Also Known As Ed

RACK'd - December 14th Edition

2011-12-14T12:11:00.002-06:00

Man, it is a nasty day outside. It's 64 degrees and rainy. Not really rainy, more heavy drizzle. Drizzle is *the* worst.   I despise the drizzle! It gets your glasses all drizzly and ruins my hair way faster than real rain. Just nasty. But, it's winter in Texas, so get use to it! And we do need any type of moisture desperately.

I just made one more trip to Hobby Lobby. I hope it was my last. Whew. I've learned a few things about Hobby Lobby. I should always just get the hand basket instead of the push cart because there is less room and therefore I buy less. When will I learn? I am hosting Bergen's Christmas party at his preschool next week and needed an ornament idea. I love their cutie ceramic ornaments - fifty cents each - and then glue their little faces on them. Such a keepsake. Parents want an ornament with their little faces on it to keep. Please don't send home a foam ornament. Yuck. Last year I got adorable snow men and had them paint their hats black, then glue on some buttons and I drew a face. They were cute, but I have such severe control issues when it comes to crafts that I found myself getting edgy when the paint went over the neatly drawn hat line, or the buttons ended up on the snowman face. I know, this is bad. They are four - let it go. So this year I'm doing angels, and I'm spray painting them in advance a sparkly blue. Then we'll glue their little faces on the angel head, and I got lots of colored sparkle sequins and I'll let them go hog wild. Turn a blind eye to the mayhem. Ha - we'll see.

When I went to check out there were 2 lines open, so I chose one and began to wait. I had no idea I was in the return or buy line and how long it would take. Other lines opened up, but I was not really in a position to get out of my line, so I just waited and read my email. A gal came back in to complain that she had paid too much for her Christmas candy - "It said 50% off". Candy is never marked down. I don't know how much candy she had in there, but she decided to return it, and gets in line behind me and another guy. She asked 3 times if she had to stand in line to return the candy. Then when she saw my basket load of frames and ceramic ornaments, she really started to fidget! Hobby Lobby will wrap up every last bit of your breakables. And this cashier, bless her heart, was so slow. I could feel the laser eyes in the back of my head. Like bad. I'm pretty sure she killed me three times in her head. It's kind of fun to cause irritation to Scrooges at Christmas.

As I was leaving, I decided to RACK* the Salvation Army bell guy. We've been trying to RACK the one at the grocery store for 2 weeks, but every time we drive by, he's on break. Finally I found one and went for it. But what to get him? It's not really cold out, it's really rather warm. So no hot chocolate. And what if he's diabetic? Or lactose intolerant? Would he like a coke? Diet coke? Is he sensitive to caffeine?   I tend to over-think things.

I ran through the McD's drive through and ordered a large unsweet tea. And let me tell you, I had conflicting feelings the entire time. Doubts. I think when you are trying so hard to listen to the Holy Spirit, your thoughts (Satan's plant), can throw doubts. I fought through it and got the large iced tea and 2 packs of sugar and sweetener. I drove back to the Hobby Lobby and gave it to him, saying "Merry Christmas!" He was very thankful, and I'm sure was wondering if I was going to ask him for his number.

This was by far the hardest RACK for me. I had to face to face with the recipient. And I know I've said before that I crave the hug. The pat on the back. But when placed face to face with a stranger, I really get nervous and shy. But that nervous feeling is good. It's the Holy Spirit telling me to either "go for it this is good!" or "back out and don't do this, it's not right".

I really wanted a picture of him with his drink, but I thought that might be odd to ask. Sometimes it's best to just retain a memory. I want the kids to experience this as well. And I really hope he likes iced tea.

Have a wonderful day, y'all! 11 days until Christmas!

*DISCLAIMER - You really have to know that a tiny piece of the joy in this project is saying RACK. I RACKed the Salvation Army guy. Really? That's comedy to me. So mature...

RACK'd - December 13th Edition - Sometimes it's better not to know

2011-12-13T08:57:00.000-06:00

Hope y'all are having a great start to the week. I shoveled out my office yesterday in preparation for Christmas guests. It was so bad. I have about 500 expired catalogs from work - boxes stacked high. General chaos in no organized fashion. I put everything up, dusted, cleaned the floors and even decorated the mantle. Been here 8 years, first time to decorate this mantle for Christmas.

We overslept this morning. By an hour. We woke up about 2 minutes before the bus came. Poor Preston. He was so upset. He just doesn't understand what's so hard about waking up on time. Sweet child - did not see the 3 loads of laundry and dishes I did after I put him to bed at 9pm. Someday he'll get it. And...I will likely be there to say "told ya so!!!". I'm kind like that.

