Growing Into My Cut

I cut my hair. Now let me back up. It had been entirely too long since my last hair cut/highlight....my hair had gotten long. Too long. People like my hair long. So they say. I don't really know what my preference is in all honesty. I don't like it really short but I also don't know the magic length. I just know it hits a certain point and it's like my hair won't do anything anymore. Let me back up for a second time. My hair barely does anything as it is....it is straight. So again in all honestly I do not know what my perfect hair length, hair style is....I have been alive 30 years and my hair has nothing to show for it. I feel so defeated.

But Saturday while we were in Dallas I visited my hair stylist and we were chatting. I told her I wanted to try my hair darker for winter....which I did. Then I told her I wanted some length off. Which we did. Then she did a new layered hair style. And before I knew it...my hair was cut and styled and inside I was freaking out and quasi-mourning the loss of the long hair I had just a few hours before and hated. What is wrong with me.

Regardless....here are the results....

Thursday evening- en route to Dallas/McKinney/the rehearsal dinner. Oh yes, did I mention we had a wedding this weekend?  That's all we do- attend weddings, wedding events or wedding planning events these days. I also throw in a baby shower or two also.

Hair cut time

The aftermath- please note my hair won't look this styled with this cut for awhile. This is also a bad pic of Gregg but good of my hair (minus the awkward one strand) so it stays. 

Gregg the groomsman for his best friend and our best man.  It's pretty amusing to go to a rehearsal dinner with long hair and show up the next day with a new do- Be advised that it really confuses people. 

So there we go. I don't know. I am still undecided. Kristina keeps saying your hair is not short. She is right. I think it's confusing me because it's thin on bottom and lots of layers on top. In two weeks I will like it more but I have to get used to the layers. I need to figure this thing out.

I need to "grow into my cut"

Pack. Unpack. Repeat.

7 weekends. And a day trip. From August 22 to October 10 I was out of town every weekend. Every. weekend. Now, I love to stay busy but I think in my elder age of 30, I now know my limit. And that limit? That would be 7 weekends. And a day trip.

Regardless of the amount of caffeine I consumed over these past 7 weeks to stay awake during the week, I have loved celebrating these people in their big moments and making really fun memories in the process. Here is the cliff notes version of the adventures:

August 22-24
Location: San Antonio
Event: Kristina gets engaged!
Disclaimer: Most stressful experience of my life but we pulled off the most ridiculous surprise engagement ever. So fitting for these two. 

August 29-September 1
Location: Houston > Austin > Fredericksburg > Austin > Houston
Event: LC in town, mini visit to Austin, drop off LC at her friend's house for weekend, head to Fredericksburg for a Bachelorette party for Gregg's best man/best friend's fiancé (got that?), back to Austin to pick up LC, back to Houston. This was ridiculous. But I have said it before...LC and I will do crazy things so we get to see each other, even it means we both plan simultaneous weekend events during an LC visit to Texas. We are insane.
Disclaimer: I will never do this much driving in one weekend again. 

September 6-7
Location: Dallas
Event: Co-host A&M game watching couples shower for Gregg's best man/best friend and his fiancé.
Disclaimer: When hosting one of these, it is nice if the game is not on a rain delay for 2 hours. Oh well, clearly we made do with other entertainment. 

September 12-14
Location: San Antonio
Event: Kristina is a bridesmaid for one of her childhood friends.
Disclaimer: My family loves a wedding. Don't believe us? Wait until Kristina's. 

September 19-21
Location: San Antonio Riverwalk
Event: A's Bachelorette Party weekend
Disclaimer: I may be from San Antonio but I know nothing about the Riverwalk and had to use my GPS to navigate us around all weekend.

September 26-28
Location: Galveston
Event: Hayley's Bachelorette Party weekend
Disclaimer: When you are celebrating one of your college besties getting married with the other college bestie who is 6 months pregnant standing next to you, all of a sudden you feel like it is the end of an era. You also feel old.

October 3-5
Location: San Antonio
Event: Wedding planning with sister-zilla
Disclaimer: Everytime we are home, Kristina somehow gets tricked into doing all this handy work around the house and I manage to avoid it. It's good to be the older sister. 

Surprise weekend event: I'm a MOH!
Disclaimer: I do in fact plan to share all the behind the scenes fun and fighting of the next 10 months of my life helping to plan this. 

