.

Happy Birthday

2012-01-19T12:05:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to sweet wife!! I present Elton Bug to sing you Happy Birthday along with Baby Gary Bucey

Standing on Her Own

2011-10-14T22:24:00.001-05:00

Here is Buggy standing alone not holding on to anything. (insert something about growing up too fast)

In June We Got Wheels

2011-10-14T22:19:00.001-05:00

Sometime in June Maddie learned to crawl and has been on the move ever since.

Remember back in the May

2011-10-14T22:05:00.000-05:00

How is this even right? It is Friday night and I am a home with the Bug while Heidi is out at a football game. Go ahead and tell me that having a kiddo does not complete change your life. We are living in Bizzaro World.

The good thing is that Buggy is asleep and I can make an attempt to get caught up on our blog. All of our pictures are on Facebook so these next couple of posts are going to be videos.

This is May when Buggy is just learning how to "talk" and she telling Mr. Turtle all about her day.

We are still here!!!

2011-02-27T21:02:00.004-06:00

Fast forward 4 months and you will see what we got. Maddie turned 4 months yesterday and got introduced to rice cereal. We tried to video it but she took it pretty well so there was not much humor in posting a baby eating cereal. Everyone is back at work at Maddie is at Giant Steps home daycare. We have a ton more pictures on facebook and in our emails. We mean well to get them posted but so far this is as good as it is going to get.

This is a start...hopefully we will do a better job of updating.

Life Between the Feedings

2010-11-09T20:45:00.002-06:00

If life were a book then this would be the title of our next chapter. In the two short weeks since Maddie's arrival our lives have completely changed (I know...Captain Obvious). Maddie is feeding about every two hours during the day and about every three hours at night and our lives operate between those feeding. On the weekend that usually means sneaking in a quick nap or one of us running out for an errand. We are still working up to an outing into the public but if we did you know that we would have leave right after Heidi finished feeding and hurry back before the next feeding. We know that this will change but until then...I am tired and going to bed.

Please enjoy Maddie at one week old

We got ourselves a baby!

2010-10-29T10:21:00.003-05:00

I am proud to announce the arrival of Madeline Grace McDow who came into this world on Wednesday October 27th at 5:55pm. She was 7lbs 13oz and 21 inches that is a big baby for my little wife.

Once again our plans and God's plan did not line up. One of these day we would like to be privy to know just a little about what he has in store for us but I think that God enjoys the surprises.
So now you know that this is going to be a fun little story. On Sunday night we went to the hospital so that Heidi could get Cervidil to help bring her into labor (she was on the verge of Preeclampsia and since she had made 39.5 weeks wanted to get the baby delivered). After 12 hours the Cervidil did not work so they decided to go with Pitosin for more contractions in hope of bring on labor...and 12 hours later that did not work. We got discharged for the night so that Heidi could get some rest at home and then come back Tuesday night for another round. Editors note: nobody but the McDow checked into Labor & Delivery and left without a delivery. We are the few the chosen the do-it-agains.

Tuesday night we check back into the hospital and like Emerald say we kicked it up a notch. They gave Heidi cytotec in hopes that THIS would bring on labor but after 6 hours the contractions were to strong and they decided to go back to Cervidil for another 12 hours. This brings us up to 2:00pm on Wednesday and there was still no signs of Heidi going into labor. Note:we were over this process at about 6:00 am.

At this point we had two options: one - insert some medieval torture device that the medical community kindly refers to as a Foley. (Google it) Two: we have a C-Section. Heidi, not involved with the S&M society decide to go with the C-Section. It was scheduled for 5:00pm that evening and after a couple of delays sweet Madeline arrived into our world just before 6:00. As the loving husband that I am took up an offer to watch the surgery but chose not to give Heidi the play by play. During the surgery we found out that there were two reasons that Heidi did not go into labor: One Maddie has her daddy melon head and she would not have fit through the birth canal and two the cord was wrapped around her little neck. Note: If you did not know by now God does know what he is doing.

Well that is our story and we are sticking to it.

Ladies and Gentlemen...I present to you Madeline Grace McDow

Weekend Wrap Up

2010-09-20T21:30:00.002-05:00

I don't have any pictures so I am not sure how interesting this post will be with our pictures but basically we had a great weekend and I had a great time hanging out with family all weekend. We had a great steak dinner on Friday, baby shower on Saturday ( hosted at my favorite Mother-in-Laws house) and then we caught a show with Mom and Rachel at the Pocket Sandwich Theater. Sunday after church we came home and Heidi got a great 4 hour nap that she had been needing all week. We are 5 weeks out from getting us a baby and Maddie is growing fast and wearing out Heidi so it was good that she got to sleep and I got to watch bad Sunday movies. Maddie's room is almost ready and so are we.

It was a great weekend and pics may follow.

Labor Day trip

2010-09-06T20:09:00.004-05:00

We took our last trip as DINKS and went down to the farm for a good weekend out of the city. We showed up Saturday afternoon and since there was such a nice breeze on the patio so we started out the trip off with a nice nap. We went to town to get some food for Sunday and pick up some more fishing lures for the sacred traditional sacrifice to the the tank god. Two 3 sacrifices lures equals 4 fish. After our afternoon fishing trip we went to Orsaks for catfish and chicken fried. Great end to a Saturday. Sunday we went to visit on one of my high school friend and her new baby then back to the farm for some more fishing. It was a great weekend and now we are back in Dallas with a full September schedule and then October is Baby Time.

As most of you know we have two dogs: an Aussie and a Rottie and Rottweilers are know for their bite strength, fierceness and aggression. We, like other Rottie owners, always think that our Rottie is different and not like other dogs. Well this weekend our Dixie the great Rottweiler - bread to be a hearder, guard dog, and force to be reckoned with showed us who she truly is.

Please be advised these video can be very unsettling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFOMLnA2Z70

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX95WgqdxGo

It has been a while

2010-08-09T22:31:00.005-05:00

We have been getting a lot of requests for us to update our blog with all the new happenings here with those McDows.

The people have spoken and we have your answers!!!!

You said that you wanted to know about our jobs....
We both got new ones!!! I am back with Aerotek as a Recruiter and Heidi got an offer with Prestonwood Christian Academy as the Director of Communication and Web. She really likes it and is enjoying her new job AND the beneis are great. Tuition discount!!! Which means that our little Maddie will get all educated and stuff.

You wanted to know if we decided on a name...
We are going with Madeline Grace McDow and she will be coming into this world round October 28th

You wanted to know about the nursery... well it looks like the guest room without the guest bed (don't you sit there and judge us)

And finally...what you have all been waiting for...THE BELLY PICTURES

Wait for it.

HOLD...

HOLD...

PICTURE!!!!

Finally, another post- with pictures:)

2010-05-19T12:48:00.010-05:00

I have been slacking off a little on my posts, but for a good reason.
I have been interviewing for the past three weeks with Prestonwood Christian Academy for their Director of Communications position! I have made it past three interviews, one to go!
Ryan and I are excited about this possibility, but we know it is in God's hands.
I have picked up a little side work for a friend of ours, so that might be another route!
I'll keep you posted as to if I get the job or not. Either way, we are blessed.

My pregnancy is going well, I can't believe we are almost at 5 months!
It seems like just yesterday that little stick read, "pregnant." We have a sonogram next week to confirm if our little one is a girl - we are pretty sure already, but we will know for sure by next Thursday. We have picked out a name we like, but will wait until we are sure to really announce it. And of course we could change our minds, again. She was going to be Makayla, until we heard another mom in church announce the name and we decided it just wasn't right for our little one.

