P's Addicted to the WII

Wakey Wakey sleepy head! One cannot hide from the chaos and cleanup needed in the future rannebarger home!!(note the plush blanky p's mom made!Thanks Sharon!)

No, this is not a Norman Rockwell christmas....

Hugh thinks he got a giant pretzel, and has NO idea what should be done here...

Sorry, we have no kids, only kitties. We must brag on the gifts santa brought.

This pic reflects the christmas wreckage that has taken place in our home...

Here we are, clearly not morning people, this is the 500th pic we took of ourselves, this one was the best, yikes....(5am, remember?)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I cannot believe what a wonderful jam packed christmas P and I had! On christmas eve we went to an 11pm candlelight service at Northpoint and sang carols and thanked God for the blessing of our savior's birth.

Christmas morning-5am to be exact, we were woken not by sugarplums, but the phone! Jason had to wake us up, Alexa got them up at 3 for santa!!(early bird gets the worm, you know)!! P never in a million years thought I would want to get up, lets face it, I will open presents any time, day or night.

P is now addicted to the Wii, I have decided to call Nintendo and suggest they change the name to the "Cha-Ching". How many components can you buy for this thing?? I have to draw the line at "outfits", seriously they are not for chiuahah's anymore...the Wii demands fashion.

I have to say as far as christmas's go, this one is the best! It started with an engagement ring, and ended with the Wii! Truly, the future rannebargers are blessed.

I am going to be Mrs.P!

wow! What a thursday night I had! I have been in the valley visiting my dad and doing a job interview(a whole other story) and was really, really wanting spagetti when I got home.
P convinced me to put it off until the weekend for our cheat day.

Last night, he called from christmas shopping and said Macaroni Grill was packed on western center and let's go another night. Of course, I now have to have it and suggest we go to the one by our house.

Meanwhile, he is taunting me with a jewelry box under the tree, which I know is some stupid necklace to throw me off from him proposing at some point in the near future(new year's maybe?)

He managed to get us a table, and the place was packed with huge christmas parties! The service was terrible, and the food was ok. We decided to get desert since we will not be cheating until christmas and hog it up.

The check came and I am about to get my purse, when the bad waiter places a bottle of champagne on our table, I am thinking this guy has the wrong table(why do we need champagne, on a thursday?) I then look a P and he asks me to be his wife, and then gets on one knee and proposes!!!! The table next to us was filled with older ladies who lined up to see the ring!! It was so awesome, shocking and amazing! A night I will never forget!!!

We went to macaroni grill on our first date 1 year ago, apparently he and the waiter had this cooked up all night, and the waiter was holding up signs behind my back asking when to bring the drinkies!! Hilarious!

I am super excited t0 marry into such a wonderful family and have a beautiful neice and nephew!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Marty sleeping after all the turkey and activity, one needs a little nap.

The christmas tree lighting-day after thanksgiving. Fort Worth tradition! It was freezing!

Our new tree, naked! Lucy helped us decorate it!

Thanksgiving dinner table!

P's turkey, he is so proud of his "smoking" skills!!

P the "ultimate grillsman"-Action shot!

I have much to be thankful for this year! This was our first thanksgiving together and we were blessed to have shared it with my papa&lucy, and our dear friends the Hardings! Who knew baby Lauren had such mad Uno playing skills? Sorry, not much football in this house, just food, laughter and a deck of uno!

Viva La Mexico!

On my vacation to the valley, dad and neddy took me to their new home in Rio Bravo, Mexico!
The neighborhood is still under construction. If you look really close you can see dad and neddy!

Neddy's sister is building a house next door! It too is made of solid concrete! Neddy is super proud of their new home and has granite everywhere on the inside, even the window seals!!

Splish Splash..Kitties Hanging Out in the Bath

Hugh and Marty are checking for evil drips in the tub, notice how patient they wait...

I am given dirty looks for interrupting serious investigating.

Hugh cant stand it anymore and interrogates the poof for the whereabouts of the evil drip...Surely he knows something???

CooCoo's on CraigsList

The silk tree, that has caused such chaos for one craigslister, I wont be surprised if she tries to sue us for mental anguish.

P's Sofa, this is currently for sale! Brown microfiber suede, if you know of anyone, we are borderline desperate!!

In effort to afford new things and unload old ones, craigslist seemed like a great choice...that is until the emails and cookiness started. I knew deep down that people were crazy, clearly I had no idea the depth of it. So far, we have been offered a trade(she had her sight, which included tanks tops and undies, this is no joke!), a couple who duked it out in our livingroom over the washer and dryer, and one lady who is obssessed with our tree, but cant seem to get over the $50 price we have set(she emails and text p over it)...We are greatful to have sold almost ALL of our things, but will seriously be rethinking the Craigslist Crazies next time!!

Calling All Chefs!!

Hello!! I am asking if I am related to you/or Phillip, can you please email me recipes that you use to cook with? They dont have to be fancy, they are not being featured in Gourmet. Just the ones that you and your family like! Also! Please send along family pics!! You can either email them or drop em' off in the mailbox! I am trying to put together a family cook book!! Please get them to me by the end of August!! Thanks for participating!!

There's no P in Remodeling??

Ripping out tile is no fun, however, new carpet is completely worth it!! The carpet on the stairs is well, lets just say, less than desirable.

This used to my bedroom, now it looks more like a warzone.....

Why dont men like coral? P cant this painted over fast enough!!

