fling our green and gold afar

In case you didn't catch it from the blog title, the Barretts heart BU. Since we were at Baylor for 4-5 years and then moved to Houston post graduation, the two always seemed like different worlds to us. Different cities, different phases of life and different friends. That was until last weekend when our two worlds collided! 

 

Baylor made it to the Elite 8!! Sic Em! It is a huge deal for us bears! This is only the 2nd time in history Baylor has made an Elite 8 appearance. The other time was back in the olden days when there weren't as many teams to beat (or something like that, I just get all my basketball info from Tate & Tye). Anyway, the games were here in Houston and Tate bought us tickets! It was a blast! Well, mostly Friday was a blast, but Sunday was fun too. Tye came into town with the Baylor crowd. He stayed in our guest room (aerobed on the living room floor). As always, it was fun to eat dinner, hang out and visit with him. 

There were so many Baylor fans here, you could feel the excitement. Over 92, 000 people attended both games combined, which broke the record for a regional game. Ca-ray-Z! It was a once in a lifetime experience being at the Elite 8, cheering on our Bears with George Bush and Chris Brown! Yeah, all the celebs were at the game too. Told you it was a big deal.

picture perfect

What is 7 pounds, made of leather, full of pearly whites and smells like a new car?

(drumroll please...)

bum bum bum buuuuum......

Our wedding album! It's finally here! 

Ok, let's be honest, whenever you take a group picture, what is the first thing you look at?

 Your best friends? wrong. 

The scenic background? wrong. 

Yourself! ding, ding, ding

You and I both know the first think you do is make sure you look presentable, good, classy, straight up smoking hott (with 2 t's). As long as you look great, you say, "It's cute!", oblivious to the fact that everyone else in the pic has their eyes closed and a quadruple chin. We all like to look at pictures of ourselves, right? I think it's normal. Or I sure hope it is because our wedding album was delivered today and I can't stop looking at it. The best part is, I picked out all the pics myself (with the help of Tate and the approval of Jan) so no closed eyes or quadruple chins in this book. 

When I saw the package at our front desk, I actually had butterflies before I opened it. I thought, "Oh no, what if I don't like it?" This is something I will be showing my grandkids. I don't want them to say, "Oh look at MiMi and PeePee, they had bad teeth and crows feet back then too!'" 

(Sidenote: the "PeePee" thing is just a threat to Tate. Our grandkids will only call him that if he is mean to me in the next 30 years. It's worked...so far, so good).  

Anyway, I don't know why I worried. The album is perfect! It definitely captures our special day. Tate and I love it, and you all look beautiful! Can't wait to show it to you. Our photographer did such an amazing job. (Shout out, Damon)If you are looking for someone to take pics of your wedding day or just of yourself, I would recommend him. 

In the Barrett wedding spirit, I would like to offer you chance to relive the magical day. Since you can't see the album just yet, you can watch our wedding video here. 

(Warning: the video also plays a song. So, if you are catching up on the "Baylor Barrett Blog" while at work or in class, which I am sure the majority of you are, you may want to "mute.")
One time I had Nelly's "Air Force Ones" go off in my grad school class. So embarrassing. 

Enjoy! 

rained out

As you know, thanks to the previous countdown post, the Bearathon was scheduled for this past Saturday. Tate was ready to run the half marathon and I was ready to run/walk the heck outta that 5K. However, it rained and plans quickly changed. Sometimes it seems the most fun comes out of canceled plans. You end up doing little things in your free time that you normally wouldn't have done at all. The weekend didn't consist of running, but it was full of a birthday celebration, a father-in-law locked in a public restroom, a life-sized unproportional mannequin, magic tricks and a Baylor Bear victory!

Luckily, some pretty great friends and family traveled to Waco for the weekend too. Some were there in hopes of race, others were merely there for the t-shirt, and still got what they came for. Waco never disappoints. It's always a low-key place to have a good time. We celebrated Tate's 24th bday with our family at Mama Baris. It's fun that "our family" now includes 8.  Our Newlywed Sunday School teacher tells us that when you are married your family becomes 2 people, but we like to think of it doubling rather than being cut in half. The more the merrier! More people, more fun, more presents! Speaking of presents, our family met up with our friends at Lynley's apartment to open bday presents and eat cookie cake (Tate's fave, which we all appreciated).

Saturday was cold, wet and rainy. It had been warm all week until the yucky cold front decided to move in to welcome the first day of Spring. My heart goes out to all of those Stu-Fuers that stayed up all night setting up the race only to tear it down the next morning. But you know what they say, "Every cloud has a silver lining"- in this case, sleeping in. After we slept in (kels & me) and ate breakfast (everyone else), the group full-filled their gender roles quite nicely. The boys went went to the gym, met some strangers and played the longest game of basketball known to man. Meanwhile, the girls shopped at Spice, tied bows on wedding invitations and watched "One Fine Day." Actually, I think we just talked through most of it.  Three hours later, the blue and pink made purple (those of you that grew up riding chartered buses to youth camp get the color analogy) to watch our Bears move on to the Sweet Sixteen! Sic 'Em! We moved furniture and huddled together in Lynley's packed living room to watch the game. Following dinner and some unbelievable magic tricks by our friend "Blake the Mentalist", the weekend wound down by playing a few games of pool and watching Jordan make a new friend.

