Life As It Happens

Pinterest Oh How I love you!

2011-12-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

I recently became aware of Pinterest.

Oh my heavens, it's amazing! I could spend hours and hours searching through various pictures looking for inspiration and new ideas for projects. I must admit I'm a newbie and I'm already addicted!

I made my first crafty project from the site today - check it out:

It's a weekly dry erase calendar. I found a place for it in our back entry way. It fits perfect and I already put it to good use!

A Roast to Remember

2009-12-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I last blogged. I'm hoping that since I'm now on Christmas break, I'll have extra time to share some things with you before the New Year.

Today I wanted to share with you one of my Sunday night meals.

Ashley and I picked up a ribeye roast after church today and oh my it was so delicious I decided I must share with you - no belly should be deprived of this dinner for sure! :0)

To start, I cut up a yellow onion and a large red pepper. I put that in the bottom of my crock pot and then I took the roast, seasoned it on the outside, and then seared it on all sides in a cast iron skillet. After getting a nice brown color on all sides, I put the roast in the crock pot, added a little bit of water, and then topped it with shallots, more red pepper, mushrooms and garlic. I cooked it on low for 3 hours and then added in small red potatoes cut in half and fresh green beans. A half an hour later the potatoes and the grean beans were tender!

This meal was so delicious and easy to cook, I challenge you to try it sometime. I'm so glad we have left overs! Mmmm!

Happy Birthday Mom

2009-11-16T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today would have been my mother's 46th birthday. I can't believe we've been without her for almost a year. I wish I could say that almost a year later it's easier but it's not. My aunt Emma took flowers to mom's grave today and left a note that brings tears to my eyes. Aunt Emmie took an ivy too. Oh mom, how we miss you!

Ouick Monkey Bread

2009-08-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

This is a favorite of mine and the recipe was one my Nannie made all the time when I was a kid. The famous "Ouick Monkey Bread." It's perfect for brunch or early afternoon dessert.

The Ingredients:
~3 cans biscuits
~1/2 cup chopped nuts
~1 tsp cinnamon
~1/2 cup sugar
~1 stick butter
~1 cup brown sugar

The Prep:
~Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
~Grease a large bundt pan. Pour nuts evenly into the pan and set aside.
~Mix cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
~Measure out brown sugar
~Put butter in microwavable bowl.

The Process:
~Cut biscuits into quarters. Roll each piece in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Toss biscuits in bundt
pan evenly as you go.

~Melt butter in microwave and then add the brown sugar. Pour over sugared biscuits.

~Bake at 350 degrees 30-40 minutes until biscuits are done. The larger the biscuits the longer
it will take to cook.

~Allow to cool a bit before removing from pan (5-10 minutes). Remember this is best served warm so don't let it cool too much before removing from pan.

~Flip pan over onto serving platter. Enjoy!

Set Up Complete

2009-08-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

Ashley's best friend Josh and his Greyhound Silvan came over on Saturday to help him set up the new entertainment center. He had some equipment and cables that he decided were no longer useful so now we don't have as many components as what we used to. The DVR decided to stop working after the digital switch over and we no longer watch VCR tapes so there was no use in having those around collecting dust!

Ashley neatly wraps each and every single cable as he pulls it out. He is such a fanatic about it too. Never mind Silvan's butt in the picture. He lays wherever he wants and where there is room. He wanted to be right in the middle of the action while he snoozes.

Before bringing in the new you must go out with the old so this picture is of Ashley cleaning off the top of the old tower that used to hold his equipment. Josh is offering him his handy helping service!

Meanwhile, Roxie decides she wants to sit on Silvan's bed. After all it is in her house. I think it's funny that she sat in the corner. Sylvan didn't know what to think about this. He didn't show much concern he just layed on the floor instead. A little later in the evening Sylvan decided he wanted to lay on the bed too so somehow they made it work even though he looks like he's not all that comfortable!Ashley is behind the tv hooking up cables. Boy there are a lot of cables back there!It only took about 4 hours to pull the old out, clean and then re assemble. In the end this is what it looks like. It's taken me several days to get used to the tv being that high up but I'm used to it now. Hopefully we will have a much bigger room soon so that will make it even better!

My New Shoes

2009-08-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was out shopping. I went into Macy's and decided to walk thru the shoe department. I've had my eye out for a cute pair of brown dress shoes and up until this point I hadn't found anything that I liked well enough to buy. I wanted a pair mainly for dress up occasions, like when we go to the theatre or a nice resturant. I don't usually wear dressy shoes to work because heels and pre schoolers don't really mesh very well. Not for me anyway!

So I'm walking through the huge array of women's shoes. It can easily become overwhelming because there are so many options: tall heels, medium heels, baby heels, no heels, hard sole, soft sole, sandal, wedge, open toe, closed toe, white, black, gold, blue, bronze, brown, red, green, yellow, orange...It made me feel like I do when I go to the womens shoe department at Nordstrom in the Galleria!

So once my mind processes everything I see I remind myself that I not only want something cute but something comfortable!

And so the search begins. I don't buy cheap shoes because cheap shoes hurt my feet. I have very high arches and I've learned that only certain brands of shoes best support high arches. You know, high arches deserve comfort just like low arches. But I'm not complaining, I just have to pay more for shoes that give my feet love.

It didn't take me long for my eye to catch these babies:
I had the nice sales person bring them to me in my size. I've never worn a pair of Sofft brand shoes. They are shoes like my mom would buy: very squishy when you put them on!

I tried them on and they were perfect! Brown, cute sandal with low heel. My feet were in love with the first slide in!

So the next time we go to the Hobby Center, you can bet I'll be wearing these!

I might even wear them on Monday when Ashley takes me out for my birthday dinner!

Entertainment Center Complete

2009-07-30T17:40:00.000-07:00

Several months ago Ashley went on a mission to design a new entertainment center for our living room. It is technically more like a media center but I'd rather call it an entertainment center. The TV will sit on top with all of his high end audio equipemnt (AKA, Audio Nerd Gear) on the shelves below.

When we first decided Ashley was going to build a custom piece I wanted it all built out of a very exotic wood called cocobolo. Since this wood is rare it comes with a hefty price. In order for us to keep the piece at a reasonable price Ashley came up with an alternative option: birds eye maple with cocobolo inlay. This would mean we would end up with a stark contrast, light to dark. His plan was to design it in such a way that the cocobolo is seen on the edges of each shelf. At first I was unsure but as the project progressed I grew to like it more and more.

I'm attaching some of the final pictures below! It's been a long 2 months, with many weeknight and weekends spent in the garage. My washer and dryer are completley covered in orange cocobolo dust and even though it annoy's me, I just might be okay with it because this thing is so beautiful.

Take a look:

Inside of the house it is quite a bit darker than it was when it was outside. The birds eye maple isn't quite as bright.

Ashley is planning on setting it up this weekend. Josh is coming over to help. I'm sure that once they get it all done we'll be watching some crazy action film! I'm so excited!

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

2009-07-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like a glass of ice cold lemonade on a hot day?

Try this recipe next time your tastebuds want something light and refreshing!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Lemons

Ice

First you need to make a simple syrup. And guess what? It's really simple! Ha

Take 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water and bring to a slow boil on the stove for about 3 minutes. Make sure you stir it up really good. If you don't use all of it to make a pitcher full of lemonade you can store it in the fridge for a few weeks.

After you make the simple syrup, begin juicing a few lemons. You will need 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice for each cup of lemonade.

After you have your lemons juiced, your simple syrup ready, and water on hand, your ready to start mixin'!

For 1 cup of Lemonade mix:
3-4 tablespoons simple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup of water

Mix together and pour into a glass filled with ice.
I garnished my lemonade with mint I had on hand here at the house.

TA-DA!

It's done and it's delicious!

Lemoncello Cream Cake

2009-07-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Mmm, goodness I tell ya. You don't want to miss out on this one!
Get out your baking pans, this one is sure to please!

