Churchill played their archrival, the Reagan Rattlers. Since I couldn't make it over to the game before it ended, I did the next best thing.. Radio. Jeez, I've never yelled and cheered more at the radio in my life. Poor Levi didn't know what to think with all the commotion!

At the end of the 4th, the game was tied at 21 (Churchill missed a PAT but then made up for it with a 2-point conversion later), sending the game into overtime. Both teams scored in overtime, sending the game into double overtime. RR scored and then WC followed suit. After kicking a extra point that was no good, but was called back for a penality, WC went for 2.. and was stopped at the 1/2 yard line. Noooooooooooo!

I am still in shock and could probably cry. Poor boys went through the same extact situation last week aganist Judson, losing by only a point. I don't know much else to say besides "booo." What makes it worse is the RR fans and their egotistical personalities. No, Rattlers, a 1-point win DOES NOT make you the "Chosen" ones. Get over yourself. Any other team and I wouldn't be so rude. Don't dish it if you can't take it, though.

On a happier note SV beat Canyon tonight :)

Oh and I am personally volunteering to become the kicker for both WC and SV because, as we have learned, one point can make all the difference.

I officially have a SA Public Library card

WARNING: Please refrain from all "nerd" comments!

Today, I went and got a public library card. I've been wanting to do it for months now, but never had a chance. I love to read and the best part about this library is that it is within walking distance of my house! Awesome!

I've also really wanted to join a book club, but the ones offered there are at 2:30 in the afternoon. Apparentently, you have been be retired or jobless to be a member of those clubs! So I guess the book club will have to wait for now. I'm not sure if I have time for that anyway.

My first book is by Cecelia Ahern, the author of "PS- I love you." Hopefully, it's good..I picked it on a whim. Now that I have a card though, I need recommendations on books! Any help from my fellow readers is much appreciated. I will post good books I randomly find as well.

Churchill's first (and hopefully only!) loss of the season

The headlines say it all "Judson, just barely."

(www.mysanantonio.com/sports/high_school_football/judson_just_barley103188884.html)

I couldn't be there last night as Churchill (3-0) battled Judson (2-1), (I had to work a UTSA soccer game.. in the rain. The girls won 7-0, though!) but from what I hear it was a great game. Churchill held the lead for the majority of the game, but Judson fought back early in the fourth and forced the game into overtime. Churchill ended up losing 26-27 due to a failed attempt at a 2-point conversion to win the game.

It's always sad to see the ones you love disappointed by a game's ending, but they will be back. There are many more teams to defeat this season. Go Chargers!

Levi hits 50.. pounds that is!

Our little boy is growing, and growing fast! Last week he turned 5 months old and today, I took him to the vet to have him weighed where he topped the scale at a whopping 52.9 lbs! When you consider that he weighed a mere 25 pounds the first time we took him to the vet and that we haven't altered his eating habits much, its quite an impressive feat!

I told him he couldn't get any bigger the day he got him but, of course, the stubborn pup didn't listen! I'll let him gain another30- 50 lbs within the next 6 months, but that's where I'm drawing the line. Each night he takes up more and more space in the bed (spoiled brat!), and pretty soon Alan and I will be the ones sleeping in a doggy bed and Levi will be stretched out in OUR bed. He may be getting older and bigger, but sleeping is still his favorite activity (well, that and running around the house like a crazy dog).

That's all for now. Obedience class #4 next week!

6 empty months...

I've had a hard enough day as is, so the last thing I want to do is rehash my rough morning. Dad would not have wanted it that way. However, I do want to note that it has been 6 months since the world lost a wonderful husband, son, father, brother and friend. There is not a day that goes by that he doesn't cross my mind, and although they say it gets easier, it doesn't. Alan and I like to laugh about all the goofy things he said and did, which is a lot of laughter considering "goofy" was Dad's middle name.

Anyway, I heard this song the other day and wanted to share it. Dad loved all kinds of music. (including mary j blige, whom he bought the CD of off Amazon when I was in HS... needless to say, I was mortified) If fact, he thought he was a musician himself and maybe, where he is now, he is. :)


"What do I do with all I need to say
So much I wanna tell you everyday
Oh it breaks my heart,
I cry these tears in the dark
I write these letters to you,
But they get lost in the blue,
'Cause there's no address in the stars."

Chorus, Address in the Stars- Caitlin and Will

home is where the heart is

We've been working on putting our new home together and so far, so good. We both love coming home, and although we are just renting and would never want to own this place, we both REALLY enjoy the space (oh, and most importantly, so does King Levi). We are SO grateful to have gotten such nice wedding gifts. There is no way the house would be looking the way it does without them.

Since we have only had a few people over so far, I thought I would share a couple of pics of our humble abode. Can't wait to decorate for fall in a few weeks, and most importantly CHRISTMAS. I've been contimplating where to put the Christmas tree since the day we moved in. I'm still not certain.. luckily, I have a few months to decide.

I'll put more pictures up later. Until then, you'll just have to come see it in person! ;)

Gym escapades

So, I've found another use for creating a blog... to rant about things other people really don't care about. Alan (& numerous others) seem to think I'm pretty good at that. I didn't create the "I need to vent" phone call to Jessica Nelson for nothing!

Today, my annoyance is with the people at the gym. I went to spin class for the second time this week (I'm on a roll, I know!), and it just really irrates me when people leave a group exercise class with 5 minutes left. What on earth is so important that you have to rush out of class early without stretching or doing abs? And what's worse is that it is usually the same people every class. Congrats, you slacker, you got to put away your equipment first and completely disrespect the instructor and annoy your peers. Enjoy the evil looks on your way out.

Oh, and to the little man who thinks that using my bicycle seat to balance as you stretch while I'm still using the bike is okay with me, you are SERIOUSLY mistaken! Standing and climbing like instructor said to do, does not make my seat free game Mr. Plus, it just makes you look creepy, so stop.

Before I go, I must brag and say that I was the only woman (besides the instructor) to make it to the end of spin class today. Everybody else took off early. I may not be able to walk in the morning, but I definitely conquered that hour!

I promise ALL my posts won't be me complaining or venting (I am pretty good at it though, don't ya think?).

Mr. Levi Duncan

Tonight, Al and I took Levi to his second obedience class. Last week, I had to work and Alan had to take him alone. Apparently, Levi was a menace and terriorized all the other pups. Both puppy and Alan came home angry!

Tonight, however, was a different story. Our puppy was well behaved and definitely not the worst in the bunch. (YES!) Maybe it was my attendance at the class... or maybe it was the timing of the class (we had to wake him from a nap to take him). We'll never know...until next week.

I'm still debating as to whether this class is really worth it. So far, Levi has been able to perform all the behaviors asked and has for months now. I mean, he was potty trained by day 3 and could sit on command on day 2. Hopfully, we learn something new next week and by the end of the 8 weeks, Levi is a well mannered dog... hey, a girl can dream!

Now, Levi is passed on the floor next to me and looking as cute as can be. Updates to come next Wednesday!

Numero Uno!

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a few months now, and finally decided to go through with it. I've been wanting to do it for a couple of reasons. 1.) I want to share our lives with family and friends who we can't see or talk to everyday 2.) I want to be able to look back a year or two from now and see what "the newlyweds" were up to and, 3.) I've always heard that writing is therapeutic, and seeing as I am still struggling over the loss of my father, I thought I would give it a try. If anything, I'm writing to him up in Heaven.

So, I'll be sharing our lives as exciting or mundane as they might be. Although I'll be the only one writing, most posts will be about Alan and I.. oh, and Levi. In fact, Levi might hog this blog. That little guy basically rules our lives and we love him!