Productive Weekend

May 1st- 3rd:

This was a nice, productive weekend for us. First, we kicked off the weekend by heading over to the movies and watching "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past". After the movies, we were invited to meet up with some of our friends at Top Golf. I wasn't planning on going anywhere after, so I stuffed myself with popcorn, chocolate covered almonds, two $.99 bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and a large pickle at the movie theatre. Needless to say, I had a tummy ache afterwards. I told Chris he should go out and I stayed home, slept off all my stomach issues, and made a spreadsheet for all the things we'll need for the house when we move in (see, I was productive). Chris had fun with our buddies, Adam, Justin and Rozz, playing mini-golf and going to one of our fav little bars, The Loon, for some cheese fries and a couple of drinks. :)

Saturday morning, we met Suzanne at Sur la Table for a book signing for Curtis Stone's new cookbook. If you don't know who Curtis Stone is, he is the star of "Take Home Chef" on TLC. Suzanne heard about the signing and thought Chris and I would be interested in going. It was really neat! The store prepared several recipes from the cookbook for us to enjoy while we were waiting. For those of you who really know me, you know how much I love food, so having snacks made the experience even better. ;) Curtis signed our book, had a brief conversation with us and even took a photo with the three of us-

We were told they have famous cooks/chefs there all the time, so I can't wait for the next book signing! Thanks for the invite, Suzy Q- Chris and I had an ab-fab time! :)

After, Chris and I did some shopping and watched "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Then it was time for another gig (May is a packed month for gigs...we have four scheduled!).

This show was for a private Cinco de Mayo party in Wylie, TX. Unfortunately, the weather did not want to cooperate and we ended up not really doing much at the show. :(

Sunday was where the word "productive" really fits in for us. Chris and I went to the new house to sign some more papers and give Chad the coach light we purchased. We measured all the windows so I can start getting drapes for a few rooms and we met one of our new neighbors! After wrapping up everything we needed to do in the house, we went to Sears to look at their refrigerators and washers and dryer sets. We found the fridge we wanted, but decided to wait and see if the price will drop any further. We did, however, buy our washer and dryer; our first major purchase for our new home! :)

Gig and Photo Shoot #2- Cohen!

April 24th- 26th:

This was a very busy weekend for us! On Friday, we met Christopher's mom, his Aunt Iris and Uncle Gilbert, and his cousin, Sonia, and her son, Caleb, at Babe's Chicken in Carrollton for dinner. We loooooove going to Babe's- it's Southern home cooking with all of the fixin's. ;) After dinner, Chris, his mom and I decided to go see "State of Play". The movie was interesting and definitely kept you guessing. Would recommend if you like political suspense movies. :)

Christopher's mom and Shamrock hanging on the couch

Saturday morning we helped Kyle move out of his apartment. Note to self- do NOT help someone move the same day I have a gig. That night Genepool band had a gig at the Irish Rover in Frisco. I was SOOOOO exhausted from that morning that I really didn't have my best performance. In fact, during the last set, I think was asleep for almost half of it! Still had fun, though! We're playing there again on May 30th and I'll definitely be awake for that one. :)

Genepool~

Christine, Sheri and Mary Jane :)

On Sunday, Chris, Shamrock and I met with my friend and co-worker, Erin, her husband, DJ and their son, Cohen, for a photo shoot at Serenity Park in McKinney! Yup, my second official shoot! :) I was so excited to have this opportunity to practice a little more, especially since Cohen is at that age where he is just out to have fun and isn't aware of the camera.

This shoot taught me that little boys are definitely full of energy! Cohen loved running around, tossing his little football. He was shy at first, always clinging to Erin, but after about 15 minutes (and getting his football) he was all set to have a great time. This was a photo shoot/ workout for me. Cohen never really stood in one place too long, which made for more interesting photos (at least, in my opinion). The big lesson for this shoot- when working with younger kids, use a super-fast shutter speed. :)

Thanks to the Jones family for spending the afternoon with us and letting us snap some shots of your cute, little guy!!!!

Below are photos from the shoot (more will be loaded to my Smugmug account later...will post the link when done):

Family portrait...yes, that background is totally real and in the same park!

Hanging with Angeleque, Hunter and Georgia

Saturday, April 18th:

Chris and I didn't have any set plans for Saturday, so we thought we would see if some of our favorite people, Angeleque and Hunter, had any plans for the night. Fortunately for us, they were free so we set up a dinner date.

Before dinner, though, Chris and I decided to take in a movie. We had planned on seeing "State of Play" but didn't quite make it to the show on time, so we chose to see "17 Again" instead. I have to admit, it was quite a cute film. Chris and I both thought it was funny and would recommend if you're interested in watching something purely for entertainment purposes (not very thought provoking, if you know what I mean).

After the movie, Chris and I went straight to the restaurant, Cyclone Anaya's, to meet with Ang and Hunter. This was the first time in months that we've all been able to hang out together! We had a great time catching up. In fact, we had so much fun at dinner that we decided to extend the evening by going over to Hunter's house for a game night! Since we didn't have the board games with us, Chris and I went back home to pick them up.

Angeleque and Hunter were dog sitting their friend, Stephanie's, dog, Georgia, for the weekend. Since we were heading home, we thought we'd ask if Shamrock could tag along. We thought this would be a great opportunity for Shammy to make a new friend. :) Ang mentioned that Georgia was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel so I thought I'd take my camera along to get some shots. I've liked that breed of dog since "Sex and the City" (Charlotte's Elizabeth Taylor"). :)

We all had a great time playing with the dogs, watching Shamrock get jealous, playing Seinfeld Scene It and Jackass and taking pictures. Chris and I were so glad to spend some quality time with one our favorite couples and can't wait to do it again soon!!! :)

Below are a few of my favorite photos from my mini-shoot:

Hunter, Angeleque and Georgia

My favorite shot of Georgia