For the cake you will need:

2 boxes yellow cake mix

Eggs

Oil

Water

Bake cakes as directed on box but make sure you bake them in a springform pan.

For the Lemoncello Cream:

1 3oz. pkg of lemon jello

1 cup boiling water

8 0z mascarpone cheese at room temperature

(or cream cheese if your rinky dink store doesn't carry the good stuff)
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 can evaporated milk

This italian cheese is mainly used as a dessert cheese. It has 70% milk fat which makes it a triple cream cheese with a sweet, rich and somewhat buttery taste. This is also the type of cheese used in Tiramisu. It will set you back about $5 but makes the consistency and flavor of the lemoncello cream smooth and rich.

For the crumb topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/4 cup real butter (yes, I said real butter. Not the spread stuff or margarine in a stick form, that's just a tease)!

Oh yes, and I forgot (how could I forget this part)?

You NEED LEMONCELLO LIQUOR

Another option is to make a simple syrup (but only if your rinky dink liquor store doesn't carry the good stuff)!

I paid $23 for this at the nearby Specs. I've never tried it before but how bad could it possibly be? It's lemon and sugar for crying out loud!

So in the Smith house, we ALWAYS SAMPLE NEW THINGS before we use them...you know we must make sure that our ingredients are of good quality!

Mmm, and let me tell you, this stuff is WONDERFUL!

Okay, okay lets get on with the good part!

PART 1:

-Bake the cakes as directed on the box. Afterwards, remove from pan and allow to cool.

-Once the cakes are cooled you are going to level them and then cut them in half.

Doing this can be tricky so take it slow! I used my cake leveler and a wide spatula.

First I leveled off the top to make it even.

If you don't have one of these they really come in handy. They are inexpensive and you can find them at Michaels or anywhere else that sells Wilton baking tools.

Then I used the leveler and cut the cake in half.

You are going to need 3 layers of cake. That means you'll have 1 layer left over to do whatever you wish!

PART 2:
Make the Lemoncello cream:

-Dissolve Jello in 1 cup boiling water and chill until thick but not set.

-Mix room temperature mascarpone and vanilla in mixing bowl and stir in jello.

-Whip evaporated milk in mixer or blender then fold into gelatin mixture.

I told you we sampled EVERYTHING new and Good in the Smith household kitchen - this stuff was no exception!

EXPERIENCE TIP: My Lemoncello cream came out clumpy at first because the jello was colder than the mascarpone. Not to worry, I nuked in the microwave for a minute, stirred it up and it blended right in!

PART 3:
Make Topping:

-Put brown sugar, flour and cold REAL butter into food processor.

-Blend until crumbly.

-Set aside

PART 4:

PUTTING THE CAKE TOGETHER

-Put one layer back into the bottom of the springform pan.

-Pour 4 oz. of lemoncello liquor over the layer evenly.

-Pour lemoncello cream over the layer evenly.

-Add second cake layer and repeat until all layers are soaked with lemoncello liquor and cream.

Next, sprinkle crumbly topping on top of cake.

This cake will need to be refrigerated for 4 hours or so until set. You can also make it a day ahead of when you plan to serve it.

Some people like to add a frosting underneath the crumb topping but the cake is so moist and delicious it doesn't really need it.

I cut a slice and it was so moist it was hard to get a piece out of the pan that would stay together. Oh well, that was the best I could do.

And you can bet my tastbuds didn't mind!

Creamy Wild Rice Soup

2009-07-17T15:41:00.002-07:00

I love the flavor of wild rice and with a few add-ins this soup is delicious!

Here is what you will need:

1 box Reese Wild Rice (Which I've only found at HEB, although you can use any brand wild rice if you can find it, plain wild rice is hard to come by)

Water

Salt

Cook the rice as directed on the box except only simmer for 45 minutes. The box directions say it takes 60 minutes to get tender but 45 minutes is perfect, tender with a little bite. Once the rice is almost done start on the base of the soup.

You Will Need:

1 stick butter

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 tsp. white pepper (go easy on this stuff, it has a very strong flavor)

1/4 cup flour

5 cups milk

In saucepan, melt butter. Add onions and celery and cook 5 minutes or until soft. Don't let the heat get too high, you don't want the vegetables to get brown!

Stir in salt, pepper, and flour. Remove from heat and add milk, stirring until flour is well blended.

Return to low heat, cook, stirring constantly, until soup thickens.

Add the cooked wild rice and simmer a few minutes to blend flavor.

Serve hot, garnished with chopped chives.

:::::SMITH HOUSE ADD-INS::::::

After finishing the basic recipe (above) I felt like it still needed extra flavor.

I added extra black pepper, dill, garlic and a handful of fresh basil. These are all things I had here on hand. These add ins made this soup much more tasty!

One bowl of this yumminess with some fresh bread is delicious, you must try it for yourself sometime!

Hint Hint

2009-06-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

Since summer break has started I've really enjoyed my time off. I've spent time reading, giving myself pedicures, shopping and any and everything else I feel like doing on a particular day. I've enjoyed it so much that I have been neglecting some things around the house. Okay okay, the house isn't a complete disaster but Ashley hasn't been getting the homecooked meals he's expecting to get while I'm out for summer break!

Every morning after getting out of bed I get on the computer and check my email, facebook, etc...it's a part of my routine. And another part of my routine is that I don't get out of bed until about an hour AFTER Ashley leaves for work. (I'm telling ya, I'm loving it too)!!!

One particular morning I get up and stumble to my computer to find this:

This is a HINT mind you. From my HUBBY to let me know that I've been neglecting the sourdough starter AND that he wants me to make bread! I couldn't help but laugh when I saw what he had done. I HAD to take a picture. THAT boy, I swear!

BTW, this took much effort on his part. You may not know, but I know that for him to remember to get it out of the fridge and put it by my computer early in the morning, is a big deal for him!

THE UPDATE:

Several days have passed. The bread has been fed. It is happy.

Ashley has still not gotten his grubby hands on a hot loaf of homemade sourdough.

But there IS hope. Not for today, but maybe for tomorrow!

Plumeria in Bloom

2009-06-13T14:24:00.001-07:00

This pink plumeria is the newest flower to bloom in our back yard.
BEAUTIFUL!

April Showers Bring May Flowers?

2009-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

April showers bring May Flowers, or so the saying says!

I'm not quite sure what's going on in our yard this month but I don't have a whole lot of flowers blooming! Maybe the ol' phrase should be altered a bit: April showers MIGHT bring May flowers (or at least in our neck of the woods)!

As I ventured outside today hoping to get a few really great shots of flowers that were few and far between, I didn't come up completely emptyhanded.

Here's what I found:

My Purple Orchid is in bloom and it's beautiful!
My mom gave me this flower last Christmas so when I see it in bloom I think about her.

A yellow Canna is blooming on one side of the house. It also has Morning Glory growing up it's stalk and that's the vine you see coming out of the top!

In the back yard I noticed that one of Ashley's Plumeria trees is almost in bloom. He will be so happy!

Oh, yeah and this. I found this in our garden. The tomato was so beautiful ~then I turned it over and noticed the hold in the bottom. Almost every tomato we've picked out of the garden has been eaten by birds! Ashley and I have to get out there and get the netting up soon or we'll loose our whole crop!

So that's all for now...maybe I'll find something else fun in a few weeks. Until then I'm going to relax the rest of the evening and enjoy the neighborly company outside.

Memories of Mom

2009-05-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

Since I have been so excited about the 3 day weekend I told myself I needed to get something useful accomplished other than cleaning the house and entertaining!

I decided I wanted to put to use the Creative Memories display board I bought a few months ago. The boards are designed to be inter changeable and a lot of people who have them switch them out monthly. I wanted to make my board something a little more permanent but with the option to switch it out later on down the road.

