Enchanted

Do you have your EASTER dress?

2010-03-31T21:43:00.001-07:00

Alternate title for the above picture:

"REASONS TO PICK OUT A CRAPPY REST HOME FOR YOUR PARENTS"

Brace Yourself.......

2010-03-22T13:20:00.001-07:00

After two long years.....Ryan gets THIS....

And our sweet Dr. G gets......

The Reason Ryan Shouldn't Wear Cargo Shorts

2009-10-20T10:07:00.001-07:00

Coming soon............

2009-08-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

My sister told me a while ago, "I am so sick of going to your blog and seeing that MASTER OF HIS DOMAIN post.............update your blog already!!!!"

I can't believe it has been soooo long since I've updated.

See you soon:-)

The Master of His Domain

2009-06-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

Friday night was so much fun!

We went to see Jerry Seinfeld downtown at Jones Hall.

Yeah, that's right....I said DOWNTOWN.

As in..........one way streets, parking garages, and Metro routes.

As in..............fancy Downtown, my friend.

You have NO IDEA how fancy I feel when I get to go downtown and pretend like I belong there in the "THEATER DISTRICT".

I like saying "THEATER DISTRICT".

Except I like to say it like this:
"The-ah-TAH"

Yeah, that's right...........guess where I was Friday night?

"In the THE-Ah-TAH" DISTRICT with friends....

sitting in FANCY CHAIRS".

Red. Velvet. Fancy. Chairs.

Fancy Downtown Houston I'm In A Fancy Place Chairs.

Fancy Chairs That Rich Season-Ticket-Holders from River Oaks sit in on a regular basis.

Fancy Chairs that people sit in to see Operas and Plays and such.

Fancy Chairs that Andrea sat in on Friday night.
On Row F.
Not in the balcony.

Not in the Mezzanine.
Not in the NoseBleed Section.

But on ROW F/ORCHESTRA LEVEL.
(Goldilocks bought the tickets.....she bought in style!)

You know that scene in "Caddyshack" (the funniest movie EVER made)
where they let the caddies swim once a summer
from 1:00-1:15?

I keep thinking the "THEATER DISTRICT" powers that be
all got together one day and said,
"Okay, let's let these Sorry Suburb Losers in for this one night to sit in the Fancy Chairs."

"And then, after they leave, we'll hire a disinfecting crew to scour the place
and do away with their low-class suburban Oprah-watching cooties"

Moving on from Andrea's Little Inferiority Complex Issues:

We went with Paul and Laurie D..........

and Goldilocks and her crew!
From left to right: "The Goldilocks Crew"
Goldi's Step Brother "C", Trey, PappaBear, Da'Ole Bear

I guess Trey and "C" are having some sort of iPhone contest?

Or maybe they are texting their friends saying,
You are NOT gonna believe the fancy chairs in this place......
and they let US sit in them!

Check out the fancy colored shirts on this bunch!

"Suburban people"....pfffft.......so drab, huh?
But they still let us sit in the Fancy Chairs once every year.

Thank you Theater District!

I Hope I Age This Gracefully

2009-05-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 61ST BIRTHDAY
STEVIE!
May 26, 1948

Gosh, I hope I look like this when I'm 61!
Treat yourself to one of my favorites:
"Beautiful Child"

St. Peter's Deli

2009-05-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

If Heaven has a deli,
I'm quite sure this is the number one selling sandwich.

"St. Peter........I'll have one BLT, a Diet Coke, and a fluffy cloud please....

oh, and I would like a room on the Tudor/Windsor wing so I can chum around with Henry VIII and Princess Diana".

Until that day when I actually GET to Heaven,
(where I will meet said British royalty, every animal that I have ever loved, and Dian Fossey so I can ask her who really murdered her),
I will just have to continue to make these little gems of a sandwich myself.

STEP ONE:
THE BACON

I am oober picky about cooking my bacon.
I like it crunchy and flat.
To do this takes patience......lots of patience.

For me to make BLT's for the four of us requires at least a 45 minute commitment of standing in one spot in front of the skillet to fry 2 lbs. of bacon.

The lengths I won't go to for this family.
(But it is soooooooooooooo worth it:-)
"Cook it pretty low and flip it often"

STEP TWO:
THE TOAST

I toast mine and then stand it up on a plate like this to let it cool.
There is NOTHING yuckier than putting mayo on hot toast.

STEP THREE:
THE CONDIMENTS

Okay, THIS is where my mother will think I'm straying from my "roots",
but it just HAS to be REAL MAYO.

And it also has to be Hellmans.
(Maybe at St. Peter's Heaven Deli, it's called "Heaven"mans???)

Garrett likes his with mustard and while I do kinda consider that a BLT sin, it's a relatively minor one so I'll let it slide........

but I could NEVER let this slide:

EXHIBIT A:
BLT SIN CONDIMENT

People that put Miracle Whip on a BLT should be spanked,
put in time out,
and banned from BLT's in the afterlife.

I thought this was interesting:
On my newest jar of Hellman's it says:
"New Easy Open Cap".

I was unaware that opening a cap on a mayo jar had become so difficult?

STEP FOUR:
THE VEGGIES

ICEBERG Lettuce.
NOT that fancy lacey leafy stuff.
If someone is using that, make them go sit with the Miracle Whip people in the naughty corner.
Freshest Tomatoes you can find:
These tomatoes are fairly ripe store bought ones,
but if you can get your hands on some of THESE:

then consider yourself truly blessed by the BLT Culinary Fairy.

St. Peter's Heaven Deli ONLY uses fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes, I'm sure.

In the summer months, when I find myself blessed by the culinary fairy
(otherwise known in my house as Sally, my sweet tomato growin' neighbor)
and have some homegrown tomatoes, there are inappropriate ooohs and ahhhhs coming from the table once I take that first bite.......

Homegrown tomatoes can take the sounds of a BLT from
G-Rated to PG-13
in one bite flat.

STEP FIVE:
ASSEMBLY

Pay attention here!
There is an order that MUST be obeyed.
Bacon on one side...............
Lettuce on the other..........
Tomatoes in the middle.

Yes, the tomatoes MUST go in BETWEEN the bacon and the lettuce.
Otherwise...the bread can get soggy.

Here is one of my favorite "assemblers" assembling his masterpiece.

STEP SIX:
WELCOME TO NIRVANA
CAN I GET AN AMEN????
Go make one...........you know you want to.

Moving Too Fast

2009-05-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

Happy 15th Birthday, Garrett.

"I play Stevie Ray.........yook at me....I play Stevie Ray"

In the all too near future......................

I'll need to buy you some shaving cream, huh?

We love you!

May Recognition

2009-05-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This is one of those proud mommy posts!

Sports Banquet for Garrett on Monday night!

Awards Banquet for Ryan on Tuesday night!

So proud of my guys!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Mother's Day Golf Tournament (wink wink)

2009-05-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Today was the first annual
"Peterson Family Mother's Day Invitational".

I WON 4TH PLACE overall.........

(and 1st place in the Women's Division)

I may not have had the most ~~repeatable~~ incredible score,
but at LEAST I looked good in my new
Oakley golf shoes .......
a surprise from my sweetie:-)

I am just so proud of my fellas...........

thanks for such an incredible day.............
breakfast in bed, day of golfing, Mexican food for dinner.....

I am so honored to be your mom!

Friday Night Pool Party

2009-05-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

As I write this post, my ears are numb.

We just hosted a Jr. High pool party for our church youth group and we had 25 GREAT kids here!

They are SUCH an awesome bunch!

Why are my ears numb?

Let's see..........................

Take 25 adolescents................

On a Friday night............

Toward the end of the school year......................

Add about 20,000 gallons of chemically treated water..............

Some caffeine.......................

A little more caffeine......................................

Sprinkle in some sugary snacks...........

Mix thoroughly, stand back and listen.

It is such a happy sound.

I love watching kids make up "games" with random stuff:

Did you know you can take a bucket.............

Put it on a friend's head....................

And then SIT on that friend.............................

for a looooooong time,

(or at least until the adult supervising about has a heart attack)

and that friend can breathe under the water!

Who knew a bucket could be so much fun?

It's always interesting to see the "looks" kids give when a camera is pointed in their direction:

Here we have two gangstah symbols, one thumbs up and a "too cool for school" look!

We bought another basketball goal this year because the chlorine ate the other one.

Ummmmm.......Trey.......I'm not sure throwing kids into the pool is proper sponsor behavior.

So..........there's our wild Friday night!

My ears may be numb for a while....................

you might have to speak up a little bit so I can hear you!!!
(but it's soooo worth it!)

Housework Can Be Dangerous

2009-05-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, so if you didn't read the last post (Surprise In the Dishwasher),
just know that the above picture is REAL.

This really is a snake and it really was in our friend's dishwasher after their house flooded last week.

It made me consider just how dangerous housekeeping can be if done properly.

Just today I went to do some laundry and BAM.....................

No laundry today........................

I must consider my safety ........I mean, who would pick everyone up from school if I was dead on the bathroom floor from a bite from this guy?

Then I thought about doing a little dusting since you could pretty much write a novel with your finger on any surface in our house............but BAM.............

EEEK!.....................safety first.

I "WANTED" to cook something fabulous for dinner

but......................................

..........looks like it's another Chick-a Vay kind of night.

And with all this spare time I had left........

since I couldn't do my normal "Wednesday housekeeping" schedule,

I EVEN considered going upstairs for the monthly viewing of "What In God's Name Have The Kids Been Doing Up Here".........

but, alas........................................

Blocked. No upstairs for me today.

Finally, I considered bathing Ruthie since she smells like rotting wet gym socks,

but even THAT plan was ruined.

So I guess I have no choice but to sit on the couch and clean a few Oprahs off the ol' DVR.

I think my friend's snake-in-the-dishwasher episode was God's way of saying, "Take it easy on the housekeeping.........things could get dangerous."

Surprise in the Dishwasher.....a "Guest" post.

2009-05-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

Some of the "BIG TIME" bloggers out there often feature a guest blogger.

I guess that's what happens when you are so HUGE and IMPORTANT, you have to have someone guest post just so you can have a day or two to answer your gabillion emails.

I do not have that problem................however, I'm going to post a story that Trey's friend/client/golf buddy/tennis buddy/racquetball buddy sent me this morning.

It is hugely entertaining in a creepy kind of way! Enjoy!

Ladies and Gentlemen..........I give you my very first guest blog entry.....by Ken L.

By: Ken L.

Saturday afternoon, about 1pm.

The golf tournament is on and its time for me to have lunch, kick back on the couch and dine while watching Tiger stomp the field.

As usual, I asked Kim to make me a sandwich for lunch. She brought me the sandwich, but then I needed a nice, cool beverage to wash it down with.

"Kim", I hollered from my reclined dining position on the coach, eyes still affixed to the TV, "will you bring me a drink please, too".

She opened the dishwasher to grab a clean glass and I then heard.....

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

...Ok, the gears start turning and burning in my head. What would possibly cause her to shriek like that.....

Did she cut herself? No, not a bloody scream.

Did the dishwasher fall out of the holder? No, the scream had too much emphasis. This was important!

Did the dogs eat something gross? No, not enough disgust in the scream.

"Oh", I thought, "The dogs ate my chips off the counter" A usual issue here at our house.

But then I heard it....

"Kenny....THERE'S A SNAKE IN THE DISHWASHER!!!!!"

I jumped from the couch, heaved the dishwasher open, and TADAAAH....

There was a snake in the dishwasher!

Ok...stay calm. Hmmm...Do I kill it, do I catch it....Oh, I got it.......lets get the camera and take pictures!!!!!!

So I got a few good pics. But then he started to slither away....now what.

If he gets away, where does he go? Will he be back? Are there more? Is that thing poisonous? Hmmm....

...and all the while I ponder he is disappearing from sight....THINK FAST!!!!!

