Merry Christmas from Michael and Sharon.com

We are home! (Well, our Texas home) We survived the holiday travel! We're nearly recovered now.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I wish we were there with you, but we are in spirit. We love you!

Celebrity Sightings

One fun aspect of being in LA is the chance that you may see a celebrity in person. That's just cool, no matter who you are.

At the hockey game last week, they showed Snoop Dogg on the Jumbotron. He was in a box with the first African American to play for the NHL, which is pretty cool. You can see him to the left on the screen.

Last night we got to go the Clippers (NBA) game at the legendary Staples Center. The guys at Michael's work often get tickets from their suppliers, so we got to go for free ($100 a seat otherwise!). They were the best seats I've ever had at a game, but we again didn't get good pics to show you. We were on the first level above the floor, in the front row with just glass in front of us, so the view couldn't have been better.

What was a little disheartening was that the players all looked so young! Then I realized we're so much older than most of them now. That's so sad.

But what was cool was seeing Frankie Muniz in the front row (aka Malcolm in the Middle). Ok, ok, so he never turned all the way around, but it was definitely him. I looked it up, he's a big Clippers fan.

So there you have it, our two mediocre celebrity sightings ;)

Clippers game pics at the gallery.

And the Brick Goes On ...

While we're away, work continues at break-neck speed on the house! They've just begun putting the brick on. I can't wait to see it in person! We've doubted our selection on it over and over (and by we, I mean me). If money were no object, it wouldn't have been our first choice. But it was what we liked best that fit our budget, like most of our decisions on the house.

They should be putting up the limestone accents this week. Hopefully that will be done when we get home, along with the cabinets and countertops. They finished painting this week too, and have just a bit more staining to do. Next comes carpet, then vinyl (which we're going to tile over ourselves).

More brick pics to join the hundreds of other boring house photos at the gallery.

Our Weekend in LA

We started Saturday with breakfast at the Original Pancake House in Redondo Beach where I gorged on a childhood favorite, Dutch Babies. There is just no other breakfast concoction quite like it.

We walked around our old favorite beach, then had dinner at our other favorite, Hennessy's Irish Pub (what else?). After that, it was more Rock Band at Jer & Roseanne's place. Rock Band makes Guitar Hero feel like its roadie. GH wants to be as cool, but it just can't be. You can play drums, sing and play guitar all together - like a real band! It's so much fun.

On Sunday, we were taken to the Beverly Center mall, an experience all it's own. Everyone is there to be seen, just as much as to shop, it seems. People wear their wealth on their bodies, since they can't afford to own homes around here. It's a beautiful place though, even if I did lose count of all the Uggs by noon. The smog had cleared just enough for us to see the Hollywood sign, and almost all the way to down town, as we road the escalator down the mall's four flights of decadence.

The real highlight of the day was our first Brazilian BBQ experience in Beverly Hills. Jer had been trying to explain the sheer delight of this one-of-a-kind dining event, but even he couldn't do it justice. I'll borrow from the website of Fogo de Chao to describe it, as they do quite well:

"The dinner menu features unlimited servings of 15 different delectable cuts of fire-roasted meats, a sumptuous buffet of gourmet salads and fresh-cut vegetables, and a variety of Brazilian side dishes.

Each guest uses a two-sided disk to control the pace of their meal. The green side signals the Gaucho chefs to bring out skewers of sizzling fire-roasted meats to carve at the table. The red side indicates a stopping point. Turning back to green lets the Gaucho chefs know to start offering the meats again.

The traditional side dishes of warm cheese bread, fried bananas, crispy hot polenta and seasoned mashed potatoes are automatically brought to each table and replenished throughout the meal."

So basically, yeah, their chefs walk around with sizzling meats they slice fresh for you, whenever you want, and it's all-you-can-eat. Everything from filet mignon, to parmesan-crusted pork loin, to lamb chops. The "salad bar" rivaled any I've ever seen, and the flavors of everything were unique and delicious!

We were so deliriously enjoying everything we forgot to take many pictures. But anyway, look them up, it's something you should try at least once (and probably only once, since it is quite expensive!).

This was our birthday celebration for both Michael and Jer. (Jer turned 31 yesterday). What more could two boys ask for than unlimited fire-roasted meats! I mean seriously. It was crazy good.

Check out all the pics from this weekend. And yes, I'm sure you're wondering, we did each gain 10 pounds after feasting the way we did. But it was worth it.