Ashley took me to Michaels and I got some really cute paper and stickers. Never mind the fact that I spent $40 on stickers, (mainly because I told Ashley to help me look for tropical stuff so that I could finish scrapbooking our Hawaii album and he kept putting really expensive (but way cute) stuff in the basket). Yes, I am blaming him for spending $40 on stickers and a few sheets of paper....is that fair?

I came home and got to work! I might make some changes down the road but I like it for now.

Check it out:

Picture Details:

*Picture of me & mom when I was a baby
*Mom teaching me how to ride my first bike
* Me, my mom and my sister when I was in high school
*Me and my mom the night of my senior prom
*Mom holding Shea trying to hit me (little fart)!
*Me mom and Shea the night I won the Buffalo Stampede Pageant.

If you don't have one of these and you like to be crafty or if you think you'd like to display memories they are great choice!

Let me know what you think!!!

Sickness

2009-04-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, I haven't written much lately but I have to give my 2 cents for the day:

I am sick and tired of hearing about the swine flu!

Please people, if you feel sick, say home from work and/or go to the doctor. We can lower the likelyhood of a pandemic outbreak if people will pay attention to their bodies and make extra effort to wash their hands throughout the day. It's really not that difficult.

Am I the only one so irritated by the overwhelming media coverage of this so called "swine outbreak?"

Geez.

How Pathetic is this?

2009-04-08T16:08:00.001-07:00

Okay, it's March. Spring has made it to Texas and our afternoon highs are in the mid to low 70's.

In my opinion, it's not too hot nor too cold but just right when the wind is blowing.

This afternoon I put Roxie out back and left her out while I made a quick run to the store and by the time I got home and let her in I found her in her bed, just like this:

Oh how pathetic is this? She was just so darn hot she had to prop her feet up!

Little miss queen bee...Pathetic.

April Flowers

2009-04-05T13:00:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share with you some pictures I took on this beautiful Sunday morning. Take a look at what is blooming in our yard!

This is a purple passion flower. It grows on a vine. We have it growing on the lattice that goes around our swing in the back yard. I love the intricate details of this flower. God is so creative isn't he?

Red Hibiscus had always been a favorite of mine.

I am so excited about my orchid that is about to bloom. My mom gave me this flower at Christmas in 2007. It's sitting right outside my kitchen window so I can enjoy it everyday.

Don't pay any attention to the fact that we have a butter cup patch growing in one of our flower beds...yes, I know it is a wild flower and it's wild about growing in our yard! Don't worry it'll be gone after pulling weeds today.

This butter cup was growing in the middle of the yard all by itself.

Roxie claimed it as hers. She liked the way it smelled. I'm just glad she didn't eat it!

This is some species of HoneySuckle. I'm not sure what it's official name is!

This is a flower from a Canna.

This is Jasmine. It is also a vine and it is growing up our oak tree in the front yard.

Within the next few weeks I should have a lot more beautiful flowers in bloom. I'll make sure I post them for you to enjoy!

Cat Fight

2009-04-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

Several weeks went by. Occasionally the red car would show up at the house across the street. The cat lady was smart and started making her visits during the day while most of us were at work. Except for that day she showed up around 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon.

We were enjoying a regular Sunday afternoon. I was busy around the house completing laundry, prepping dinner, tidying up. Ashley was spending the afternoon out in the front yard smoking a chicken for us to eat for dinner. One of the neighbors from down the street, who happens to be a lady whom we know fairly well, came down to say hi to Ashley. While they were chatting, the red car pulls into the drive across the street, and can you guess who it was?

Our neighbor decides she wants to talk to the cat lady about the current situation with the cats. Ashley agrees to tag along to be a witness in the conversation.

They make it into the drive way while the cat lady is pulling out a round container of cat food. Our neighbor proceeds to tell the cat lady that the residents on our street do not appreciate her coming to feed the cats everyday because now they will not leave. She continued to tell her that another mama cat had babies underneath the deck of the neighbor on our right. So now, not only do we have the original cats that have been roaming around for weeks, we have babies roaming around too. They proceeded to tell her that if she loved the cats so much that she needed to pick them up and take them to her house so that she could take care of them in her yard under her deck and make them her responsibility. The cat lady spoke up and said, "Well what do you want me to do, let them starve to death? I'm just an old retired lady who loves cats!"

She completley missed the point. The problem is that she has encouraged the cats to stay on our street because she keeps coming over to feed them everday. As far as we were concerned, the cat lady needed to take the cats to her house to take care of them if she loved them so much. We were sick and tired of dealing with the problem. We attempted to solve the problem several times and because of her she kept us from being successful.

The cat lady puts the food on the hood of her car. Our neighbor goes to the hood and picks up the cat food and tells the cat lady that "We don't want you here feeding these cats!" In seconds the cat lady lunghes forward to grab the cat food container out of the hands of our neighbor. Our neighbor jerks the food up toward her ear so that the cat lady couldn't reach it. Our neighbor blurts out, "IF YOU WANT TO FEED THE CATS SO BAD THEN HERE," and she slings the cat food out of the container and all over the yard!

(Can you belive this)?

Let me remind you, during all this I was busy inside the house minding my own business.

According to Ashley the next events happened very quickly. Our neighbor threw the food container on the ground and stomped on it...the cat lady decided to get aggressive and pushed our neighbor backwards on the shoulders...our neighbor fought back and slapped the cat lady across the face and knocked her glasses off!

Ashley immediately moved inbetween the two ladies trying to break up the fight and about that time I walk outside to start a load of laundry. As I walk into the garage, I hear our neighbor yelling, "CALL 911, HURRY SOMEONE CALL 911!"

Immediatley my heart started racing. I had no idea what was going on and I was wondering if someone was hurt. I walk to the end of the garage and gaze out across the street to find Ashley in the middle of two older women trying to block them from beating each other up! I couldn't belive what I was seeing, and all I could hear was "CALL 911 NOW!" I wanted to see what was going on before making an emergency call, especially since it was clear that everyone was still on their feet!

I walk out into the cul-de-sac, I realize that the two older women are still trying to fight each other, even with Ashley in the middle of them! I can hear Ashley say, "Stop it, it's not worth it!"

The cat lady finally decides she wants to go home but our neighbor somehow locked her out of the drivers side door so she couldn't get in. The cat lady ran around the back of the car and made it to the inside of her car from the passengers side door and moved over to the drivers side. As she backs out of the driveway she says "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME, I'LL BE BACK!" Our neighbor yells, "DON'T WORRY WE'LL BE AT YOUR HOUSE WITH THE POLICE IN A FEW MINUTES!"

By this time I had made it back inside, grabbed Ashley's cell phone, and was back into the middle of the street watching the end of the incident. My adrenaline was pumping , my body was shaking, and I wasn't even in the middle of the chaos!

About 5 minutes later the police arrive. Not just one police car, but two! And of course by then the cat lady was already at home. The police come and write down all the information about the incident and about 10 minutes later the red car pulls back up.

The Cat Lady's husband gets out of the car and says, "Where are my wife's glasses?" Our neighbor says somewhere over there and points in the direction of the walkway. The old man walks over, finds and picks up the glasses, walks back to his car, gets in and drives away. By this time I was actually quite surprised that he didn't have more to say but I figure that he must be like Abner on the old TV show Bewitched, always telling Gladys to say out of other people's business!

Anyway, to finish up the cat saga, a report was made, both the ladies could have pressed charges but didn't, the owner of the house could have pressed charges on the cat lady for trespassing (I'm not sure if they did or not) but the best thing I can say is that the red car has not been on our street in a very long time!

With the help of several families on our street, we all put money together and bought a couple cages. One older couple that lives next door to the cat house, has been putting food in the cages and catching the cats at night. Our mail lady has been taking the cats that have been caught to a cat shelter.

It's sad to say that Animal Control didn't do more to help us with the situation. Actually it's quite ridiculus that the organization is out there to help with situations exactly like the one we were dealing with a few months ago but you have to pull pins and needles to get them to do anything. I now have very little faith in them to do what they say they will do, unless another situation arises and they prove me wrong.

