I have never been on a blind date.

Until last Friday.

Too bad I didn't have these nifty "Blind Date Secrets" from good ol' Google in time:

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#1) Prepare yourself: The first impression you make will set the mood for the entire date, so prepare in advance to make a good one!  Choose clothes that are appropriate for the date, not too revealing or strange.  Get a fresh haircut, trim your fingernails, and shine shoes if needed.

#2) Where to go and what to do: Don't center it around a meal.  If the date isn't going well and your having dinner, you have to stick it out longer than if you just meet for coffee.

#3) The First Meeting: Arrive a little early, make sure your neatly dressed, and step forward with a polite greeting and a firm handshake.  Remember to say thank you and use good manners.

#4) Ending the Date:  If you don't want to see the other person again, it is ok to say so politely. Saying something like, "I think we don't have a lot in common" is much kinder than saying "I'll call you" and never calling.  Always be kind and make every effort to spare his or her feelings as much as possible.

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Please, by all means, trim your fingernails, use your manners and don't wear anything "strange"!

Enough shenanigans and on to the story.  Both of my boys have been in a program called Early Childhood Intervention because of speech and communication delays.  

Krista was our developmental therapist for a while with Caleb.  A couple times she mentioned another mom that was a client of her's that lived in Plano, and she thought we would really hit it off.  Krista ended up leaving her position to pursue teaching, but before she left she gave my email to the other Mom so that we could get in touch.  

We emailed a couple times and traded blog addresses.  When I read her blog, I knew we'd get along famously.  We just had so many similarities, and she came across on her blog as so down to earth, comfortable with herself, and had a great sense of humor!  She has a great way of describing the every day moments of life at home with kids...kind of like Seinfeld for Mom's. So I was excited to meet her and we set up a time to get together at a local Starbucks.

We clicked.  It was easy.  It was comfortable.  We hugged when we met like we were old friends. We both had our Pumpkin Spice Lattes to sip and it felt like there was too much to talk about in only an hour.  We chatted right up until the very last minute before I had to scamper over to Seth's school to pick him up (with one minute to spare!).  

One of the things that impressed me the most about her was how she talked about her husband: With tons of respect.  She adores him, and that is so refreshing!  And even while talking about all the crazy things that you go through as mother to a 2 and 4 year old (and we all know there is MUCH to talk about at these ages. Good grief...) she just beams about her kids and seems to have so much fun with them.  

Positive people with the ability to laugh at themselves and the daily situations they find themselves in are just plain fun to be around.

And then there is the Dr. Pepper thing.  It just makes us smile.  

And the Jim and Pam thing, and the photography thing, and the social work thing, and the 4Runner thing.  

So my first blind date was a roaring success.  Thanks Janet, for a great morning and I can't wait to do it again!  

And thanks God, for blessing me with a fun new friend.

(Oh, and I am sure you are wondering where the picture is of the two of us on our blind date. Because that is what I would be wondering.  I had my camera in my purse, but I just didn't feel right asking to take a picture on the first date. It felt a little like having the DTR talk too soon, and I didn't want to scare her off.  But I know Amy would have done it, and HAS done it, and I should have, darn it!)

 

No mas musica, por favor.

It is driving Steve crazy that I have not formally addressed the music question I posed a few weeks back. Some of you may have noticed that the song is no longer playing on my blog.  This is because out of all the responses, only one was even semi-positive regarding songs on blogs.  

Most people find them downright irritating.

So no more music to disturb your peaceful blog browsing.  Enjoy the silence and solitude, hopefully while sipping a toasty warm beverage (Pumpkin Spice is back! Ahhhh-yah...) and smelling the sweet aroma of a mulled cider candle burning in the background.  (If you have not smelled the yummy goodness that is Mulled Cider, please travel quickly to your nearest Wal-Mart and plunk down a mere $3 for their jarred variety.  It is heavenly.)

COMING SOON: 

The story of my blind date last Friday with a fellow blogger named Janet...

Sometimes it's the little things in life...

There has been a thorn in my side for almost 7 years. Yes, that is how long Steve and I have been married, but of course I am not talking about him :-) I am talking about this:



This is the first thing that you see when you walk in our house. Steve teaches guitar lessons in the front room of our home, and consequently, he has to have a desk with our home computer available. Steve has many, many talents on top of being a wonderful husband and father. However, organized and tidy he is not. Artists have this reputation for being a tad on the messy side. I will not dispute this stereotype. (Confession: I am not the poster child for organization either.)