Ode to LA

We arrived in Los Angeles at about 11:30 pm Sunday night. I think I'm just now caught up on my sleep. Michael's been working at his office here, and I've joined him the last two days. I've even got my own desk!

Garmin Electra has been faithfully guiding us around the city in all her British charm. She's so wonderful. I think I will write an Ode to Electra when the mood strikes. But for now, I'm too busy looking up all the cool information she has to share. And finding all of the nearby Starbucks at a moment's notice, just because I can. And because the number of Starbucks in a 10 mile radius is roughly 37 times that in Austin.

Unlike the past few times we've come down here during the winter, it is freezing this time! And to add to our already chilly disposition, we went to our first hockey game on Wednesday night. Hockey is such a peculiar sport! It is an usual combination of grace (gliding around the ice) and manliness (macho men repeatedly slamming one another against the glass, etc). Twice we saw players actually throw down their gloves before brawling - a timeless indication of an ensuing fight. Needless to say, it was totally entertaining.

We went to the Duck's game for Michael's work Christmas party. We got to hang out with the office staff and their spouses, and treat ourselves to endless snack bar concessions - after driving through an hour and a half of traffic on the 405 to get there, of course.

O, Los Angeles, how I've missed you. Your endless palm trees. Your sunny skies. Your rolling hills and dramatic elevations. Your shining beaches. Your glistening purple haze and smog. Your honking drivers. Your girls in Uggs of every color. Your guys in skinny rocker jeans and girlish haircuts.

Believe it or not, I love it all!

OnStar Officially Retires

My other gift for Michael's birthday was a GPS navigation system for the car. Indeed, I had a bit of a selfish motive, yet again. But really, OnStar was ready for retirement. My replacement - the Garmin, has proven to be quite a reputable source for calm and pleasant navigational coaching.

We've named her Garmin Electra, but sometimes we call her CarMan (which isn't very gender-sensitive, I know). She's British. Patient. Kind. Non-judgmental. When you make a wrong turn, she simply pauses, says "Recalculating ... " then adjusts her instructions to adapt to your own creative maneuvering. She doesn't ask questions for the next 10 minutes, such as "How could you miss that turn, we've been here like A MILLION TIMES!!"

This One Goes Out to the One I Love

Way back in July, I started thinking about what Michael might like for his 30th birthday. Anyone who knows us well would know that we typically don't buy gifts for each other. Somewhere around the 5th or 6th year of our relationship we decided it just brought unjustifiable stress, and was somewhat a waste of money to buy gifts "just because". So we sometimes treat ourselves to things we want (like a cruise, or guitar hero) as a way to commemorate a holiday or milestone.

But I felt like this was a monumental occasion, and I wanted to recognize it somehow. (Also, since I threw my (small) big sister a big shindig two years ago, I felt I had some minor expectations to live up to :)

I decided what Michael might like most is to see his Paul, since he gets lonely way out here without any guy friends around. So I got Michael Paul for his birthday. This gift meant Jess got to come along too, so I may have had some selfish motives. But this gift also meant that Jess and Paul got to come and see us in Austin, and celebrate both Michael's birthday and an early Christmas. So it was a win, win, win.

Last Thursday night (3 days before the actual big day) I told him my parents had a coupon for one of our favorite places and wanted to meet for dinner. When we arrived at the table, he saw the balloons and gifts, and was surprised. (Especially at the princess theme). Then a shaggy haired person came up and offered him a beer. That was when PB&J made their big appearance.

Watch the video (very grainy, so sorry!):



The rest of the night was filled with laughter and joy. It was really a memorable evening. View all the pictures here.

A big happy 30th birthday to the love of my life, Michael. You are my pride and joy, and seeing your happiness made me feel like it was my birthday.

I love you!

Safe and Sound Hounds

Shame on me for not updating you on our cruise sooner! All this build up to the big event, then nothing, for weeks! And here you were, worried this had happened to our ship.

It didn't, of course, cuz here we are, back in the blogosphere where we belong!

Our die-hard fans (hello you two!) have already seen the pictures on the gallery. For everyone else, a quick recap! We had a very wonderful and relaxing time. Unlike most of our trips this year, this was NOT a working vacation! While out at sea we never checked our email, and only received one business-related phone call. (But if you knew the caller, you'd know it was a miracle only one situation came up!)