As of today, only 1 cat is left and we are all very happy about that. New tenants moved into the cat house last weekend. They have been good neighbors so far...we haven't had time to visit with them but hopefully one day, we will be able to tell them the story of the cat saga!

A Cat Saga, Part 3

2009-03-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

The cat lady didn't quite understand how much time and effort we put into our first cat capture. I think that even if she did understand she wouldn't have done anything different because as far as she is concerned she's just an old, retired lady who loves cats and she doesn't want to see any cat go hungry or show any signs of suffering (even if they are missing ears or legs).

Several days went by before we had time to chat with neighbors to come up with a new game plan. In the mean time, Ashley attended a homeowners association meeting and voiced his concern about the situation and how it has affected everyone living on our street.

One evening we had an idea. We would get all of the cats into the garage with food and once they were all inside, we would close the garage door. Then the next morning we would make one last call to animal control to come pick them up. We figured the cats would be content because the door that lead into the house from the garage was open so they could wander around inside of the house and not be just locked in the garage.

The next morning arrived and the call to animal control was made. As far as we were concerned we were on our way to taking care of the problem! It would be nice to finally not have to worry about diseased cats walking our street and hanging out in our yards.

As I got out of the car after making it home for the day, my next door neighbor comes over to tell me that animal control came to get the cats and (you won't belive this) THERE WERE NO CATS IN THE HOUSE! "You have got to be kidding, right?" Nope, I'm not kidding!

Apparantly, the little old lady, (whom must I remind you is an avid cat lover) just couldn't handle seeing all those cats closed into the house so she took it upon herself to go into the back yard and open a window so that they could all get out. She knew what we were planning on doing because she had been informed to not come over on that day. She took it upon herself to keep the problem, that was not our responsibility in the first place, on our street. So here we are, several weeks later, back at square one. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Another neighbor of ours decided to have a chat with the little old lady. It wasn't a very nice chat but overall the cat lady was told that she needed to stay away from the house, the people living on our street had come to a consensus on the next plan of action (which she ruined), the homeowners association was aware of our plan and that we were doing what we needed to do to ensure that our street stayed clean and the pets and children stayed safe. The cat lady stormed off, got into her red car and sped away.

We were not sure when we'd see her again but we hoped it woudn't be anytime soon.

A Cat Saga, Part 2

2009-03-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Ashley, being the social person he is, decided to approach the old lady one day to introduce himself and to find out what she was doing at the abandoned cat house across the street. She introduced herself as a cat lover. (What does that tell you?) This old lady was coming to the house 2x every day bringing food for the 18 cats.

All neighbors got together and decided that we needed to do something about the cat issue. They were taking over peoples yards, coming into garages everytime they got the chance and were spreading fleas around our street so all of us who have other pets were having to make sure that our pets were protected. Parents didn't want their children playing in the street because breathing the stinch that was coming from the garage into the air was making people sick. We contacted the property management company and told them about the issues with the garage. We contacted our Homeowners Association to tell them about the situation and that we wanted them to take action. We contacted the SPCA. Then Animal Control. And you couldn't even imagine all the craziness we went through!

The SPCA says they can't help us and that we must call Animal Control. Animal control says that they don't caputre loose animals and that we have to caputre them ourselves and then they will come and pick them up. Are you kidding me? Nope, that's exactly right...we do all the work and THEN they will come and pick them up. Aren't they supposed to be like those people who come with cages and nets and capure loose animals? An adveritstment for animal control online says this " Let our experts resolve your animal problem now." Nope, that's not what they told us...they don't capture anything, they'll just come and get them after someone else does the work for them!

I was so mad. No not mad, furious. Especially on the day when I came home to find 2 small cages on my front porch. They expect me to spend my hard earned money on cat food to entice a wild and diseased cat to come in to eat so that the cage can close them in it and then in a few days they'll come and get them? I don't even think so.

I finally cooled off and a neighbor of ours gave Ashley some cat food to put in the cages. He set the cages up outsie the garage one night. Sure enough by morning he had caught 2 cats. Okay, this is going to be a long process for 18 cats but at least he had made progress, right? Ashley calls animal control on his way to work to tell them that he captured 2 cats overnight and that they needed to come pick them up.

I get home from work that day to find the 2 cages in the same location with no cats in them. I couldn't believe it...

After talking with animal control again, they informed us that when they got here to pick up the cats there were no cats in the cages. Unbelievable!

A little later that evening the red car appears across the street. Ashley makes his way over to her to ask her if she had seen the cats in the cages earlier in the day. She told him yes, she saw them and that she felt sorry for them so she let them out. Ashley told her that we were capturing the cats so that animal control could come and get them...that they needed to be put down because they were all diseased and that they were a hazard to everyone on our street and in our neighborhood.

From that day on we realized the cat lady in the red car was going to be a major problem.

A Cat Saga, Part 1

2009-03-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

I have quite a story to tell, but can't give you all the details in one post so I'm breaking the story into sections. If you are a cat lover, this might not be the story for you.

Ashley and I love where we live. We know all our neighbors down the street, we spend Memorial Day, 4th of July, New Years and many weekends outside together in the cul-de-sac visiting, bbqing, and enjoying each others company. We watch over each others houses, look for things that are abnormal and let others know if we suspect something fishy. We live in a great place and we want to keep it that way!

Last year we had a new neighbor move in. She moved into the house across the street but cat-a-corner from us. Ashley, as friendly as he is, went over to meet her one day after she moved in and came home to tell me that she was really a man that had been turned into a woman. I didn't belive him, I thought he was crazy! Weeks went by and after talking with her and seeing her outside at our neighborly gatherings, I agreed that Ashley was right - she had a sex change and on the outside she was a woman but physically had many manly characteristics.

She was a cat lover. She always talked about her cats and she told us that they lived with her inside the house. No problem, no big deal, right?

Fast forward to a year later immediatley following Hurricane Ike.

After Ike, our he/she neighbor, who lived on our street, moved out and abandoned 18 cats. Yes, I said 18! These cats had been living in the garage for months and were never let outside. (At the time we did not know this...we had no idea that there were so many). Inside of the garage she put down several cardboard boxes with cat litter in them, but they had never been cleaned out.

Not only were these cats wild in a sense but most of them were imbred and were diseased because they had been living in and breathing their own feces for months. When our neighbor moved out, he/she, left the garage door open and the cats began wandering around our street.

We were shocked that she would do this but everyone on our street was outraged.
We have lots of pets that live on this street. We have lots of children that live on this street. The last thing that we need is diseased cats wandering the streets around healthy children and pets! Not only were we discusted with the situation, but we could smell the nastiness from the garage of our house. It was absolutely appaling. I have never in my life, ever, smelt something more discusting than that.

Days went by and the cats would come out of the garage, mainly at night, to wander around looking for any small bite of food they could find. Weeks went by and we began to notice an older lady coming by the house everyday in a red car. At the time we were not sure who she was and what she was doing but we would soon find out.

What a game!

2009-02-01T19:56:00.001-08:00

Ok well, I'm not a huge football fan. In fact I don't even watch football at all. And I have to admit that the real and only reason I watch the superbowl each year is for the commercials. I had no idea which two teams were playing in the superbowl today until the game started. (How sad is that)? Today I was rooting for the Cardinals, the underdogs. I thought they played a good game and to be honest it was one of the best superbowl games I've ever seen. Lots of action that kept me interested...the commericals, not so much.

What are your thoughts on the game and the commericals...I'm curious!

Holley Jade

2009-01-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

Holley Jade arrived on Jan 7th weighing 6lb 7 oz and was 19 inches long.
My sister is doing well and getting adjusted to life at home with 2 kids!

Ashley and I haven't seen them since the day Holley was born and we are looking forward to going to their house soon for a visit. I have to have my baby fix!

Holley and her daddy!

Holley and me, she was really trying to figure me out!

Shea sent me these pictures on Friday afternoon. Holley has already changed a lot since she was born. I swear this baby has the most vivid facial expressions. She's so precious!