I grabbed some tongs from the kitchen, but they were really short. Too short for me, in fact. I wasn't getting bit, that’s for sure.
Here is what the experts say about a pit viper bite, which is what a moccasin is (Cottonmouth)...

The cardinal signs and symptoms of pit viper envenomation include: burning pain (the commonest, earliest sign), puncture wound (50% of the time accompanied by a bloody ooze), swelling, skin discoloration, nausea and vomiting, minty, metallic, rubbery taste in the mouth, sweating, chills, numbness and tingling of the mouth, face, scalp, and wound site, ecchymosis and production of blebs and blisters, erythema and edema progressing from the wound site, weakness, vertigo, haematemesis epistaxis, muscle fasiculations, paralysis, shock, convulsions, loss of sphincter control, melena haematuria, and renal shutdown. Envenomation may include some or all of these symptoms, depending on the severity of envenomation.

yeah, not for me.....

Then Kim says, "If he disappears and you can't show me a dead snake, I am outta here!!!!!"

Well, gotta do what you gotta do.

I grabbed the tools from the garage and started to dismantle the dishwasher in record time, all the while thinking the vibrations from the drill was pissing that thing off and it was gonna jump out any minute.

I couldn't properly dismantle the dishwasher, so I did what any male would do in this situation...

use brute force, a hammer, and a crowbar!!!!!

I got the dishwasher lid off, which is where the snake had gone. I could see him in there, just chillin'.

I took the lid of the dishwasher outside and threw it off into the street.

There it was...a juvenile water moccasin!!!!

He was PISSED!!!!! He was striking every time I got near him. He was small, but I have heard that regardless of the size, they pack a pretty good wallop of poison.

So, as any typical man would do, I chopped his head off with a shovel.....

We then had to head to Best Buy for a new dishwasher. The old one was just that, old. It still worked well, but I can guarantee you it wasn't going to be put back together and still function properly.

So, by the time all this is said and done, that'll be almost $900, with installation.

That works out to about $85/inch of moccasin.

The million dollar question.....

Are there more?

This was a pretty small snake...a juvenile. Where are his brothers and sisters?

Hopefully, we won't ever find out....

Ken

ENCHANTED

2009-05-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EARLY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!
HAPPY EARLY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!
HAPPY EARLY MOTHER'S DAY TO ANDREA.............
HAPPY EARLY MOTHER'S DAY TO ME!
(Thank you dear family for the $uper awe$ome ticket.......college fund shmollage fund, right?)

Last night, I had the privilege of going to see My Stevie and ~~some other people on stage with her~~ Fleetwood Mac and it was truly magical..................not as magical as when Stevie tours by herself, but magical nonetheless:-)

I had a 12th row floor seat on Stevie's side of the stage and right off the bat made a new "Stevie Friend"! Her name is Sheila and she was sitting by herself just like me!

I think my fairy godmother fixed it so we could sit together and meet!

Meeting new "Stevie Friends" is sooo much fun.....last year I met a gentleman named Ryan at the Woodlands concert and we still email occasionally! Stevie friends have a special bond:-) ha!

Sheila is also a ~~crazed fan~~ well-informed fan just like me!

It's so awesome to sit next to someone who KNOWS their stuff, and let me tell you, Sheila knows:-)

She said her son had introduced her to Fleetwood Mac years ago and she had been hooked ever since. I hope to see Sheila at the next concert because I KNOW she will be there!

When I was standing in line earlier in the evening, I was chatting with this gal named Megan. Megan was what I like to call, "First Semester Stevie."

She was saying things like, "Stevie and Lindsey used to be a couple" and "I don't think Stevie has ever had any children." DDDDUUUUUHHHHHHH!

I liked Megan, and while I admired her interest in all things Stevie, she had such a long way to go, I kinda felt sorry for her.

Here are some of my high points/thoughts:

Gold Dust Woman: This song is a drug. It should be illegal in most states. Stevie turns into this high priestess and at the end of the song, she turns her back to the audience and spreads out the witchy gold shawl (reserved ONLY for this song in every concert). Watching this song alone is worth the ticket price.

The Gropey-Dopey LOVERS in front of me: I have no idea why these two paid for floor seats because all they saw were each other's eyeballs while swapping spit THE ENTIRE NIGHT. I felt it was almost disrespectful to FM to not give them their full attention, but that's just me. Why couples need to convince those around them that they are in love baffles me. I think I saw more of their tongues than I did of Stevie's........and Stevie had her mouth open all night SINGING.

Sara: GORGEOUS.....she changed it up just like on her Soundstage CD that recently came out. I love how at the end she included the lyrics that you couldn't really hear on the original track AND included a new lyric. All I ever wanted/was to know/that you were dreaming/Sara and then the new lyric of And the wind became/crazy.

Costume Changes: There is ONLY one good thing about seeing Stevie leave the stage while we ~~are forced to endure~~ get to enjoy a 20 minute one of these:

(A Lindsey Buckingham ~~ego booster~~ guitar solo. I mean, I KNOW he is INSANELY talented and is responsible for producing all the awesome touches that make FM songs so special, but I'm not there to see him, so forgive my attitude)

The solo in "Im So Afraid" went on.

and on.

and on.

for...............ever.

BUT, back to the only good reason to see her leave the stage..........A Costume CHANGE!

This red dress was my FAVORITE!
(Before the beginning of the concert, Sheila says to me, "I can't wait to see the red dress." At that moment I knew she was officially my new Stevie friend......she even knew the EXACT costume changes.........that's what real Stevie fans know:-)

I know what you are thinking..................

I bet you are saying to yourself EXACTLY what I was saying to myself................

"This dress is so reminiscent of her album cover "The Other Side of The Mirror"from 1989"

Well, guess what?

YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT! That's EXACTLY what I thought, too!

My personal Shout Out: This is Stevie hugging Lindsey telling him, "See! Andrea's in the audience! I'm so glad she came!"

Another costume change: You can't really see it, but this dress had sparklies all over the top and a flowy whispy skirt. Notice how she is looking my way? Coincidence? I think not. She knows where I am.

Looking for Stevie Outfits: One of my FAVORITE things to do at a FM/SN concert is to search for my next outfit idea. It's so neat to be walking through the crowd and look at someone dressed in their Stevie-Garb and smile at each other as if to say, "She's your fairy godmother, too?"

This chick had the dress specially made for her with the big flowy sleeves and she also had this fabulous head dress........................................

that had sparkly things in the feathers. WAY COOL.

Note to self: Have dress/headdress made for next concert

Mick Fleetwood's Introductions: I love the way Mick calls her Stephanie. It's cute.

Mick's CRAZY INSANE Drum Solo: He CRACKS me up. He should have been a front-man. He talked to the audience in this crazy "Mick Language." I think crowds RARELY get "into" drum solos, but with Mick............the crowd goes nuts.

I also loved "Second Hand News"----download it right now if you don't have it. It's fun.

Well, I could go on and on and on about every little note of every little song, but you get the picture!

It was an incredible night and I'm such a lucky girl to have received such a great Mother's Day gift from my guys!

STEVIE....here I come!

2009-05-02T16:11:00.001-07:00

Well.........I'm officially RAW from trying on 5,000 different combinations of shawls with different colors under them and I've decided to go with boring BLACK!

I'm ~~fixin' to~~ about to walk out the door! I'm so excited!

I'll give a FULL report tomorrow because I KNOW you all are waiting with anticipation to hear how my date with myself went!

I'm going to try and not send daggar eyes toward Lindsey Buckingham when he goes into his 20 minute long guitar solos.........or what I like to call them......"wasted time that could be spent listening to Stevie sing."

Gotta go!

Birds of a feather flock together

2009-05-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

As a general rule, birds scare the bejeezies out of me.

But not this one.

I'm so excited.........in less than 24 hours I will be at the Toyota Center right smack dab in front of my fairy godmother. I've been trying out shawls all night trying to decide on my outfit!

Funny Friday

2009-05-01T05:34:00.001-07:00

This picture made me laugh.

WOW---there sure is a lot of "negative space" on my page with this picture.

This is me typing a bunch of words to take up the "dead space" that this picture has left.

Words, words, words, words, words...........Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. (That's what my mother used to type in the typewriter to wow me with her mad typing skillz)

Here I am typing more words just to make the post look prettier because I didn't really have anything to say, I just loved this picture and wanted a light hearted funny thing to post today.

Here are some more words, I am typing words, if there were someone watching me right now, they would think I was typing a real post and not just filling up space.

WHEW! Now THAT looks better!

Salado Stroganoff

2009-04-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

I was reading a blog post this morning from Tried and True Cooking With Heidi, and she was talking about how some recipes are yummy, but not particularly "photogenic".

This, my friends, is one of those recipes.

It's one of our FAVORITE things to eat around here, but isn't exactly what you would call "culinary eye candy".

But I promise you.............it's YUM.

I'm calling it "Salado Stroganoff" because it's what my mom used to make at least once a week and I never saw her use a recipe.

When my sister and I go home to Salado, this us usually what we request mom make for us:-)

Here are the ingredients:
****This is for a double amount, the original recipe is half of everything I've listed***

2 pounds hamburger
10 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 Large Family sized can Cream of Mushroom
1 small can Cream of Mushroom
3/4 cup milk (ish.....maybe more)
2 TABLESPOONS Paprika
1 package Egg Noodles
Salt and Peppah

First, take out your Pampered Chef 12" Family Skillet. If you do not own one of these, get on Ebay at this very moment and get one. It's my favorite piece of cookware in the whole world.
I use it every. single. day.

"Fry you up" about 10 pieces of bacon. I'm extremely picky about frying bacon. My secret is "cookin it low and flippin it often".

If you just said to yourself:

"Hey...I'll just use that pre-cooked bacon, or the microwaveable kind instead of messing up my whole kitchen with greasy gunk and smelling up the whole house"

Go immediately to the bathroom and wash your mouth out with soap. You need a spanking.

Be a real woman, get your skillet out, and stop talking nonsense.

Can you just SMELL this? Ahhhhhhh.....hello my friend.
As in all dealings with pigs..........you can't RUSH a pig.
Whether you are clipping one or frying one.......you must be patient.
Now here's the part where it gets kinda icky and you are probably going to say, "YUCK...I'm not making this".
You must SAVE about this much bacon grease and leave it in the pan.
I would say there is maybe a cup?

I didn't put "1 cup bacon grease" in the recipe above because I didn't want you to throw up or call the American Heart Association and report me.
Add your chopped onion to the grease and let them hang out and get to know each other.

Until they look brown and yummy like this.
Then add the hamburger meat to all that ~~greasy~~ oniony goodness and cook the bejezies out of it.
While you are cooking the ~~Vat O' Heart-Attack~~ hamburger mixture, crumble the bacon.
You can try to do it with a knife, but you will just frustrate yourself and end up with bacon all over the counter, so just use your fingers from the get-go.
And don't forget to "accidentally drop" some of that bacon on the floor.
It's the perfect way to maintain the status of "Most Favorite Awesome Human" with the pups.
After you have the ~~artery clogging~~ hamburger mixture cooked, drain all the grease off.
(At this point, I put it in a "pot" because it makes it easier to stir later)
Add the crumbled bacon.............
the Cream of Mushroom soup............
the milk............
a good "handful" of salt..........
a good "handful" of peppah..........
and the 2 TABLESPOONS of Paprika.
(or, if you prefer, "Pap-A-Ree-kah")
Basically all the "pap-a-ree-kah" is going to do is to change it from a ~~dog-food-looking~~ shade of gray to a beautiful, more edible looking shade of orangeish red.
Are you still trusting me?
I promise you, just stick with me.
Your tummy will thank me later.

Boil the Egg Noodles (or "new-nules" as my sistah used to say) according to package directions.

And then Plate It Up!!!!!
Now, in order to do this the way my mom used to do, you MUST serve this with:
Green Beans
and
Deviled Eggs*
*(Not pictured because I forgot to buy eggs and was too lazy to go back to the grocery store for the 50th time this week.)