We started the trip by driving to Galveston. The hotel we stayed at was very nice, and we had a room overlooking the beach. Without being too unfriendly, let me just say how much I miss California beaches. It also feels completely disconcerting that the sun does not set on the water. Makes for a totally different "sunset at the beach" experience.

Nevertheless, we boarded our boat the next day without incident. It was a huge ship and took us nearly the whole week just to figure out how to get around!

The first two days were out at sea while we traveled to the Caribbean. We soaked up a lot of sun, saw a few shows, ate a lot of food, and took a lot of naps. Seriously, that was one of the best parts.

Wednesday we arrived in Jamaica. The weather was perfect! We got on a catamaran that took us to a nice snorkeling spot. On the way, the crew gave us foot massages with fresh aloe vera. That was one of my other favorite parts of the trip. They dropped us off at the beach after that, and we did some more snorkeling. We got brave and walked a ways through the city to go to Margaritaville. It was scary, to say the least. People are very overbearing and it is crowded!

A storm came in the second half of the day, but we were already back on the ship, taking a nap, of course!

Thursday we arrived at Grand Cayman. The water was a startling shade of turquoise. We went snorkeling again and this time was probably the best. We saw the biggest fish we've ever seen, at least 4-5 feet long. They were tarpon, coming to feed, and scare little children. Feed on chum, not little children. We again went to the beach, had some fried calamari, then went back for more snorkeling. (See a theme yet?)

Friday we arrived in Cozumel. This was supposed to be the most amazing snorkeling tour, but it was unfortunately canceled as a big storm was rolling in. We trading that trip for a jeep tour around the island, including a different snorkeling stop! The jeep was fun, but it was kind of cold that day.

Saturday was the last day at sea. By this point we were ready to come home. We exhausted ourselves with all of the excursions, and trying to gorge on as much food as the days and our bellies would allow.

All in all, a very wonderful time. We arrived home to chilly and rainy weather. But lots of progress had been made on the home, so that warmed our spirits.

They've just finished texturing, and are getting ready to install baseboards, trim and doors. The outside is ready for brick but is waiting on something - subcontractors, I'm guessing.

It's been full speed ahead since we got back. Thanksgiving came and went so quickly I thought I might have been dreaming! We had a nice day at our makeshift home - eating lots of food, watching movies, playing games and guitar hero. I can't wait to have people over to our new house when it is finally done! We're aiming for March to be in. But I'm secretly hoping for February. We're more than half way there, and construction only began at the end of September.

You may have guessed our trip to Virginia to see Bob got canceled. His dad was in a car accident, broke his leg and needed surgery. So Bob flew home to take care of him. Please send big Bob your thoughts and prayers. He's recovering well.

So our last trip of 2007 is coming up next weekend when we leave for two weeks in LA. Work and play again.

By the way, we've finally gotten our business website live. It's funny how much a completed website changes people's view of what you do for a living. Suddenly you're the real thing, even though the IRS has known about you for years. Check it out! Oh, and do you need your own website? Because I happen to know a great team to help you ;)


Stay tuned for the newest feature coming soon, "Nothing but a Hound Blog!"

Web Hounds, out.

"Sharon Matthew, only 3 days until your cruise!"

Oh, the anticipation!!

On the Road Again ...

Just returned from our second trip to Houston for Michael's work. We left Sunday afternoon, had a quick visit to the "urban lake" of the Woodlands and dinner at the outdoor mall (pictures). We also tested our new snorkeling gear at the hotel pool and it gets an A+!

Michael worked all day Monday and I, well, I shopped. Which was hard work in its own way since I had to hoof it around town with all of my treasures. That night we went downtown for dinner and some more walking. Burning the calories in preparation for a certain aquatic vacation soon to be upon us.

Houston pics at the gallery too. Also, a concert we went to last week. And cousin Sarah's baby shower. And, of course, the latest on the house.

Today, we met with our builder at the house to review our electrical plans. Thinking we'd be making final decisions before they began, we were surprised to see half the boxes and wires already placed and about a dozen workers making quick work of it all. I believe we've got all our wants and needs covered now though. Michael's ("shockingly") doing a lot of the installs after the house is built - mostly for budget-related purposes :) .

So, that's the latest on the house. They should be finishing up the roofing this week, and while we're on the road again (or, rather, the sea) next week they will start on drywall on the interior and brick and stone on the exterior. The progress is amazingly fast, much better than we hoped for.