SO that being said, I have another recipe to share.
I have to admit that I have been watching the TODAY show a lot, so I lifted this from one of their cooking segments... and of course, added my own spin.

Fresh tomato and herb pasta-

What you will need:
4 Roma tomatoes- chopped
fresh basil-2 sprigs chopped finely
fresh thyme-1 small bunch ( I used about 5 stems)
Fresh oregano-2 sprigs chopped
1/4 onion finely chopped
1 heaping tsp chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 block (small block) mozzarella cubed
Angel hair pasta

Chop up all of your fresh ingredients add salt and pepper and combine, - hold the cheese and olive oil.

Tip: If you don't know how to use fresh thyme- its easy- pull the leaves off in one swift motion from top to bottom by sliding your thumb and pointer finger down the stem.

Heat your olive oil to bubbling and then pour over your fresh ingredients- it makes a great popping sound!
Stir to coat your herbs, onions and tomatoes. Make sure to taste at this point to see if you need more salt or pepper. Set aside.

Boil pasta according to package directions- I used half a box, about enough for 4 people. Pour drained pasta over herb and tomato mixture, add cubed cheese and toss. Cover with some plastic wrap for a minute or two so cheese gets a little melty and herb mixture soaks into pasta.

This is VERY yummy.I actually grilled up some chicken to add a little extra protein and tossed in with the pasta.

Just a quick note: This is extremely herby , so you can adjust the herbs if needed. I loved it, Ryan thought it was a bit much, but I'll make it again maybe for a girls lunch, or maybe just for me! It is super light and with all the fresh ingredients, really refreshing.

Enjoy!

Mac& Cheese off...and fire, what else could you ask for on a Sunday night?

2010-04-26T12:04:00.016-05:00

Last night at the McDow house we held a Mac & Cheese competition with some friends of ours. It was a cheesy, noodley (is that a word?) gluttony fest.

The contenders were Ham with Mac & Cheese, Truffled Sausage Mac & Cheese, Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese, Baked Mac & Cheese and mine, Green chili Mac & Cheese.

We have some very creative friends! We also had chicken, BBQ meatballs ( a recipe I got from pioneerwomancooks.com- you should check it out, yummmm!) chicken strips, seafood fondue and birthday cake for our friend Taylor.

We were all sitting on the porch as it was a beautiful Sunday, everyone was enjoying the different variations of gooey goodness and one of our friends ran around from the side of the house and said, " The House next door is on fire!" There was black smoke billowing out from the roof and flames were starting to appear.

Needless to say, that kind of ended the party atmosphere. We all ran out the front door, checking to see if anyone had called 911, making sure the guy who lived there got out ( he did) and trying to decide if we should hose down the side of our house, but by the time we got the hose, 6 fire trucks had arrived!

It was really amazing to watching the firemen and women work, rushing in the burning house and climbing on the roof, making sure that the fire was put out. It took them about 30 minutes to get the flames under control.

Everyone in the neighborhood piled onto our street, into each other's yards, one guy even brought his entire family- including the baby in the stroller! - I think this is the most excitement people on our block have seen in a long time!

So - Mac & Cheese night turned out to be extremely interesting. I won the cook off, but it pales in comparison to the excitement next door.

Please be in prayer for the family who owned the home, they were a troubled family to begin with and this of course doesn't make it any easier.

Oh and as promised, the Green Chili Mac & Cheese- warning, this is NOT health food dish!

1 stick of salted butter divided in two

1/2 of a large onion diced

2 cans of green chilies ( get the larger cans)

1 tomatillo chopped

1 small container (pint) of heavy cream

1/4 cup of flour

1/4 cup of milk to deglaze cream pan

1 box of pasta- I used mini bow tie pasta
1/2 small block of sharp white cheddar grated

1/2 small block of mozzarella grated

1/2 small block pepper jack cheese

Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over top

2 cups of dry breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

kosher salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt half of the butter into a large saute pan and add onions and tomatillo and saute until onions are opaque. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Add in the two cans of chopped green chilies and saute about a minute. Stir in your container of heavy cream and slowly whisk in the flour. Sprinkle in black pepper- I used about 1/4 tsp. Let simmer on low until thickened.

Boil pasta and drain. make sure to run cold water over it so it gets to room temp quickly.Pour pasta into buttered large casserole dish and stir in cheeses. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese all over the top and mix. Now pour sauce over casserole and use the milk to get the residue out of the pan and pour into dish. Mix well.

In a separate dish include bread crumbs. melt the other half of the butter and pour over crumbs and include 2 tsps of garlic and a pinch of salt. mix well and spread evenly over the pasta dish.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes and then pop on the broiler for a couple minutes to crisp up the top. take out when nice and toasty. Make sure to watch it carefully as it can burn very quickly!

This is really good, creamy, cheesy and about as down home as you can get.

It's Friday night-sounds like clean out the fridge night to me!

2010-04-23T17:59:00.005-05:00

First things first,
Ryan and I found out this week that our Baby Mac, as we have been calling the little one growing inside my ever rounding belly, is most likely a girl!!! The Doctor managed to get a really good shot of the baby with her legs sticking straight up and he said, " Yep, its a girl" But there is about a %10 chance it could still be a boy.
Highly unlikely, but we will confirm at our next sonogram in a few weeks:)

Now,
I know I promised my Green Chili Mac & Cheese next, but I actually want to make it again just to be sure it is worth posting:)
So tonight- we are having Chili beef casserole- aka left over stuff in the fridge I managed to actually concoct something quite tasty!

Here we go!

1/2 lb of browned ground beef seasoned with onions/cumin/and fajita seasoning ( my taco meat from the day before)
2 cups of white rice ( again from the day before)
1 can cream of mushroom
1/2 onion chopped
1 Anaheim chili chopped finely
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 cup softened cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
grated cheddar/jack cheese- about 1 cup

Saute onion and chili in butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, when onions are opaque throw in your garlic. Add beef,soup,rice and cream cheese and mix thoroughly. Taste warmed mixture to see if you need any extra seasoning. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with grated cheese. Pop into a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until casserole is bubbly.

Pretty darn good for leftovers!!!

Monday night kickoff

2010-04-20T10:11:00.005-05:00

Still on the quest to become the ultimate housewife, I decided to try my hand at an old recipe last night- Cornflake Crusted Chicken.
My grandmother used to make this and I remember it was really good, but she cooked the whole thing in oil.
I have been trying to cook healthier as we have a little one on the way, so I wanted to find something that would taste just as good, but eliminate the extra calories.
I found several recipes, but decided to make my own version.
I made this just for two ( well two and a half:)

Here is what i did, and it turned out pretty well!

2 large chicken breasts- trimmed of all skin and fat
Buttermilk
1 cup cornflakes crushed
1/4 tsp each salt, black pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning and garlic powder

Soak chicken breasts in buttermilk for about 20 minutes- I simply poured it over the chicken till barley covered.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on the breasts and turn then over and repeat salt and pepper.
Place cornflakes in a plastic baggie and crush, then open up the bag and throw in your seasonings. Shake well. Then pour your mixture into a shallow bowl.
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and place chicken in crumbs. Flip chicken to coat both sides.
Place your pieces on baking sheet in over at 400 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes ( depending on how our oven cooks)

This is really tasty, relatively low calorie and super crunchy. I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and corn. I know, I know starch and starch, but it was yummy:)

Coming soon- Our mac and Cheese off!!! We are hosting a party this coming Sunday for our small group and folks are bringing their own version of Mac & Cheese to be tasted and judged- I'll post my entry into the competition a little later this week. For now, I have to start cleaning. Who knew to people and two furry kids could make house so messy!

