happy homestaying

Last weekend was Baylor Homecoming, but since we live here now, it was more like a Homestaying. It's so nice to already be in town for the things we would usually drive 3 hours for- football games, basketball and Homecoming! With Tye and Katie living right down the street, and Lynley and Shawn coming into town, it was nice having most of the family {we missed the rents} in the same place. This was the 3rd Homecoming since Tate and I have graduated. I'm learning the longer we are out of school, the less people we know around campus. Which makes sense, I guess. I learned this lesson last year as I went to the parade preparing myself to be bombarded with small talk from old acquaintances; however, I only saw two people I knew-- a teacher and a co-worker. Cool. I'm old.

We kicked off the Homecoming festivities at the bonfire Friday night, which seems to be getting later every year {just confirming the "old" comment above}. To sum things up: It was hot. As the fire was blazing and smoke was filling the air, Tate was wishing he could only "take a few air samples" for his research project. Meanwhile, Lynley lost her coat belt, so we spent most of the time winding through the mass of alumni, searching hopelessly, but she found it!  The jury is still out on who was at fault for the lost belt- Lynley or Shawn. After the bonfire, we worked up the energy to meet up with Tate's fellow graduate students at The Dancing Bear at ELEVEN : THIRTY. Considering I couldn't remember the last time I'd left the house after 10 PM and am not a student, I was obviously the odd one out. While the cool kids talked about things revolving around beakers and air samples, I smiled and nodded. I wasn't the only odd-man out; there was a PHD student there {ohhh ahhh}...but he stood out in a different way among the lowly grad students. Example: He asked what I did and then followed it up with, "You make less than a teacher, right?" Um, I know you are on your way to wealth and affluence, I get it. BUT, do you get the teacher discount at JCREW for the rest of your adult life? Didn't think so. Point for the SLPs.

Saturday morning I looked forward to the best part of Homecoming weekend- the parade! I was well prepared with my satchel purse {to provide hands free access for clapping} and my new gold striped shirt I had been waiting to wear on this very occasion. We live close to campus, so we only had to walk a few blocks and were there. Wrigley was excited to go too. She was clearly a hit as she was constantly 'awwwed' over. As she laid on the ground at our feet she was more concerned with the fallen acorns than the parade. She even army crawled across the busy sidewalk to stalk down a few stray acorns. At that point, Tate picked her up to hold her since "she couldn't see," and she was content in his arms for the rest of the morning.

After the parade was over we visited the StuFu building for the Alumni Reception. This is the place we met, were co-chairs for a year and got engaged so it's pretty special, I mean if you're into that sentimental kind of stuff. It was nice to see a few people we were in the organization with and catch up. The rest of the afternoon was spent eating lunch with friends, napping and a hanging out at a cookout with more fun people and rice krispy treats. We met back up with family at the football game. Lucky us, we ended up sitting directly behind/next to the alumni band. These are the precious people of all ages that come back once a year to play their hearts out for their alma mater. This seemed like fun...until the trumpet section began waving their trumpets along with the fight song. At that point "trumpet juice" {aka stranger's spit} flung out of the trumpet, splattering on our faces. Nice. Despite the unwelcomed shower, the Bears won and it was a good night. Oh and Katie and I matched. Unplanned, yet everyone got a kick out of it.

Sunday after church Lynley and I made cute Christmas decorations for The Warehouse, our quaint, little store in Spice. I'm taking the decorations later this week, but here is a sneak peek at the store, socked up and ready to go for the holidays!

pack it up

In the words of House of Pain, "Pack it up pack it in, let me begin..."

{don't worry if you don't get it, you probably didn't grow up in the 90's}

Yep, we packed up and moved out of Houston last week. Moving was much more time consuming than we estimated.  Tate and I spent 2 weeks prior to moving day packing our junk treasures. Due to this, we frequented Red Box more in these 2 weeks than we had in the entire 2 years we lived in Houston.

fragile, handle with prayer

Our cousin Hunter conveniently came to visit {aka move furniture} a few days before the move. We made sure to take a few needed breaks from packing for the important things in life-- Sprinkles, Astros and Texadelphia cheesesteaks. I could have done without the Astros, but Hunter is a baseball fan, and we don't have money so we had to bribe him somehow.