So we rushed to get breakfast and loaded in the car for the school. Man, there is nothing like missing the bus that really makes you appreciate the bus! With 2 minutes to spare (poor kid will need therapy!), Bergen and I made our way to Starbucks. I feel I earned it this morning.

Oh good - a RACKing opportunity!

I love paying for the car behind me at Starbucks! I do it periodically all year long. So fun. But I have to admit, the selfish side of me really wants to see their face when they get their free coffee. I want to hug them and say "oh, it's my pleasure!" But then it would not be a random act of kindness. It would be Amy trying to get a pat on the back. And that's not what RACKs are all about.

So I order my venti Pikes with room for cream and a box of chocolate milk for the turkey in the backseat.

Let me veer off subject real quick to tell you that I'm totally hooked on Coconut milk creamer. I don't like my coffee sweet. Half & half has loads of points - I was using 2 - 3 points a day on creamer. So I switched to coconut creamer. Love it. And when I want a little sweet in it, I load it with coconut creamer, then put a little splash of flavored creamer. So good. Just don't drink the last sip - there's some sort of residue that I don't want to address - kind of gritty. I think it's best I don't know what it is.

So I get my coffee and chocolate milk and tell the cashier I want to pay for the car behind me. "Cool - that's so nice. Would you like a receipt?" I tell him "no, but how much was her coffee?"

BOING!!!

I'm not going to mention the price of her order, because it's not like she ordered a lobster, but let's just say, this might have been a group order. Ding dong. Don't ever ask the total, or it might just spoil your heart for a moment. It's just best not to know.

Hope your day is great - do something kind today!!

RACK'd - December 9th Edition

2011-12-11T16:18:00.001-06:00

My kids have been weird lately. Have yours? I'm not sure if it's Christmas-itis, or if my 10 year old is starting the moody preteens early. But it's been weird around here. Honestly, this is where these random acts of kindness really come in handy. When we are feeling snarky, doing something nice always helps turn it around.

Friday was no exception. We were all a little tense Friday night waiting for dad to get home from work. We loaded up in the car to take the dry cleaning and find a RACK to recover us from our attitudes. I've been saving this RACK for a nice day - it rained for like a whole week here, and this needed a nice, dry day.

We drove up to the main grocery store close to our home and attached candy canes to car doors with a little note. We got the note from the original RACKer, found on Pinterest. If you are so inclined, please use for your own family's RACKing. But know I'm not the author, this lady is.

I tied the note to candy canes and we ran through the parking lot attaching them to doors of cars. It was really very fun. Preston was so worried we were going to get into trouble for touching other people's cars. Such a rule follower, just like his momma. We ran back to the car and waited to see a shopper find their candy canes. But since it was dark, we could not really see. We imagine that they were all *very* happy and felt *very* blessed and decided to pass it on. And that's what we'll continue to imagine.

This was a very fun RACK!

We left the store to head to dinner. The restaurant had video games and a crane lift game to win balls. What a waste of money...um, I mean fun time. $.20 balls now cost $5.00! Anyway, Preston comes running over to tell me he did a RACK! He won a ball, and gave it to the 2 year old watching him. Oh, this momma's heart swelled up with pride - so proud of Preston and what he's learning from helping others. A Merry Christmas, indeed. I hope y'all had a great weekend and enjoy your week!

All I Want for Christmas is You

2011-12-06T18:50:00.001-06:00

I found this video yesterday and I can't stop watching it. I am so enamored by this guy dancing to one of my favorite secular Christmas songs. And I'm not going to lie, every time it comes on the radio or in a store, I have to suppress the urge to dance all over the place. I was leaving the women's seminar last Friday, this song came on and I told my friend Ashley "I want to dance every time this song comes on!" If I could dance like this guy, I would be dancing all the time. But of course, in my mind, I'm totally this awesome. Sigh...if only. I hope you enjoy! And I hope Megan can see this video from the Indian Ocean. If not, check it out when you get back to civilization, girl. I want to be his BFF.

RACK'd - December 5th Edition

2011-12-05T16:46:00.001-06:00

It rained all weekend long - glorious! But kind of put a snap in my RACKs. Aside from church, we stayed in all weekend - it was awesome. I've been feeling so overwhelmed lately that it was nice to take some time to cold chill for a weekend. We got the Christmas tree up and watched lots (and lots and LOTS) of football.