Fun on a Tuesday

2010-04-14T07:56:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I me up with a dear friend of mine whom I grew up with. She and her hubbie and sweet little girl now live in Nevada, so I haven't seen her in several years!
We met at Chick-Fil-A , as apparently they don't have those where she lives. When they come to Texas to visit family, they get as much of the Golden, chickany goodness as possible.
Once we entered the restaurant, she asked her adorable little 3 year old girl what she would like. Perhaps some chicken nuggets or strips? Her daughter proclaimed loudly, "No mommy, I want a hamburger!" You gotta love those little independent personalities.
After lunch I went to my folks house in Carrollton and my mother and I whipped up a batch of the most amazing gingersnaps. It is a super easy recipe- sugar, butter, eggs, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger...I'll have to dig up the exact measurements and post a little later. These would be perfect for the summer with a little peach ice cream!

I can however post what I made for dinner last night- pulled pork sandwiches and Down Home cheesy grits.

I have to admit, the pulled pork was REALLY hard work (note the sarcasm)
Ingredients-
1 barbecue season dry rubbed pork shoulder already seasoned from the store. (Yes, I cheated, but I'm a big fan of things that make life less complicated)
Place the pork shoulder in a crock pot, with 1 cup of water.
Cook on low for 10 hours.
When finished, this will practically shred it self! I served it on butter toasted buns with pickles and some additional BBQ sauce.
Whew, that was tough.

Now for some real cooking.. The cheesy grits
You will need:
3 cups water
3/4 cups instant grits
pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
ground pepper to taste
1 cup grated Cheddar/ Jack cheese.

Prepare your grits according to the package directions
In a separate saute pan, place your butter and let it melt. Add your chopped onions and caramelize. Add your garlic and lightly toast, don't burn! Add your cooked grits and stir. Now is the time to add your fresh ground pepper- I used about 4-5 twists and a pinch of salt (about a 1/4 teaspoon)
Now comes the magic, ad about 3/4 cup of your cheese and stir until melted.
Pour all of the mixture into a bowl and top with remaining cheese.
If you really want to be sinful, you can add some crumbled bacon on top.
This makes enough to serve probably 4-6 people so adjust if you don't need as much!

This was delicious and my house still smells like a Carolina kitchen:)
Tonight we will use the left over pulled pork for tacos. I'll lightly fry up some corn tortillas and serve with avocado and shredded lettuce, cilantro, onion and a squeeze of lime. Yum.

Lessons from the stay at home mom in training:)

2010-04-09T12:53:00.006-05:00

Ok, so I normally am a proponent of meat. I love it, beef, chicken, turkey, fish you name it, I'll eat it. Well, except for liver. I won't touch that. However, I digress.
For lunch today I made a veggie wrap to kind of mimic one that Ihave had at one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas, Breadwinners.
Warm veggies mixed with a little cool lettuce, avocado, jack cheese and creamy hummus. I must admit, it turned out pretty good.
SO, I decided to share with everyone.

Again, I am lacking pictures, I need to work on that!

Some of the ingredients might sound a little strange, but trust me, it is reallllly good. I almost made another one as soon as I finished the first one!
I doubled the recipe here so you can make it for you and another person:)

You will need:
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup button mushrooms sliced ( I used the ones from a jar, but you can use fresh- they will just take longer to saute)
hummus
slices of avocado
lettuce
jack cheese shredded
kosher salt
olive oil
black pepper
flour tortillas (get the bigger ones, they are easier to roll)

Here's what you do!
Get out your favorite saute pan and saute the red pepper strips first in about a tablespoon of olive oil, throw in a pinch of kosher salt and saute for about 4 minutes, then throw in your onions and mushrooms. You might need a tad bit more olive oil just to make sure these don't stick. Use another pinch of the salt and use a bit of fresh ground pepper. Saute until onions are nice and caramelized and the mushrooms have cooked down. It should take a few minutes.

While your hot veggies are doing their thing, take a tortilla and spread a couple teaspoons of hummus all over it- this will act as the "glue" that holds the wrap together.Then, grab a couple lettuce leaves and place on 1/4 of the tortilla. Next to the lettuce put a couple slices of avocado, then grab some of your hot veggies and layer next to the avocado, throw a couple pinches of the shredded jack on the hot veggies and roll! Make sure to tuck in the sides as the veggies kinda like to slip out. I cut mine in half so it would be easier to eat, and I wanted to see what it looked like all rolled up, but you can do what you like:)
If you want you can dip in a little salsa, but my preggy tummy isn't handling spice so well these days.

This is crazy delicious and if you are trying get more veggies in your diet, this would be one way to do it.

Next time, something with meat, I promise.

New Orleans

2010-04-05T09:33:00.005-05:00

We spent this Easter Weekend with Ryan's family in LA. No, not L.A. as in Hollywood, but Louisiana!!
We left on Thursday after Ryan got finished with work and started our road trip. After a short stop in Houston to pick up Ryan's momma, and sister and brother-in-law, we took off early Friday morning.
We went to New Orleans on Friday and enjoyed some amazing food at the Acme Oyster House. Ryan had been talking about this place for several months and it lived up to our expectations!
I think we took in our monthly allowance fried goodness- catfish, shrimp, french fries covered in cheese and gravy, and we also ate PO boys, gumbo and I can't remember what else we ordered. By the time we left, I think we were more waddling out the door then walking!
We spent the afternoon wondering down the streets of the French Quarter. I will use Ryan's mom's favorite word to describe the experience. Weird. Sort of old world beauty mixed with the interesting culture that is New Orleans.
Actually some of it was really beautiful, all of the old buildings that have been transformed into restaurants, art galleries and more. Then,there were street performers, gypsies, two of whom got into a yelling match,artists and of course more then an eye full on Bourbon Street.
Saturday morning we had fully intended on heading back to the French Quarter to enjoy the delicious delicacy known as beignets, but the city was hosting the annual Easter Race so getting into the area where they were was impossible! We decided to forgo the beignets and travelled into the 9th ward to see the progress that has taken place since Katrina.
It really is an amazing mix of progress, new buildings and re-building and then buildings that are still abandoned, crumbling and marked with spray paint to denote what rescuers found.
The new homes going up are really incredible, have funky architecture, crazy colors, you just have to see it to appreciate it. Unfortunately, we left our camera in Dallas, so hopefully we will get some pics from Ryan's sister to post up eventually.
We headed out from there to Baton Rouge to enjoy a fantastic Louisiana feast-Ryan's family knows how to cook!!! From the homemade muffalletas, jambalaya, lemon bars, desserts and this crazy drink called a yellow bird, I think we all gained about 5 lbs! We also competed in a ping-pong tournament with family. I proved that once again my talents lay more in the creative arena:) We all had a blast though.
Next year will be our turn to host, well at least Houston side:) It will be a blast to have the family together again, and we will have to make sure the have all the Texas favorites- brisket, maybe some Tex-Mex:)

Yummy!

2010-03-24T10:26:00.003-05:00

In my quest to really capture this housewife thing, I created my own recipe last night as a twist on an old favorite. Chicken pot pie casserole.
Really, I promise it is good. Think of it as something your mom would have made on Sunday after church. It is warm, filling and if you are craving comfort food..this is it! Plus, it is a great way to get picky eaters to eat their veggies. My sweet husband hates carrots, but I caught him standing over the casserole dish last night after dinner was over, sneaking another spoonful!