2 of the 100 'stros fans at the game

we heart sprinkles cupcakes

After all the bubble wrapping and box stacking, moving day was finally upon us.  Months ago we thought neither one of our parents would be available to help us move. My parents were in Scotland while Tate's were in New York. I told Tate, "I know we are adults and all, but we really need some parents here to help." I feared we weren't efficient enough to carefully pack dishes or strategically load a UHaul. And I was right. We broke a plate and almost had to rent an additional trailer. We are just not that "grown up"...yet. Luckily for us, Robby and LaVon came back from NYC a few days earlier than we originally thought and came to our rescue.

get back to work

 Considering all of our belongings fit in a 750 square ft. apartment, we figured it could only take a couple of hours to move, right? Wrong. First of all, our belongings don't fit in 750 square ft. of space, they are crammed, piled, squished. Things in every crevasse. And just when you start feeling accomplished because you think you have it all packed, you find another cabinet full of spices or long lost Christmas decor under the couch {thank you Wrigley for that find}. It took us 5 hours to get everything loaded.

is the UHaul too small or do we have too much stuff?

After loading the 17-ft. UHaul and 4 vehicles to the brim, were ready to head on out of town. This is when Robby decided to take one last look around and found a cabinet full of pots and pans, a steamer, some Advil, an air freshener, and a food processor. What? How did we miss that? We live in a shoe box and had half a month to pack the place. Ah well.

good friends seeing us off

Tate and I packed the last of our belongings in the only box we had leftover and took one last look around. We had a lot of family firsts in B306- first family dinner {it was undercooked and I cried}, first anniversary, first Barrett Christmas tree lighting {Charlie Brown style}, first Texas waffle dinner on Texas Independence Day, first paycheck, first small group, first puppy! All in all, it was the perfect little place to start our little family. We are excited about this new chapter back in Waco, but will always think on Houston with love and admiration.

In other news:

Wrigley is still very cute or "oozing precious" as one stranger put it

Tate finally put on his IronMan decal, so it's official now

Oh, and we have been in Waco for 4 whole days...pics to come  

dance your shoes off

Sunday we were part of a church-wide flash mob! Jealous? Well, you should be because it was awesome! All five campuses of Second met at Discovery Green, a park in Houston, to spread the message of Easter and get our groove on.

Friends from our Sunday School class, Cord, were there to get down with us. Shout out to Meredith, Andrew, Catherine, Colby, Emily and Jamos! We practiced weeks beforehand. Not gonna lie, we were a little unsure of how it would all come together, but it was amazing!  

Everyone bought and wore a new pair of shoes. As the dance came to an end, over a thousand people took off their shoes, leaving them on the field to be picked up and given to people in need. Each pair of shoes will be given to those in Houston and on international mission trips within the next year. It was such a moving experience. Each time I watch the video I get a little emotional looking at all of those shoes laying on the lawn. Even more amazing: our "seasoned" pastor, Dr. Ed Young, danced alongside us in Row 12. 

You can check out the video here. Beware: there is a Danielle look-a-like in a pink shirt. You will think it is me, I wish it was, but it's not. If you want to find us, pause the group shot and look for the tiny blue and purple dot on the Left side of the screen about halfway back. Good luck!

tollesons come to youston

Oh hello, long time no...type? A lot Some stuff has gone on in the lives of the Baylor Barretts since I've seen you last. Where to begin...

Shawn and Lynley made the 5 1/2 hour trip down 45 a few weekends ago to visit us in Houston. I say 5 1/2 due to the fact they took the scenic route, seeing an extra hour and a half of the greater Houston area. It was so great to spend time with them, especially since it was Shawn's last weekend before he shipped out for Spring training in Arizona. 