Well, its about that time...the lease is almost up at P's apartment we are moving into my townhouse. Everything needs to be replaced, remodeled and lots of general maintanence a single girl just cannot do!! We are now spending our once fun weekends, painting, cleaning, ripping out and remodeling...we need our own show at this point!!

Hurricanes and turning 30

Hugh loves bday tissue! He thinks it is his birthday!

I love balloons that P got me! He loves rubbing in that I am now 30!

What a great Bday mother nature sent my way..Hurricane Dolly! I flew to the valley on sunday to visit my dad until WEDNESDAY, that way I would have 1 week of vaca left to spend here....Dad and I were on our way to Padre on tuesday, to hear on the radio, not only was it closing, but it was evacuating! So, we drove around and then spent the rest of the night waiting to see what was going to happen. According to my dad(his usual thinking), ah, nothing is going to happen...

12 hours later, a foot of water, sideways rain, and tree branches flying past the window, we sit, no electricity, in the dead heat and humidity of Mcallen, TX. I finally got home on friday, after one airport closing and fighting price gouging with the airlines, I made it home to my sweet 7pm on friday night!

I have never wanted to get home so badly, however, am sad and miss my dad already. I had a great time with him and Neddy in Mexico and driving around doing absolutely nothing(everything closed).

I will always remember turning 30.

Car Shopping V:The Waiting Game

Many have been asking, yes, P&I did leave Don Davis Chrysler with a new car. We drove home in a beautiful dodge charger. She is white, with charcoal interior. She is a pinch larger than the ole' galant(RIP) and much more luxurious than the gem that P use to drive. So, for now, we are still with one car..

-Does anyone know anything about Hyundai?

A Tail of 3 Kitties

Poor sweet Gabrielle aka "Gabe", he is hoping this is only a nightmare, and when he awakes, Hugh and Marty will be gone.

AHHH, Marty is so exhausted! One must snooze after a digging in the trash and shredding toilet paper all day.

Meet Hugh or "Hughbert" his hobbies include: gardening and tinkling on all surfaces enough to make certain they are ruined.

Car Shopping IV: Don Davis Chrysler;The rip off guru

We now are blessed with one fabulous car, only to look downstairs and see the corpse of the 90' grand prix and reality sinks in. P still has no car, and frankly, we cannot share a car. I cannot even begin to count the reasons. Finally we have bartered our way into a car for p, who knows what we are walking into tonight, I am guessing a 03' ford focus with payments of $700/mo...or our pick of any truck on the lot!! Truck only!! Of course we only "qualify" for a car that gets no more than 10 miles to the gallon.....

CAR SHOPPING PART III: THE SAGA CONTINUES

DESPERATE, YES WE ARE. WE BEG MY AUNT AND UNCLE FOR THEIR CAR AND GAS UP.. MORE MONEY INTO A CAR THAT WE DONT OWN OR IS UNDRIVEABLE(SO FAR, $60-P'S UNDRIVABLE CAR, $55-MY UNDRIVABLE CAR, $55-UNCLE'S TRUCK, $20-AUNT'S HONDA=$190 IN GAS TO CARS THAT WE DONOT OWN, OR DONOT DRIVE). WE ROLL UP TO THE DEALERSHIP WHO HAS NOW PICKED A 1/2 TON TRUCK FOR ME TO DRIVE, (ON THEIR BEHALF, IT IS 4 DOOR) TO SEE WHAT THE DEAL REALLY IS.

OBVIOUSLY, I AM NOT BUYING A TRUCK THAT REQUIRES: WRANGLERS, BELT BUCKLES, AND A CONFERATE FLAG....I SELL MAKEUP..REMEMBER??

THE FINANCE GUY HAS FINALLY PICKED A CAR THAT IS SUITABLE FOR ME!YAY! HOWEVER, P HAS NO RIDE TO WORK...ANOTHER PROBLEM. NOW WE HAVE HOPEFULLY BARTERED 2 CARS WITH SOMEWHAT DECENT PAYMENTS....WHO KNOWS?! THIS IS TRULY IN GOD'S HANDS...CAR SHOPPING IS A COMPLETE NIGHTMARE!

HOWEVER, WE ARE GREATFUL FOR THE ONE WE HAVE....SO FAR!!

Car Shopping Part II

So, P&I wake up to a an even bigger pile of crap than the day before....his car officially croaked...oil is everywhere, and the brakes stopped working; the mechanic says their is nothing he can do.....7.05.2008 R.I.P 9o'Grand Prix


The nightmare of car shopping continues...So, the 2nd dealership(not the one with the sales guy smoking a ciggy) cannot seem to find us anything except a V8. Who are we kidding with this??? I am finding this whole car shopping a scam...I am being punished for bad shopping behavior in my early 20's(not so great credit).....Please Pray that God guides us to the right situation.

CARS!...the only way to get to work!

So, my car has major issues...they can be fixed...at a HUGE price...So, P and I decided buying a new one is probably the better choice. Well, where to start??
11am thursday(day before the 4th) we go to a dealer, needless to say, this "dealership" is BEHIND a chevy dealer, with maybe 20 cars, 15 are gas hogs, and nothing that they promised on the phone. P and I are desperate and pathetic and quickly running out of options. So...we wait, and wait and wait and wait. The dealer finally comes back, cig in hand and takes us out to look at...you guessed it SUV's ! Why yes, we only want 20 miles to the gallon and please, oh, please give us a HUGE payment to go along with it.

We may be desperate, however, we are not quite there yet.....