I should have taken a picture of it, it turned out really pretty, but...we devoured half of it last night!

Pictures of leftovers aren't so pretty.

Here is what you need:

4 skinless , boneless chicken breasts
1 can of jumbo buttermilk biscuits( needs to be 8 count)
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
3 tablespoons of flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp celery salt
pinch of kosher salt
1 small package frozen peas
1 1/2 cups diced, cooked potatoes
1 1/2 cups diced, cooked carrots

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350
Slice chicken into 1/4 inch strips and saute in a little bit of olive oil or non stick spray. Sprinkle with the pinch of kosher salt.
While chicken is cooking through, mix together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl-
minus the biscuits. Those will go on top of the mixture.
Mix in cooked chicken and pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
Cut the biscuits in half so you have 16 pieces and arrange over the top of the dish.
Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Bump the heat up to 375 for the last 5 minutes so the biscuits get nice and golden and the mixture is bubbling. Make sure to let the casserole sit for at least 10 minutes so everything will thicken.

You might have to play with the time a little as I know all ovens are different.
This is seriously good and really easy to make. And if you want to be good you can use reduced fat biscuits and reduced fat cream of chicken and mushroom soups.

Make it tonight, and your family will thank you:)

Playing Housewife

2010-03-17T13:41:00.002-05:00

Well friends,
I am now part of the un-employed- actually it is rather an interesting story. I have been in the past job for almost 5 years- publicity and promotions for movie studios. It is a great company, but the job was starting to wear on me just a tad- late nights, stress, deadlines, the usual . I had been thinking for a while that I should maybe think about searching for another career. SO I took a big step last Thursday and actually decided to pray about it. Let me tell you right now that prayer works, but be careful what you pray for!
I asked that HE would show me, make it abundantly clear, if I was supposed to be doing something else. That afternoon I was laid off!! An answer, but not quite the way I was expecting it:)
SO for now I am getting to clean the house, something I haven't really been able to do in a long time, updating my resume, searching for my new career and reaching out to friends I haven't talked to in a long time.
I'm getting to take time to cook, read and really for the first time in a long time, de-compress.
I think my dogs are the happiest that I am home, no one has chewed, peed or otherwise destroyed the house because we are not here:)
I am actually really excited about the next step in life. I know that God is completely in control and HE has been so faithful to both Ryan and I. We are in his hands and I am excited to start this new chapter in life.
By the way in discovering yummy new things to cook, I think I'll post a few recepies here on our blog.
Tonight- Salmon- yumm.
I think I'll do a soy/brown sugar glaze
Mashed new potatos, french green beans and something citrus for dessert- maybe lemon cream pie!
I'm off to the store!

SNOW DAY!!!!

2010-02-11T11:28:00.003-06:00

It snowed here in Dallas today!

I got to work from home, so that means, I got to see the girls play in the snow!

Lilly and Dixie both seem to love it- in short little snippits, then the are ready to come back in and warm up!

To be quite honest, I'm actually really glad I got to stay home today. I was able to get a BUNCH of work done and still had time to do some much needed housework. I could get used to this!!

End of 2009

2010-01-04T18:55:00.005-06:00

Well I suppose if Mr & Mrs Williams can finally update their blog then so can we. You know it has been a while when you have to go back and catch up with what you wrote just so you know where to begin. Well to sum it all up we have been busy. Spend Thanksgiving weekend down at the farm with a stinky skunk who decided that he wants to live under the house. Dixie had a great time getting to explore all that is the farm and gave a curious effort to get into the tank, maybe next time. December was full of events mainly our Home Team Christmas Chili Cook-Off Party where I might have committed myself to one session of Bikram Yoga.

Here is a picture of our Hometeam

For Christmas Day we had some friends and Heidi's folks over for a Christmas brunch and then kicked everyone out so we could take a Christmas nap after putting away a couple of cinnomon rolls, pancakes, & breakfast casserol. Due to scheduling conflicts we had our Headley Christmas with Heidi's folks and her brother and his family on Sunday but we all had some left over Christmas Cheer so fun was had by all.

Oh and we were bums for New Years Eve...

I know this was kind of random but Heidi is the writer in the family and there is to much to cover for my abilities.

Have a great 2010!

NEW FURRY KID

2009-11-09T12:57:00.006-06:00

Well we did it, We finally broke down and got our dog Lilly a new sister to play with. After months of talking about it, searching shelters and rescue groups and everything else, we finally found our new, sweet, little puppy.

OK, so she is an almost 70 lb 10 month old Rottweiler puppy, but she is still a puppy none the less:)

Her name is Dixie. She and Lilly are very sweet with each other; are completely

inseparable and LOVE to play, running around the house, and into walls and sliding around on our hardwoods. Every once in a while we will hear a "kathunk" and one of them has managed to crash through our bedroom door that has never closed properly. Doggie bowling any one?

Dixie still has a lot of growing up to do and Lilly lets her know when she has had enough of the boundless energy a puppy, or in this case miniature pony of a dog, has!

Dixie is learning what is and is not hers to chew on.

Most recently I caught her lumbering down the hall with one of my Steve Madden shoes in her mouth. Hoping to rescue it from the attention only a puppy can give to a shoe, I called her and she brought it straight to me when she saw me, she was so proud, tail wagging. I however, was not. The back of the heel was completely chewed off. So long to my animal print flats.

She also likes to take items out of our dirty clothes basket and hide them in various places all over the house. I woke up a couple days ago and discovered she had carried a pair of Ryan's Boxers out and proudly displayed them in the middle of the living room, along with one of his shirts and a pair of socks. Seems all she was missing was the pants- oh wait she carried those into the office.

Even though she is a mess, we love her and she is here to stay. Welcome Dixie, our bear of a dog, to the McDow family!

Updates FINALLY

2009-10-29T15:20:00.006-05:00

There have been a billion things we have done since our last update. Here is a snapshot.

Ryan celebrated his 32 birthday- I took him out to dinner at the really great restaurant that our friends Vim and Sarah recommended- 5 guys burgers and fries. Delicious, but HUGE!!! Note to anyone that wants to try them- order the Jr burger. The regular one is almost a pound of meat!!
You can see by the pictures how HUGE they are. The fries are to die for. Get a small and share. We did and still had left overs!!

We went to Ryan's cousin's wedding ih Houston. It was a lot of fun, we had a blast with his family- Rachel and Mark took a "prom photo." Very cute:)

We had dinner with my brother Aaron and his wife and daughter. It was our niece Audry's first birthday a couple months ago and we were not able to make it to the party, so we brought Audry's birthday present for her to open. It was SO cute! I think she is a girl after my own heart, she was more interested in bag then the doll that was in it. She loved the doll too, but it was so cute to watch her walk around with the little pink bag it came in. Watch out little brother, you might just have a purse and shoe girl on your hands:)

After dinner I went upstairs and helped give her a bath. SO cute! She will kill her Aunt Heidi when she is older for this picture, but it is SOOOOO adorable. I had to put it in.

What else,
Oh yes we competed in a Triathlon last weekend in Keller TX - very fun. I think I am hooked. We don't have any pictures because I left the camera in the truck, but oh well..I looked pretty scary by the time it was over so it is probably a good thing:)
We were so exhausted and wanted to die by the time it was over, but I really enjoyed it! Ryan and I both won medals!!!
Ok, so they were completion medals, but who cares!!! We just competed in a Triathlon!!! After that we had our celebration lunch at BABES.It is the one time when I didn't feel gulity for eating fried chicken:) Our good friends Ginny and Neal Willams and my parents met us there for the celebration.