They got here late Friday night and we ate dinner at the apt. I'm used to cooking for my ironman-in-the-making and not accustomed to cooking for pro baseball players. Shawn went back for seconds and came back to the table with 2 carrots, a sliver of chicken and spoonful of mashed potatoes. It was great, but not near enough. Lesson learned. 

Saturday morning the husbands went for a Saturday morning workout while others slept in well, I would say slept in, but 11:00 AM is considered early morning for Lynley. Later we went to lunch at Little Bigs, jockeying for a table in the sunshine, preferably by the golden retriever. Lunch was followed by a tour of Houston's finest sights- The Beercan House. Yep, you guessed it- a house made entirely out of beercans. I don't know if I am proud or ashamed to admit this fine establishment is located not too far from our apartment. Sounds trashy, but looks amazing  pretty cool. and shiny. This man drank 39,000 beers over a period of 18 years to complete this lustrous  project. His family must have been so proud? As we parked the car and got out to take a quick picture, we found out this place is actually a "museum." I use the term "museum" loosely (hence the quotes), considering we paid $8 to look at nothing but an old house adorned with few beer quotes from Mr. Beer Man himself. Ok- I just realized I am spending way too much time on the Beercan House...moving on!

The rest of the afternoon was filled with guacamole, watching Baylor basketball on the air mattress and Scattegories. For dinner we took our guests to Houston's own Escalantes. Always good! Later we met friends at Barcadia to play some old school arcade games. Sad to say, my hand was sore the next day from too much Track and Field. Sunday we got up, went to our new Sunday School class, Cord, and had lunch with friends at Five Guys. It was a great weekend with the sis and bro! I am so honored they would spend their last Texas weekend with us. Love you guys and can't wait to get to Arizona or where ever Shawn will be to do it again! 

Stay tuned, more catching up with the Baylor Barretts is coming soon! 

Coming Attractions: Valentine's Day and Waco Weekend  

grown-ups are overrated

I was in fifth grade, sitting in the church balcony at FBC McKinney. I covertly plucked a sacred VISITOR card out of the pew in front of me and began filling it out to pass the time. It was probably during another one of those tithing sermons, and I wouldn't be able to use this info for another 50 years anyway...or so I thought. I remember filling out my name as Danielle Whitman, in reference to the boy I had a crush on at the time. We actually "went out" but never said a word to each other. And now that I think of it, we never officially broke up, so I guess we are still technically together. Oopsie. Anyway, I scribbled down my gender, address, phone number and my dream age, 20 years old. After all, this sounded like a prime age and I couldn't wait for the endless possibilities being a "grown up" had offer...

When I grow up, I am going to go to Target every Sunday afternoon instead of taking naps. 

When I grow up, I'm going to leave my bed unmade every single day. 

When I grow up, I'm going to talk on the phone past 10:30 PM. 

When I grow up, I am going to go Fun Time Live twice a month to slow dance with my boyfriend instead of just once.

Tate tells me his list was quite different:

When I grow up I'm going to live alone. 

When I grow up I'm going to be a real cowboy. 

When I grow up I'm going to have kids but not a wife. 

You'll be relieved to know only one of the things on that list has been fulfilled, and although Tate thinks he is a real cowboy, I was referring to our bed being unmade. I was reminded of this little list few months ago when we went out to eat with family friends. As the cutest little flower girl in the world was finishing her lunch, she looked at her mom and said, "How much more do I have to eat?" I thought, wow I'm a grown-up and can eat however much or little I want. Although picking at my food while not having to answer to anyone is rather freeing, being grown-up isn't all it's cracked up to be. Frankly, it's just overrated. 

Tate and I have passed a lot of milestones in the past year, crossing over into adulthood. We had to take money out of our savings to buy boring stuff like tires, call and make our own doctors appointments, negotiate rent, price car insurance, pay taxes, and lots of other boring, grown-up stuff. 