Last night was the women's dinner at the church. It was a total blessing. The room was gorgeous and I got to spend some time with a sweet friend and her sister. The speaker was Kristi Brown - her voice is beautiful and her testimony is so sweet. What a lovely lady - she just shines from the inside out! We received her Christmas CD as a gift and I've been listening to it in the car - so relaxing and jazzy. Love it.

Today me and my fellow room moms went Preston's 4th grade classroom to decorate for Christmas. I was all "okay cool - here's my RACK for today - we'll decorate so the teacher does not have to". I took pictures of all the kids for our Christmas craft and the other moms hung some decorations. Well, turns out this is a responsibility of the room moms. Ha! So it wasn't really a RACK - but his teacher felt the love nonetheless. At least she didn't have to do it! And man - these sweet teachers. They are just sainted. It's been so wet and cold that there was no recess. With 2 weeks before Christmas. The kids were climbing the walls! I could not do their job. Totally sainted. Well, I didn't take any pictures, but it was really cute. One of our room moms is a total rock star and makes us look so good.

I have a fire going in the fireplace and a pot roast in the oven. I love winter so much. Have a great day y'all!

You've Been Rack'd - December 2nd

2011-12-03T10:36:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas! We had a truly stellar day yesterday. After getting some work done, I went to a wonderful women's seminar at a local movie theater. The speaker was an amazing women's minister from Prestonwood - so funny and so on point. It truly solidified my desire to turn my focus of Christmas from me and stuff, to others. I love being "filled up" while sitting next to my best friend.

Joe took the day off to take care of some things, and spend the day with Biggie B. He's been a little squirrely lately and time with Daddy is just what the doctor ordered. They had a ball. When P-Diddy got home from school, we loaded up and headed to Main Event for some family bowling. I am not a good bowler, but I do enjoy laughing at myself and hanging with the family. So much fun! And I have 2 cute pictures from my phone, but for some reason they are flipped and I can't get them edited.

I did realize while we were there, I had not RACK'd anyone yet. I have a few cute ideas, but with the rain, I have to wait on them. I decided to get a $5 Game Card and started praying over who to give it to. There were several corporate parties there, so I was trying to avoid the people who were already playing for free. I walked that place up one side and down the other and finally found a mom and her son - probably about 6 years old. I gave her the card and said "Merry Christmas"! I hope she needed it - I mean as much as you can *need* a game card. But I hope it made her day. It made mine.

It's not my intention to make this little project a money-based mission, but when I don't plan ahead, that's kind of where it ends up.

I think my project is rubbing off on P-Diddy because he keeps asking if his actions are random acts of kindness. So sweet. I need to send him to school with a Diet Coke for his teacher so he can have one all to himself. Sweet boy.

We ended our day at Lava Grill with hibachi and sushi. My kids love them some hibachi. We ran into some friends we don't get to see very often, so that's always fun!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Merry Christmas!

PS - you all know that saying RACK'd makes me giggle - it's the 12 year old boy in me. RACK'd...giggle. It's the little things!!

You've been RACK'd! December 1st edition

2011-12-01T21:37:00.001-06:00

Have you heard of Pinterest.com? It's a virtual bulletin board where you can not only organize your recipes, craft/decorating/style ideas - but you can spend hours (upon hours...upon hours) looking at other's pins as well. Friends, strangers, come one - come all.

I have found lots of great recipes and ideas on Pinterest. My favorite right now is a list of Random Acts of Christmas Kindness (RACKs). This lady posted about doing random acts of Christmas during the season of advent to help us remember, it's about giving, not receiving. And you know, random acts tend to roll forward, and hopefully form a snowball of kindness during this wonderful, stressful season.

Tonight the little Turkey needed some dinner, and upon hearing his older brother had Sonic during a playdate, he decided he needed some too! Perfect opportunity for a RACK! So I order his kids meal, and asked if there were any open orders that I could pay for. He said no. Great. So I did the next best thing. I taped a piece of paper around a 5 dollar bill and attached it to the speaker. I hope it stays there for someone to enjoy.

I hope the start of your advent season started out well. I have to admit, the devil has been working on me today. My stress has been through the roof, and leaving this little 5 dollar bill really made me feel a little better. It helps to stop being so self-centered and grab on to some perspective. I'm really wanting to make this Christmas season more about Jesus and loving on others and less about stuff and things.