So for the last 6 and 3/4 years, I have walked into the house to be greeted by the sight of "the messy desk". Even when Steve straightens it up, which usually happens in the flurry of cleaning activity that takes place before guests arrive, it never really looks CLEAN. There are no drawers or cabinets, no doors to hide clutter behind. What possessed us, with our track record for home organizational skills, to purchase this desk I am not sure. It was probably the cheapest desk to be found on the day we went looking 6 and 3/4 years ago after we had just gotten married and moved into this house.

I recently became so disheartened by this disheveled mess of a desk that finding a solution was moved up on the "home improvement priority list". I am sure everyone has one of those, whether it is a mental list or one that is actually written down on paper. (New curtains here, a weed eater there.) So it came to reside at the top of my list, and in the words of many who have gone before, "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." So Steve was ok with it topping the list, too.

A computer armoire seemed to be the best solution. Doors that will close all the clutter away. Steve can be free to be "artistically messy" at his desk, and then when he is done for the day, he closes the doors. And Wha-lah! A room that we can feel good walking into.

I have sung the praises of Craigslist before. I will sing again. I LOVE CRAIGSLIST!! I have been diligently watching the furniture ads for armoires, and then on Monday night....I saw it. The perfect piece of furniture for the Horvath's front room. I have priced new computer armoires and they are anywhere between $700- $1200 for good quality wood pieces. Not in our budget.

But there it was...solid wood, four drawers inside, and DOORS THAT CLOSE! Hallelujah. $125.

And here it is, sitting in our front room. Just waiting patiently to be filled with our computer related belongings.


So long messy desk. Farewell clutter. We won't miss ya.

Just Hanging Out...

and enjoying the B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L weather!





A little lounging going on inside, too....

Question for the Masses

Or...in this case....my 4 faithful readers.

I just added a song to my blog. Every once in a while, I just get the itch for change. I didn't want to go through the hassle of changing my template again, so I thought I would add a little "flare" in the form of a tune.

This particular song just makes me feel good. It gives me that satisfied, content, first cool day of fall kinda feeling. The weather is changing, there is a freshness to the air, colors seem more vivid. I get re-energized to tackle projects that I have pushed to the back burner.

And I am a sucker for guy-girl duets. I just am. Thank you Jason and Colbie.


I also love this song because I feel "Lucky" to find the lyrics to be true in my life.

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again

So here is my question: Does having a song on a blog add something or distract? Is it a welcome sound to your ears, or does it annoy you while you are trying to read the latest Horvath household shennanigans? Or, do you just not care. Any feelings are valid. This is a safe place :-)

Weekend Getaway

Last Sunday, with Labor Day fast approaching and no definite plans, Steve and I decided to be a little spontaneous and go spend a night down in Dallas with the boys at a hotel. Seth has been really into swimming this summer, so I found a hotel that had an outdoor pool on the fourth floor of one of the buildings. We got a great last-minute deal on Priceline.com. The room we booked was normally $160 and we paid less than half of that.

It was right in downtown Dallas, and our room was on the 23rd floor. Parking was an annoying $14 and quite a walk to get to our room, but it was worth it to be in a high rise with such a great view. Our room was HUGE with a king size bed, large flat screen tv, and lot's of room for the kids to run around.

Seth loved to gaze out the window at all the other buildings downtown. In fact, we found him standing in the window sill with his face pressed up against the glass. Now, I am sure that those windows are very well made and all, but Steve and I both felt a little freaked out about him leaning against a window on the 23rd floor of a building. It is making me a little queasy just thinking about it!

I wish we would have taken our camera down to the pool, because it was really cool to be swimming amidst all these huge buildings with the sun setting and reflecting off the windows. So we had to settle for a picture from our room looking down.

We went out to dinner here, and then went back and watched tv until we all fell asleep.

We got up the next morning and went to the Dallas Zoo. If there is anyone out there that has 2 or more kids, you are tired of your bulky, hard to steer double stroller, and your older child likes to walk with you but still gets tired and likes a ride every once in a while, let me give a shout out for the Sit and Stand Stroller. I bought this stroller off Craigslist for $30 from a very sweet lady with 8 kids. She could have asked twice as much, but she bought it from her neighbor for $30 and didn't feel right selling it for anymore that that. Nice lady!
It is SO much easier to steer, lighter weight, and the older child gets to sit on a "jump seat" in the back.  There is also a platform that they can stand on, and there is a strap that you can fasten behind their back to keep them from falling backwards.  Seth loves having the ability to jump on and off when he wants!

Here is a better view of the back of the stroller:


It was quite a hot Labor Day in Texas, so we only stayed for a few hours. They have a Children's Zoo inside, and it has a fun little river playground where the kids can get wet and cool off. Here are a few more pictures from the rest of our day!