DEEP THOUGHTS

2009-04-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

WOW! WHAT A STORM!

It rained really hard all night, which means one thing around here:

Three little dogs shivering in bed with us all trying to get as caninely close to their favorite human as caninely possible. It makes for great sleep, let me tell you.

Luckily we didn't have any issues other than yucky yuck leaves and such blown all over everything and a little bit of rain blown under the front and back doors.

When I woke up this morning, this was the only picture I could take and it was still kinda dark, but you can get the picture.

This is a picture of the flooding from a couple weeks ago, and just to put things into perspective, the water came up well PAST the trees this time.

There are some pretty fascinating pics that people have sent in to the news here.

Sadly, there were many homes in our neighborhood that had water in their homes:-(

The kids are HAPPY HAPPY that there was no school today!

When it rains, it POURS...and doesn't drain.

2009-04-26T09:34:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was the PERFECT weekend because of THIS:

I love it when it rains like this. EL-OH-VEE-EEE.
(This is the view looking out my front door)

Why do I love the rain?

I'm not a big "outside" person.

I've never enjoyed being outdoors unless it involved one of these two things:

1. Playing golf with my boys.

OR

2. Watching my Stevie perform.............

outside...............

.........at an amphitheater. Although, I wouldn't be caught DEAD ~~stalking her~~ watching her from THIS far back.....I would be down front with all the other ~~stalkers~~ real fans in the orchestra pit.

(And if both #1 and #2 were going on at the same time, don't even ASK me which I would choose. My answer would make me look like the worst mother on the planet and cause me guilt beyond measure............but I'm pretty sure the guilt would go away after a few verses of Gold Dust Woman and one twirl)

When it rains, it means that everyone has to live in MY world and hunker down inside.

I just LOVE it..........the stormier the better.

Looking to the right at the cul-de-sac is Lake Echo. Our sweet little street always gives us a scare during big rain storms. It floods quickly, but luckily, it drains pretty quickly once the rain stops.

Looking to the left toward Goldilock's house. (she's waaaaay down there on the left but you can't see that far, but trust me.....she's down there probably re-arranging something in her house, blogging, or reading one of her 5,367 magazines that she gets every month........it's an Addiction with a capital A.)

Here's a before:

Here's the after:

Do you like it when it rains?

P.S. There's only ONE drawback to a good rainstorm..........see the post below.

A Message For My Dogs

2009-04-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

My dear precious canine darlings,

Yes, it is raining outside.

Yes, the ground is icky and squishy.

Yes, your feet might get a little wet on your 15 second 15 foot walk out to go potty.

Yes, you might have to leave the comfort of your warm couch, bed, or human lap for a brief moment to go take care of Mother Nature.

But momma PROMISES you this:

Your feet will NOT melt off your body if you step on wet grass.

Your wittle toesey-woeseys will DRY.

I know we have spoiled you a bit.

Well, maybe spoiled you a whole bunch.............

Okay.........maybe a LOT.

BUT.....let me ask you THIS:

Do you REALLY want me to have to resort to HUMILIATING you by making you wear THIS:

Or putting THESE silly things on your feet?

Because you three are about to push me to my limit.

Don't think I won't do it..................

I'm not kidding...................I'm serious

No, really, I'm not kidding............I'll do it...........

Quit looking at me with those doe eyes.....

Seriously, stop it please................
QUIT LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!

Okay...........I guess I'll go get the paper towels.

Liar Liar, Pants On Fire

2009-04-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. President,
I'm really TRYING to like you. I really am.

I didn't actually vote for you, but I know we are all in this together for the next four ~~please dear Lord don't let it be eight~~ years so I'm willing to give you a chance and not whine about it...............well, maybe whine just a little.

To be honest, I don't really understand all this economy stuff.

I don't "speak" economy.

I don't "speak" stimulus package, or bail-out, or Dow Jones.

Let me tell you what I do speak.

I speak DOG. Specifically, RESCUE DOGS........and, well, I also speak Stevie Nicks and Henry VIII trivia, but we won't get into that right now.

Last Fall, you posed on the cover of American Dog with a puppy mill rescue dog named Baby.

You said you would "like" to adopt a dog. (Clever Clinton move, Mr. Obama......using the word "like"..........just in CASE you needed to make it look like you weren't a liar liar pants on fire in the future...........)

In November, Michelle told Entertainment Tonight that the family would be adopting a rescue dog.

Shelter/Rescue/Breed-Rescue Dogs all over the country were suddenly on the cusp of getting a much needed "shout out!"............and to think it was going to be our President that would be leading the way!

Our First Family leading by example to show America to ACT RESPONSIBLY (didn't you say that in your Inaugural address?) and adopt one of the millions of dogs sitting in shelters.

Instead, you accept a purebred pedigreed gift from "American Royalty"........Ted Kennedy?????????????

WHAT THE WHHHHHHAT?

Let me say that again.......because when I say it out loud, the magnitude of your little "fib" hits me like a brick.

YOU ACCEPT A PUREBRED PEDIGREED GIFT FROM TED KENNEDY.

Yeah, sure, I get the whole "this is the dog's second home" story that was so cleverly crafted by the Washington spin machine. How coincidental that RIGHT about the time you were ready to adopt, there just HAPPENED to be this puppy that "didn't work out" at it's former home.

PAH-LEEEEEEEZE!

Did you SERIOUSLY think I would buy that story?

As far as the "allergy" thing goes.......there are plenty of Breed-Specific Rescue groups that you could have used to cover this problem so don't even GO there with me.

The point is, that dog would have found a home regardless. What you did by accepting this "gift" (wink wink) from Prince Kennedy was to put a sweet hardworking shelter/rescue dog out of work. You ripped the job right out from under him.

You SAID you would give him the job, but then you FIRED him before you even HIRED him.

The way I see it, America put their faith in someone who wasn't a "Pedigreed Politician". You didn't come from a long line of political royalty. Frankly, you didn't have a whole lot of experience!!!!! You were a grass roots kinda nominee.

America gave YOU a chance even though you didn't have the Washington equivalent of "AKC Registration Papers".

Shame on you, Mr. President. You should have led by example.

With one brilliantly crafted photo-op to a shelter, you could have single handedly made rescue dogs "the new black".

And while I am glad that your girls now have an animal to love,

I hope "Bo" is hard to potty train and I hope he pees on your rug.

Top Chef---Breakfast Edition

2009-04-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

R, BabyBear, and SW had a sleepover Friday night.

So when they woke up this morning, they said, "CAN WE BE IN CHARGE OF BREAKFAST?"

Ahhhhhhhhhh.....................music to my ears......kids in charge of their own breakfasts.

Maybe one day they will say,
"Can we pllleeeeeeeeeeezzzzze do some laundry?"
OR
"Can we plllllleeeeeeezzzze be in charge of scooping the cat box?"
OR
"Can we plllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeezzeeee clean up the gigantic fort that we made upstairs using 900 blankets and all the couch cushions?"

But for now, I'm happy with the breakfast making........baby steps.

That's why I love these three so much-----they are all RAH RAH Football playing sweaty 6th Grade boys, but they ain't afraid of donning a nice girly apron on a Saturday morning for a little culinary development.

Their future wives are gonna LOVE LOVE LOVE them for knowing how to get around a kitchen.

The Saturday Morning Pancake EGGstravaganza started off pretty normal....."Okay, I'll mix the batter, you get the spatula...."

"Yeah, then we will put the chocolate chips on top of the batter.........."

Just your average, typical pancake breakfast.

normal, round, boringly spherical pancakes............right?

But then that little "Culinary Sparkle" started twinkling in all their eyes and they decided to get creative..............................

BabyBear payed homage to one of his favorite places to visit by making a Mickey pancake.

M-I-C...................K-E-Y..............M-O-U-S-E.

Then R said "I'VE GOT A GREAT IDEA!!!!

So he decided to pay homage to NIKE...........

with a chocolate sprinkled NIKE Swoosh.............
(because nothing says NIKE ATHLETICS like syrup and chocolate)

And finally, it was time for SW to whip out his culinary wizardry.........(and he even managed his masterpiece with a fractured hand from a fall during tennis last week!)

It was a two-part-pancake honoring this small secular college just north of the great state of TEXAS...............can't seem to remember the name of it................

Oh, yeah.......OU!
And when I started doing the typical Aggie thing of talking smack about other colleges.........

He reminded me of something by removing the apron with a t-shirt reveal......so I shut up.

Peace Out Mon...................................

Easter ROCKS! (Rock Opera)

2009-04-10T12:56:00.001-07:00

Are you sitting down? You aren't going to BELIEVE I did this:

I actually missed watching an American Idol results show on Wednesday JUST to spend time with this bunch!

......and it was sooooooooooo worth it!
(Sorry Simon!)

THIS fabulous group of people* from our World FAMOUS CUMC Youth group went to see a "Rock Opera" at Klein UMC Wednesday night!

*(I TRIED to get everyone that went in the picture, but gathering teenagers for a photo op is like nailing Jello to a Tree, so I captured as many as I could before something shiny caught their eyes and they scattered.)

You might be asking just what in the world is a Rock Opera?

Basically, it was a musical based on the events of Holy Week (Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, Good Friday, Easter Sunday) but instead of using "churchy" songs to tell the story, it used songs that you could hear on the radio TODAY. Kinda like taking an old story and jazzing it up with new music.

(Anyone remember the Leonardo DiCaprio/Claire Danes move from the '90's where they took the story of "Romeo and Juliet" and stuck it in modern times?.....THAT's what it was like)

PAUSE: Random Andrea moment I must tell:
(All day long I kept singing "Rock Lobster" by the B52's like this....."Rock Ah--HAAAAAA-----Ahh---Pra, Rock Ah--HAAAAA-- Ahhhh-Pra".....if you don't know that song, be thankful because if you DO know it, I'll bet money that you are going to have it stuck in your head in three......two.......one.........)

UNPAUSE: Resume story here:
Back to our "Rock Opera".............

Here's just a sampling of some of the songs they used to portray the Easter story:

"Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 was sung by a character to illustrate her search for Christ. (you broke the bonds/loosened the chains/carried the cross/of my shame/of my shame/and you know I believe it)

"In The Name Of Love" by U2----parallels just what Easter is all about---God sending his Son to us "in the name of love". (one man come in the name of love/one man come and go........one man betrayed by a kiss)

And here is what I thought was the BEST one-----
"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins was sung by the character playing Jesus ("Jesse Christianson") on the night of the last supper when Jesus knows what is about to happen. It was so eerie how the lyrics and the spooky sound/vibe of that song fit perfectly with what was happening after the Last Supper. Seeing the character playing Jesus standing up there singing (I can feel it/coming in the air tonight/and I've been waiting for this moment/all my life/oh, lord) was very moving.

"Hero"by Nickelback was kinda the 'overall' song that was sung several times---"a hero can save us". Forgive me if I can't do more lyrics from that one....it's just that I have an unhealthy dislike for Nickelback and while it was a GREAT fit for the content of the play......I just can't separate the "I can't stand Nickelback-Andrea" from the "Get Over It and Enjoy the words of the song-Andrea".

Moving on................

"Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence. It was creepy how perfectly that song from today's music fit in with the Easter story. (google the lyrics and you will be amazed----here's just a sampling: wake me up inside/wake me up inside/call my name and save me from the dark/bid my blood to run/before I come undone/save me from the nothing I've become)

"Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" by Bill Withers (also just performed on American Idol a few weeks ago by that Kris guy with the cute little wife)
ain't no sunshine when he's gone/it's not warm when he's away
This is what the homeless people in the play (disciples) sang when they were told Jesse Christianson (Jesus) had died.

There were many other songs that just fit so perfectly! I wish I could have remembered them all! Maybe someone who reads this will remember one and put it in the comments....hint, Goldilocks and PappaBear, hint hint.

Bottom Line: It was just COOL!