It was such a great weekend! Thanks to all our friends and family for making the trek to Waco. We didn't accomplish what we set out for, but we had a blast nonetheless!  The count down to Bearathon 2011 begins...

just going to the dentist

Why do dental hygienists find it so difficult to ask questions that require a simple yes/no answer? Do you know what I am talking about? Maybe I just look extra chatty? It doesn't matter who your dentist is, they all wait until your mouth is wide open to ask away. I went to the dentist last week, and I promise you that the hygienist and I sat in silence for six minutes before she leaned the chair back, stuck that metal pick (the one with the hook that makes a horrible noise) in my mouth and began asking for a detailed biography! It's just craziness. There is no way she understands what I am saying, but she is a real master at nodding in affirmation. All in all, it was baffling, but not a bad visit (for me)...

However, the other half of us had a pretty traumatic experience. You have no idea how much my husband hates, despises, loathes the dentist. Not just our dentist, anyone with "DDS" after their name. I knew he would never make an appointment, so when I called to make my appointment I scheduled one for him too. I felt very "wifey." I'd never made an appointment for someone else before, I rarely have made them for myself (thanks Jan). When I called the office, they asked for Tate's phone number to call him later to confirm. However, I told them to call me because I knew he would just cancel it. Well, Friday came and he actually went.While enduring pure agony, he managed to send me a text that said, "kill me now." I didn't know if I was more surprised he went or that he was (barely) speaking to me when he came home.

But, we are alive and still married so everything is fine. Well everything except that I got diagnosed handed 2 brochures on TMD (temporomandibular disorder) due to a "deviating jaw" and Tate has go to back for a follow up....oops....we haven't set an appointment for that yet. Since I knew Tate would be facing his biggest fear, I bought him a Little Critter book to prepare him for the trip entitled, "Just Going to the Dentist." I read it to him and we found the spider on every page. The book didn't help at all, but it's thought that counts...right...?! Can you see the anger in his eyes in this first pic? I wasn't kidding! 

Fun Dental Facts:

*The average American spends 39 days brushing their teeth over a lifetime.

*73% of Americans would rather go grocery shopping than floss.

*Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.

*The average woman smiles about 62 times a day! The average male, only 8. 

ode to lynley

Sista, sista never knew how much I missed ya! Today is Lynley's 22nd Birthday! Poor thing, she is spending it on the beach in St. Kitts. Lynley and I have lived together 19 out of her 22 years, and I this is the first b-day we haven't celebrated together. I'm married, she's engaged, I guess we are officially all "grown up" or "old" or whatever. So in honor of this occasion, here's to you sis!

Without you I would have been a Lynelle's waitress without a cook, a teacher without a class and a Danley's president without a single member...

I would have had no one to boss around, no one to opera sing the national anthem with, and no one to sock wrestle with me while I was "cleaning my room"...

I would have been a solo singer/dancer, a Sam's club member without any "cheese nipples", and probably one "cheap skank" since I would have made zero dollars on Sister Week. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNLEY! LYLAS

countdown to bearathon

17 days until Bearathon! That means I have a little over two weeks to get myself in gear. As we speak, Tate is out running 6 miles and I am sitting on the couch typing. But hey, someone has to keep this thing up and running. As I high-fived him on his way out the door, I promised I would go run, so let's keep this short. As all of you know, it would be somewhat of a stretch to say I am athletic. I strongly dislike to run or do anything close to running which includes but is not limited to: sprinting, jogging, galloping, even brisk airport walking is too much for me. 

Last year, my mom and I decided to walk the 5K together. The goal: Don't finish last. The strategy: start at the front of the pack (which thrilled the serious runners, I am sure). We knew at least one person in the group had to be slower than us, and as long as we started out in front of them, that person would never pass us. Success! We walked all 5 kilos and finished way  a little bit before a ton, a handful of people. After Bearathon last year, I made a new goal. The goal: to RUN the 5K. The Strategy: to work out to some extent before the race. Tate helped me mark out a 5K trail around our neighborhood, which is a great idea. However, I have only run two times; tonight will make three. I guess I better get a move on! 

By the way, Tate ran the whole 13.1 half marathon last year! He is running it again this year! Way to go, hubs! I previously posted about how awesome of an athlete he is, so I thought it would be ok to make this one all about me and my aspiration. Hope you all don't mind. You understand, most of you were fellow FMS track teammates. Well, I was the manager, but still it counts. Go Mustangs! 

For all of you who want to be a part of this race too, sign ups are now open! You get to raise money for student scholarships while getting in a good workout and a free t-shirt (which is the real reason we do anything, right? races, intramurals, D-nows, you know what I'm talking about). Tate and I have been a part of this race in one way or another for three years. Below is a little timeline and some pics from last year so you can better understand our relationship to this beloved event. Bearathon 10 or bust! 

2007- D&T worked Bearathon

2008- D&T in charge of Bearathon

2009- D walked 5K, T ran the half

2010- Coming soon!

our Bearathon crew 

5K finishers!