October 11
Location: College Station
Event: A&M vs. Ole Miss
Disclaimer: Technically this was not considered a weekend trip because I didn't have to pack a bag and got to spend the day with Gregg. (you may have noticed this husband of mine was absent from the majority of these weekend trips) However, it required driving. It also ended at 2am when we got home. Therefore I am throwing it in as a bonus.

BOOM. This may or may not explain my blogging absence. Not that anyone cares other than my mother but there you go. Even though the weekend trips and events are not over, I do have a free weekend in my future. It might as well be a giant finish line being crossed. I require that every once in awhile to recharge. It could also be called Analisa crawls into a cocoon for the weekend with TV, wine, pizza, pinterest and Chloe. If Gregg is around then that is a bonus too, but not required.

Cheers! 

May Reunion-ing

Since I am heading to see the three lovelies this weekend I figured it is only fitting that I recap our mid-May adventure in...wait for it…The Woodlands. There are few people in life that you will ever be like let's all go hang out in The Woodlands (and be ridiculously excited about it) but these are them.

We planned a quick weekend trip to celebrate Hayley's 30th birthday. After surviving major traffic from all directions, we finally arrived feeling very not-refreshed. We were in need of a day drink and we figured Tommy Bahama at Market Street was the perfect place to pretend we were somewhere tropical with a delicious drink in our hand.  Problem solved.

We had plans to go to the pool, plans to lay out but somehow managed to spend all afternoon catching up at our "hotel" for the weekend and later headed straight back to Market Street for dinner and after dinner wine at Cru. We seriously did nothing but eat and drink at Market Street the entire weekend. I've gotta hand it to Market Street- way to provide a great weekend getaway for us.

The next day was Sunday so Anne left us and Hayley and I had "birthday eve" drinks since Hayley's birthday was Monday…and since kicking off Hayley's birthday involved a 5am airport drop-off, I didn't think pictures were a necessity that morning.

Happy 30th Hayley!

Every time we are together it is like we haven't missed a beat….still the same people just a little older…a few less boy problems, a few more real world problems but the same nonstop talking problem.  Counting down to our next reunion!

Austin Baby Showering

We lived in Austin for two years. Going into it, I knew it would be a strange two years. I would be working. Gregg would be going to school. I honestly felt like we were in a constant state of transition. Oddly enough though, it was under those circumstances that I met some amazing lifelong friends. God is funny that way I guess.

Meeting M:

For starters my friend M and I met seriously walking in and out of the parking garage at work. We were both always running late. We both always carried our gym bags. And one day we just struck up a conversation while waiting for the light to change…..and I guess you could say the conversation never stopped. She had a darling baby girl in December and will one day be one of those "can you explain this pregnancy stuff to me in real life terms" friends.

M & Me 

Meeting C1 and C2: 

My other two friends, C1 and C2, I met through bible study. I was in my 2nd year of bible study and had kind of shelved the idea of making friends there, yet God again had other plans. I was put into the same small group as C1 (I am calling her that because technically I did meet her first). After the first few weeks, I quickly decided C1 was so cute (plus I always wanted her wardrobe) and I needed to strike up a conversation with her. One day I did. Then she introduced me to her other friend C2. After some very fun dinners, meeting C2's spouse, late nights out and other events, they both became very close friends in a very short amount of time. 

Posing with C1( on left) and C2 (in the middle) 

Where does a baby shower come into all this? 

C2 is expecting twin girls and I was thrilled to be able to to help C1 throw her a baby shower. This was exciting on a number of levels but most of all, I haven't really helped throw a shower in awhile. After planning all of it via email, the big day came Saturday of Mother's Day weekend…I know, the timing was pretty cute. 

I drove to Austin Friday night and drove straight to meet M for margaritas and mexican food. Because the shower was the next day, I had volunteered to bring ingredients for "make your own yogurt parfaits" and they were stressing me out. I had seen the idea on pinterest and that is typically my problem- I can find and come up with an idea…then the execution gives me anxiety. Since M is also my foodie/chef extraordinaire friend, I forced asked her to go late night grocery shopping with me after dinner for supplies.  

She's kind of the best. 