That is it for now good people, check in again soon!

Happy Birthday Taylor Made

2009-08-02T23:50:00.004-05:00

Last Friday we celebrated our friend Taylor Made's birthday at Blue Fish. This has been a strong 4 year tradition of meeting up for sushi and T-Made birthday. Heidi and I do not eat as much sushi as we would like so this is always a special treat to get out and indulge at Blue Fish. This year our friend Amanda brought the birthday cake that she made herself. I think she has a talent here.

The cake

Ready for some sushi

Happy Birthday Taylor Made!

Club Thumping

2009-06-20T10:28:00.004-05:00

I know I am posting last weekend this weekend but now seemed like the best time to make a quick post before I sneak out of here before my neighbor comes back and asks to borrow my lawn mower again.

Last weekend we boldly went where we have never gone before (as a couple)...to a dance club. Heidi had a promotion to do for Transformers and it was at this new hip, trendy club called Plush. We were only planed on being there for about 30 minutes but ended up staying there most of the night. Heidi got the hook up and we were seated in VIP and had a bottle brought over to our table (me thinks that is why we stayed longer). 3 of her co-workers came along with some friends and we ended up having a really good time dancing and looking down our noses through a glass of Goose from the 2nd floor vip at all the folks shaking their grove thang. (I use the term "shaking" very loosely; there might have been a time that I was shaking my grove thang.)

Sunday we went over to Heidi's folks house for some birthday fun and got to swim in our pool (well our pool by Dad's standards: to him owning a pool was having friends or family own a pool and you get to swim in it). We had so much fun that we are going to do it again this weekend.

***Editors note: Due to pending legal action from Team Heidi no pictures of anyone shaking any grove thang will be permitted on this blog. We must at all time protect the innocent and not so innocent.

New Paint

2009-05-18T00:16:00.003-05:00

Well we finally finished our bathroom. We decided about 4 months ago that we would rip down the old wall paper and replace it with a fresh coat of paint. Well the wall paper took longer and was harder to get down than we had planned and since Heidi and I are great procrastinators it took us only 4 months to complete the job. Here are before and after pictures.

AA - this blog is for you

2009-05-17T10:26:00.004-05:00

Last weekend was crazy busy with Interfaith, going to see my college friend Lindsay Holman get married in Austin and then a drive back to Frisco for a lunch honoring our Niece Audry's baby dedication, then to Heidi's folks house for pie! It was a great time espically the wedding minus the fact that I was put on BLAST my another college friend Alice Ann for not updating my blog enough. Something about that she was tired of reading about the TSO; so now I update more often. (Alice Ann, this blogs for you . Now you need to get on Facebook like the rest of the free world.)

A view from the wedding reception

Alice Ann fronting me out for not blogging.

We are super cool

1st Anniversary

2009-05-06T22:10:00.004-05:00

This past weekend Heidi and I celebrated our 1st Aniversary. I was told in a round about way that Heidi was expecting me to surprise her for our anniversary so I had to put my game face on and figure out what we were going to do. So we started the day out with breakfast at Café Brazil and then went so see Wolverine (this is what we did the day after we got married) then we went out to lunch at Mia’s and then headed out to Ft Worth to stay at a bed & breakfast called Lockheart & Gables. On Sunday we went and had dinner with Heidi folks where her wonderful mother made us a topper us. We sure do like some cake. Attached are some pictures of our weekend. We look forward to many, many, more anniversaries!!

1st breakfast as newly weds!

Romantic Bed & Breakfast

It was a really good breakfast

After one year we are still in love

Flying Dogs

2009-04-27T23:29:00.003-05:00

This weekend Heidi and I went to the Dallas Disc and Dog to check out the frisbee dogs. Most of the dogs were either Border Collies or Aussies. We hoped that Lilly might pick up a couple of of ideas but she just ended up sleeping behind us. It was really windy and we forgot our chairs so we did not stay log but still had a good time.

Yellow Rose of Texas

2009-04-27T23:17:00.004-05:00

There's a yellow rose of Texas

That I am going to see

No other soldier knows her

No soldier, only me.

She cried so when I left her

It like to broke my heart

And if I ever find her

We never more will part.

Yep - we got ourselve a Yellow Rose in the front yard. Hopefully more will come along but for now...Enjoy

Easter Weekend

2009-04-15T16:34:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went down to the farm to celebrate Easter with my dad's dad side of the family. We roatate every year celebrating Easter in Louisiana and Texas; this year was Texas. We also got a change to see our friends in Houston and catch up on all the baby info and Heidi got her baby fix with Paul & Abby's baby Reese and Vim and Sarah baby Vim. It was a great time and we even got a little rain!!! We are suffering a drought at the farm so we will take all the rain we can get. One of the best parts of going down to the farm in the spring is that all the bluebonnets are out. Here are a couple of pics from some bluebonnet patches a couple miles away from the farm. Hope you enjoy.

Not a lake

BLUES!

More Bluebonnets

You know your from Texas - one for me, one for my wife

Sometimes it just takes to much effort to stand.

TSO

2009-01-13T17:17:00.000-06:00

That is short for the Trans Siberian Orchestra for those of you who are not in the know. So now you know and knowing is half the battle; I think the other half is winning but don’t know what we are fighting for so I am politely moving on.

Two weeks ago Heidi and I went to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra with her folks at the AAC and had a great time. I have never seen them in concert but heard, just like everyone else, their songs being played especially around Christmas. If you get the chance to go see them live I would highly recommend it as well as I would recommend that you read what my mother-in-law wrote about the concert (she uses them words more better than me). Enjoy and then go book tickets to see TSO and hopefully you will hear their "Christmas Eve" story.

Lamb Christmas

2008-12-16T10:24:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we went down to Round Top for Christmas with Mom’s side of the family. We always do it early in December since it eliminates the Christmas Day conflicts with other family commitments. For the past couple of years we have had almost everyone show up and always have a great time. We eat, visit, have a White Elephant gift exchange, and play games including the a nice 9 hole round “top” of golf. We forgot the camera so pictures will have to wait until someone else shares and then I can get them posted. The White Elephant is always a fun time and I think that this year was one of the most competitive and scheming White Elephants in a long time. Good gifts always lead to interesting strategies. Heidi and I came away with an electric skillet and a travel wine box, we are excited to put both to good use. Well that is all I have for the Lamb Christmas – until next year.

rollin' down Rodeo with a shotgun

2008-11-11T18:56:00.001-06:00

Well maybe not with a shotgun but we did go to the rodeo this past Friday night so yeee Hawwww. The rodeo in Dallas is always interesting just do the fact that it is Dallas and you just don’t see that many people in cowboy gear. If you like people watching then you must attend a good ole rodeo; you will be amazed. I was on the quest to find the best mullet but did not find that until Saturday at lunch and let me tell you friend…what a work of art! Sorry, got a little off track…Rodeo. So Randy Rogers performed after the rodeo because to have a big rodeo you have to have a dance after words. Well nobody really danced but we did enjoy the music. *Sidenote -Randy went to SWT and he actually performed at our fraternity parents weekend back in 1999 so I am COOL.

We really had a good time and I think that I bored Heidi of all the stories about my youth telling her about throwing calves and barrel racing in the front pasture. We were never has fast as the ladies but we sure did have a good time. I think that I could have been a pretty good at Bulldogging but just did not have the desire to jump off a perfectly good horse. Here are some pics so enjoy.