I just love taking the youth group places.

They are all such a great group of kids. (I especially love that stinker in the yellow shirt......with the overly expensive hardware in his mouth:-)

......and THIS little stinker in the white hat......with more overly expensive hardware that you just can't see because his mouth is closed. HA

Our Youth Director and KK.

See our Sr. High sweetly tolerating and carefully avoiding the antics of the Jr. High behind them? (Good job, guys....just remember, you were once just as "energetic")

We had fun! Hope everyone has a great Easter!

P.S. Thank you Klein UMC for having us! Yall did a GRRRREAT job!

The Golden Boy

2009-04-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

My only reason for this post is to show the crazy left wing lovin' media bias in this country.

Can you IMAGINE what the media would have done if George W. would have said this????:

This was NOT all over the news last night like it would have been had a Republican president made the EXACT same mistake.

I'm just sayin...........................

Chick Fil A "Can I Just Say?" (Chapter 2 of 2)

2009-04-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

If you haven't read Chapter 1 of this saga, (listed in the blog post just below this one) just know this:
I do love Chick-Fil-A. (or as we lovingly refer to it in our house..."Chick-A-Vay") I think they are a great business and we frequent them often......maybe a little too often.

HOWEVER!................................

Going thru the drive-thru of Chick-Fil-A lately has become an exercise in Lightning Speed Multitasking.

Bottom line is that it STRESSES ME OUT.

This has been bugging me for quite some time so before I started to blog about it, I thought I would google some key words just to see if maybe I was the only crazy person on the planet that actually put thought into fast food drive thru procedures.

When I googled something along the lines of "Chick-Fil-A too fast drive thru" I came across this clever blog entry by 3girlsmom! She made me feel like I wasn't the only one that felt a little rushed during the whole drive thru ordeal! I read her post, patted myself on the back with validation, asked her if I could link her (she said yes!) and began my post to be read and enjoyed by my ~~five or six~~ multitude of readers!

"Here's the Thing": (As Kara Dioguardi would say)

Once you place that order at the microphone, you have unknowingly activated the "Psycho Speed Ordering System" inside that building. It must start the moment your order is complete and the sweet voice says, "Heather will be happy to help you at the window."

That phrase starts the whole machine in motion: "Heather will be happy to help you at the window".

Do NOT be fooled by the kind voice. IT'S A TRAP, PEOPLE!

What that sweet voice REALLY means is this:

"Heather will all be happy to help you at the window to see how fast our skillfully trained team of MANY can toss, launch, hurl, and throw your order into your car so rapidly you won't know what hit you. "

The drive-thru lane has become so consumed with how "many" people it can get through the line, how "many" people they can have working back there and at what speed they can complete the ordering process, it makes the whole event a blood pumping, heart-rate-accelerating-adventure similar to the scariest roller coaster ride at a Disney theme park.

You gotta have your "A-Game" READY once you make the decision to pull up in that line, people.

There's no mamby pamby messin' around with THIS drive thru line.

It AIN'T your grandma's drive thru..............it's a lesson in chaotic efficiency.

When I approach the drive thru "queue" (I love pretending I'm British) I feel like one of those boxers in the corner of the ring when they are jumping up and down saying, "I'm ready, okay, I'm goin' in".....

and they bang their gloves together and take their thumb and rub their nose...........are you getting the visual?

In preparation for placing my order, I have developed a military-like checklist in my head all the while I'm inching up to the holy uproar that awaits me.

I know that 87 arms are lurking behind that tiny window ready to chunk my order at me, get their "My Pleasure's" out, and move on to the next victim behind me in line.

Here's a little hint to have a more successful experience: You MUST have people in the car to lend a hand.........this is not something that can really be done alone.

You are going to need to assemble and train your OWN team in the car to tackle this adventure.....if you are by yourself, ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION, and head over to McDonalds........trust me, it's not worth it. You can't handle an operation like this alone. You NEED extra hands.

Remember, it's not just you against ONE.....it's you against a drive-thru TEAM.

Four, Five, sometimes even SIX people all working like a well oiled machine at that window! They have sacks to dispense, drinks to maneuver, money to take..............

And they are on some sort of Crazy Speed Clock from Hell........

And They. Mean. Business.

Here's a taste of a typical drive thru scene:
Andrea, G, and R 25 feet from the window.
Andrea says, "ALL HANDS ON DECK, WAKE UP PEOPLE, WE ARE GETTING CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

22 feet from the window.

Debit card out?................check.

20 feet to the window

Are the cup holders empty and ready?.............check.
(God forBID you have to make them wait to move something around to clear out a cup holder.........this could cause pandemonium)

15 feet to the window......heart rate increasing.

Is the passenger in your car ready, willing, and able to take things to hold while you frantically juggle the next object from the assembly line of hands pawing at you, reaching for you, all screaming "my pleasure" "my pleasure" "my pleasure".
G WAKE UP! PUT THE IPOD AWAY! I NEED YOU! YOU CAN'T JUST SIT THERE! WE'RE ABOUT TO BE AT THE WINDOW! ...............okay, check.

10 feet from the window.....palms sweaty

Do you know what sauce you need and the correct quantity?
I SAID, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT SAUCE YOU NEED AND THE QUANTITY"?

5 feet from the window

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT SAUCES THERE ARE? THERE IS NO TIME FOR THAT! LET'S GO! GO! GO!

2 feet from the window.........ummmmm....ummmmmmm......

"NEVERMIND...YOU'LL GET POLYNESIAN AND YOU'LL LIKE IT!"

Arrive at window.

(At this point, it's really just a blurry lively mess of hand to hand exchanges, flying red and white bags, friendly faces, countless "My Pleasure"'s! that really sound more like this: MY PLEASURE NOW GET MOVING!)

And.....................then, like a flash of lightning, a bad dream, or a spanking..... it's over.

Take a deep breath. "Is everyone okay?"

You pull forward, park, and in a bewildered traumatized trance look around to do a quick damage assessment.

You try to find your debit card or change that was tossed by "Team member #1-Currency Propeller" somewhere during the battle.

You clean up the spilled drinks that didn't quite make it to the cup holder before the next one was propelled into your vehicle by "Team member#2--Liquids Liason".

You pause to divvy up the waffle fries that have all abandoned their sweet red holders and are now nothing but a tangled jumbled heap of starchy goo in the bottom of the sack. All courtesy of "Team member#3--Sack Slinger".

You look in the back seat to see who is crying/pissed off/upset that you didn't have time to ask "Team member#4---Sauce Boss" for Honey Mustard and only managed to make it out with a couple Polynesians. "I had to get out, honey,....there just wasn't time.....THE SAUCE BOSS WAS LOOKING AT ME FUNNY............I HAD TO EVACUATE!"

(Thank goodness nobody wanted a shake, or that would have involved the services of yet another set of hands........"Team Member#5--IcyTreat Launcher")

You gather up your thoughts and head out of the parking lot glancing back in your rearview mirror at all the other soldiers left in the lane.

You say a little prayer for those left behind that they will have the organization, strength, and wisdom to make it out alive and unscathed.

All in the name of Chicken...............really awesome, great, yummy, honeyish, chicken.

Chick-Fil-A "In The Beginning" (Chapter 1 of 2)

2009-04-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal: I'm upset with the way Chick-Fil-A does their drive-thru.

So I decided to ~~rant~~ blog about it but along the way, the ~~rant~~ story really became two stories in one.

So this is going to be a TWO POST STORY! (Aren't you excited.....and to think, I'm not even charging you for this stuff!)

I am feeling very "literary" today so I will refer to the two parts as Chapter One and Chapter Two. Really original, huh?

Chapter One will be called "In The Beginning" and serves kinda as the "background" of our family's relationship with Chick-Fil-A.

Chapter Two will be called "Can I Just Say?" which is how I start most of my rants off when I call my sister or Goldilocks.

So welcome to Chapter One. Enjoy.
(If you want to fast forward to the juicy part, feel free to skip this chapter go ahead to Chapter Two.)

When I moved to this area of Houston, I was big fat preggo with my first son. Just about the same time we moved here, the Chick-Fil-A Gods decided to construct a free standing unit very close to my new digs.

Now, I had never been a huge fan of Chick-Fil-A, mainly because of my crazy psycho food issues about cooked food once being dead raw food coupled with growing up with a mother who exhibited not so positive attitudes toward "old dead chickens". So, since I wasn't a big chicken eater, the new addition of this fast food chain wasn't that big of a deal to me...............OR SO I THOUGHT AT THE TIME.

While the mega bosses at the Chick-Fil-A Industry were "building a building", I was "building" their biggest client/fan/life long customer in my big fat preggo belly..........G.

Oh sure, as a new mommy I never DREAMED of EVER purchasing fast food for my baby boy!
I honestly thought that "kid's meals" were for lazy parents and trailer trash. MY child was NEVER going to eat anything out of a sack that came from a drive thru. Not MY kid.

I was going to provide the healthiest of choices for him, cook homemade baby food, breastfeed until he was two, limit all sugar intake, etc......you know, all the things that the books tell you that "good mommies" do.

But then I BECAME a mommy and all that book crap went out the window.
(the car window that is......on my way through a drive thru.....HA!)

G was not a big fan of food when he was little. That child could go for days without eating. Thankfully he would get on "kicks" where he would pick one food to obsess over and eat only that food for the entire day.

Okay, maybe two or three days.
Yeah, okay, maybe a week.
OKAY FINE, I'LL SAY IT.............. a month.

He once went 11 days eating only McDonalds french fries. Let's just say that in a mommy's desperate hours she can convince herself that potatoes and ketchup are healthy vegetables.

One night after unsuccessfully offering everything in my pantry to this kid and him just looking at me like, "You have GOT to be kidding me", I drove to the drive-thru window at Chick-Fil-A and purchased my very first "Kid's Meal".

I brought it home, cut the chicken up in little pieces and BAM.........
(Insert large choir singing "Hallelujah" here).........a love affair was born.

G had discovered his first "True Love"..................."Chick-A-Vay an' a Pepper".

(the "an' a pepper meant "and a Dr. Pepper") Yes, okay, calm down, I DID give my toddler Dr. Pepper. At least I gave it to him in a styrofoam cup with a straw and not in a bottle that reeked of second hand smoke with Looney Toon character decals on the side....so cut me some slack.

"Chick-A-Vay an' a pepper" and G became fast friends.........and 15 years later, the friendship is still going strong. Granted, the little 4 piece Kid's Meal has turned into the 12 pack Value Sized Combo..........but the basics are still there.

Nuggets, Waffle Fries and Polynesian. G's three basic food groups.

I've always pictured the groom's cake at G's wedding to be towering party tray of nuggets with Polynesian icing.

And G's first dance with his bride will be this:

So----moral of the story is, "We Love Chick-Fil-A", will always love Chick-Fil-A, and frequent Chick-fil-A probably a little too often.

I think that's why I take this new drive-thru problem to heart so much-----I feel like a member of my family is messing up and I have this need to let them know.

So.............on to Chapter Two.

Sunday El-Oh-Vee-Eee

2009-04-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

I just feel in love. Deep, Deep, Meaningful love.
I. Love. This. Backspash.
What do you think?

BlahBlahBlogggg

2009-04-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

***Just in case you can't read the small print***
It says, "Never Before Have So Many People With So Little To Say Said So Much To So Few."

Happy Anniversary, Andrea!

2009-04-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today is a very special day for me. One year ago TODAY, I decided to take the plunge and change the way I viewed food. I woke up that morning armed with my trusty South Beach Diet book, having spent the last week "learning" about foods; what they do, how they work, purposes they serve.

I had also spent the last week doing what every red blooded American woman does right before embarking on a diet..............

go out and gorge myself on any and everything I could get my hands on knowing I was about to essentially "give up all things good and holy". I equated it to a combination of "going to prison" and Jesus' last big dinner party with his BFF's..........gotta have those "last suppers" before they lock you up and throw away the key)

In my mind I did that thing we all do, "Okay, Andrea......THIS TIME, I'm going to stick with it...today is DAY ONE".