Mommy, what are you doing?

I'm not sure I like all this picture business.

ladybugs

2009-01-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

My assistant and I are hosting a baby shower at school next week. We are using ladybugs as the theme since that is the theme of our friends nursery. I decided to get creative tonight and practice decorating cupcakes to see how they would turn out.

Here is what I came up with first:

I used black fondant for the heads and the rest was done by hand with my cake decorating tools.
I was fairly pleased but to me they look kind of plain. Ashley thinks they look great. Am I just crazy?

This little guy was my favorite, I guess because of the eyes...

Then I decided to use the star tip with the red icing to cover the top of the cupcake. These seemed more girly in my opinion but were more work.

Here is a side by side picture of what I call a boy ladybug and a girl lady bug.

What do you think? Which looks better?

Any other decorating ideas?

When I make them next week, some of them will be chocolate! Yummy!

Oh My, What Have I Done?

2009-01-17T19:45:00.000-08:00

I guess the better question would be what haven't I done?!

I've been so busy with school the past couple of weeks and trying to take care of other things that I've neglected my new houseplants. Ashley and I have never had inside plants...until now. Ashley's company sent one of the most beautiful plants to the funeral home when my mom passed away. Out of all the plants that were there, it was my favorite and I just knew that it would be well taken care of in our home since we love our outside plants so much.

On Thursday evening I was picking up around the house and noticed that our once gorgeous house plant didn't look right. I looked closer and thought "Oh no, something really bad has happened to this plant." One of our friends told me that these types of plants are hard to keep alive so I thought "Well, I'll just pick it up and give it a closer look." Here is what I found:

Oh my goodness, I still can't believe how sad this plant really is...

Note to self: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU NEGLECT YOUR HOUSEPLANTS AND DEPRIVE THEM OF WATER!

The good news is that this plant is now happy again...it only took 5 watering sessions and a day and a half. Geez...what was I thinking? Or not thinking?!

I promise beautful new houseplant of mine, I'll never forget your watering needs again! I couldn't imagine the feeling of loosing you too!!

An Unexpected Tragedy

2009-01-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been so long I'm not sure what to say.

My life has had a sudden turn of events the past few months with the unexpected passing of my mother. I'm so glad to have had time off for the Christmas holidays. I was hoping to get some of the final issues resolved regarding my mom over the break but that didn't happen so it looks like I'm still going to have to juggle getting what needs to be done along with work when I go back on Monday.

It never occured to me how many things have to be taken care of when a person dies. The whole experience I've had has really opened my eyes to some things that Ashley and I need to take care for our families in case we are ever in a tragic accident or die unexpectedly. Death seems to be very hard for a lot of people to talk about but if you never talk about it then no one will ever know your final wishes or what you would want in the event that you are thrown into a life or death situation.

I'm still in the healing process and it's going to take time. Christmas was hard for me and for the family I'm sure. It still feels like it's not real, like she's going to call me soon since we haven't talked in what feels like forever. Just thinking about it makes me sad all over again. It feels like I keep restarting the grieving process over again after having to tell myself that she's really gone.

The series of unfortunate events that lead up to her death make me very bitter. I believe she would still be alive if she had been given the proper diagnosis and treatment upon her arrival at the hospital. I think the feelings of bitterness I feel from time to time are hindering my ability to let my heart heal. It stirs up a whole nother slew of emotions and the cycle starts over.

I do believe with all my heart that all things happen for a reason. I, nor anyone else, can understand what that purpose is now but hopefully in the future it will reveal itself. Knowing that doesn't make the loss any easier but it does remind me that our Almighty God has a plan for each of us and our plan is sometimes very different than His. It reminds me that my life here on earth is limited and that I need to make the best of everyday because I'm not guaranteed tomorrow. Each day I have to spend with my family & friends, my co-workers and everyone else I see on a daily basis is a blessing, even if it doesn't always feel that way.

Mam Maw's Famous Pie Crust

2008-11-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

I know this post is way overdue! I've battled a stomach virus and a cold the past couple of weeks and today I felt like creating something sweet so your in for a treat!

Below you will find the recipe for Mam Maw's famous pie crust. Mam Maw is Ashley's grandmother, and although she is not in a condition today to cook like she used to, I'm willing to share her recipe with you so that you and I can enjoy tasty pie crusts all year long.

First, gather the following ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Shortening (buttered crisco)

3 Cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

5 tablespoons ice cold water

1 tablespoon vinegar

If you have a mixer, get it prepared by gathering the paddle attachment.

Start by adding the crisco, flour and salt into your mixing bowl.

And yes, you must use buttered crisco, any other ingredient in it's place will simply not work!

Begin mixing ingredients on a very low speed (or else flour will come flying out of the mixer and cover you, your counter tops & cabinets!)

After mixing for about 30 seconds, your mixture should look crumbly like this:

Allow the mixer to keep on mixing, meanwhile gather the following ingredients:

Crack your egg into a small mixing bowl and mix it up with a fork. Add the ice cold water and vinegar and mix it up well. When finished it should look like a cloudy yellow color, much like this:

The dough in the mixer should be firm now. Turn the mixer off and add the egg, vinegar and water mixture.

Next, turn the mixer on the slowest speed and mix into dough until well blended.

Once dough is well blended, remove from mixing bowl and place on a clean and floured counter top. It should look similar to this:

Divide the dough in half and place one half in a quart sized freezer bag. This recipe makes two pie crusts. It is perfect for freezing half for use at a later time.

Roll out pie crust onto cabinet with a rolling pin, then transfer the crust into your pie pan.

If your lazy like me, I usually just press the pie crust into the bottom of the pan with my fingers. Either way works, it just depends on how you prefer to do it.

Today I decided to do something different with my crust. I decided to make small circles out of the extra pie dough for decorating the edge of the crust. Most days I just crinkle the crust with my fingers because it's easier, but today I felt creative!

After making the circles, I layered them on the edge of the pie crust for a neat and different look:

Here they are up close:

Now all you have to do is add your pie filling!

Oh yes,and one more thing...don't forget to brush the crust with a little bit of egg before baking. This makes the crust nice and brown without burning it.

My pecan pie before going into the oven:

My pecan pie after baking:

Now you have the never fail recipe I use everytime I make a homemade pie!

ENJOY!

The Absolute Best SPICY Pumpkin Pie Ever

2008-11-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

Well that is according to my husband, Ashley! My homemade pumpkin pie is his favorite because it is extra spicy on top of his grandmother's well known, to die for, pie crust.

Today I'm going to give you, yes you, my recipe for the best ever spicy pumpkin pie!

Note: If you don't like spicy pumpkin flavor do not use this recipe, you will hate it. On the other hand, if it's a bold pumpkin pie you crave in the cool fall months, use this recipe ~ it will not disappoint you! (You can always half the spice ingredients for less spice).

So here goes:

For the ingredients you will need:

1 can pumpkin or 1 3/4 c. fresh pumpkin puree

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves

3 large eggs (the picture is wrong)

1 can evaporated milk

Oh yes, and don't forget you need to pre-heat your oven to 425.

Step One:

Make your pie crust and put in in a pie pan. You can use a store bought pie crust if you don't have a recipe for a homemade one. (I'll post my recipe for this pie crust soon) You can decorate the edges if you want to, I just make small crinkles with my fingers, which are fast and easy.

Step Two:

Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl.

It should look like this after it is all mixed together:

Step Three:

Put two eggs in a large bowl and beat them until mixed together.

Step Four:

Stir in pumpkin and sugar spice mixture one at a time.

After you mix in the pumpkin and sugar spice mixture, it should look like this.

Step Five:

Gradually stir in the whole can of evaporated milk.

Step Six:

Pour the filling in the pie shell.

Your almost finished but before putting the pie in the oven, you need to do one more thing!

Step Seven:

Gather one egg and mix together in a small bowl.