Oh and Wednesday we completely got the opposite direction when we hit up the symphony. We are freaking cultured people.

Shooting for an 8 second ride

Randy Rogers Band

Bliss

Oh and if you are still reading...yes, the title is from Rage Against the Machine lyrics. Dont tell Heidi...

Fishing at the Farm

2008-10-28T23:26:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we took a long over do trip down to the farm. We had a great time down there and did not want to come back. This was Lilly's first road trip and she did really well in the car. We had to make an "Honor" stop at Buc-ee's so that Heidi could get her a Dublin Dr. Pepper in Giddings, Tx. (We put "Honor" in front of events that Dad used to like. Buc-ee's was one of his favorite stopping places since they have everything! Margaritas, shrimp enchiladas, singing the "Good Morning to You" song are all "Honor"...we love you POPS!)

Saturday we got up and took a look at all the dozer work that was done at the farm and then fixed a patch of fence down on the back fence. Mike, Nina and Aaron came up for dinner so we did not get into any major projects but did get a chance to do some fishing. I caught me a nice sized 3 lbs bass and then we all went up and enjoyed a great brisket dinner.

Sunday we got up and did some early morning fishing and Heidi caught a large 4 lbs bass!!! I can up with a small pounder but Heidi was the winner of the day. We came back up packed and headed back to Dallas.

It was a great weekend; we look forward to the next trip.

"Honor" stop at Buc-ee's

Lilly and Heidi hanging out by the tank

It is a 4 lbs bass

3 lbs bass

OH OH OH OH Oh, The Right Stuff

2008-10-21T12:36:00.001-05:00

Yes, that is correct. We went to see the NKOTB ( better known as NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK) this past Sunday.
One of our wonderful friends, Melissa, gave us 4 tickets to see this throwback to our childhood. Ryan and I went with 2 of our other friends, Kristen and Taylor.
We already had awesome seats, but after we went to go see our friend Melissa, we wound up in a suite!!
There were several thousand screaming fans ( now all middle adged mommies) some of whom were even wearing spandex leggings, oversized T-shirts with wide belts, side ponys with electrick pink scrunchies and I promise, I think I smelled ELECTRIC YOUTH floating down the halls of the AAC.
I think Ryan's favorite part of the evening ( other then dancing with me to I'll BE LOVING YOU FOREVER jr. High style) was the earplugs that Melissa brought down for him! He was a great sport though, even though he was out numbered by about 3000, to 1!
The evening was a blast from the past. They sang all their hits- YOU GOT THE RIGHT STUFF, PLEASE DON'T GO GIRL, and yes HANGIN' TOUGH was the encore.
We had such a great time, it was like, totally awesome!! ( Sorry, I couldn't help myself)

It was a fair day!

2008-10-09T22:59:00.000-05:00

This weekend Rachel and Mark (my sister and her husband) came up for the weekend and Heidi and I decided to take them out to the State Fair of Texas. We had a great time and enjoyed plenty of good ole fried foods. We enjoyed a fried Twinkee, fried Oreo, fried Cheesecake, fried Truffle, a Fletchers Corn Dog (official state fair corn dog), sausage on a stick and the now famous...drum roll...Chicken Fried Bacon!!!!! This stuff is freaking amazing! Sorry Marilyn we vote yes! Chicken Fried batter wrapping a super tasty piece of bacon. How can you go wrong!! It was a bit salty but get you a drink and you will get a chance to enjoy heaven like we did.

Here are some pics from the Fair Enjoy

Rachel and Mark standing in awe of the WOW Sham!

Sorry Ralph!

Big Tex, Big Ryan, and Little Bella

Phoenix to Flagstaff

2008-09-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

Twice a year I make a trip from Phoenix to Flagstaff to recruit at Northern Arizona State and I finally brought my camera to share with everyone my trip. It is only about a 2 hour trip but you travel from under 2000 ft above sea level to over 8000 ft about sea level. Below are some pictures of the transformation of the landscape from the desert to vast evergreen forests. These pics do not do not do the landscape justice but I still thought that you would enjoy.

Elevation under 2000ft

Under 4000ft

about 6000ft

Evergreet trees! 8000ft

The Who's Tommy

2008-09-30T09:25:00.000-05:00

This weekend Heidi got tickets for us to see The Who's Tommy on Saturday night. This is a rock opera that follows The Who's album Tommy. I thought that we were going to see the Who's Tommy (not THE Who's Tommy)as in who is Tommy; a show about finding out who is Tommy. This was not what ths show was about at all so I spent most of the show trying to figure out what was going on. I am not a Who fan but reconized one song "Pinball Wizard" so I got into that song but spent the rest of the time just watching and trying to put everything together.

The show was really good, the acting, singing & dancing were all done really well it just missed something since I had no idea on what show I was watching. Next time I am going to do some reading about a show before we just go and show up.

Lilly Dog

2008-09-22T18:19:00.001-05:00

Well now that we have our camera charger we are back to taking pictures so get ready for more updates.

It is almost a common rule that when you get a house you have to get a dog to go with that house. Well the McDows are no different. We got the house and now got the dog! Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Lilly the Dog.

Lilly is a 5 year old Australian Shephard.

She enjoys long walks to the park and

playing with her red toy.

She will get her first taste of farm life here the next couple of weeks. Until next time

What does $700 get you these days?

2008-09-08T23:02:00.001-05:00

To the McDow's it is a man to dig a hole in the ground and have it fill up with sewage, a plumbers snake to pull roots, an optical camera to see the city's running sewer line, and the same man to fix the hole he made and tell us that we should not have our bathroom flood again within the next 5 years. Who says the dollar does go as far as it used to.

I raise my glass to everyone who has ever had sewer line problems.

Interfaith Cookout

2008-09-08T22:43:00.000-05:00

I know that this is a little late but we were waiting on pictures because I am learning that everything you blog HAS to have a picture.

A couple weeks ago Heidi and I along with about 8 other people from our small group got together to host a cookout for the residents at Interfaith Housing. For those who remember this is the place where we first met and then proceded on to our first date and well you know the rest...we are all married and stuff.

We served a total of about 200 hotdogs and hamburgers the residents of Interfaith. Normally we don't get a chance to interact the families as we we spend most of our time setting up their apartments. Our jobs as volunteers is to do all the "grunt" work that Interfaith needs to stay up and running. The things that I end up doing most are moving couch beds, cleaning stank friedges, and bathrooms and hanging paintings under the direction of the women who get mad because my "eye level" is higher than theirs. Things that Heidi ends up doing most...decorating homes for the new residents and total apartment cleaning preping the apartment for some potential new family.

We really enjoy the work we do their and had a good time serving them. We look forward to doing this again in the spring.

Johnny and Jane Homeowner

2008-08-12T21:00:00.001-05:00

Well we have gone off and done it. We officially HOMEOWNERS!!!!

2008-08-11T16:56:00.000-05:00

SO, this weekend was crazy!!!
We managed to start our Saturday in Dallas, and ended up that evening in Murphy Texas to see our good friends, Ginny and Neal Williams.
We also got to spend some time with our precious new niece, Audrey. I can't get enough of her! She is so sweet!
Ryan says I can hold her all I want, but not to get any ideas, at least for a little while:)
We do have one big surprise, but I have been sworn to silence until a later date so we will share more later.
Sunday after church we went up to my folks house and went swimming, raided their freezer and watched the Olympics..
As far as training goes, well we thought about it really hard, and then decided to take a nap instead. We will be making up for that this week however. A swim is planned for tonight after we go to our friend's going away party, and I think tomorrow we will ride.