Merry Christmas! We only get 25 days in December for Christmas. Make them special!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - My own worst enemy

2011-11-29T16:11:00.001-06:00

Ok, so that didn't go as I planned. I thought of something every day, but really never sat down to write it. I'm so thankful for GRACE that saves me from my procrastination!! I am really my own worst enemy when it comes to goals and assignments. But, I'm not going to harbor on it. I was totally in the Thanksgiving mood and mindset, even though I didn't write it down every single day. But for those keeping up at home, here is the remainder of my list.

5. Warm house full of love

6. Plenty of food on our table and in the pantry

7. DVD player in the car - to keep my sanity on hard days

8. Owning my own business - and those who helped me set it up

9. Joe’s great job

10. Amazing Friends who lift me up and keep me grounded

11. Freedom to worship - not everyone has this. It's a gift!

12. Wonderful extended family and visit at Thanksgiving

13. Swimming in November - so fun for the kids

14. Target

15. My 80% off Fall Décor at Hobby Lobby - it's so pretty I don't want to take it down!

16. Pepperoni Pizza, with black olives - my death row meal

17. Red Wine - for the heart...hee hee

18. Modern medicine

19. Clean water

20. Our BabysitterRaychel - she's amazing!

21. Bergen’s schooland teacher

22. Preston’s teacher

23. Sephora - the mothership

24. My Awesome BookClub and the ladies who challenge me each meeting

25. Facebook

26. XM Radio

27. Coffee - with cream only - Coconut milk cream, to be exact

28. Shellac Nail Polish - love

29. Today - because no one is promised tomorrow

30. Jesus, who diedon the cross to save me from my sins

I'm afraid to admit, I have big things planned for the advent season. I hope I don't procrastinate too much. Check back to see if I follow through!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving season!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 3... and 4

2011-11-04T16:22:00.001-05:00

Ok so you didn't really think I'd do this every day. So much pressure!! Tee hee - I had a busy one yesterday and P-Did had a game at 6:00, followed by dinner and running to Target for slippers for the Biggie B to wear to silly slipper day. All exhausting - but good.

On day 3 I was going to be thankful for my in-laws. I was blessed to marry into an amazing family (although I'd say my husband did too!). My mother-in-law is a beautiful person. She is Godly, warm and super supportive of us. I say she has a direct line to God because she is amazingly in tune with God's hand in her life. She raised an amazing man and a wonderful father and husband. My father-in-law went to be with the Lord last October. He was one of a kind. I miss him everyday, but I'm thankful for the impact he made in our lives. A gentleman, hard working Cowboy - we miss him so much!

And on Day 4 - I'm thankful for FRIDAYS!! I gotta lighten things up every now and then! I love Friday. As a kid, I loved Friday night football, hanging out at the church after the game for the "5th quarter" to have fun with whatever awesome things our youth ministers came up with. I had this one youth minister that would rent movies on the VHS (it was the 80's folks). He would watch them, and take note of the bad words by the timer count. Then he would fast forward when the word came up so we would miss it. It didn't quite work that way. It was kind of like this: "Frankly my dear Scarlett, bzzzzzzzzzzz (that's the FF noise).... a damn". He would fast forward before the word, press play, then we'd hear the word. So hilarious. But I digress.

We work hard all week - TV Joe at work, and me working and playing taxi driver for these kids. Friday means the weekend! The gateway to relaxation. We get to sleep a little more, relax a little, watch some little league baseball and hang out with our amazing friends. So yay for FRIDAY! Y'all have a blessed one!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 2

2011-11-02T18:23:00.000-05:00

I hope my blog doesn't explode when I post something two days in a row... Poor neglected blog.

Before I get into day 2, I have to share - last night at dinner, in the quaint, heavy metal blaring environment of Freebirds, I told my family that we would be sharing something we are thankful for every night at dinner. I told them it didn't have to be fancy or perfect, just something they think is awesome and that they are thankful for. P went first and said he was thankful for his baseball coach, who takes time out of his day to coach their team. Man - sweet kid. I think he gets how parents are busy and pulled in 100 directions. Pretty cool. Biggie B was thankful for...now give me a minute because this one almost made me cry. He's thankful for P-Did, because he's the best big brother in the whole wide world. I'm not making this stuff up. I almost died right there. TV Joe was thankful for Freebirds, and the Ramones, who happen to be on the (loud) radio during this tender moment.

