Sseko Designs

While browsing another blog (Wide Open Spaces), I ran across this awesome company working in Uganda called Sseko Designs.  Sseko Designs employs Ugandan women who are transitioning between secondary school and the university.  The company is designed to help these women pay their tuition for school...something that would be virtually impossible otherwise.  The women work for about 9 months making these really cute sandals and then continue on with their education...and then a professional career.  What an empowering message this company has!

One of the women who works for Sseko.  Read her story.

One of the sandal designs.

I love companies that have a good purpose behind their product.  Women's education is definitely a wonderful thing!

Weekend Cleansing

It has been one heck of a weekend!  Saturday started off amazingly..with banana pancakes, some Zac Brown Band, and a nice long walk.  I spent the afternoon running errands, cleaning the house and doing some laundry.  I feel the need to clean more often these days with Mr. Pierre around.  I grew up allergic to cats...and I think keeping the house super clean (and thanks to our awesome wood floors) really helps keep the allergies to a minimum.  

Today was spent organizing the garage with Joshua.  We bought 2 new shelves to house parts and tools for his project bike.  We also bought a couple of organizational tubs.  We'll definitely need to go back to get some more of those.  It was a workout just being in the garage and cleaning!!  We sweated a good bit, which was nice (yes..I like to sweat).  THEN...to wrap up our day Joshua's alternator blew on our way back from a movie in Arlington.   Goodbye power steering, hello over-heated car!  We stopped for the engine to cool down and found that there was a belt missing!  Just when we thought things were wrapping up nicely for the weekend..we get another project.

We did find time to have a little fun this weekend too..it wasn't ALL work!  Friday we went to see The Expendables and today we went to see The Other Guys.  Both were pretty good...very much guy movies and The Other Guys was pretty crass..but overall pretty good.

I potentially feel more exhausted at the end of the weekend than I did at the beginning...here's hoping next weekend will be a little more peaceful.

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Last week Joshua and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary.  In two years we've been through a lot..and learned a lot..and grown together...and magically grown to love each other more.  That's one thing that will continue to amaze us..you can never imagine loving someone more than you do at the exact moment you are in..but then time passes and you love them more for the little things and the big things.

We celebrated our anniversary by going to the zoo!  We hadn't been to the Dallas Zoo yet..and we both love the zoo...so we were off!  We had a lot of fun exploring and just being together.  There were some great animals, lions, tigers, giraffes, leopards, etc.  There weren't very many people...so it was nice to be able to explore..virtually un-bothered.  We had a long morning out in the sun..so after the zoo we headed home to relax and nap before heading to a delicious celebratory dinner at Hillstone (formerly known as Houston's).  The food was phenomenal and the conversation..as always was wonderful.  Again..it was just so great to be together, just the 2 of us (something that we cherish...but don't get to much of all the time).

Here is a gimpse of the past 2 years of our marriage:

On our wedding day!

Moving to Texas to start our new life together.

Our first apartment...a place to call home for a year.

haha...lovely!  Joshua's 24th birthday at Medieval Times.

Joshua helped me out by calling Bingo at the Y.

Catching a minor league baseball game..the Frisco Rough Riders.

Moved into our 2nd home..celebrating our 1st year together.

Experienced the Texas State Fair.

Celebrated Jason and Deidre's marriage.

Picked out and carved our pumpkins.

I helped cook Thankgiving dinner with Josh's mom.

Celebrated Christmas with my family in Michigan.

Experienced Dallas' biggest snow storm..potentially in history...and had one heck of a time!

Got our first pet..Pierre!

Traveled to Memphis to celebrate Aaron and Becca's wedding.

and finally...us as the zoo!  It was rather hot and humid!

There are a ton of things we've experienced that I didn't include...like countless weddings, many nights out, and lots of other memories.  It's been a heck of a ride so far and we are looking to several more years of happiness and fun!

Walkin' in Memphis

Joshua and I got to take a long weekend and travel to Memphis for his college roommate's wedding last weekend.  We were so glad that we were there to support Becca and Aaron as they made the leap into the married world.  The wedding was great and the reception was a sweet tooth's dream.  There was an ice cream sundae bar, cake, and a chocolate fountain.

Becca and Aaron cutting the cake.  Becca definitely smeared cake all over Aaron's face.

Me and my husband, one of the groomsmen at the reception

There were a few things that we had on our itinerary other than the weddings...and all events included food of some type.  You can't go to Memphis without eating barbeque..and though I've grown a palette for Texas barbeque...you just can't do better than Memphis barbeque.  We were able to check that off of our list on Friday at the rehearsal dinner.

The next thing on our list of things to do was go to Jerry's Sno Cones.  Jerry's is simply one of the best treats I've ever had in my life...perfect for a hot Memphis afternoon.  Jerry's is tucked away in a neighborhood and you can't search for it in your GPS.  These are no typical sno cones...in fact, they have a "supreme" which has soft serve ice cream ON TOP of the sno cone.  If you are ever in Memphis, you should definitely head to Jerry's...you will not be disappointed!

Jerry's Sno Cones

This is my Sno Cone...the name of it is "John Deere" and you can tell why...it is GREEN!

Joshua got the "Ninja Turtle" which was also bright blue-green.

The last 2 things we wanted to do were go to Huey's for burgers and go downtown and meet up with friends on Beale Street.  Huey's was delicious...and we went downtown afterwards and had a great time.  It was great to meet up with some of Joshua's fraternity brothers, some of whom we hadn't seen in 2 years (since our wedding)!  We went to Alfred's and Silky O'Sullivan's for a few drinks and then headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

All in all, we had a wonderful trip and we are so happy for Aaron and Becca Smith!  Congratulations you two!

Oh thank heaven...

...For 7Eleven!  Tomorrow is "Free Slurpee Day" at 7Eleven.  On July 11th (7-11), you can pick up a free 7.11oz slurpee at a 7Eleven location near you!  Who would want to miss out on such an awesome, FREE treat?!?

I do have a fond love for 7Eleven..we have one just down the street (close enough to walk to) and Joshua and I go there quite often for whatever our hearts desire (ice cream, a coke, popcorn, SLURPEE, etc).  So I'm pretty excited that I'll get to have a free slurpee tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy yours1