This was probably my 50th "Day One of a Diet".

"Day One"'s are always the easiest, it's the Day Two's, etc. that are always the kinks in my grand plans.

I am a professional "Day One"-er.

(Day One of Andrea's New Laundry System, Day One of Andrea's Keep Her Car Clean System, Day One of Andrea's Clean Cat Box System, Day One of Andrea's Clean House System.............you get the picture.)

I'm GREAT at "making" the plan............the "execution"???.....not so much.

Two things were different about this "Day One".

This time I was about to turn 40 and had just seen a picture of myself at Easter that was one of those "Is that ME?" kind of pictures.

Doesn't everyone have one of those pictures?
(No, I would never post that picture...I would rather be dipped in honey and rolled in ants than have to show anyone that picture)

But the BIG thing.....the "Ah-HA" moment

(Get it.....an Ah-HA moment? God, I miss the 80's)

...........was that I had recently overheard Garrett and a friend of his talking upstairs about some kid "with the fat mom".

That phrase really got to me.

Really. Got. To. Me.

At that moment something clicked. I never wanted my boys to be labeled with that description.

I never wanted Garrett or Ryan to have their mother described as "the fat mom"........"funny mom", "crazy mom", "terribly unorganized mom", "her-roots-are-showing- mom", ...those were okay.........but not "the fat mom".

So I guess that basically boils down to how it all started:

A 40th birthday,

an Easter picture, and three little words mumbled upstairs by two teenagers.

I think everyone has to have their "Ahhh-HA" moment.

(Here it is AGAIN......that was THE best video, can I get an "Amen"?)

Those moments are what give you the ability, strength, and stamina to turn a "Day One" into a "Day Two", and then a "Day Three"....and even a "Day 365"! I know it doesn't stop here. Today I can celebrate, be happy, try on some old clothes and relish in the fact they are too big, but tomorrow morning will be "Day 366" and it deserves as much pomp and circumstance as "Day One" did..........because there's still work to be done!!!!!

Today I welcome yet another "DAY ONE"...................

it's "Day One of Andrea's Make Her Bed Every Day" System....wish me luck.

Dreaming Big

2009-03-23T20:00:00.001-07:00

Over Spring Break, we decided to go out and play the course where the Shell Houston Open will be held in a few weeks. It was BEE--YOU---TEE--FULL!!!!! They had that course in such gorgeous shape..........I want to think it was all for US, but I think it had something to do with the fact that it is going to be on TV in a couple weeks. (But I'm sure our visit had "something" to do with it.....ha!)

Here are some pics of our wonderful family day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It will be kinda cool to watch it on TV and actually "know" the holes that they are playing! I don't think everyone shot what they had "hoped" to shoot, but it was great just to get out there and play.

As an overly proud mommy, I must admit, when I would look out and see my sweet boys surrounded by all these grand stands, I would get this little glimmer in my eye and think, "Someday....they will fill up these stands with everyone wanting to see R and G play!"

(And the oober famous R and G will win lots of $$$$ and buy their mother lots of very expensive things with all that green!)

Five Dog Weekend

2009-03-23T05:29:00.000-07:00

My sister came down this weekend and brought my niece-dog, Lily, and my nephew-dog, Otis.

From left: Otis, Lily, PeeWee, Maggie, Ruthie:-)

Having five precious puppies in the house all weekend made me want more.

"May I have a bite, please?"

All our plates were squeaky clean by the time they made it to the dishwasher.

"FORE" the boys..............

2009-03-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

So we have been playing LOTS of golf around here, both in tournaments and as a family on the weekends! G plays in roughly one tournament per week and here he is last week at the Longwood course.

I decided to attend the tournament and follow quietly behind. I hope I didn't make him nervous. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this shot............he was BEHIND a tree in the fairway and had to use his putter to get out! (not his favorite hole on the course to say the least)

We have started going out as a family on the weekends and play a round. T surprised me with my very own set of clubs for Valentines day and I can't wait to take a few lessons and play with them. For now, I'm happy just being the second cart driver:-)

I'm hoping all teenagers look this thrilled to be taking a picture with their momma.

..............or their daddy. Teenagers are just a ray of sunshine, let me tell you.

Once we are away from the clubhouse, I always let R drive..........I never know where the balls are and it's just easier for him to drive to his own shots:-)

After spending a considerable amount of time sitting in golf carts over the past year, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe golfers aren't that smart based on the above picture? I would have never been able to master this thing had it not been for the clear signage.

FancyShmancy Chicken Casserole

2009-02-24T18:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I actually cooked dinner again this month and thought I would document the blessed event.

This is a yummy "take" on the boring shmoring typical church pot-luck chicken casserole. I promise this one is different.

Here are the ingredients:

3 cups cooked chicken (bite size)
(clarification....not bite size chickens, but bite size pieces OF chicken. Bite size chickens would be weird....and a little creepy....but now that I think about it, it would save me a lot of time.)
1 cup rice, Can of Cream of Mushroom, Can of Beef Broth, Can of French Onion Soup, 1/2 stick of butter, 1 jar mushrooms, 1 cup milk, 1/4 to 1/2 cup Mayo, Worcestershire, Shredded Cheese

Preheat oven to 325.

If you forgot to buy the jar of mushrooms, you can use your imagination and make a pretend jar.

If you WANT to mess with cooking your own chicken, go right ahead....BUT.....WalMart chickens are only 5 bucks a pop and that's 'almost' as cheap as making it yourself in my book.
By the way, my"book" is called I Don't Like To Touch Raw Dead Chickens So Any Shortcut Is A Good Shortcut.

Besides, I could never in a million years make chicken this juicy. I used only the breast meat of two chickens. If you are brave enough to use the dark meat, too....you could get by with just one bird. Dark meat kinda gives me the heebie jeebies so I go for the extra 5 bucks and just grab another chicken.

Put the cup of rice in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish

Add the can of Beef Broth, Can of French Onion Soup, and 1/2 stick of butter that you have cut into little pieces.

Then add your pretend mushrooms that you forgot to buy at the grocery store because you are tragically unorganized and incapable of making an actual grocery list so you always forget at least one ingredient. It's the cross I bear.

Cover with foil and bake at 325 for about 50 minutes and get ready to smell the most wonderful smell.

While the rice layer is baking and making your house smell positively DIVINE, put the frozen broccoli in a bowl.

Add the Can of Cream of Mushroom soup.

1 cup of milk.

1/4 to 1/2 cup of May-Oh-NNaise
(Movie reference alert: Extra points if you can name that movie)

A couple shakes of Worcestershire sauce.
I have never learned to say this word...is it:
"War-Chest-tEr-Shire"
"WOOSH-ter-Shire"....
"Woosh"-ter-shear"

Mix all that together and go check on your rice.

If you could smell this, you would kiss me. The Yankee Candle company should make a scent called "Bottom Layer of French Onion Rice from FancyShmancy Chicken Casserole".

Take it out of the oven, increase the oven temperature to 375 and fluff this stuff with a fork.
Fluff, Fluff, Fluff.

After you have fluffed and puffed and blooooooown your house down, spread the chicken stuff on top.

Then, as with all great casserole dishes...

......................all together now

.................... you know what's comin'

....................................here we go, let's all say it on three.

One.............

TWO.......

THREE!

"TOP WITH CHEESE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And the crowd goes wild!!!!)

Cover with foil again and pop it back in the 375 oven for 30 minutes, then take the foil off and let the cheese get a little gooeyer and browner for about 10 minutes.

VIOLA! It turns green! (sorry about the weird shade of this picture.....I haven't a clue how to take pictures of food.....but trust me, it looked GOOD.)

Lastly, get a pretty red plate and glop some on there and spend the rest of your meal listening to your family tell you, "It's really good..........if you would just leave out the broccoli next time".

Swine Time

2009-02-07T11:32:00.000-08:00

Today, class, we will be learning what it means to "clip" a pig.

Clipping a pig basically means to give it a hair cut...........but in a pig's case, it's a really LOUD hair cut.

You want to clip a pig before a show so he feels all pretty and special like when the Lion on The Wizard of Oz gets all gussied up before he meets the Wizard....or in this situation, the Judge!

First, you are going to need a pig. I prefer the beautiful maroon-ish red-ish breed that is called Duroc. I just love Durocs. I love their Fightin'Texas Aggie maroon color.

Here are Bucky and 8-Ball. These are R's pigs for the San Antonio Livestock show next week.

Step 1: Get squeaky clean.

I use this handy dandy soapy thingy that attaches to the hose.

Get the pig really super soapy all over.........
(Bucky loved this part.......except for when I accidentally squirted it in his ear. You NEVER want to squirt something in a pig's ear because at that point, you become the bath RECEIVER instead of the bath GIVER.)

Make sure you get all the parts nice and soapy.

Then let the soapy stuff sit for a bit and "marinade". While this is taking place, you can talk to your pig about how handsome he looks and how you will give him all the cookies he wants if he walks correctly in the ring and wins you a big fat ribbon. (Or you can just skip the ribbon part and tell him he can have all the cookies he wants no matter what....which is what I do:-)

Then it's time for the final rinse! LOOK at that gorgeous red color....I love it.
Sherwin Williams should make a paint color called "Duroc Red"---I would paint my entire house that color.

Next, you take WD-40 (yes, I said WD-40....the same exact WD-40 that you would use to fix a squeaky door) and squirt it all over the pig's hair. If you want, you can tell the pig it's some fancy Vidal Sassoon mousse/hairspray so he will feel fancy and special.

(I love this picture because I'm quite sure I was the only mom from my neighborhood that morning squirting WD-40 on a pig)

The WD-40 helps protect the blades on the clippers while making it easier to go through the coarse hair.

Then, starting wherever the PIG decides to "let" you start..........you start clipping away running the blades of the clippers against the direction of the hair growth.

Pigs are very much like three year olds............you have to let them think it's "their" idea and things will go much better. You can't really boss a pig around too much............you have to be patient, calm and willing to let things happen on "pig" time. As long as you are willing to do that, you won't get frustrated and want to pull your hair out.

(Pause story: You may be wondering, "Where is R?"........he was in school because we did this on a Friday morning........ R DOES know how to clip a pig.......here are some pics from last year just to prove it!)

These are from March 2008.......these were his pigs for the Houston show last year.

FFA stands not only for "Future Farmers Of America", but also, "Families Feeding Animals"..........it's not JUST a kid project, it's a family project.
Sorry, I just had to get that out of the way because it really bothers some people.

Okay.........now that you believe me...........

Resume current story HERE:

Bucky thinks this whole hair cut was "his" idea...........that's why he's being so sweet.

I really enjoy clipping pigs.......it's very calming for some reason.

If you are lucky, you get a pig like Bucky that will let you do most of the clipping in the wash-pen area without having to put a snare on his nose. I'll show you that a little further down.

Clipping this way takes a little longer because your "target" is moving. (Kinda like giving a toddler a hair cut...............a moving 270 pound "toddler")

Bucky let me do about 80% of his hair cut this way.................but then it came time to do his face, neck, and ears.............that's when things turned a little "hairy".

At this point, you have to "snare" the pig..........which means you take this thin piece of rope and loop it around his top jaw/snout. Once this is on, it's the pigs natural reaction to pull back on it. You then loop the end of it around a bar and the pig will just stand there pulling back on the tension of the rope. It's amazing to see this little bitty rope control a 270 pound animal!

The good part is, pigs will basically stand perfectly still while pulling with all their might on the rope.

The bad part is, it's LOUD. It sounds like you are KILLING the pig. Pigs can be very loud when made to do something they don't want to do! The FFA barn is RIGHT next to a restaurant and when it's pig clipping time, I'm quite sure their requests for bacon cheeseburgers go down dramatically. It's always a treat to see the horrified stares from the outside diners when they hear this: (click for audio)

You can just "feel" all the frantic phone calls to PETA taking place at this moment.
(and this short video clip is NOTHING......I took this once the super loud part was over....sometimes it's so loud, you have to yell to the person standing right next to you.)