Day two - I'm so thankful for my parents and the home we were raised in. My dad sold insurance while we were in school. He had a local office and was home at lunch and dinner, and attended every event under the sun for my brother and me. Having a husband who commutes and is in the car *a lot*, I now know how awesome this was. Joe is at every event, and we eat pretty much every dinner together, no matter how late - but it's stressful beating traffic home and dealing with all that. My mom stayed home with us. It was nice to be able to come home to her and have a snack waiting and help with homework. She's a strong, strong lady - stronger than she thinks. She always made things feel super normal, even when it was hard for her. When things are a little out of control around here and I'm feeling anxious or overwhelmed, I think about how she dealt with struggles and lean on what I've learned from her. She's had some difficulties in the last 3 years and I'm so thankful that she's healthy and recovering. We had a great childhood - one that I treasure. We were at church every time the doors were open, and I'm certain that shaped who I am today. They are Godly parents who prayed for us and with us and kept me on the "straight and narrow". We had everything we needed, most everything we wanted, and lots of love to go around. I'm thankful for the example they have set for me in parenting and in marriage, and for the legacy they started that I can carry on.

Season of Thanksgiving - Day One

2011-11-01T15:58:00.002-05:00

Ive been missing my blog lately. Sometimes in the rush of life, the blog can be a burden. Kind of the same reason I don't scrapbook - the pressure of it weighs me down. I can't simply sit down and type something out. I feel like it needs to be funny, have lots of pictures and be super satisfying. So I just don't do it. Some would call this lazy. And when I say "some" - I mean me. So I'm going to make a better effort, and what better time than my favorite month - November.

I love November so very much. Because it's my birthday month, it's the season of Thanksgiving and a way to prepare ourselves for the holiday season. Like most moms out there, I long for a perfect holiday season - stress free, illness free - totally happy, total bliss. But that doesn't always happen. Ok, that never happens. At least not in our minds, it doesn't. But it doesn't mean it's not perfect for the family. I told my mom one particularly stressful Christmas "I wish it was 1984 again and life could be simple for me". She started laughing - apparently 1984 was a very, very hard year for them, and she had felt Christmas had been a letdown. I remember it as pretty awesome. That really goes to show that kids really don't see the "perfect". They just remember getting together as a family, keeping traditions - even when it's hard to keep them, and celebrating our Lord's birth.

This November I'm focusing on the things I'm most thankful for - one per day, and really in no particular order. Some will be grand, some will probably be downright silly. But maybe if I enter December in a spirit of thankfulness, I will be easier to embrace the true meaning of Christmas instead of striving for my mind's perfection. After all, it's not really about the perfect tree and the right Christmas music, keeping the house clean at all times, baking thousands of treats and having the perfect presents under the tree. It's about the birth of a baby - Jesus - who loves me enough to save me from my sins. And I'm going to focus on Thanksgiving, and not just skip ahead to Christmas. Poor Thanksgiving is like the middle child between Halloween and Christmas. I love Thanksgiving so much!

So today - November 1st - I start my list. Today I'm thankful for my amazing family. I have pretty much the most awesome husband on the planet. He works very hard to provide for us, and plays just as hard to make a fun, crazy life for us. He's ridiculously good at his job, and really well known in his industry. After all, he is the "wizard of the web"! We laugh a lot and we have a great time. He loves me more than I often deserve. I'm truly blessed to be married to an amazing man and an incredible father to our boys. I'm so thankful for our kids. They are anything but ordinary. P-Diddy is so smart and gifted, but he's also the most caring child I know. He stands up for his friends and makes sure everyone feels loved. He can carry on a conversation about anything with anyone - many adults have told me talking to P is like talking to an adult. He knows so much about his true passions - baseball and football. He's loving, honest and faithful - and he knows his awesomeness "comes from above" - his words. He's also a great brother to Biggie B (most of the time!!). Now Biggie B is in a class of his own. You won't meet a happier boy - pure joy oozing from his very pores. He truly embraces life and lives to the fullest. He's so very funny and like P, also very kind. His teacher counts on him to be a leader and he always helps her out. He's a momma's boy who loves to snuggle and I thank God every time I hear the words "snuggle with me mommy". Bliss! He's very smart and loves board games and puzzles. He's also really, really good at t-ball. They are both healthy and happy - along with Joe. And for that, I'm thankful. The rest is just gravy.