Step Eight:

After mixing the egg thoroughly, glaze side of crust with the egg and a pastry brush.

:::SPECIAL BAKING INSTRUCTIONS::::

Bake pie at 425 for 15 minutes.

After the 1st 15 minutes, lower the heat to 350

and bake for another 40-50 minutes until a

knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

When finished your pie should look similar to this:

Nice and brown but not burnt.

Cool the pie for 2 hours.

Serve immediatley or referigerate.

Enjoy your home made pumpkin pie!

If you try this recipe and like it, let me know, I'd love to hear from you!

Sweetness

2008-10-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I don't usually brag on my man - but I have to let you know what's been going on and give him a few credits...

Wednesday he went out of town, to Lake Charles, along with all the sales staff in Texas for an annual sales get together and meetings. They are gathering as we speak at La Berge Du Loc and will be there until Friday afternoon. Not only does he get to go and stay for free but he is getting two FREE massages AND he got a personal invitation from the owner of the company to fly in his 4 seater personal plane to LA.
Yada, yada, yada right?

I get a call on Wed. afternoon telling me that they arrived safely and he was so excited because he got to fly the plane - (yes, he flew the plane...in the rain...and he says it was not on auto pilot)! That by itself is enough to make me a nervous wreck but at least he's getting to experience something new.

A few days before he left he brought me a bouquet of these:

Stargazer Lillies ~ my absolute favorite!

When I got home from work on Wed. I walked inside hoping to find a written note just for me. In the past I've always gotten some type of card or written love note left for me from him when he is away - and usually I'll find it by my things in the bathroom.

My first thought after getting home was to go see if I got a note from my man. I walked into our bathroom and there was nothing. I then walked into the kitchen to find nothing, BUT the smell of the flowers brought a smile to my face. (Ahh, I love that smell)!!! After becoming a little disappointed I walk into my office and there is a note! I was so happy...actually I laughed my butt off. It wasn't much of a love note, but it was cute and clever.

Here is what I found by my computer:

There is a little history here...you see, on Tuesday evening I washed a blanket of mine (yes, mine I don't share)! After removing it from the washer there was fuzz everywhere! I shook it out (thankfully our washer and dryer is out in the garage) before putting it in the dryer. Fuzz went everywhere ~ Yes, I mean all over me, my clothes, my house shoes and all over the garage floor. Ashley laughed at me and said that I look like a little duck. (There is also a story about where that nick name came from in an earlier post). I didn't think it was funny at the time because that fuzz makes you itch but I couldn't help but laugh.

So a day later Ashley goes into the garage and gathers a bit of fuzz to add to his "love note" to leave for me. And that's what I get ~ not really much of a love note BUT it is better than nothing and it did make me smile.

That's all that matters right? Gosh that boy - I sure do love him!

Poop Central

2008-10-06T16:28:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends. It's been awhile. Ike really threw a dent in my life, school, and my comfortable routine. But since Ike has come and now (thankfully) gone I must update you on my most recent life events.

School is back in session. The kids seem to be getting back to normal. Well as normal as pre-schoolers with disabilities can get I suppose. Today I expected a busy day: Monday. A new student. Assistant absent. Substitute who talked way too much and worked too little.

A mind can only prepare itself for so much you see. Today at work, well, was just plain "off the chain" CRAZY!

Here's a brief smiggen of what I endured today (Proceed with caution)!

I'm not quite sure what the parents of my students fed their kids this weekend...but BOY DID IT ALL START COMING OUT TODAY! Yes I know...gross but it's so true.

8:35 poop in pants # 1. 15 min. to clean up. AND I only helped a little.

8:45 poop in pants # 2. 12 min. to clean up AND I did ALL the work. Whew, stinky!

By this time I thought o.k. I shouldn't have to worry about poop the rest of the morning.

THINK AGAIN - I can't be that lucky, even on a Monday!

11:10 poop in pants # 3. This one was an accident by the same kid that pooped in pants # 1. I just couldn't believe it. Another 10 min. to clean up. Didn't help at all. (This kid's capable, and knows better - just so you don't think I'm a horrible mean teacher).

11:30 poop in pants # 4. This one was a second round given to me by the same kid that pooped in pants # 2. By this time I had had enough of the not so helpful sub so I asked her to do the honors. I then thought o.k. that has to be it for the day, we only have 30 minutes left.

HOW COULD I GET THAT LUCKY?!

11:45 poop in pants # 5. Yes, number 5! This one was from my new student who started today. I guess this was his way of telling me how he felt about his first day in school.

The new nickname I gave my class today is Poop Central in Room 116. And I had to say please enter with caution, rubber gloves, wipes, and strong stomach.

So some say what do you teach? Ehh, don't ask me today, maybe tomorrow!

What Day Is It?

2008-09-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Most people would say that they like not having to work, including myself. Since Hurricane Ike came to visit all of us in South East Texas my life has been a whirlwhind.

I remember getting out of school a day early in preparation of the storm.

I remember the frenzy on the North freeway, the empty shelves in over crowded grocery stores, and the miles of cars waiting at the corner gas station with drivers hoping there would be gas left once they made it to the pump to fill up their tanks. Oh, and yes I remember going from store to store trying to find extra ice to fill up our freezer.

I remember washing everything I could think of before the storm came.

I remember telling Ashley he was over anticipating the storm, that we didn't need plywood on the windows.

I remember sitting outside in the truck bed as the storm approached with a cold beverage in hand and how the cool wind felt as it brushed across my face.

I remember Ashley and Richey saying they wouldn't come in until the wind was blowing so hard they couldn't stand up any longer.

I remember praying to God that he would keep us safe.

I remember awakening that night by the trees hitting the roof, transformers blowing and rain crashing to the ground.

I remember my heart pounding so severely that I couldn't sleep in fear that what I was hearing outside was a tornado.

I remember Ashley telling me to lie back down and be still.

I remember waking up the morning after the storm and running to the back door to get a peek at what Ike left behind. I was like a child on Christmas morning, except there were no presents outside.

I remember thanking God for keeping us safe.

I remember walking out in the rain the day of the storm to look at the damage Ike left us. I didn't even care that I was getting wet.

I remember thanking God for minimal damage to our property.

I remember being without power for days and feeling around in the dark trying to figure out where I was when moving from room to room.

I remember playing Yatzee with Ashley on Saturday morning in the garage while the rain was falling.

I remember the block gatherings we had the whole time the power was out.

I remember Ashley barbequing in the rain so we could have a hot meal.

AND I remember my neighbor Ginger yelling from inside the house when the power finally came back on! EVERYONE outside in our cul-de-sac CHEERED!

I write all of this to say that since the frenzy and frustration of Ike, I have lost track more times than I can count of what day it is! I have no idea what the date is. I do know that we're in SEPTEMBER in the year of 2008, so that's good! :)

I'm scheduled to go back to work on Tuesday, that is if the school has power by then. I found out today that it is Sunday, so I'm doing my best to get life back to normal. You know, laundry, ironing, cleaning, etc...I remember doing all of these things before, during and after the storm but the reality is that it still seems like it was all a blur.

A Little Yearbook Fun!

2008-09-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

Today I had extra time to spare so I decided I would play around with the website www.yearbookyourself.com

Take a look at what I came up with...

Would we have been a cute couple back in the 50's?

What about in the early 60's?

We look so educated...

How about the late 80's into the early 90's?

I had so much fun today with this site...try it out yourself and see what you can come up with!

Update # 3 & pictures from Ike

2008-09-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to download a few pictures that I took after Ike. Ashley and I are very grateful that we didn't get significant damage to the house or our things.

The truck is not wanting to stay running and the error code says it's an idle problem so I fear it has been water logged. Hopefully we'll get it to our mechanic who can take a look at it and give us a diagnosis before I have to go back to work on Monday.