Once all that is over................

VIOLA! A clean, clipped pig! This is 8-Ball.

And here is Mr. Bucky...........

Just LOOK at that precious little dimple above his tail.....how cute is THAT?)

And just like a three year old would do....................

digging in the mud after a bath is always a fun thing to do!

A nice bath is a great way to start off a long trailer ride to get ready for next week's show in San Antonio! Good Luck boys!

Let's Talk About Stevie..................

2009-02-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

When someone asks me, "What is your favorite Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac song?", it's always a tough one for me to answer. All her (their) songs mean different things to me at different times, so I can't really pick JUST ONE!

"Gypsy" is my favorite at the moment. I love the lyrics.

(For those of you NOT obsessed with all things Stevie, let me explain............basically the song tells the story of how she "followed her gypsy" into music. In interviews, she always talks about what she gave up to do that.........getting married, having children, etc. She always makes it clear that while she doesn't regret following the music/rock-star path, she sometimes wonders what "if"........)

Yes, you just entered "Crazyville" and I am the mayor........but just think about it for a minute.

What "if" we all followed our "gypsy"......where would we be now? How would our lives be different?

Enjoy:-)

So I'm back, to the velvet
underground
Back to the floor, that I love
To a room with some lace
and paper flowers
Back to the gypsy
that I was
To the gypsy...
that I was

And it all comes down to you
Well, you know that it does
Well, lightning strikes,
maybe once, maybe twice
Ah, and it lights up the night
And you see your gypsy
You see your gypsy

To the gypsy that remains
faces freedom with a little fear
I have no fear, I have only love
And if I was a child
And the child was enough
Enough for me to love
Enough to love

She is dancing away from me now
She was just a wish
She was just a wish
And a memory is all
that is left for you now
You see your gypsy
You see your gypsy

Lightning strikes,
maybe once, maybe twice
And it all comes down to you

And it all comes down to you

Lightning strikes,
maybe once, maybe twice
And it all comes down to you

I still see your bright eyes,
bright eyes
And it all comes down to you
I still see your bright eyes,
bright eyes
And it all comes down to you

I still see your bright eyes,
bright eyes
(She was just a wish)
(She was just a wish)
And it all comes down to you

Lightning strikes,
maybe once, maybe twice
And it all comes down to you

Mexican Casserole (G's FAV!)

2009-02-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

MY FIRST COOKING BLOG ENTRY!

Warning: My pictures are NOT as beautiful as The Pioneer Woman Cooks, in fact, some of them turned out a little "greenish".
(Ahhhh! Oh, the JOYS of fluorescent lighting! I can't wait to get all new lighting one day in the kitchen so all my food will look like it came from a food magazine photo shoot.)

Okay.....let's get started!
This is G's FAVORITE dinner....he calls it "Mexican Casserole" and I swear he could eat it every night. Here are the ingredients:

1 pound hamburger
1 can Tomato soup
1 cup (ish) your favorite Salsa
2 cups (ish) shredded cheese
9 (ish) corn tortillas
2/3 of Campbells can of milk

(As with all recipes near and dear to my heart.....they begin with some sort of Campbells soup and hamburger meat........can you really go wrong with those two ingredients?)

"Fry you up" some hamburger until no longer pink.

WHILE that is cooking (can anyone say, "Multitask"?????)
Cut the tortillas into little 1" squares.

One cut...................

Two cut, Three cut,.....................

Four.........then you turn and cut some more!
(A short poem by Andrea)

Then put them all in a bowl. (This way, you can play like you have your own show on Food Network and everything is in little bowls so you can easily add ingredients to the recipe while still maintaining eye contact with the zillions of viewers watching)

After you have drained the hamburger, return to skillet and add the tomato soup......

Your favorite salsa

2/3 of the can of milk

All the tortilla pieces. (thanks R for the extra set of hands!)

And 1 cup (ish) of the shredded cheese.

I like to use this piece of stoneware, but any ol' casserole dish will do.

Pour your mixture into the dish, top with remaining cheese and something MAGIC will happen.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

It will turn GREEN! (not really........Mr. Camera decided to have flash problems so Mr. Fugly Fluorescent Lighting had to fill in.........)

Then cover it with foil.

Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes with the foil on.........

Then take the foil off and cook 10 minutes.

Let it sit and cool for about 5 minutes or so and then top with a "dollop of Daisy"

And if you are a REAL woman.....................top that Daisy with one of these:

We like to eat it with some Tostitos on the side.
FIESTA!

When you can walk on water, I guess you won't slip on ice.

2009-01-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

Can I just say????????????
(That's how I always start a "rant" off to my sister and Goldilocks when I must get something off my chest)

Can I just say???????????

Our president spoke this morning about the school closings in Washington.
Mr. Obama stated, "Because of what? Some ice? . . . We're going to have to apply some flinty Chicago toughness to this town."

As a former public school teacher, I am more than a little peeved at his comments.

Dear Mr. President...........here are some questions for you.

Do you have ANY idea how many people have to be at a school in order for the doors to open?

A decision to close a school is based not only on the "opening bell" time, but on the ability of all the support staff and people behind the scenes to safely arrive at their destinations. They must start the whole process HOURS before the kids actually arrive in class.

The cafeteria workers have to get there long before the kids to open the kitchen and make the breakfast for those kiddos that have parents who don't seem to think that's a priority. (I taught PreK......don't get me started on the whole breakfast thing..........don't EVEN get me started!)

(Anyone remember "Sloppy Joe....Sloppy Sloppy Joe......." from Adam Sandler's "Lunch Lady" song?? I miss you, Chris Farley)

The janitors have to get there long before the kids to open the building and prepare it for the day.

The bus drivers have to figure out how to maneuver a ~~GIANT 14-Ton Yellow Projectile on Wheels~~ bus around the ice, all the while keeping one eye on the rearview mirror so all the passengers stay safe, seated, and not bullied and pummeled by Little Johnny the minute the driver isn't looking.

(You see, Mr. President, a VAST majority of kids get to school by way of bus.............not by way of chauffeured Lincolns with secret service men.)

Do you have any idea how much school officials angst over this decision?---a decision that has to be made in the wee early morning hours based on looking into a crystal ball to try and GUESS what the next 6 hours will bring?

A decision that can cause them HUNDREDS of pissy irate phone calls down the line when Little Johnny's mom calls to complain that he will be counted absent on the inclement weather make up day that Spring because it cuts into their already scheduled vacation plans.

SCHOOL: "Mrs. Little Johnny, we aren't telling you you can't take him on vacation, we are just telling you he will be marked absent."
MRS. JOHNNY: "But he wants the Perfect Attendance sticker/prize/free happy meal coupon that he has been earning all year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

So sorry Mrs. Johnny, there isn't a prize for "Almost-Perfect-Attendance".......we'll suggest that at the next school board meeting.

(by the way....teacher's have always noticed the DIRECT correlation between the "perfect attendance" and "little Johnnies"............poorly behaved children are RARELY absent.)

Not to mention the fact that private schools making this decision have a much easier time deciding whether making-up days will be necessary.............they aren't under the same State and National regulations for the required number of instructional days in order to get Educational funding!

I know, I know, I know, I can hear you now.........."Snow White, darling.....you need to chill out...he was just making a joke....get over it!"

I just don't think you should be "dissing" your new turf's decisions when you have only lived there EIGHT DAYS! EIGHT DAYS! He's still technically a tourist in that place!

Being the President means you just can't SAY stuff like that! You must THINK before you speak to a gabillion cameras, Barry!

If Chicago is so great with all their "flinty toughness"............maybe you need to return........so your girls can go to school every day.

I have some HOPES of my own today concerning school closings and the administrators in the positions to make the call on cancellations................

I HOPE that everyone got to work safely today.

I HOPE that no bus driver had drive on tricky ice with a busload of screaming kids today.

I HOPE that Little Johnny doesn't slip on black ice today or his mother will sue the school district.

Moral of the story: The school districts are just making the decisions based on what they think is the SAFEST for the kids. You do your President thang and let them do their school thang.

(By the way.......I didn't think of that catchy title about walking on water.......I read it off of a comment from "nog45"on a political blog.....I loved it so much, I couldn't resist. It made me laugh.)

Okay..........I'm done..........I feel better now. Sorry you had to hear that.

OOOPS! ....I lied....just one more thing:

FOOTNOTE! Here is what the Associate Head of School had to say about it: (This is from The Washington Post website)

"At Sidwell Friends, Associate Head of School Ellis Turner replied to the president's challenge in an e-mail to The Washington Post.

"No question, the president is right," Turner wrote. "The next time it snows, we would like to invite him to help us make the decision. His involvement will make it much easier to explain to our students why they won't be able to spend the day sleeping and sledding."

Turner added a tongue-in-cheek reference to the president's school-age years in the Pacific islands: "Or, I suppose Sidwell Friends could merge with Punahou, move our classrooms to Hawaii and never worry about the weather again."

AUNT DREA!

2009-01-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

I am an Aunt AGAIN!

Meet my newest nephew...........Master Otis R.

(I put the "R." middle initial in there because I really think he looks like a "Rocco", but his mommylindsay and daddymarcus went with Otis and I'm respecting that.......to an extent.......but I'm giving him a middle name in my head.)

(Shhhhhh! Don't tell.....it will be our little secret, Otis, just between you and your Aunt Drea.
If you keep the secret, my little Rocco, I will buy you things.)

Look at that FACE! I just want to eat him for lunch he's so cute!

Otis is a rescue dog from the DFW Shih-Tzu/Lhasa Apso rescue.
http://www.dfwtzusandmorerescue.com/

I was sooooooooooo excited when my sister said she was going to adopt from a rescue place.
I love rescue dogs. When you look into their eyes, they say, "Thank You". There are so many of them out there waiting to love on someone.

If I had it my way, I would adopt at least two a year...........however, I enjoy the whole "being married" aspect of my life so I don't really push the issue.

After PeeWee found me last February, T put a screeching halt on dog adoptions. I have accepted the fact that if I sign any "adoption papers", I will more than likely be signing these kinds of papers:

within hours.

Lindsay says he isn't all Shih-Tzu, but I want to say that he is. Why? Because we all love saying Shih-Tzu three times really fast around here. Do it right now. Say Shih-Tzu three times really fast.

It's like that feeling you get when you sing a cuss word lyric from a song when you are a kid.......it's like a "gimme"......it's not like you MEANT to say it.........it's just part of the lyric...or, in this case, part of the breed name.

(If you are trying to think of an example, just think back to Charlie Daniel's Band's "Devil Went Down to Georgia".....

after Johnny finished opening a can of whoop-ass with his fiddle playing and he tells the Devil to "come on back if he ever wants to try again....I done told you once, you *** ** * *****,......... I'm the best that's ever been!")

R suggested Otis make good friends with a nice, lady Bulldog and then they could have little "Bull-shih-t's".

My niece, Lily, (who stayed with me this summer), seems to really like her new brother.
"We play togefer 'cuz we lub eech ubber"

I love to watch dogs play. It makes my heart SMILE. When I get old and am stuck in a wheelchair, just park me in a room full of dogs so I can watch them play.......with an iPod full of Stevie Nicks songs stuck in my old wrinkly ears. (ARE YOU READING THIS, RYAN?)

I'm actually so glad Lily has a sibling to play with. Ooops-----rather, "a sibling with which to play"---if a preposition at the end of a sentence gives you the willies like it does me.

Lily sez: "I lub my Aunt Drea"
Otis R. sez: "I lub my Aunt Drea, too"
Aunt Drea sez: "I lub my Cow-town buddies!"

Long Time, No Blog!