Never Forget

2011-09-11T14:06:00.000-05:00

September 11, 2001

I was in Virginia Beach on a business meeting - a line review with Coleman and the Navy. I was technically on maternity leave - Preston was 5 weeks old. This was an "overnighter". I had flown to Virginia and spent the night for an early am meeting. I had not seen my sales partner Mary since I had Preston, and we stayed up until 3 in the morning talking. On the 11th, we were in my company's satellite office. A coworker burst into our meeting to tell us what had happened. Our meeting came to a halt - I remember excusing myself every 20 minutes or so to go get myself together. Hormones...nursing...not good. Once we knew we were under attack, we closed our meeting and packed up. Packed up means - packing lanterns, stoves, tearing down tents and sleeping bags. Flights had been canceled, but thankfully my boss had rented a car, which we proceeded to "borrow and cross state lines". You know, ask for forgiveness later. We got out of town around 2pm that day. I just wanted to get the heck out of Virginia Beach - lots of bridges and tunnels, and quite honestly, one our major military hubs. I was scared to death, literally. We took turns driving. My boss got tired around 1am. My turn. Those who know me well know that I am not a night owl. But I drove - through the mountains of Tennessee with more adrenaline than I had ever felt. I remember the talk radio callers volunteering to "go kick some terrorist ass". Only it was a bit more racially explicit. I drove from 1am - 6 am or so. It took 25 hours to get home. We only stopped for fuel, food and breaks. When we approached Dallas, we headed to my house first. We lived in Lewisville. The freeways were empty and the D/FW airport (practically in my backyard) was closed. When I got home, I kissed my husband and ran upstairs to see baby Preston. He was asleep in his crib, peacefully. I then saw the TV. We had been in the car for 25 hours and had not yet seen images of the attack. I sank down into my chair and wept. I was sad, tired, terrified, relieved to be home and angry all up in one. It's two days I'll never forget.

I just heard on the radio - Kidd Kraddick (don't mock me, I've listened since Jr. High) said - remember all those promises we made 10 years ago and then quickly abandoned? Like not getting mad at the driver in who cuts you off, or spending time with your family, or getting in contact with friends more often? Let's take this day to remember those promises - the pride we felt in our nation and how we felt in the days and months after the attack.

I have the George W Bush 9/11 special from National Geographic on my DVR. I haven't gotten the nerve up to watch it. It all seems so fresh in my mind. Maybe because it's been 10 years and I see a 10 year old boy sitting in front of me - the same 10 year old that drove my middle-of-the-night adrenaline. I still can't believe it happened. And yet I still wait for it to happen again. It's like we never feel truly safe again. It's why it is so important that we never forget.

Cultural Experiences

2011-06-27T14:50:00.003-05:00

We had a lovely weekend. It was crazy busy, as we tend to over schedule ourselves. Joe traveled all last week (summer whip!!) so we were happy to see him on Friday. We went to dinner at Fuzzy's Taco Stand, and then I got a glorious hour to hit the DSW Shoes and Nordstrom Rack. Alone! Nice.

Preston had a football game at 8:00am Saturday morning (another whip), but at least it leaves the rest of the day open. We are shopping for new cars, so we hit a few dealerships, put the dream of owning a luxury vehicle out the window (soooo expensive!) and kind of narrowed it down. The total highlight was this kid at the GMC dealer. We had a bad hail storm a while back and all their inventory was dinged. TV Joe ain't buyin' no dinged up car. So he had this kid run back to get one fresh off the assembly line (in Arlington, TX - holla!). We load up in this truck and start a test drive. I like it, it's nice. We get back to the dealership and the kid says "what we gon' do to getcha in dis Denali today?" His name? Cody Wildman. Best moment of the day. "What we gon' do?" Classic.

After shopping we headed to Fort Worth for a concert at the botanical gardens by the FW Symphony. It was a hot chili pepper of a day, so we loaded up beverages and a nice Central Market picnic.

We went with our great friends Jeff and Candace. Their daughter Kate and Bergen are tight buds. Adorable friends.

Isn't she a living doll? They really do love each other.

We listened to some great Eagles music, watched some amazing fireworks, then headed home. Fun had by all.

Punta Mita Paradise

2011-06-24T14:48:00.003-05:00

This one is especially for Megan...one of these days y'all are gonna come with us!!

My awesome friend Ashley turned 40 this year, so we took at trip to Punta Mita, Mexico to celebrate.

It. Was. Amazing!

Punta Mita is about an hour outside of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It's a totally exclusive, gated community. We go somewhere tropical (sans kids) every year. We love Puerto Morelos, which is just outside of Cancun, and home to a cool fishing village, and the world's best masseuse. But we shook it up a bit this year.

We had an amazing house with a gorgeous pool. There was a cook and drink server everyday from breakfast until late afternoon. He learned our likes and dislikes - it was so amazing. He figured out in 2 days I like my coffee exactly one hour after a wake up. He was never late. I could get use to that!

