It's A Date!!! February 10, 2007

Well, after about 3 enjoyable hours of speaking with Yuani Valentin, Catering Manager of the Lakeway Inn and Spa, we have made the deposit and have saved our date!!!

So put it in your calendars!! We are getting married!!

February 10, 2007!!

Andy and I are getting really excited about everything - though I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all the decisions that have yet to be made. God, did I mention that I still have to pick colors?

Please enjoy looking at the photos that Andy and I took today while visiting the hotel (they are posted in the links on the right). I am really excited about the food tasting. :)

Astrology Compatibility - It's a YES!

Ok -this is totally goofy but I thought it appropriate given the theme... Stay tuned for photos from our visit to secure the Lakeway Inn hotel for our wedding. We have a Friday at 2 PM appointment and the wedding coordinator has stated we can take pics of even the hotel rooms!

Stay tuned for more wedding updates!!

Gemini (Andy) and Sagittarius (Lisa)


When Gemini and Sagittarius come together in a love affair, it can be a truly spectacular match! These two are extremely compatible; any rough spots they encounter during the course of the relationship are sure to be smoothed over with a minimum of effort. Gemini is quite able to provide pioneering, adventurous Sagittarius with the independence Sagittarius requires in a close relationship, because Gemini shares that same need. While Sagittarius needs physical independence, Gemini needs mental freedom, but the need is the same at base. These two both love new experiences, people and sensations, and are sure to have great adventures together. Both have attention spans that love to move quickly from one thing to the next in order to absorb as much experience as possible.

Gemini and Sagittarius are great friends, besides being well-matched lovers. They share a deep understanding and a very similar life view, based on a general, refreshing optimism and enthusiasm. Sagittarius can sometimes be a bit too blunt, saying things without thinking beforehand about whether they'll hurt someone or not, but Gemini is a hardy sort and, like Sagittarius, can forgive and forget quickly. These two don't have time or the interest required to hold a grudge.

Gemini is ruled by Mercury (Communication) and Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter (Luck). Mercury lends Gemini their chatty, intellectual demeanor; Jupiter is about both luck and philosophy, and lends Sagittarius their constant questing for knowledge and truth. This is a great match -- Gemini comes up with a new idea and Sagittarius jumps right on, ready to explore it to its limits.

Oh yeah...match made in heaven!!!

Introducing Dakota and Dingo

Dingo and Dakota in a photo moment!

Dakota and Dingo are adapting well to their new

housemates, (aka - The Cats). Dakota will sit at the bottom of the stairs at times trying to see what is going on upstairs, but we have not had any fur flying incidents. Dingo has very little interest in the cats themselves; it's their food that she is desperate to get her little paws on.

Dakota and Dingo have been going to school on Tuesday nights. They have a lovely instructor named Jessie who has taught us the skills to teach the dogs how to "Sit", "Stay", "Leave It" and "Lay Down". Andy has been primarily working with Dakota in class, and I've been working with Dingo. It's been very cute to see how excited they get when we take them to school!

Dakota is a sweet and quiet/laidback beagle. She is a very well behaved dog. Her latest love seems to be my pillows on the bed. When I walk past the bedroom during the day, I often am only be able to see Dakota's noise peeking out over a pillow on the bed.

Dingo is a bit more high energy than Dakota. Andy thinks its because she is part Jack Russel Terrier. At dinnertime she can be quite the dog spy shadowing me in the kitchen constantly looking for the food to drop. Recently, Andy and I purchased a treadmill to get in better shape. Dingo has tried out the treadmill, and actually seems to enjoy the process. She doesn't stay on very long unless you keep giving her the good snacks to keep motivated but she will get those chicken legs pumping.

Dingo is also the snuggle beaglet (said similar to eaglet....or so I'm told). She and I spend many hours rubbing her soft tummy. and snoring together in bed.

At doggie school, both Dakota and Dingo are star pupils. They seem to really enjoy the time we spend with them, and enjoy learning the new skills. We will keep you posted on how they continue to do in doggie school - just a few more weeks left now!

Introducing Elliott and Ernie

Elliott and Ernie are the latest residents in the Anderson/Jessup household. Initially, we were concerned about the transition from Lisa's apartment to Andy's house. Cats do not tend to move easily, and neither the dogs nor the cats had been exposed to the other species.



Things went swimmingly from the start...not even a "Meow" in the car!

We were concerned about the dogs and what is technically called their "prey drive". Dakota has been known to go after small furry beasts in the yard, and rumor has it she has taken down a rabbit or two.

Elliott and Ernie were installed into the upstairs bedroom and office of our home. They are enjoying the high views from the front window and can often be seen on the stairway at different points for treats during the day.

I personally think that Elliott has learned to be quite the tormentor of the puppies by demanding good smelling treats only feet away from their noses.





Ernie has come a great way to becoming less of a "fraidy cat" and has even taken to letting Andy pet him in the mornings and evenings when being fed. We have been doing a rotation letting the cats own the downstairs at night, and the dogs during the day. So far things are going slowly but smoothly.


Keep tuned in for further updates as Ernie and Elliott become totally at home in the household

Our Rings

I have been asked to post more photos, and definitely photos of the engagement ring, and wedding rings. That's completely do able... better than personal pics of me!




Here is a pic of the style of engagement and wedding ring as seen on the designer website.


Lisa's Engagement Ring specs:

I have a three stone princess cut diamond/platinum engagement ring which fits my sausage sized fingers (10 1/2). The center stone is 1 ct with two .25 sides.

Ok, ick on the hand photo.... but I looooove my bea-U-ti-full ring!!




Our Wedding Bands:
Andy is rather proud of his wedding band. (grin) He designed it himself with input from example rings in the jewelry showroom. The jewelry sales people thought that it was so nice they made their own copy to use in their jewelry showroom. Andy's ring is an 8 mm brushed platinum band with princess cut blue sapphires. The band is etched with a channel every few mm and given his size 10 ring there are 6 matching channels.



My wedding band is an eternity style band with a total of 15 princess cut diamonds. Each stone is channel set. The whole ring is a total of 3/4 ct. It is also platinum. The rings were created to fit together perfectly.

Save the Date!!!!

It looks like we may have found the perfect location for our wedding. After an insane day of driving around the Austin area (and yes, we did a loop of the city twice) we found a pretty great spot. Some of the really great reasons we liked this hotel:

• There is a spa!! Oh, I'm so going to get the works the day before the wedding. I hope that everyone will be interested in joining me!
• The hotel is currently undergoing a renovations of $30 million dollars - these renovations end by December this year. That means new beds, new modern clean bathrooms, and a staff that is ready and helpful - and the hotel doesn't have the high dollar reputation yet!
• We hope to make this as much of a destination wedding for our guests as possible... There will be a lot of activities available for everyone as the hotel is right on the lake and very near two golf courses, they also offer complementary shuttles to and from the airport and downtown Austin.
• The 5 star restaurant!!!
• The facility has a wonderful room which will host the wedding/reception. If weather permits we may even consider having the wedding service out near the pool, or there are a couple of indoor locations. The point is that there are a lot of options.
• Andy and I both liked the wedding coordinator for this hotel the best - she was a crazy South African lady who has a ton of great ideas to help!

Oh, and one of the most important reason, they had the date we wanted available!!

So, save the date!!!!
FEBRUARY 10, 2007

We still have to go and take a closer look at the hotel rooms. We don't want a beautiful honeymoon suite for us, and our guests stuffed in a closet! So, after we check that part out, and a few other details we will be securing the facility.