2009-01-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

Long overdue greetings to my ~~five readers~~ vast reading audience!

(If I were Catholic, I would say, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned.....it's been one month since my last blog entry..............)

Let me explain why it's been so long since I've blogged----it's the same, exact reason I don't scrapbook daily life (I only scrapbook things like vacations that have a start and an end).

Once I get "behind", then I think I can't start unless I go BACK and do all the stuff that has happened. Is that as clear as mud?

So, in order to move on with my life and feel whole again, I decided to do a quick recap of all things I was GOING to blog about, but didn't.

Here goes:
#1. Thanksgiving:
We spent Thanksgiving at T's parents house and went golfing on this cute little par 3 course near their house.

"Get in the hole!!!" (don't you hate those guys at tournaments that yell that?)

The boys with Grandma J and Grandpa J

Check out these cuties that I made a looooong time ago!

Back in "the day", I would find a cute idea, go buy the stuff and actually MAKE it--as evidenced here with these clever terra-cotta pot thingys. Now I find the idea, say, "That's cute!", buy the stuff to make it and then cram the stuff in the closet under the stairs never to be seen again.

Everything you need to know we learned in cotillion.
Thanksgiving etiquette lesson #1.....how to gracefully eat Reddi-Whip.

Checklist: Thanksgiving...................DONE! Moving on.

#2 Christmas Lights Parade.
R's youth group decorated a "float" for the Festival Of Lights parade put on by the fire departments in our area.

All the neighborhoods come out and line the streets to see all the decorated firetrucks and various entries.

It's really cool to see all the different fire departments pile all these lights and Santa's and surprises on their trucks.

(Goldilocks and Papa Bear volunteered their oober cool truck)

R and his Youth Director, K!

Checklist: Christmas Lights Parade..................DONE.....moving on.

#3 Family Christmas:
Boys get an XBox360 and Guitar Hero World Tour.

Love that XBox.

Checklist: Family Christmas...........DONE! Moving on........

#4 T's Family Christmas:

We went to T's parents house for a formal picture, then presents and yummy dinner!

My three are on the left---then there's T's dad, brother, and my two "human" nephews, J#1 and J#2. (I say "human" because I do have a canine niece and a canine nephew, too! I'll introduce you to them soon!) Don't have a picture of the whole group----just all the boys.

I do have this pic of what I wore for the picture, though!
It's a.........a......dr........dre........dres......DRESS!
It's the first time I've worn a dress since 1996.
Check out the shoes...................they're "fancy" pointy toe shoes.

I felt important walking around in them because they "click" and make that sound that my sister's shoes make when I'm on the phone with her and she is walking to her car after work. That sound that screams out, "I am woman, hear me ROAR, I am important...........I wear heels on a DAILY basis.....not just for weddings and funerals." ~~Sometimes when I'm alone in the house I wear them and pretend that I am a CEO of some important company and have a desk with important file folders and a secretary that brings me Starbucks.~~

CALL OF DUTY WORLD AT WAR! Let's get violent, bloody, and shoot people!

T's Brother, his wife, "J", T, and Snow

G just loves hugs....can't you tell?

Checklist: Christmas #2...................DONE! Moving on................

#5 Snow White's Family Christmas:

SKIING IN BRECKENRIDGE!
I finally learned how to ski and I loved it! (except for the frostbitten fingers and toes)

Snow White's first BLUE! (see the proof in the background?)
Bonanza was the name of my first blue run.............I love that word, "Bonanza".....it's like my favorite word now. Say it............"bonanza".............it means "she who skis with grace" in Swahili.

G and T.......see T's ski jacket, circa 1981?
Yeah, that's right.........I said NINETEEN EIGHTY ONE (ish). Complete with the tight waist band that rides up all day long and everything. I wouldn't be surprised if it once had big ol' shoulder pads or an acid wash jean interior. When you put it on, it makes you want to say things like, "Gag me with a spoon"....or "Totally Tubular, dude". That T, he is one stylin' skier.....and he INSISTS on wearing that damn coat every year.

(I hate that coat...........just HATE it............if my house were burning, I would run back in the house just to make sure that coat was going up in flames........and then, while laughing an evil and joyful laugh, I would run back out after rescuing all things good and holy.....humans, pets, and all my Stevie Nicks shawls.)

Lindsay and Marcus at Happy Hour......everyone's FAVORITE time of day!

DaddyBill, R, MommyCee........gotta take breaks from skiing to let the old people have a rest now and then.

Sistahs! I love my sistah!

No, that's not the abominable snowman....it's R.

Geriatric Gold Medal Winners Breckenridge 2008!

Checklist: Breckenridge...................DONE! Moving on...............

WHEW! I'm done! I feel whole again! Hello again, blogging world! It's nice to be back in the game:-)

Cookie Swap Bunco!

2008-12-17T08:28:00.001-08:00

I am officially a member of the Domestic Goddess Club.

I attended my FIRST EVER "Cookie Swap" last night. For years, I have heard about this ancient domestic ritual that organized, creative, culinary minded women the world over take part in every December.

(An activity that, until last night, seemed like a mystical legend of sorts...............kinda like Bigfoot or the Abominable Snowman.)

Well, LEGEND NO MORE.....................I can now say, "Oh, yes.......I've been to a cookie swap."

Who knows....this might lead to me saying, "Oh yes, I'm planting bulbs this year" or...."Oh yes, I flip the mattresses every spring"...................

Although it was a small cookie swap (compared to the legendary swaps I've been reading about ~~online and in blogs~~ in magic leather bound dusty books of Christmas' past), it was still a great swap!

Seven of us from my Bunco group decided to strap on the ol' aprons and give it our best shot.
(I just LOVED the table set up with the ribbons and the jingle bells....note to self.....copy KW's idea for next year's table.)

Here's the loot:

K.Z. made this wonderful Peppermint Fudge and Peppermint Puff Cookies.

B.B. made these Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies.

K.W. made Hello Dollies (or as she refers to them: Tiger Bars)
Hello Dollies are one of those "If you were on Death Row and had one last meal to eat, what would it be?" kinda things for me...............My soul is connected on deep deep levels with anything coconuty with sweetened condensed milk.

L.W. made White Chocolate Peppermint Delights.

L.C. made Oreo Truffles. (she was also celebrating her 25th Wedding Anniversary!)

A.H. made Gingersnaps! (Sorry I didn't get a pic of them outside of their cute little homes...trust me, they're in there taking a nap all warm and snuggly with all that yummy molasses)

And I made Snickerdoodles! (These are the ones that I won Reserve Champion with in 1981 at the my county fair and R won Reserve Grand Champion with at our 2007 county fair.........like mother, like son!)

I EVEN decorated the BOTTOM of my platter! (Channeling that "inner Martha" that came out during Goldilock's Christmas Decorating challenge.................she has created a MONSTER)

I pray every day that she never issues a "Clean Closet Challenge" or a "Laundry Challenge"..........................................

.....................and T prays every day that she will.

We had a great time and got to come home with 7 different kinds of cookies that WE DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE!

Wonder what I'll make next year?...................................................

Christmas Tour of Homes 2008

2008-12-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO SNOW WHITE'S COTTAGE!

I had so many things to show, I had to do it in three posts!

Check out this one (about tiny touches) and this one (about ornaments) for more:-)

(Real classy of me not to turn off the tv for a pic, huh? I live with three males.....do you know how hard it is to get a shot of the t.v. withOUT ESPN on?)

(I have just discovered these clip on bird thingys.........and they are my new favorite thing. Next year I want to have clip on birds on EVERYTHING!)

This is where the Gingerbread Men hang out:

Candle Rings:

I was searching for small wreaths to hang in the windows and came across these "Candle Rings" that are really supposed to lay flat with a big honkin' candle in the middle. They come already decorated so it's much easier than buying the little wreaths and re-inventing the wheel!

(My parents payed for nine years of piano lessons and pretty much all I can do now with a piano is decorate it.......and play "The Spinning Song" over........and over.........and over.........all dad ever wanted to hear was "Bring In The Clowns" and I still haven't learned it for him! Maybe it will be my New Year's Resolution?)

Cranberries and pine cones!

(Ornaments aren't just for trees!)

Mrs. Reindeer:

The Snowman village: (along with Mr. Flamingo that R decorated at Bible Study)

Here is my tree skirt that my Mother-in-law made me. The boys put their handprints on it in red every Christmas, then she stitches around it and has them sign their name in Sharpie. This item is one of those, "If my house were burning, what would I grab" kinda things. I love it.

And this thing?...............................................

Don't ask............it's a long story.

THANKS FOR VISITING! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

Ornaments Are Not Just For Trees

2008-12-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to do something a little creative with some of my favorite ornaments.

Often times, when I just stick them all on the tree, I can't really "focus" on them since they are all in one big lump of happy holiday hullabaloo in the corner of my dining room.

I took all the ornaments out and pondered what I could do.............here is what I came up with:

I made an ornamental "Sports Tribute" to the sports in our lives (those are golf balls, in case you can't tell from the flash) over the kitchen table. Why? You ask? Because behind, around, beside, and under, and sometimes even on top of the kitchen table is where all 568 pairs of sporting shoes live most of the time.....I felt it was an appropriate place.

Then, I took my favorite Santa ornament in the whole wide world and hung it on a ribbon on a lamp.

Now, on to the "Fancier" things.........................................

I have been blessed with a Mother-In-Law that loves loves loves to buy me ornaments!

Over the years, she has given me so many beautiful crystal ones that are so sparkly and fancy schmancy! I bought some really thin ribbon and hung them over my dining room table.

I feel like I can finally appreciate them since they aren't hidden on the tree with all the others!

She also loves loves loves to give my boys a Lenox ornament every year (beginning 8 years ago).

I took them all out of their boxes, ~~talked to them a little bit, asked them how their summer was, gave them a drink,~~ and lined them up in yearly order on a shelf, thinking that would look cute........but it looked a little "flat"..........

so I dug down deep into my "inner-Martha" and tried to make them into a cute little grouping.

Drum roll, please.................................................

CAN YOU BELIEVE I DID THIS!!!!!!! Don't feel bad, I'M SHOCKED, TOO!

(And......after I completed this task, I had a strange urge to go put on some lipstick, high heels, an apron and make dinner..............but then I stopped and took a little break until the feeling went away)

(R's 2003 Moose ornament lost 1/2 of his antlers in a bad fall last year as you can see from the above picture. ~~I dropped~~ Someone dropped him in the mad rush to pack up all the Christmas stuff last year the day before Valentine's Day. He's okay, you just have to make sure you look at him when you talk and he tends to lean to the left when he walks.)

(I even included what is left of R's 2001 ornament that ~~I dropped~~ someone dropped on the floor last year)

So............there you have it. Ornaments are NOT just for trees!

Where else can I hang some? (ruthie just heard me say that and ran under the bed........)

Addiction

2008-12-14T15:42:00.000-08:00

I am totally addicted to these little things:

They are .50 each at Hobby Lobby and since I have discovered them, I am intimidated NO LONGER with Holiday Decorating.

You can stick these things ANYWHERE and VIOLA! they make everything a little more festive and lively.

These little "whippies" jazz up everything from an ordinary lamp:

to a pair of golf shoes in the middle of the floor..........

and EVEN the stack of junk that lives by the phone! (not to be confused with a pile....piles are something totally different).

These little jewels can even make a crabby Grandpa of a cat with an attitude say, "Happy Holidays!"

(T's number one rule when we bought the pool table was: NO CATS ON THE POOL TABLE..................Rascal doesn't really agree with that rule)

PeeWee looks festive....................................

(T's number two rule: NO DOGS ON THE COUCH.......hahaha)

Ruthie looks..............well..............as festive as Ruthie can look................

(She's festive on the "inside")

You can EVEN hang them on regular boring, typically UN-Festive like household items and now EVERYTHING in your house is ready for the holidays!