Tonight was another milestone. We went to one of our favorite restaurants and had to....ask.for.the.manager. Dun, dun dunnnn.  This is such a mom/dad gesture, but hey when you are using good entertainment money out of your own Dave Ramsey budget, things get real. We won't name this restaurant to avoid compromising the sterling reputation of their famous cheesecake made in their factory, but let's just say service was fair sub-par crappy non-existant. I will spare you the details, but long story short we were unsatisfied and my heart was racing as we asked to speak with the manager for the first time in our adult lives.  After speaking my mind and consuming a free slice of cheesecake, I felt satisfied. Instead of the usual compromise, we had stood up for ourselves in a public setting to people we didn't even know. It was one small step for the Barretts, one giant leap for the transitioning grown-ups of the world. 

the REAL project 365

10.17.2010 

Our Flicker Project 365 is still in the works; however, the REAL Project 365, being married for one whole year and liking it, is complete. Success! 

In a matter of 1 day we have gone from newlyweds to merely weds, instantly growing in wisdom and experience. Ok maybe not wisdom as of yet, but we were blessed with many interesting experiences this anniversary weekend. Let us share with you some of the things we learned:

* The world's creamiest Rootbeer can be found at Buc-ees...and it.is.rich, deliciously rich.
* The Yellow Rose of Texas was actually a working woman, if you know what I mean.
* If you claim to be on your honeymoon or 1st anniversary, you are instantly awarded free drinks and/or dessert...no proof necessary.
* The Jersey Shore is quite entertaining if you can restrain your pride long enough to give it a chance.
* Four ghosts currently reside at the Alamo, Antonio being one.

In celebration of the big 1 year anny, we decided to get away for the weekend. For months we researched (and by researched, I mean looked at prices and golf courses) places to stay.  Hotel requirements for the Barretts consist of mostly the basics...

Danielle: must be categorized with a 'H' as in Hotel and not an 'M' as in Motel, spa, good restaurant, hotel rooms opening into the hallway not the parking lot (I would like to thank my 'travel-industry-vet' father for most of this)

Tate: golf course

Tate did a great job, booking 3 nights at La Cantera Resort in San Antonio. It was wonderful!!! It had all the "basics" plus more. One of us took Friday off and fortunately the other got "sick" so we left for SA Thursday night. As we checked in, we were upgraded to a Deluxe Room, given 2 breakfast vouchers and 1 drink voucher! There is nothing better than being on a sophisticated weekend getaway hoarding free stuff. Classic.

The weekend was a perfect balance of activity and relaxation. We remembered the Alamo, ate lunch at the Mexican Market (which is its official name by the way), napped, river walked, and went on a walking ghost hunt....vewy scawy. One afternoon Tate played 9 holes while I got a massage. I feel some couples, the really married ones, would be offended by this. It's probably a rule somewhere you aren't supposed to split up on your first anniversary. Ah well, everyone was happy and well taken care of, plus we didn't have much left to talk about anyway after one whole year.  Just kidding...but seriously...

Besides activities, we also ate really, really (note the repeat and italics for emphasis) well, which as some of you know is an important part of my overall satisfaction in life. I was practically full the entire weekend. To top it all off, we had an anniversary cake too! Panini Bakery made our wedding cakes and also makes a new cake for your 1st anniversary. My mom picked it up from the big-D, put it in a cooler and drove it 4 hours to H-town, what a doll- that's why we call her Jan tha Man. So, post Ruth's Chris bread, salad, petite filet (with extra butter), garlic mashed potatoes and free cheesecake, us gluttons force fed ourselves each other a few bites of wedding cake as well. I'm still full.

Apparently, 1 year is the paper anniversary. I feel like after sharing our closet for 12 months we deserved something a little more than paper, but ah well. So with keeping tradition, I gave T a giant commemorative map of the Republic of Texas. On the other hand, T decided to deviate from tradition (which I am not complaining about) and gave me a beautiful diamond, eternity band. It is a replica of my mom's original wedding band. So special, and I could not have been more surprised!

This weekend was a perfect ending to the year one as well as a wonderful beginning to many, many more to come!  Now that we are merely 'weds' we may not be instantly wiser, but we are getting there with time. We've seen patience, acceptance and concession first hand and been graced with love, loyalty and forgiveness when more often times than not it was undeserved. We've learned more about ourselves by depending on each other. Whhhow, we've learned so much in the first year, just think how enlightened we'll be in 50!