We didn't do much - reading, lounging and swimming. There was a golf cart to take us all over the town. We had dinner at the Four Seasons and the St. Regis - both are gorgeous hotels.

We celebrated our girl Ashley - she's an amazing person and we are blessed to have her in our lives. She's the kind of girl who would bury the body without asking any questions. I love her to pieces...and I'm not alone. She has many fans.

Here's a little Smilebox of our trip. We are already counting the days until TV Joe turns 40 so we can do it all again!

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Spring Download

2011-06-21T10:47:00.003-05:00

I have a sweet friend named Megan who lives in the middle of the Indian Ocean on an island. She left this winter to spend one year on this tiny island, and I promised her I would keep up with my blog so she could keep up with life here.

I'm such a loser bloggy friend! I have been slacking so bad. She is a faithful blogger and has many followers - and a lot of them are strangers drawn to her because her blog is beautiful, thoughtful and honest. She is also beautiful, thoughtful and honest. So the series of posts I will do this week are dedicated to her. (notice I said series...this week - this is to keep me honest!)

Here you go sweet Megan - words can't tell you how much you are missed over here. Your girls can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

A free picture slideshow by Smilebox

Sunday's Comin'

2011-04-22T17:04:00.001-05:00

What's in my Kindle

2011-04-15T15:17:00.006-05:00

I've never participated in Show Us Your Life over on Kelly's Korner, but I love to read, so I thought this is a great day to jump in.

I got a Kindle for Christmas and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It's amazingly light and clear - it looks just like a page of a book. And it's perfect for reading in sunlight - I can't wait to take it to the beach!!

What I've recently read:The Help by Kathryn Stockett - pretty much my favorite novel of all time right now. I love this book so much and I can't wait for the movie. It's a southern novel with a lot of humor and some soul searching, change the world characters. Highly recommend!

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - I read this for my new book club. It was a tough read. It's not light and humorous (like me). It's very deep and dark and hard to read. Now that I'm through it, I'm glad I read it. But I'm not really recommending it. It's about a Nigerian refugee who has very bad things happen to her, and to the family she runs to after being released from a detention center. Nothing happy about this book.

Black Heels to Wagon Wheels by Ree Drummond - I'm a fan of the Pioneer Woman's blog and cookbook, and this is a hot love story between she and her husband. It's a sweet read and I love good memoir.

All I Can Handle - I'm No Mother Teresa by Kim Stagliano - Kim is a friend of mine. I have worked with her husband off and on for a decade. He's a mentor of mine - I adore these people. Mark and Kim have 3 girls on the autism spectrum and this is her memoir detailing their life through several job losses, moves, financial problems and learning how to care for their girls. Kim is a Warrior Mom and a powerful voice in the autism community. This is obviously a great book for families affected by autism, but also for everyone! With 1 in 50 kids being diagnosed on the spectrum, odds are we are affected or know someone affected. Highly recommend!

What I'm Reading Now:
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman - such as sweet southern novel. I'm only 60% done, but I'm in love with this book. I'm reading it for book club, and it was a nice switch from Little Bee! I love every character.

What's Coming Next:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - Got to get this read before the movie comes out!

The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred - more southern humor!

Happy Reading Y'all!

Donut Races

2011-04-13T13:52:00.006-05:00

Preston has quite possibly the *coolest* 3rd grade teacher on the planet. I wish I could be in her class! Preston loves her so much - she really caters to kid's learning needs and she makes it super F-U-N!

All year they've been working on math skills. Preston is quite the multiplication wiz, and he's getting better on the division. They take timed tests every day. There are kids in his class that can do 100 math problems in a minute.

One fun tool she uses is the donut race. 4 contestants go up to the chalkboard and race at multiplication facts.
There is a donut shape with the numbers 1-12 randomly placed in the donut. The teacher calls out the middle number (in green), and contestants race to get the product of the middle number by the numbers in the donut (in black) and write them on the outside of the donut (shown in red). When you finish the race, you knell down. Whoever finishes first and correctly wins. Then...and this is critical or you don't get the winning point...you tell your competitors "good game". Winners get a donut, losers get a donut hole.

These kids are super fast and decided to challenge the parents. So TV Joe decided to participate, and I went to take pictures...since my mad math skillz are nillz. Naturally I got suckered into racing and made a F-O-O-L of myself since they wouldn't let me use my calculator. The 12's get me every time!!