Woo Hoo!!

4 Day Weekend

2008-08-05T16:34:00.000-05:00

This Saturday Heidi and I went out with our good friends Scott & Rebecca (they got married 3 months before us). We don’t get to see them as much as we would like since they live almost on the other side of the world. Just so you know the other side of the world is northwest Fort Worth.

We met up at Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth and had dinner at UNO’s which was pretty good but it is not Angelo’s but they gave it a fair shot. After that we headed over for some comedic relief at a place called 4 Day Weekend. Scott and I went there about 3 years ago when we were in the same Hometeam but I have not been back since my move back to Dallas. 4 Day Weekend is an improve comedy show that typically has 4 comics and a host (kind of like Whose Line is it Anyways), it is located in the heart of Sundance Square. The best parts of the night were when the comics made themselves laugh and watching everyone else try to be composed while he fought to get back into character. The worst part was paying $6 per drink in a ghetto plastic cup!!!!! Our next trip back to Cowtown just might have to include another stop at 4 Day Weekend.

It is just too hot to Tri anything!

2008-08-04T15:10:00.001-05:00

This Saturday was meant with great intentions we were going to try to repeat last weeks ride, swim, ride but we found out that if you snooze to long you miss your window to get out and get back before it gets to hot. This resulted in a truly lazy Saturday which we really enjoyed but paid for it on Sunday when we forced ourselves to get up at 7 and do a quick 10 mile ride before we went to church. Both of us can feel our bodies get stronger and we were not as tired this time as we thought we would. Heidi was able to kick up her pace and I have no doubt that she will do really well in the Triathlon. I am still getting better but am not as fast as my lovely bride but I know that I will finish. We continue to enjoy the training and look forward to getting better bikes and competing in more Triathlons.

6 weeks away from the Texas Man!

Aunt Heidi & Uncle Ryan

2008-07-30T11:40:00.000-05:00

Yep, we are officially an Aunt and Uncle! Monday, Lacey gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Mom and baby Audrey are doing great and Pops Aaron is there taking plenty of pictures. Way to go guys!

We're still Tri - ing!

2008-07-29T15:34:00.001-05:00

We keep on trucking along and September 14 keeps on getting closer. This past Saturday was a big moment for Team McDow. We had our first combined training session. This means that we made the unwise decision to do train for two events on Saturday morning. We did both the ride and swim distances for the triathlon!

Here was our morning:
9 Mile ride to the pool
500 meter swim
9 Mile ride back home

The whole thing took us about 2.5 hours which was not bad since we to combine the ride and swim together and had some down time transiting from the bike to the gym and dripping dry before we headed back to the bikes to see if we could find a different way back home. There was a big hill on Royal Ln that we were not very excited about climbing again. So after a lap around the parking lot we settled in for the big hill (that we walked up and rode down)

We walked around the lake on Friday night & Sunday night and will stat to add more running this week in order to prepare for the race. We will do a repeat performance this Saturday and hopefully our bodies will hold up.

Just to clarify if you were wondering…this is what we do for fun!

Triathlon Training

2008-07-09T11:25:00.001-05:00

As most of you know Heidi and I are competing in the Texas Man Triathlon this September and we have been a little slow to start training but now we are fully dedicated to getting to the finish line. This is the same triathlon that I did last year and Heidi agreed to do it with me if I did it again so guess what…we are doing it.

The race consists of a 500m swim, then a 17 mile bike ride, followed by a 5k. This weekend to celebrate our independence we did the 500m swim and on Saturday we did a 16 mile ride. The swimming is tough just because we are not used to swimming but it is the one event that we are getting better at the fastest. Our goal for this week will be to swim another 500m but with a 300m nonstop swim. Within 2 weeks we should be able to knock out a 500m swim no problem. We did the bike ride 8 out and 8 back with only one break. We are getting stronger on the bike but just need to get used to riding (My body is no longer allowing me to take my bike on any sweet jumps anymore.) The run will be my nemesis much like it was last year but I think that Heidi will do really well; she knocked out a 3 mile run last night. I am still pushing out my first run for another day.

We will keep you posted on our training…both the good and bad. Hope everyone is well.

Pocket Sandwich Theater

2008-06-12T21:11:00.001-05:00

Last week Heidi took me out for a surprise. It just so happened to be on the anniversary of our first date so I thought that we were going to go eat pho or bowling or something but she definitely surprised me by taking me to the Pocket Sandwich Theater. We had never been there to the theater so it was a fun experiment. We always talked about getting out and doing different things so this was right up our alley. What is the Sandwich Pocket Theater you might ask???? Well it is this little place tucked away off of Mockingbird and 75 where they have live theater performances and dinner…and since I am a former Thespian Heidi knew that this would be something that I would enjoy. We saw a show called Tom, Dick, and Harry which is a about a couple is trying to adopt a child and Tom’s brother are trying to help make a good impression send the show off on a whirl wind of antics and odd situations. I enjoy the witty, intelligent, pseudo British comedy so this was greatness. Here is the website for the theater so if you want to go just give us a call and we are there.

http://www.pocketsandwich.com/

The Farm

2008-06-11T23:47:00.001-05:00

We just got back from the Farm which as you guys all know if my sanctum sanctorum. Such a great weekend; Heidi loves going down there and as you can tell be the photo is not afraid to do a little work. There is something about working with your hands that really make you feel sore but some how really good. We had a fun weekend clearing fence line, fishing (Heidi caught a little bass) and spending time with the family. I love this place and look forward to coming back down there soon.

2008-05-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally did it!!!May 3, I became Mrs. McDow.
I can't tell you how excited I was that day. I'm sure my wonderful husband will wax eloquent on the day, but it was more wonderful then I could have imagined.

The day started with me sleeping in, eating a rather non-bridal breakfast of cheezy, eggy, sausagey yummy goodness that my Aunt made. I figured that I had done all the work I could do to be skinny, so why not enjoy the happiest day of my life!!!

I met my girls, Jeca, Cheyenne and Lacey at the church and we ran around that morning, when and had a fantastic, girly lunch and then back to the church to get ready. I had a wonderful time with them prepping to walk down the isle!!!

My friend and makeup artist, Martha Beresford, came and did my hair and makeup and then touched up the rest of my gals.When it came time to walk down the isle I was definatly picture perfect!!!
The ceremony went by so quickly, but what I remember most is when those doors were opened, I saw my best friend and husband to be, up on that stage, looking as handsome as ever and of course goofing off. I will never forget how excited I was to just be there with him.
Even though we were blessed to have a couple hundred friends and family there, it was somehow for a moment, just us, being showered in the Love, peace and presence of the Lord.

I am so blessed beyond measure to have found my best friend, my example of how Christ loved the Church, my husband. He has shown me such an amazing defintion of what love is and I am truly humbled every time I think about this gift that the Lord has put in my life.

I have long followed the story of Ruth in scripture. I learned several things from her..patience, grace, obedience andmost of all faith. Faith that the Lord would provide exactly what she needed. I absoltuely feel I think what she felt when she met her Boaz. I am home..

I Love you Ryan, more then you will ever know. I will try my best every day to honor you, cherish you and laugh with you..Thank you for being a David..a man among men. I see every day, even more and more that you are a man after God's own heart.