Til death shall SHeperate us...

mini summer

 As you know, Tate grew up with boys and I grew up with girls. Us girls always spent our summers at home together. Well, maybe not "at home", we were usually out-and-about doing something, but we were always together. This is the first summer we've been married, engaged and in different cities, so we had to make it work regardless. 

Mom, Lynley and Chloe came to visit for a few days! A "mini summer" if you will. Three days of no agenda, just hanging out. Wait, isn't that what I've been doing everyday the past few weeks? Ah, well. It was nice having them around. Poor Tate was the only boy for three days, but he survived just fine with the exception of having to work while we played.

They got in late Sunday and we walked across the street for dinner at Chuy's. I like eating at Mexican food restaurants when Lynley is around because she splits fajitas with Tate. He always asks me to split, and I always have to tell him no. When we are all together eating Mexican, everyone wins!  Back at the apartment we showed our guests to our guest room (blow up mattress on the living room floor). Oh, and we finally got to use that doggy run next to our apartment; although Chloe wasn't too excited about it. She is a scared of pretty much anything that moves: small dogs, wheelbarrows, trucks, her own leash and don't even mention the elevator.  

Monday morningish we woke up and went to lunch at Black Walnut, a great cafe in Rice Village. After, we went to Anthropologie to check out bedding for Lynley and Shawn. We found a winner! Then we went to buy groceries. We made dinner while Tate went on a long run after work. Mom made us smothered steak, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn and rolls for dinner. Yumm! I took some notes so hopefully I can do it by myself next time. After dinner we rented a movie and watched it in the "guest room." Chloe made herself right at home...

Tuesday we ate lunch at Empire Cafe. I had never eaten lunch there, so it was new for everyone. It was great...especially the chocolate raspberry cake. Mondays are 1/2 price cake nights to we will be  going back fo sho. After lunch, we walked through a way too expensive flea market on Westheimer and went for a mani/pedi. Then we headed to the roof for some short pool time thanks to the rain. Later that evening Lynley and I went to kickboxing and Tate swam at the gym. Funny people like Mr. Tanktop and Ms. Pink Stretch Pants always make workout classes a little more fun. Needless to say, it was a very fun workout! After we worked up a sweat, we came home to the smell of tacos! Yummy dinner and a walk to Borders wrapped up the evening. Tate got a new book for our trip to Colorado and Chloe got a walk.

Today we woke up, went to the pool for laying out, reading and eavesdropping. We then ate lunch with Tate at the apartment. After lunch, Mom and Lynley packed up and headed back home. It was a great "mini summer" with all the Nicholson girls and one boy. We made sure to get in all the best things: food, shopping, spa. Thanks for coming to hang out!

houston bucket list

10 MONTHS. That's how long we have been Houstonians. You may think merely living in this great, massive city makes you a Houstonian. Maybe. But I think it is more than that. I think it is a mixture of a lot of things including, but not limited to the following: running red lights like it's going out of style, honking a minimum of three times per week, considering 98% humidity a normal climate, pronouncing "Houston, humidity and Humble" with a silent "h", and seeing the sights of course.

Speaking of sights... a few weeks ago, I opened a book of Tate's and this list fell out. It was entitled, "Things I want to do in Houston with Danielle." First of all, I thought it was super cute and put it on our bulletin board in our kitchen. Secondly, I thought, hmmmm not a bad idea. A Houston Bucket List, if you will. 15 things we want to do in Houston before we leave this glorious place. 5 down, 10 to go! I've revised it a bit, but here is our Houston Bucket List:

15 stops on the way to becoming a true Houstonian...