Saturday we hosted the shower at C1's apartment party room which quite honestly I could live in and be just fine in life. The best part though is we had taken all these ideas of decorations, activities, food, etc from Pinterest and the guests thought we were absolute geniuses. I loved it. Who doesn't love people thinking you are a genius? And who doesn't love compliments?

'Decorate your own Onesie station.' I made Kristina decorate a sample the night before that said "I am cuter than my sister"

Food set up courtesy of one of the hostesses that can cook…i.e. not me 

My infamous yogurt parfait. I may not be able to cook but I am now the official 'Make your own yogurt parfait' bringer to all future showers. 

Cutest and most delicious baby shower cake in the world. 

This may not be a new idea to anyone else but it was to me: create little ribbons and small tags for people to label their mimosa glass. I've labeled cups before but never thought of how you do it with a glass. How many times do you set it down and not know which is yours? 

The beautiful Mommy-to-Be!

I also realized every time I have visited Austin since I moved has also meant Kristina is attending a baby shower with me. 

Shower hostesses with the Mom to Be 

As you can see it was a really fun Friday/Saturday spent with my very wonderful and very special friends. I may not be able to be there all the time in person but it is sure fun to still be part of all the fun from afar! 

Interesting topic- Have you ever thought of how people name twins if they are having the same gender? Wait until you meet them? Have names pre-decided based on who arrives 1st and 2nd? We talked about it at the shower and it was something that had never crossed my mind. 

Speaking of names, I cannot wait to meet the twin baby girls coming in just a few weeks and find out their names too! 

The Small World of Weddings

Gregg was in a wedding the first weekend in May for his friend R who seriously looks like his brother from another mother. Please note the resemblance even though there is zero relation:

So Friday morning we woke up at 4am to get on our 7:30am direct flight to Washington Dulles. The kicker is that my dear husband got home at 3am from work and went to bed approximately 3:15am. So as soon as we had some breakfast at the airport and were at a sitting point, this happened while we waited to board our plane…

We bought those sleep pillows that morning on sale at the airport and I must say they were worth every penny. 

We arrived in DC and drove two hours to Charlottesville, Virginia where the wedding was being held. I love that on the East Coast you can drive two hours and be in another state and here I drive two hours and I am only in Austin.

I must say though the two hour trip was lovely because Gregg had been working crazily and it was like a mini date for us. When we got to Charlottesville we had lunch at Panera Bread and we saw a Pet Smart across the strip mall where I wanted to buy a souvenir for Chloe. Gregg said no. He told me that the same toy we could buy at a Pet Smart in Virginia which was the same toy we could buy at a Pet Smart in Houston did not count as a souvenir for Chloe. Fine. But I still disagree.

The wedding was not only beautiful with the location, the food amazing from beginning to end, but it was also a small world reunion central. The best man married one of my best friends from dance team in high school. One of the Matron of Honor's was another member of dance team in high school and coincidentally in the same sorority as the bride. One of my good friends from Student Senate was there as a guest. The list went on and on….it was a fun weekend full of flashbacks with old friends.

Rehearsal Dinnering in downtown Charlottesville with husband on the left. And former Apache Silver Dancers on the right. 

The next day while the husbands and boyfriends did wedding things, the girls ventured out to lunch and wandering around the quaint little town center.

Wish we had longer to explore this place!

It's kind of fun when you are the one not in the wedding because you can go do touristy things with other new non-wedding friends. 

Gregg walking down the side aisle. I seriously for a half second thought the groom was Gregg. When Gregg walked down the girl next to me goes, that one is Gregg, he is your husband. Ridiculous. 

The wedding was held at an outdoor vineyard and it was a horrible view as you can see.

Instead of a grooms cake you could go to the donut trailer and get a bag of warm sugary donuts.  It had been a long time since I had a donut and that splurge was totally worth it. I still dream of those donuts. 

Like I said we had a bit of a dance team reunion that evening too.  Once a Silver Dancer, always a Silver Dancer. 

And I reunited with one of my favorite Student Senate pals. Did you know I was a Student Senator? More importantly if you didn't, are you surprised???

Then came Sunday and our flight that departed at 12:30pm. I had been talking to LC about the fact that I was going to be in the same state as her for the weekend but not seeing her. We brainstormed all types of plans to see each other- some involved massive detours to DC, others involved using helicopters- in the end we decided LC and JC would meet us at the rental car place, we would all go for breakfast early and then they would drop us off at the airport.  