Our electricity is back on. We have enough food to last us through the weekend. Hopefully by then the stores will be restocked enough that we can go and restock our pantry. I did have to throw away a lot of meat and refridgerator items. We only had 4 bags of ice and we froze large blocks of ice in containers and that wasn't enough to keep everything in our freezer cold. But you live and learn and from now on we'll be buying regular and dry ice as soon as we hear a storm is headed our way!

This is the first thing I saw when I looked out the back door on Saturday:

Then I looked again and I saw this: (better than I expected)

One of the branches on a tree took a beating but the tree itself made it thru:A couple of trees from our neighbor's yard behind us fell on the new fence Ashley built this summer and knocked off several pickets. For the most part it all stayed intact.

The fence on the garden side of the house didn't hold up so well but at least it's still trying to stand. As you can see, it didn't fall over completley but will need to be repaired.This is a view of the front sidewalk in fron of our house:Here is another view of the sidewalk after raking up most of the mess:

This was my first look outside at our neighbors house across the street from our house. They lost all 4 sides of their fence.They also lost a huge Ash tree in their back yard that was mainly a shade tree for their dogs. The $500 dog house that Frank built for his dogs was smashed too. Ashley helped Frank cut the tree down yesterday. Ashley's been given the nickname of "The Good Samaritan" in our neighborhood for helping everyone out.
Ashley decided that he wanted to get as much oak as he could and cut it into small pieces so he could use it for bbqing and smoking meat. Needless to say, he's been very busy!
Ashley grilled us fajitas in the rain the first night the power was out. Yummy!

This is Ashley and our neighbor, Richey. He and Ashley are grilling buddies. They've been grilling a lot this summer (like every weekend)...Luckily for the wives, they're actually pretty good at it!

Ike Update 2

2008-09-15T07:44:00.001-07:00

We made it thru Ike, barely - not because of the storm itself or all of the damage it left behind, but because Ashley and I were about to kill each other after 48 hours and no power! Praise the Lord the power came back on about 7:00 on Sunday evening! I'm not sure either one of us would have lived to see today. :)

As soon as I can get my pictures downloaded from the storm, Ill post again.
Till then, stay cool, safe and out of harms way.

Ike Update 1

2008-09-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

It's almost midnight here in Spring, Texas and so far all we've seen is a little bit of gusty wind and a few drops of rain. Ike should be making landfall around 1:00 a.m. and it will take it a little while for the eye to reach us. Downtown Houston already has power outages so it's just a matter of time before it happens to us too. A few minutes ago we heard a transformer blow just across the highway from us. Ashley, our neighbor and myself have spent most of the night outside enjoying the nice breeze. The boys vow to stay outside until they can't stand any longer so we'll see how long that lasts!

I'm keeping this short because power could be out any minute now. For those of you reading who don't live anywhere near South Texas, say a prayer for us and all of the families that are impacted by this storm. Ike doesn't seem to be showing any mercy.

More updates later, that is if I still have power, and if I'm not snoozing. :)

Hurricane Ike~Flashback of Rita

2008-09-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

I don't have much time so I'm making this one short! We've been waiting on Ike for about a week now and it seems like the weather around our place is going to be very interesting over the next couple of days.

School closed today and will not re-open until next week. As much as I'm going to love having the extra day off, I'm not sure it's worth a make up day at the end of the year (or cutting our Christmas Break a day short). At this point there is nothing I can do to change that so it looks like I'm going to have to deal with it. So I've decided to enjoy my day off tomorrow, lying around here doing a little of this and that. The goal is to get the weekly chores done, especially the laundry, just in case we're without power for a day or two or three, so we'll see how that goes!

So I come home today to find Ashley boarding up our windows. I wasn't really in agreement that it was necessary but he felt like we should take the extra precaution anyway. Like they say "Better safe than sorry" and I guess I can agree with that but there are people South of downtown Houston who are not boarding up so why should we? At max we should be getting 6-10 inches of rain with wind speeds of 75-120 mph. AND of course that could change again between now and Sat. morning!

The traffic on Hwy 45 heading North was WAY CRAZY on my way home from school. Luckily I just cross over the freeway so I just got to get a good look. I just couldn't believe it, it was like flashbacks of what we saw when Hurricane Rita hit our area a few years ago.

I'll update again on what we see from Ike. I'd be shocked if we didn't lose power because it seems like we always do when something minimal goes on around here...and I've got a feeling that the 75-120 mph winds are not going to show us any mercy.

Dr. Scholls for WOMEN!

2008-08-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've got to share this...it's not long but it is funny.

Awhile back I bought this foot file for women made by Dr. Scholl's. It's not any ordinary foot file, but one with small white crystal's made for mega sloughing of extra dried skin on the heels. I've used this file several times and it gave me fantastic results ~ results that last longer than when I use other foot files of different brands.

Ashley & I were talking about how our day went this evening and he said, and I quote "Look at this crap! See what your foot file did to me?!" (Like it did it on purpose or something)! I looked at his foot to see that in the arch he had scrubbed his foot so much that the skin was broken and bleeding...it looked like a cat had taken some serious claws to his foot.

I looked at him and started laughing.

He said and I quote "It's not funny."

I said "Yes it is...it's because that file was made for women not men~that's why it hurt you."

"So what's that got to do with anything?"

"Because women know when to stop filing before they hurt themselves!"

I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe, my eyes were tearing up and my contagious laughter prompted him to let out a giggle.

Men, you gotta love em' right?

Way Overdue I know

2008-08-28T16:58:00.001-07:00

Ever since school started back I haven't had much time to even think about writing a blog! I haven't forgotten I promise, I've just been swamped by preschool children with Autism that take ALL of my energy (physical and mental) and by 3:30 my brain has shut down for the day!

I will be updating as much as I have time for throughout the school year. Maybe I'll have something nice to write about come the weekend (the nice, hopefully LONG 3 day weekend) YAY ~ More to come later.

I've been tagged!

2008-08-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by my friend Becca.

Here are the tagging rules:
*Post these rules on your blog.
*Write 6 random things about yourself
*Tag 6 people at the end of your post
*If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag.

Ok, so here I go:

Random thing # 1:
I love dark chocolate. And yes, there is a difference between the cheap and the fancy. I don't get the fancy often - but when I do it's like a piece of Heaven!

Random thing # 2:
I love music. Music speaks to me in ways that others can't. I can't describe it really...I've always had an ear for music and miss playing.

Random thing # 3:
I've always been a leader. Seems like everywhere I go I find myself leading the way...as a kid, through HS & College, and at school as an adult. My family looks up to me. I sometimes get tired of always having to be the one to stand up and take charge - to do the right thing all the time - to set a good example - to be an inspiration - will it ever go away?

Random thing # 4:
I love my life - my husband and my dog more than ever (notice I put husband first - but my dog does have large piece of my heart). They are what I come home to everyday. They keep me going. I'm hoping a family will start in the near future, but not until I can quit teaching and be a stay at home mommy.

Random thing # 5:
I love Dr. Pepper. I like Coke too, but not as much. Actually it depends on my mood. (Imagine that)! I read in a book that carbonated beverages should bear the name "Liquid Satan" True, and I don't drink it often but when I do I love it!

Random thing # 6:
I love to cook. I love growing our own food. Cooking is art to me. Ashley and I have to go out to a really nice place to get a meal better than what we create at home. One day I'd like to start a bakery. That is if I can ever convince myself to leave teaching!

Ok...a bonus

Bonus random thing # 1:
Ashley calls me little duck. It's so cute but people who don't know how that name came about think he's just weird for calling me that. So here is the short version: One day were were driving to church. About 1 mile from the church a little duck (yes it was a duck) was in the middle of the road. I hit the brakes and locked up the seatbelts, Ashley would say I almost killed us but he was half asleep so his judgement was off. I stopped the car quickly in the middle of the road and said "Hurry up Little Duck!" Ashley laughed at me and insisted that the "little duck" was not a duck. He said it was a crane. I saw a duck, he saw a crane. Ever since that day I bore the name of "Little Duck."