1. Astros Game at Minute Maid Park

2. Visit the Houston Aquarium

3. Miller Outdoor Theatre 

4. Play Golf at Hermann Park

5. Houston Museum of Natural Science

6. Explore Galveston Island

7. Go fishing at Galveston Island

8. Moody Gardens

9. St. Arnold Brewery Tour

10. NASA Space Center

11. Houston Zoo

12. Sam Houston Horse Races

13. Kayak on the Bayou 

14. Rockets Game

15. Texans Game 

kickin' it

It's kickball season and We've Got the Runs! 
                                                                              (^that's our team name)

That's right, your BaylorBarretts are on a co-ed kickball team. We got a group together in our Nearlywed/Newlywed class and joined the Houston Adult Sports League.  'We've Got the Runs' plays every Monday night...I will try to keep you updated on our win/lose record.

So far we are 1-3

Apparently we haven't had enough of the runs, but that's ok, it has been a blast so far!

Everyone on our team is married or engaged, and the difference between the guys' level of effort and the girls' has been hilarious. For example, yours truly, Mr. Tate Barrett can often be seen pitching, sprinting to catch a foul ball, even diving back to 1st base! Me on the other hand, well I have to say I have pulled my weight, but I believe my most valuable role has been supplying the team with Capri Suns on a weekly basis and taking the team picture. Just call me the team mom. Every week I load up the rolling cooler in my SUV and drive to the fields.

I think it's safe to say we may have underestimated kickball and overestimated ourselves. Every Tuesday, I have to give my quads/hamstrings a pep talk just to get out of my chair and walk down the hallway. My legs are sore! I'm telling you, 1st base is further than it looks. I am not the only one who feels this way. My teammates agree. This week, 7/14 of us pulled muscles during the game! No joke. We were bunting when we didn't need to, hobbling to 1st and putting in pinch runners (yes, they have that in kickball too).

It's not only the physical exertion that seems to outweigh our expectations, but the atmosphere as well. 'We've Got the Runs' doesn't seem to fit into the 'kickball culture' here in the Houston Adult Sports League...which may be a positive thing.

Between our double header last week, we walked over to the bleachers to wait for our next game. We had an hour break. Our opponents, the notorious Ninjas, happened to be there also. They asked Tate "Want a beer?" Nice. He said, "No thanks, we have our Capri Suns in the cooler." They laughed. We weren't joking. Later as we were eating our fruit snacks and drinking our Capri Suns, we looked over and saw them shotgunning beers before the game! Must be a team bonding thing. Maybe it was strategy, because later we lost the game to the tipsy Ninjas. Ah well. You win some one, you lose some three...

Until next Monday...Peace, Love and Kickball

roommates for life

Roommates. God bless 'em. You love 'em, hate 'em, don't understand 'em, respect 'em, teach 'em, learn from 'em, annoy 'em and miss 'em.

I learned a lot about myself in college, which I attribute to my roommates (good opportunity for a shout out: Erin, Lynn, Katelyn, Lindsey, Lynley- you're the bomb.com) You go your whole life doing things a certain way. You learn a specific routine that you don't deviate from and certain habits you aren't aware of. Much of this is because while growing up, there are 3 other people in your house that do the exact same things. You think that all families keep the medicine in the hall closet, wash the toilet with a washrag, and eat fried spam and potatoes for dinner. I was blown away when I went to college and found out people clean counters with Windex! Eat macaroni out of mixing bowls! And shave everyday! Who are these people? I eventually loosened up and realized there are hundreds of right ways to do everyday things.

I thought I had become so self-enlightened facing adversity, until I got married. HELLO!

I transitioned from college roommate to a roommate for life. You don't just share the living room, kitchen and mailbox anymore. You share.....everything! The difference is when you get annoyed, you can't just go to your room and avoid the problem. You share the same room! I knew it would be a lot of togetherness and a lot of change, which I was excited about, but I thought this lesson would be a gradual one. Wrong.

I forgot my toothbrush on our honeymoon. This meant for the first week of marriage we brushed our teeth with the same toothbrush. Gross! Call it a forgetfulness or coincidence. I like to think God knew how "independent" (or stubborn) we both are and was teaching us the "togetherness thing" right of the bat. I guess it didn't take right away, or maybe it's a series, because He is still teaching the same lesson...