(Sadly, the kitchen is probably the most overlooked room in holiday decorating.......

you really have to look for those little spots that are screaming out for some holiday lovin')

BUT WAIT..............THERE's MORE!

You can create a whimsical husband display......................

or EVEN a teenager-in-a-computer-coma vignette!

All I know is....................thank goodness I have found these things. I now have probably around 4,357 of them as you will see tomorrow in the Christmas Tour of Homes on Goldilocks blogsite.

See you tomorrow!

Goldilocks Challenge

2008-12-08T18:59:00.001-08:00

A while back, Goldilocks issued a "Fall Decorating Challenge". (Here is her original post)

This was a challenge where I failed miserably. Click here for the sad evidence.

Today, Goldilocks issued a new challenge of sorts. On Dec. 15th, she has requested blogland show off their holiday decorating!

Who wants to play? I am certainly glad she gave me ample time to throw something together.

SO........Next Monday it is....................wish me luck. This is a little intimidating for me.

Christmas Shopping Music

2008-12-06T21:52:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or does the Christmas music in the stores seem to be a little excessive?

I was trying to do a little Christmas shopping yesterday and I honestly had to leave the store because I felt like I was going to rip my eyeballs out from all the Christmas cheer.

I know I tend to lean more toward the "scrooge" side of Christmas since I'm not a big holiday person, but honestly.......how many more recordings of "Winter Wonderland" can a girl hear?

How many artists are going to record this song? I've heard the regular version, the rock and roll version, the Chipmunk version, and (get ready to throw up in your mouth a little bit), even a country and western version! (Yes, Virginia, there IS a way to make Country/Western sound more miserable than it already does.)

Has Snoop Dog ever recorded a version? HEY! Maybe the rappers are onto something. They seem to be the only genre of music not jumping on the "Let's Make A Christmas CD" bandwagon.

I'm going to start looking into enjoying more rap music. I just realized I need to give them more respect simply for the above paragraph alone..................

Maybe it's because I'm from Texas? Maybe these songs mean more to people up north?

I mean, no matter how many HOURS I could spend "dreaming.....of a whiiiiiiiiiiite Christmas"....it AINT gonna happen. I have spent MANY a Christmas day wearing shorts. I have NEVER roasted chestnuts on an open fire.....I don't think I would know a chestnut if it bit me. What is a chestnut? And what is Yuletide?

There is only one way I can think of to make all that Christmas music tolerable.........

Have this woman be in charge of singing every song.........maybe THEN I could tolerate.

Nope.........I lied...........maybe if she just re-recorded Rhiannon with jingle bells in the background, now THAT would be acceptable.

"Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night.......(insert jingles here)".............

So, tell me........am I just being scrooge-y or does it get to you, too?

The End of An ERA

2008-12-05T05:45:00.000-08:00

R played his last game ever for Sports Association Fall Football on Wednesday night:-(

(Next year will be school district try-outs.....no more Sports Association. Gone will be the days of nice, clean, fresh, cushy, top of the line mommy and daddy bought pads and helmets.....say hello to cootie city having to use community equipment from the school!)

We have been with this team for what seems like forever and it has been a great ride.

Wednesday night's game was the first playoff game against the Cardinals. The game started off looking good for the boys.

(That's R's hand hiking the ball.....when your kid plays center, it's REALLY hard to get a picture of him in action since he's in the middle getting pummeled...so just revel in the glory that is his right gloved hand and know he is AWESOME!)

So......touchdown numero uno.

Touchdown numero dos.

In the above picture it was a pleasant 73 degress out, no rain, no wind.

Then, THIS happened.

You could just hear Charles Ingalls saying, "Half-Pint.....Hurry! We have to get the horses in the barn...........tell Ma to get those babies in the storm cellar........it's a commin a big one!"

In a little less than 45 minutes time, the coldest crappiest yuckiest front blew in and the temperature dropped to mid 50's and it started pouring down icy cold miserable rain.

All the "prepared" moms had umbrellas, ponchos, tarps, etc. because they

are, well................."prepared".

I am not one of them, unfortunately.

Prepared moms always have what they need. If it starts raining while they are in a store, they have an umbrella in their purse. If it's raining while they are in the parking lot trying to get IN the store, they have one in their car.

My umbrella always seems to be where I'm NOT. I own one, just have never had the chance to use it. I think it's still in it's original packaging.....somewhere........where I'm NOT.

I am fascinated by these moms. They are what I want to be when I grow up.

Okay-----I'm done dwelling on my shortcomings........ON WITH THE STORY!

Prepared Mom Exhibit A: Mrs. W with her orange poncho.

(And I can use these "court" terms like "Exhibit A"........my sister's a lawyer, you know)

Exhibit B: Prepared Mrs. R. (she even had a tarp thingy for the kiddos!)

Thank goodness for prepared friends. Mrs. W. gave me an extra poncho and Papa Bear and Goldilocks let me hang out under their umbrella....ella...ella....ella.....ella...hey...hey....under their umbrella......ella.......

The rain kept coming coming coming.......temperature kept dropping dropping dropping.

We were the "Home" team so here's the scoreboard with a few seconds to go and we are three points ahead.

Almost there............................................. just 36 more seconds until we are one step closer to the SuperBowl....................................

And then, sadly, over the next 4 seconds.................THIS happened.

Which meant that this happened....................

Which meant that THIS had to happen..........

One last coach talk at the end of a game.

One last huddle.

One more "retired" jersey.

Bye #66! You had a great season and we are so proud of you!

Exciting News "FORE" Our Family!

2008-12-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

HE MADE THE TEAM! G is now an official member of the Golf Team.

Being a young man of few words, this is how it went:

I pick him up after tryouts. He puts his bag in the back of the car. (Insert mother DYING to scream out, "WELL....DID YOU MAKE IT?"...but I hold back.......trying to be cool and not make a scene in the parking lot.....waiting until the doors were shut and nobody could hear me screaming)

He closes the back, comes around to get in the car, gets in, closes the door, I put the car in drive, he says....."Yes".

THAT'S IT. "Yes"........Does that mean, "Yes, I need to come back next year.....yes, I need to practice more.....yes, I am hungry......WHAT?"

So I said, "Yes, you made the team, yes?"

Guess what he said: You guessed it........"Yes".

(Is there an echo in here? Hello.......hello........hello.........heeelllllooooooo)

Two yes's........that's about the extent of it. I could insert one of those MasterCard commercial moments here and tally up just how much that "yes" has cost us in golf clubs, balls, golf shoes, golf bags, green fees, club memberships, surgeries, etc.............but I won't......mainly because I really don't want to know what that "yes" costs...............because it's PRICELESS!

(I can hardly believe that nearly two months ago to the day.......THIS HAPPENED)

So, of course, we needed to have a "Celebration Dinner"! (My second favorite thing about that afternoon......#1, kid makes golf team.......#2, don't have to make dinner)

R asked his friend, S and G asked his friend, H to come with us.

It wouldn't be a trip to Willie's without G's favorite appetizer.....fried pickles.

(and nothing says, "CELEBRATE" like a plate full of pickles, am I right or am I right?)

Congrats, baby boy! (Just noticed the Corona sign over one shoulder, the Miller one over the other and the Dos Equis salt/pepper/silverware holder on the table.....hahahahaha!)

Golf Try-Outs

2008-12-02T06:16:00.000-08:00

Post from blog:

THIS young man will be trying out for the high school golf team today.

If you get a minute sometime around 3ish today, send a Happy Thought his way!

Good Luck, G!

Happy Thoughts

2008-11-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

Please think happy thoughts for this precious gal, Maggie. She had to have emergency exploratory surgery last night to try and find out why she was vomiting all day Wednesday.

Good news is that she is feeling a little better. Bad news is that they didn't find a foreign object, which we were kinda hoping was the problem.

She is still in the hospital on IV fluids and pain killers trying to get better so she can get back to what she does best..... play BALL!

Get Well Miss Maggie! You scared us!
We love you!
Mom, Dad, Garrett, Ryan, PeeWee, Ruthie, and Rascal

Hanging of The Greens---Video Edition

2008-11-27T18:09:00.000-08:00

FEAST your eyes on the opening band for the Chris Tomlin WORLD tour 2010.

Ladies and Gentlemen..........I give you.........

BEST KOLACHES!

Hanging Of The Greens---Picture Edition

2008-11-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the "Hanging Of The Greens" at our church. It is an annual event where everyone comes out for food, fun/crafts, music and chit chatting.

In "theory" it's SUPPOSED to work like this: everyone chips in decorating the church WHILE they are eating, having fun and chit chatting. What REALLY happens, unfortuantely, is that about 10 hard working souls do everything while the rest of us try and look busy.

Here's the food part:

Our Family church strategy lesson #1: Hang out in or around the kitchen at all times.....except for when they start washing dishes.....EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY....FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO.

Here's the fun/craft part:

R and S had fun making crafts at the craft table.

Here's the chit chatting part:

Chit Chatting about who has the biggest muscles is still chit chatting.

This year was an extra special one for us because it was the big church 'debut' of the CUMC Youth Band.

**Applause**Applause**Applause**Applause**Massive Amounts of Applause**

(This week their name is "Best Kolaches", last week it was "Irregardless Gnomes", next week...............got any ideas? I'm sure they are open for suggestions.)

T is their FEARLESS sponsor and G ~~jams the heck out of~~ plays guitar.

(I'll do a video post of the band in action once I figure out how to do it....baby steps, people, baby steps)

"Alright.......is everyone plugged in? Check one, Check one, Check, Check"

Here's the band getting ready to ROCK THE HOUSE.

G's two good friends, D and J visited our church this evening to watch their friend play! Wasn't that sweet?

Once again, a great evening with my church family. (See more here.)

I feel truly blessed!

(One last pic of the evening with R and S putting their tackling football moves on S's mom, Mrs. W.)

Selling A House

2008-11-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite "Avoid-Housework-Surf-The-Internet" activities is to go online to the listings of homes for sale and look at all the pictures. I started doing this as a way to see exactly "WHAT" to do with a room, however, sometimes I run across rooms that are examples of what "NOT" to do .

Example Numero Uno:
The "Sometimes It's Better Just To Leave A Room Empty" Room

I feel so sorry for this sad, lonely, tiny table.

Example Numero Dos:
The "What In The World Is That Painting" Room
Check out the painting. Look at it for a while and see if you see what I see.

Is it just me or does it look like the older kid is peeing on the younger one?

And finally......my personal favorite:

Example Numero Tres:
"Barbie Dreamhouse Meets Marilyn Manson Goth"

How many coats of paint will it take the new owners to fix that ceiling? This room makes my eyeballs sting.
I bet this chick will grow up to live in a house that looks like THIS:

Doesn't it make you crave THIS?:

It also makes me crave those "Snowball" Hostess Snack cakes that I would con my mother into buying for me by SWEARING I would eat them but then I would bite into them and wig out because they felt all spongy and ooey and weird in my mouth.

Remember those "Snowballs"? Like shown here in this lovely, classy wedding cake?

(I bet that was one interesting wedding.)

Swine Time

2008-11-20T18:22:00.001-08:00

It's time for some new pigs! R will be showing in San Antonio again this year and one other major show (we haven't quite settled on which one). We decided to go with these fabulous breeders that we know pretty well ........MommyCee and DaddyBill......ever heard of them? They picked out two beauties for R (and me..haha) to raise. Wanna meet them?

This is "Eight-Ball".

And this is "Bucky".

They are R's Durocs for the Spring shows.

"What are you doing? What's that? Can we play with that shovel? What are you doing with that shovel? Why are you doing that with that shovel?"

Pigs are much like three year olds. It's best to do cleaning jobs when they are busy doing something else or it will never get done.

Uncle M and Aunt L came out to meet our newest family members this weekend and teach R some "barn tricks".

Like the "How to make your wife taller" trick.
Do you see a hidden sparkle in Uncle M's eye?

And the "Squeeze your nephew's head off" trick.