Ask and you shall receive..

After posting about my 101 list and what I had left to do, my husband and my sister stepped up to the plate to help me out.

First, my husband asks me how I would feel about playing in the dirt this weekend. Sounds good to me! After a quick trip to Lowe's we have everything we need to fill both front flower beds and the back flower bed. We planted Azalea bushes, hostas, gladiolas, dahlias, a bunch of different lilies, and scattered wildflower seeds. It will be an interesting spring/summer to see what actually comes up.

And then Megan texts me and asks if I want to go bowling. Heck ya! So, that's what we did Friday night. And it was a lot of fun. I don't know why we don't do it more. It's literally right around the corner from our house.

Plus, all of these stuff has me sore today. I didn't think I would be THIS sore. I typed in 120 minutes of bowling into my weight watchers tracker...do you know how many points you get for two hours of bowling? 6 points...SIX! That's crazy..and awesome.

So I can mark THREE things off my list. How great is that?

101 things in 1001 days - Review

I have a little under two years to finish my list. I thought it would be a good idea to review the list and try and plan (loosly) to get something of the things done.

So, here are the things I still have left to do.

1. Go to Enchanted Rock . This could easily be a day trip, it's just a matter of going.

2. Spend the night at our state park. Again, just a matter of going and doing it. It's sort of crazy that we have a state park and yet never go to it.

3. Go to Oktoberfest. This could be a day trip, but considering how many adult beverages would be probably be consumed...better to just stay the night.

4. Go to Texas Renaissance Festival . Ok ok, I know y'all are sitting there...scoffing at how cheesy this is. My husband was the SAME way before we went. We've only been once and it was a wonderful time. And really, the place is too big for just one visit. There was tons of stuff we didn't get to see.

5. Take a second honeymoon to Corpus Christi. Next April will be our 10 year anniversary. I figured that was a perfect time for a second honeymoon.

6. Go to a sandcastle contest.

7. Visit the Hummingbird house. You have to call and make an appointment. Which I didn't know when I put it on my list. I still want to go, but we'll see how it works.

8. Go to the museum.

9. Go to the rodeo.

10. Sew a 'damn it' doll

11. Give the 'damn it' doll to someone that needs it

12. Re-plant the back flower bed. I'm thinking we should just fill it up with a bunch of iris blubs. We do great with them...they are hard to kill. - DONE

13. Paint the house. *sigh* This has been on the agenda for a while now. I have a few ideas of what I would like. That might have to be another post.

14. Get a new glass door for the front door. Nothing special, just a nice solid glass door. It's a screen door right now.

15. Pick my own peaches. I've heard it's really not that fun, but I want to try it anyway.

16. Visit the Circle E Candle Factory

17. Drive the Willow City Loop, which would be great to help with the next item.

18. Get a picture of the wild Texas bluebonnets

19. Hang Christmas lights on the house. Can you believe we have lived in this house for years without buying a ladder to get on the roof?

20. Try planting something in the front flower beds. I have a few problems with our front flower beds. 1) They are right up against the house and get NO sun. And I do mean none. So, it's been difficult to find anything that will grow there. 2) The neighborhood cats use them as a litter box and trash can. Short of harming the cats, we don't know how to keep them out of the beds. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON EITHER PROBLEM? - DONE. WE'LL SEE IF ANYTHING GROWS.

21. Buy one matching pair of bra and panties. Oh la la. ha ha.

22. Visit someplace with a whole lot of snow on the ground. Probably Colorado, we loved it there..but there was no snow when we went for a visit.

23. Put our wedding picture negatives on CD's. I have negatives. Yeah, that's old school.

24. Fly a kite. Just because it would be fun..and outside.

25. Visit the farmers market. I've never been but I would like to go and see what is offered.

26. Go to 10 restaurants that I've never been to before in town. I've been to two so far. Um, I'm not sure there are 8 more that I haven't already been to. What was I thinking?

27. Attend a sporting event.

28. Learn sign language, or try. I don't have to be fluent.

29. Make myself a piece of jewelry.

30. Hang another birdfeeder in the back yard. It's getting to the point where its a necessity. The birds in our backyard empty the one we have in an afternoon. - DONE. THANKS, MOM!

31. PRIVATE ~ ha ha..I have got to hurry up and do this. Not a big thing, but Jeremy will think its funny.

32. Get a small tattoo. At this point, I'm thinking if I ever end up getting another tattoo its not going to be small.

31. Be nice to myself for a full day (0/5). I might just give this one up. I'm pretty nice to myself on a faitly daily basis.