Whatever you want to call it: modification, change, compromise, humility. Numerous adjustments have been made on both parts. These changes may seem small, but are significantly huge when it alters the daily routine you have perfected over 24 years. I am happy to make these changes, the reward is great. However, my pride often gets in the way of my good intentions. Stupid pride. I have to remember it's the little things that go a long way. Some of these "little things" are pretty funny so I thought I would share a few on our top 10 list...

Top 10 Adjustments Post Marriage

D's Adjustments:

1. Cutting a grilled cheese into four equal squares before serving it.

2. Seeing a stuffed bird every morning when I wake up since my roommate likes to keep his mounted quail on his nightstand.

3. Holding the black olives on my shared pizza orders. 

4. Being sure to suction the shower curtain liner to the shower wall (in 4 spots) so a drop of water doesn't potentially get out.

5. Hanging up shirts with the hanger facing to the left.

6. Unplugging my straightener instead of leaving it connected to the wall all day, every day. 

7. Using dishtowels as napkins. 

8. Washing more clothes. 

9. Using florescent lighting. I like to only use lamp lighting. I think I get that from my grandparents (thanks gma Flo). My roommate likes to "see what he's eating."

10. Swimming in the pool rather than just laying out beside it.

T's Adjustments:

1. Waking up with "sore ears" due to my roommate's need for the ceiling fan on every night.

2. Lifting the toilet seat instead of it conveniently being left up from earlier use.

3. Finding humor in the fact my roommate brushes her teeth in bed.

4. Having to carefully select hangers from the closet since my roommate has her own white plastic ones she won't let anyone else use.

5. Trying anything green. So far: salad, broccoli, spinach.

6. Climbing over hair dryer and straightener cords every morning to get to the sink. 

7. Sleeping on the edge of the bed with a corner of comforter. Did I mention the fan is always on?

8. Not being able to find a clock to tell time since my roommate likes to rearrange the bookshelves on a weekly basis.

9. Getting out of the shower to step on a damp rug when my roommate showers before me. 

10. Closing the shower curtain every time I get out of the shower.

Our small group is going through a book called "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas. Gary says "if you want to be free to serve Jesus, it's better not to be married, but if you want to become more like Jesus, its best to be married." I was appalled when I first read this, but realized he is saying if you want free time to serve the Lord only, more availability comes with the single life. However, self-denial and servanthood come with a Godly marriage.

We are finding this to be true everyday. Love and respect come in many forms. Today it meant drying off my feet when I got out of the shower, hanging up his shirt on a sacred plastic hanger and telling that stuffed bird "good morning"

Love!

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. 

from first to second

Well, today I walked down the aisle for the second time in four months. Tate and I joined our church, Second Baptist Houston! We had been planning on joining for a while, but the timing just hadn't been right. However, today was our day! When they started playing "My Heart, Your Home" during the invitation, which was the same song they played at our wedding during the unity candle, Tate looked at me and said, "Let's go." The song was a really neat parallel, and made it feel extra special.  (Erin- at the front of the church Tate looked at me and said, "Erin and Drew sounded better", so shout out to our wedding singing peeps) It is really exciting to officially be part of OUR church as "the Barretts," even though I accidentally introduced myself to the church staff as "Danielle Nich- uh- Barrett." Old habits die hard.   

Second Baptist is really special to us for a few reasons. We love the people. Since October, we have had a great opportunity to spend time other couples in our Thursday night Bible study. Outside of church we have hung out with our group at dinner, birthday parties, while two-stepping and soon to come: the rodeo. It has been such a blessing to get to know other couples that are in the same phase of life that we are. We've been consistently going to the church for four months, but we first visited long before that... 

Actually, our first time to Second was a year before we were even dating. We were in Houston to speak to potential Baylor students for a StuFu rally. Since Tate and I were both SR co-chairs, we didn't get to take many trips together, but this one was an exception. We made sure to schedule one rally together before the year ended. We packed up the van, drove to Houston in our green and white striped jerseys, told students why we loved Baylor and answered a ton of questions. Who knew two years later we would be walking down the aisle, holding hands as a family.