Here are a few pics from the fun. The kids had eye black on and were singing "We're Gonna Protect this House" when we walked in. Little gangstas. It was a tight race, but the parents won in the end. But, since we live in the land of skinny people, none of the parents would eat their donuts (um, except TV Joe who NEVAH passes on a donut) - the kids all got donuts. It was so fun, and the kids learned if you don't know your mad math skillz, well, you can always go into sales...

Coolest teacher ever!

Little Gangsta

Preston racing his dad and our neighbor racing his daughter

Parents Rule!

Where my posts at?

2011-04-12T11:18:00.009-05:00

Oh man, I'm one lazy blogger. I'm so sorry to the 2 people who read this. What a slacker baby I've become. I've got to get with it so you won't miss a minute of my all-so-interesting life. haha

So the decision has to be made - do I try to catch up? Or do I just start from here. I mean, we've had:

Basketball

Bergen Craziness

Open House and Living Wax Museum featuring Preston as Thomas Edison
dig that grey hair!!

and more Bergen craziness

Start of Baseball

kid pitch ain't for sissys

Busy 1st quarter. Lots going on. I'll try to not be a stranger. I have to remember, this is my scrapbook (since I'm not a crafty gal). Gotta get these memories down!

Life's Handbook for 2011

2011-01-06T14:52:00.002-06:00

I swiped this from a friend of Facebook. On this first week of the year, I'm going to let this be my guide. I was going to make a list of resolutions, but I haven't gotten a chance to. And oddly enough, "quit procrastinating" was going to be on the list. Yeah......

Here's my guide for 2011 - swiped from Mark, and tweaked a little bit. I promise to show up more often around here. It's been a wicked, wicked few months, but we've been all Gloria Gaynor and survived. Time to look forward. Get back to it. 2011 is gonna be great.

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

5. Make time to pray and read the Bible.

6. Play more games.

7. Read more books than you did in 2010 .

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minutes’ walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13. Don't overdo. Keep your limits.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

16. Dream more while you are awake.

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..

18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:

25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything..

28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

34. GOD heals everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..

36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

37. The best is yet to come..

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:

40. Show up to my blog more often.

Happy New Year folks - God bless you and your families this year.

The Great State Fair of Texas

2010-10-05T09:48:00.008-05:00

The weather outside is ridiculous. And TV Joe has been working crazy hours on millions of dollars worth of budgets. He decided to take Monday off to celebrate the closing of the budgets. (Of course, he did run out the door this morning super early mumbling something about a budget meeting, but I decided not to ask.)

So we sent the kids off to school and went to the 10:25am showing of "Wall Street Part 2" (also known as "Wall Street Money Never Sleeps").

The 10:25am movie is a dying breed. Very few theaters offer this gem. It was super fun though. "Wall Street" was a classic and I thought part 2 was really good - very well acted. I'm strangely drawn to Gordon Gekko. And he was almost sympathetic in part 2. Highly recommend it.

After the movie, we grabbed the kids from school early and headed to the Great State Fair of Texas.

We had food - Fletcher's Corny Dog and Hot Buttered Corn with lots of salt

We rode rides

This is my *baby* riding a big ride. He looks so tiny in this picture. He loved it.
He's still talking about it.

After we threw down a mortgage payment on rides, we went on the great Fried Frito Pie hunt. The hunt led us to the Backyard Circus show for kids. Bergen was picked to be in the show. He was a tiger. It was pretty much the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. I was about to explode from the cuteness.

The tiger jumping through the hoop of fire

The pay for his stellar performance was a ticket for a free bottle of chocolate or strawberry milk.
He held it in his sticky little hand the rest of the day.

Until he was finally able to cash it in for his favorite drink.

Preston was able to visualize a dream

The hunt for the Fried Frito Pie ended in success. It was totally expensive, but totally good. Even food snob TV Joe liked it.

Super fun day - beautiful weather - great memories!

Fall Ball

2010-10-02T14:31:00.008-05:00

Fall baseball is in full swing. 8:00am games as far as the calendar can plan them. I love it.

Preston is on the Rangers 9U. First year of kid pitch. They lost 6-7.

He plays a mean catcher

Bergen played up to 5U t-ball. He's on the Diamond Jaxx. They are adorable.

Sliding into home. Fantastic.

I think his primary defensive move is to talk the opponent into distraction.

And to butter up the umps. Always. Talking.

And talking...

Love the ump's face - laughing and thinking "whose kid is this?"

My baseball players