32. Go see Kidd Kraddick live.

33. Go to the planetarium

34. Buy six 'Heart Sings' bracelets and give them away to friends. Uh-oh, just checked the site for a link..they might not sell the bracelets anymore.

35. Spend an evening at D'vine wines. They have a great peach wine.

36. Have a dinner party with Mom & Megan. The trick is figuring when they can both be in the same place, at the same time, for more than 30 minutes, AND cooking something they will both eat.

37. Print and frame one of my own photos.

38. Go bowling. I don't know why we don't do it more often.- DONE, THANKS, MEGAN!

39. Find a geocache.

40. Visit the Lost Maples Park

41. Obtain a hammock for the backyard.

42. Buy a new stove.

43. Buy new pillows.

44. Take Mack to Sea World. We might do that this summer.

45. Buy a new blender.

46. Feed the ducks.

47. Go to the Texas State Fair. I hear the people watching is out of this world.

48. Try a fried twinkie while I'm there.

49. Buy at least one more classic Disney movie. We have a small collection going.

50. Get an ice cream cake for my birthday.

51. Ride a horse.

52. Stay in a treehouse for a night.

53. Visit Jocie and Travis.

The Curse of the Wine Glass

Souls wouldn't wear suits and ties, they'd wear blue jeans and sit cross-legged with a glass of red wine. ~Carrie Latet

I've been waiting for a while now to get a new set of wine glasses. What happen to my old set? Well, you see, my husband broke them all. Not on purpose...I don't think. But, he broke them...all of them. So, it's been several months with no wine glasses. Wine out of a tumbler is fine..just not the same, you know what I mean?

A few weeks ago we were able to purchase a new set at Target. They are fairly simple and seemed very sturdy. I jokingly told my husband that he would have to work a little harder to break these. And I guess he did...because he broke one. *sigh*

Any bets on how long this set will last? Plus, he has broken a glass picture frame from our hallway twice this year...the SAME ONE...TWICE. Place your bets carefully and I'll keep you posted.

A perfect day..

Jeremy and I decided last month to take today off. Sometimes you just need a day off for no reason. We slept in this morning, with the covers pulled up to our ears. It was an over cast morning, perfect for sleeping in since the sun didn't come streaming in to remind us what time it was.

When we were ready to get up, we moved about the house quietly. No radio or TV. It was cool in the house, almost cold, since the sun was hidden. I decided it was a perfect time to do some yoga. The thick rug in the living room was perfect for yoga, and I enjoyed it all very much. Well, all of it except trying to relax on the floor only to open my eyes to have Lola nearly nose to nose. She did make me laugh, even though it ruined the vibe of that pose. lol.


We decided yeterday to go for a picnic today, if the weather permitted. It has been crazy windy here all week, so we weren't sure how it would go. We packed up our blanket, food, and the camera and headed out. The spot we ended up at is a public park..er..garden..thingy. It's sunken in, as to be slightly below street level, so even though we were off a major road we could not be seen from the road. The weather could not have been more perfect. It was still over cast, but warming up. And there was just a hint of a breeze. I couldn't have wished for it to be any better.


The menu was simple, everything could be eaten with our fingers..no utensils required. We had a few different flavors of hummus (the orginial is my favorite) with pita chips, red grapes, crackers, and mozzeralla with some prosciutto and basil wrapped inside. Oh, and choclate covered pretzels. After we had our fill of food, we put it all away and laid out in the sunshine.


It was so fun and very relaxing. I can't wait to do it again.

101 Update

I've been slacking on my 101 list. Nothing much to report until recently. I'm hoping that know that the holidays are over and spring is right around the corner I can start marking more off.

I can mark off #66. I made chocolate chip cookies and rice crispie treats to take out to my in-laws last month. Those chocolate chip cookies were gone in snap. As good as they were..I hope I don't have to make another cookie from scratch until many NEXT Christmas.

Thanks to my wonderful husband, I can mark of #83. After running to the store for cleaning supplies, or so I thought, he came back with the makings for smores. Later that evening he started up the fire in the outdoor pit we have and we had a fine time making some smores.





And last, for now, I can mark of #95. Last night we watched Juno, finally. I cried. That's all I'm gonna' say about that right now.

My Christmas List

"It isn't the size of the gift that matters, but the size of the heart that gives it." ~ Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman

My husband and I were talking yesterday about Christmas gifts. What he wanted, what I wanted, what we had left to shop for, and how we thought we would get it all taken care of before Christmas.