"I am my beloved's and he is mine." Song of Soloman

The Honeymoon

2008-05-11T23:19:00.000-05:00

We got back from out honeymoon and had an amazing time. We went down to Playa del Carmen on the Yucatan Peninsula where we spend 5 days in paradise. The weather was amazing and we got a chance to really experience in the short time we were there. We don’t have many pictures since we forgot to charge the cameral before we left the states so we went “old school” and had to rely on our memories instead of digital shots. We spent on day lying around on the beach just trying to catch up on the whirl wind of the past couple of days. We wondered into the swim up pool and found two of my favorite things: new friends and tequila! Marcel and his wife Veronica were on vacation from Holland I enjoyed speaking to them in my very basic German that I learned in high school. We forgot to reapply our sunscreen and got fried but I think that is what you are supposed to do when you go to the beach. The next day we went to Chichen Itza and had a good time avoiding the sun and learning about the olden Mayan civilization. I highly recommend the tour but once you do it there is no reason to go back. Our last full day we spent on a snorkeling trip and got to go to the Mayan cenote and then out to a inland bay where the fresh water mixes with salt water and that is a nursery area so we got a chance to see a lot of baby fish before they got growns up enough to get out in the ocean. Minus the sunburn we had a great time are looking forward to going back sometime soon.

Aggie Muster

2008-04-23T22:39:00.000-05:00

This Monday Heidi & I went to College Station to participate in Aggie Muster. This is a time honored tradition at Texas A&M that happened on April 21st throughout the world for Aggies. It is usually put together by local Alumni Chapters but I think that you can just do it at your home. The one at College Station was held at Reed Arena and was standing room only. I have only been to Muster once before and it was with my dad who drove up from Plainview to West Texas A&M to honor one of his college buddies. I had no idea what I was going to but was moved by the experience. Heidi had never been to Muster so I spent part of the way heading down there to explain what it was. I knew this night was going to be tough but I had no idea what was in store for me.

What is Aggie Muster? It is a time for Aggies to get together and remember there time at Aggieland and then to remember those Aggie who have passed on during that year. They do this in what is called the “Roll Call for the Absent” which is list of those who have passed away that year. There is a candle lit in honor of that individual and friends and families of the Aggie on the roll will answer “here” in there place since they are not there to answer.

This is such a powerful ceremony and it is what some Aggies call the most important tradition since it is the one tradition that EVERYONE will participate in at some point and that it is done all over the world on the same day. What makes it even more meaningful for me it that it is done to honor those who have passed away that year and that that persons name could be called at multiple Muster ceremonies throughout the world. You see the friends and family who go to Muster can add your name to the list of their local Muster ceremony and honor your life by answering “here” for you. This year we went to honor my dad who passed away on December 22, 2007. He loved his university and this was a very important ceremony for him when he was here. The ceremony is powerful as a spectator but multiply that by 1000 when you participate in it. We were fortunate that Rachel lives in College Station so we were able to have Dad’s name called at Reed Arena on campus. The ceremony was wonderful; the speaker was great in talking about the university and Muster and what it means to be an Aggie. Dad was in the Corps and truly lived out what it meant to be an Aggie. Then they dimmed the lights moved on to the Roll Call which starts out with “Softly call the Muster, let the comrade answer ‘Here’…” and they begin. They call your name followed by your class so they started out with class of 2010 and went down. As each name is called a candle is lit to symbolize that while those Aggies are not present in body, they will forever remain with us in Aggie Spirit. This is a very intimate part of the ceremony and all you hear is someone’s name, class and then “here” from people in the audience and then the reader moves on to the next person on the Roll. Some people had one “here” while others had a number of “here” called out. Some people yelled out “here” and some just worked to get the words out of their mouth. The beauty of this ceremony is that people come form all backgrounds and ways of life for one purpose…to honor those gone before us.They worked down the list and it was very interesting to hear people respond to the names being called but I knew that they were getting close. “…Class of 1975. ‘here’; Ross Turner McDow Jr. Class of 1974; ‘here’…” and as the Roll Call continued I stayed right there remembering. “Here” was the hardest word I ever had to say in my life. “Here” was such a simple work that I use many, many times a day. But on that night it took all that I had to say “here” my mind was flooded with memories, stories, & emotions. I had grieved before about the loss of my dad but it was not until Monday night everything came together. This for some reason was more important to me than the funeral. I knew that I was not the only person who was saying ‘here’ that night for Dad but Mom, Heidi, Rachel, Mark, Charlotte, Bobby, Andy & his wife, the twins: Emily & Christy who were all there said ‘here’. Dad’s old aggie buddies at their own local Muster said “here” that random person who might have recognized his name said “here” all in honor of my dad who could not be there to answer the call to Muster.

The night finished with the Ross Volunteers doing a 21 gun salute and the Aggie band playing Silver Taps and a member of the class of 1958 dismissed us until April 21, 2009. We the lights came on and we all headed back to our cars and back to our lives but for a moment we were all joined together to answer the call of Aggie Muster.

April Showers Brings May...Weddings

2008-04-19T17:43:00.000-05:00

What a long weekend! We had two wedding showers this weekend: the couples shower on Saturday and the other shower for Heidi on Sunday (which I somehow got roped into going to). It was a really good time and we enjoyed seeing everybody but it was just very fast paced. My family came in town for the showers and poor Mom had a huge sinus headache but she fought through and made it to all the events. On Friday we went out to dinner at our favorite Pho place and then took the family over to the DMA for the Bluebonnet exhibit. It was fun and Mark could stay there for days but Mom was not feeling well so we left after about 2 hours. Saturday was the couples shower and dinner with the families…great time and great conversation. I don’t know how many of those dinners we will be able to have since we all don’t live close together but this one was really, really good. Bower got engaged that night and we got so caught up with family that we were not able to make it over for the party; oh well there will be more parties. Sunday we took the family to church and back out to Carrollton for the second shower for Heidi. Due to timing Mark ended up going and working as our photo guy. Our original plan was for him to go birding and I was going to blast some bad guys that afternoon but the shower started an hour earlier so we all ended up going to the shower. After the shower my family got on the road and we packed up all our gifts and went back to the house to unpack and get ready for our small group. That is a mouthful of a weekend but it was a great weekend and we have had the showers and since we are not clean we can have the wedding!!!!.

Baton Rouge

2008-03-30T16:17:00.000-05:00

There has been a long standing McDow tradition of visiting family on Easter Weekend. Each year we rotate between Texas & Louisiana and this was our year to head to Louisiana. I spent a year living there before I moved back to Dallas and met Heidi and in that year really grew to like the place so this year I wanted to share some of Louisiana with my family. We had a great time and got a chance to take a swamp tour and go to New Orleans and check on the Lower 9th Ward. They demoed most of the house but if you drive around a little you can still find some of the houses that we moved off their slabs. It is not as intense as it was two years ago when I lived there but you can still get a feeling of what it looked like. Spending time with the family is always great and as in true for we had a blast getting to see this side of the family. They all loved Heidi and are looking forward to our wedding!

On a side note; I have the odd affection for alligators and constantly joke about having my own gator pit when I retire at the farm. I will call my gator Mr. Bojangles and we will be best friends; people will write songs about Ryan & Mr. BoJangles (Don’t worry Heidi has already signed off on this!). In sharing what I most enjoyed about Louisiana I invited the family to go on a swamp tour at a place called Alligator Bayou Tour. It is a local tour of the swamps around Baton Rouge and we got a chance to up close and personal with some Gators. It was a lot of fun and I was able to get Heidi used to those gators. We will not have as many as the tour place but we can at least have one…right. I mean this is America; the place where dreams come true.