The bottom line is we cannot be in the same state and not see each other. It is not humanly possible. This ranks up there with the infamous December 26 drive by in Dallas to drop off LC's shampoo and conditioner she had left during her visit here. Yes, we are that crazy and I love her that much. 

Gregg and I decided to have a mini date on the plane since we knew he'd be returning to work quickly after we arrived back home. His schedule may be crazy but it has taught me to enjoy the small moments we have together and appreciate them when they are happening. I know so cheesy but just go with it. 

Yes we are looking rough. This is the sign of a TOP wedding weekend. 

Large bottled water for me (a running joke/issue between Gregg and me) . Wedding snacks. Goldfish. And Johnny Manziel. The gang's all here. 

It was a fun weekend and it made me miss college. It made me appreciative of the time I got to spend with Gregg. It also made me realize how wise Disney was when he said "it's a small world after all." 

Congrats R & M! 

My List of Life Parties Continues

I am from San Antonio and I love a good Cinco de Mayo bash. So imagine my excitement when two separate groups of friends invited me to a fundraiser party called Cinco de Bingo. One group was Kristina's friends and one group was a co-workers's friends….when you are invited by two different groups of people to the same event that is a Golden Rule meaning you know it will be a good time!  

The set-up was simple. Pay a fee, walk in and you are handed five bingo cards, a stamper and a koozie. I mean all the makings of an exciting Bingo tournament. 

The prizes are pretty awesome too. Last year this is where SS won her membership to MFAH which has led to Culture Thursdays. We had no such luck winning this year…..but we did have so much fun. 

And now I want to host a BINGO party! Add it to the list:

Lipsyncing Competition Party

BINGO Party

Presidential Election Night Party...I know Husband will love that one someday ;)

Miss America Party 

Clearly I have a long lifetime ahead of throwing ridiculous parties as soon as I have enough room. Who wants to come?? 

Nonstop 30th Weekend of Fun

Here I am still playing catch up on my list of moments worthy of a story in your fanciest local hotel lobby. And now I am even adding some to it…namely my family's recent trip to Las Vegas. But being the particular person that I am, I feel I must go in order: 

• Easter
• Washington DC with LC and JC (not the JC in the sky)
• Culture Thursdays with S
• My 30th Birthday weekend with Kristina in town 
• Friends and Fundraisers 
• Virginia weekend wedding vacation
• Baby Shower-ing
• Mother's Day Snippets
• Chloe discovers a ladder
• College besties reunion weekend 
• Las Vegas 

Kristina was in town for the big #AnalisasBurning30 party but you should know that Kristina never just comes into town. It is never a low-key weekend. It is hit the ground running, go go go nonstop, party 'til you drop and then she leaves. It is not for the weak. She is also like a Hurricane in our apartment. Gregg is still trying to understand all of this. 

Gregg surprisingly didn't have to work the morning after my birthday party so we went to brunch just the two of us while Kristina went to watch her friends in a charity flag football game, Blondes vs. Brunettes. Afterwards we were killing some time and wandered around Hermann Park. It was simple and lame and fun all at the same time. You only have a window of time to wander around a park in Texas and we were flirting with the end of that window. 

Then we met Kristina and her friends at this random bar I have never been to and most likely will never go to again. I walked in and felt like I was straight up at a frat party. Outside it was broad daylight and inside there was music bumping, kegs being floated and absolute frat party madness. It was hilarious for this newly turned 30 year old. 

Sisters with Sister SS who we have adopted as honorary twin sister to Kristina. You may recognize her from Culture Thursdays…this was a LONG way from Culture Thursdays. 

Then we went to a bar in Midtown to spend the rest of the day outside at a picnic table. We went to a bar where you can control the music from your iPhone and purchase songs. Kristina got way too into this excitement purchasing everything from Frozen's "Let it Go" to the Aggie War Hymn. 

Sing it Sister. 

Boyfriend J was busy trying not to die from the spicy crawfish. Disgusting crawfish in my eyes. 

You can notice Sister C singing along next to her. That is our honorary middle sister. 

There is truly only one Kristina. 

And on a rare Saturday off for him, I have to say there is only one guy who could put up with this weekend of insanity- this guy right here. 

Needless to say when Kristina departed on Sunday, we needed a nap.