Back to school, part 1

2008-08-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well today was my first day back to school. I was excited and sad all at the same time. Hard to think that you can feel two emotions at once but it happened to me today. As I drove to my new school I told myself, "This is it, summer is officially over for me, no more sleeping in, early afternoon workouts, Rachel Ray, Dr. Phil, great home made dinners, lazy day naps or afternoon shopping."

---Sigh ---

It's so sad - I don't want to give it up my freedom. I'm already counting down until next summer!

Things I Love About Days Like These...

2008-08-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

*I love rainy weather.

*I love sleeping in on rainy days, especially when it's dark outside and and it's cold inside.

*I love having the covers pulled up to my chin.

*I love staying in my pj's all day.

*I love the sound of rain falling on the ground.

*I love enjoying a cup of coffee while watching the trees blow in the wind.

*I love the quiet peacefulness you feel when you look out the window and see rain falling.

*I love curling up on the couch and watching a good movie on a rainy day.

*I love thinking it's ok to be lazy on a day like this.

TS Edouard

2008-08-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

I have to say I'm still getting used to the whole frenzy of tropical storms and hurricanes this far South. We never had to worry about these things where I grew up in the country. I've been in the Houston area for 5 years now and it still amazes me some of the things people do/get worked up over when they hear a TS/Hurricane is approaching.

Now don't get me wrong, Ashley and I went to the store late last night to get some last minute items to have on hand just in case the power goes out...but we wern't freaking out! Once we made it to the check out lines, you couldn't imagine all the people waiting with baskets piled high! We had to wait about 15 min. to get up to a check out register and by that time there were at least 10 people waiting behind us, and we had less than 15 items in our cart. It was crazy!

I'm all about being safe and being prepared. But it's just a tropical storm people...and we're at least 100 miles North from the coast of Galveston!

A story that will touch your heart...

2008-07-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

I came across a blog today that changed me. I'm not the same after reading the story of a family who whole heartedly trusts in God, for His grace, mercy and miracles. I found myself sitting for hours reading a blog about a young life. A life God had a purpose for, someone very special, who has changed the lives of others with her story. You can read the story of Audrey Caroline here.
Start at the beginning, Jan 08. I promise, you will be blessed!

School Supplies

2008-07-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

I was out buying school supplies one day last week and I was so excited! I asked myself, "What is it that makes kids (and adults like me) so excited about buying school supplies?"

As I walked down the two massive isles of school supplies I heard kids saying "No mom, I want that one, or I like this one better." Knowing full and well that "the mom" was picking out the cheapest she could in order to save money.

I remember going shopping for school supplies when I was a kid. It was a big deal back then too. I loved picking out folders, binders, markers, fancy pens and pencils especially! As an adult I now realize that supplies add up and can be very expensive. As a pre school teacher, I spend hundreds of dollars on supplies for my classroom every year. (And yes, I do claim it as a tax write off!)

As I was picking out what I needed I could hear the excitement in the voices of the kids. They were all very peppy, jumping around and doing every other body movement they could to release the excitement without getting in trouble from their moms! I couldn't help but smile at them because I totally understand the excitement. I'm exactly like that when I show up to my classroom for the first day, trying to decide where I am going to hang sets of posters and how I'm going to do my bulletin boards! It's wonderful knowing that I'm creating a fun, colorful place for students to come and learn everyday.

With school starting back in less than 1 month, all I want to say to parents of school age children is: Take your children to buy school supplies and show them your excitement too! Buying school supplies is supposed to be fun and for children, buying supplies helps them anticipate the changes that are coming with back to school.

Also, consider buying an extra set of school supplies to give to your child's teacher to pass out to those who are less fortunate or buy one of the premade school supply boxes at H-E-B. Ashley and I donated a box of supplies at our local H-E-B on Sunday for only $5.oo.

Every little bit helps...and please, don't forget the tissues! :)

Beeping Insanity...

2008-07-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

I've had an interesting day so far...I went in to work as a sub and ended coming home 30 min. after I got there because neither of the 2 students showed up! It must be the rainy weather right? I wasn't really upset about coming home early, after all, I did make $21.00 since one hour of my time was logged into the spreadsheet. Really what that means is that I'll make about $12 since I probably burned 8 bucks of gas in the truck to and from the school. I was a little bummed that I didn't get to sleep in today (the perfect day for sleeping in) since Hurricane Dolly hit and has brought rain into the area for the first time in about a month! Ok, ok I know I can't complain...but I'm on summer break!

When I got back home, I clearly wasn't sleepy and needed something to do. So I decided to go to Target to get a wedding gift for my cousin who is getting married next weekend. It was still raining mildly so I decided that it wasn't wet enough for me to worry with an unbrella so off I went. I make it into target a little wetter than expected, grab a basket and head for the registry booths. Ahh, it was so quite in the store. Early morning, not crowded, and kind of peaceful. A great time to shop, right? Not exactly!

I begin walking down the isles looking for items on the registry list. F24, F 25, etc..I began looking at registry items and in the midst of the quiet uncrowded store I heard this loud obnoxious beeping near the end of the isle next to me. I thought "ok, well maybe someone was registering for something and they'd be on their way in no time". I wasn't quite so lucky. Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep. "What in the world is that"? Beep, beep, beep. "That's really annoying', Beep, beep, beep, and "I really don't like it", Beep beep beep. I turn down the isle to see one of the store workers pushing buttons on this device that looks just like the registry guns you get when you register at dept. stores. "Ok, so they're taking inventory, but she could at least learn how to use the darn thing!"

I walk on my way down F28, F29 still hearing the lady's electronic device going crazy beeping thinking "I'll be away from here soon so I don't have to ever hear that noise again." Around isle F30 there was a second worker and she had one of those devices too! And could you imagine what hers was doing? BEEPING! Beep, beep, beep! "Geez, don't they know how annoying that is? How can they hold those things beeping like that and not get annoyed themselves? Don't those things have volume controls?"

I decided my indecisiveness about what to buy the engaged couple was no longer ok so I went back to the first item I looked at before I became aware of the beeping devices. I grabbed the item hoping in fact, that it was the one on the registry list and began pusing my basket to the back of the store with a glimpse of hope that there would be no beeping going on back there. Well I made it...and it was quiet again...and I calmed down a bit...Until I turned the corner and I see a third lady with a beeping device. I immediatley turn the other way and head for the opposite end of the store. Whatever I was looking for could wait...my brain couldn't handle any more beeping!

I was off to the gift wrap section of target. You have to wrap wedding presents and I didn't have a bag big enough at home for the item I picked out (contrary to what Ashley would say) so I was looking for wrapping paper, a bow and a card that all matched for the gift I had chosen (and yes, they do have to match). I find the gift wrap, begin to pick it up and low & behold I hear another BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, Beep Beep Beep! "Ahh, will it ever end?" At the end of the isle I see a group of teenage workers who were chatting amongst themselves. One of them had a different type of beeping device and after it beeped several times it had an electronic message to it's owner saying "This is your reminder that a bathroom check is needed." And I thought to myself, "Are you serious? They beep employees about these types of things? What happened to managers actually talking to their employees?" Two of the other workers had walkie talkie devices that were turned on and I swear had the voume turned up as loud as they could go because everyone in their vicinity could hear what was going on throughout the store...I just couldn't believe it.

I pick out everything I needed and headed to the check out lines to find that only ONE, (YES ONE) line was open. I guess that was because the manager had every other employee on duty actually out in the store with beeping devices!
Today I made it thru an interesting Target experience. I did learn something though. Target is not a good place to go shop early mornings on rainy days in Spring, Texas!

Figuring things out...

2008-07-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, well I'm new to this whole blog thing but I'm going to try to figure it out! I've been as confused as ever trying to get the whole thing set up but at least now I'm in! Whew. On a good day I'm pretty computer savvy so this shouldn't be too much of an issue. Maybe it's just one of those days...in fact I think it is because I'm still feeling a bit tired! More later once I get my act together....