He made the comment that I hadn't asked for much this year. And he is right, my list has been pretty short this year. So, I have decided that if there is anyone out there who reads this blog and is planning on getting me something for Christmas this is my official "list".

I want you to go and find my 101 list and then pick one entry (or two..whatever) and think of a way to help me achieve that goal. It's simple, can be relatively cheap, there are lots of different things to choose from, and I will love it.

So there you go. Now you know what I want for Christmas.

101/ #68 - Sidewalk chalk

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. ~George Bernard Shaw

I almost forgot to mention that I had the chance to do some sidewalk chalk art over the weekend. We went to a friends house on Saturday night, more his friends than mine, and the kids brought out the chalk to color the concrete patio. I didn't draw anything important, a cat and a baby and butterfly. But it was fun, regardless.

Although I had a good time I was slightly torn. Between standing with my husband who was visiting with all the guys gathered around the grill or all the mothers who were gathered around their children. I was naturally drawn to the mothers and the kids. I wanted to watch the kids too, but I felt a little self-conscious doing it when I had no kids of my own to tend.

We have the power

"Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote." ~ George Jean Nathan

It's offical! I voted, for the first time ever! It was surprisingly easy and fast. There were volunteers at every step of the way to direct you where you needed to go. There were no lines, there was no wait. The electronic voting machine was easy to understand and use. We were in and out in under 10 minutes. And I got that nifty sticker up there. I actually stopped and asked a volunteer if I could have one.

For some reason, I was under the impression that I couldn't vote early because I had never voted before. Silly, I know. And I have no clue where I got that idea. Anyway, for anyone else out there that might not know...you CAN vote early even if you have never voted before. So, go on...get out there and vote! No excuses!

101/#79 - Carve a Pumpkin

May Jack-o-lanterns burning bright
Of soft and golden hue
Pierce through the future’s veil and show
What fate now holds for you.
~Author Unknown

101 Update

There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way. ~Christopher Morley

My picture doesn't really have anything to do with this post, but I thought it was funny. Instead, this post is going to be about my 101 list. I've marked a few items off my list that I haven't blogged about. Some of them didn't really deserve their own seperate post. But, just in case y'all are keeping track out there, this will keep it all together.

#33 Paint the bedroom - Ok, I DID post about that here.

#49 Go to a movie alone - I didn't exactly go to a movie, but I did go see my sister in a play by myself. And since it's MY list, I'm counting it.

#64 Treat myself to a massage - Last month I used my birthday money and had my friend, April, give me a massage. It was SO good and she worked me over pretty good.

#73 Up the % of paycheck going to my 401k - Smart move at this particular time, don't know. But I did it.

Alright, there you have it. A few more off this list.

Now, there is one item..number #35...finish workouts that are recorded. Now y'all know that I had EVERY intention of finishing every single one of those workouts. But you see the cable company is giving us VOD (video on demand), just because they like us not because we asked for it. And in order to DO this they have to 're-set' our boxes and that, my friends, will erase every little thing we have recorded on the DVR. This upgrade is happening on Tuesday. So you see, I simply don't have the time now to finish them all. I must mark it as imcomplete by default...because it's not my fault.

Life is good, sex is great. We're the class of '98.

“There are times when you just get down, you feel like nobody likes you. We're in high school forever. It's just what we do with it.” ~ J. Russell Lynes


I went to my 10 year high school reunion and all I got was a louzy t-shirt...OH, and these pictures of a 9 volt battery challenge.




It was double elimination. Winners bracket and losers bracket.




There was some serious taunting going on.




People were looking at us like we were crazy. But we were having a blast.



I think we had a little help from Mr. Patron.

10 Years...didn't seem like that long

"Never go to your high school reunion pregnant or they will think that is all you have done since you graduated." ~ Erma Bombeck

My 10 year high school reunion is this weekend. 10 years. 10 WHOLE years have gone by since I graduation high school. It doesn't feel like that long.

That picture up there wasn't taken what I was in high school, more like junior high. BUT, my friend Julia (she's the one in the yellow shirt) is here for the weekend so I decided to post it. Julia and I have been through a lot of stuff since that picture was taken. Some of it together and some of it apart. I haven't seen her in two years (or so) and I am so excited to spend some time with her this weekend.

When I think about Julia I think about corrected notes, a red chinese dress, oozing sarcasm, sneaking out, harassing the DJ at our local radio station, roller skates, drunk jenga, trashcan punch, fist fights, and mexico.

When I think about my youth, Julia can usually be found right in the middle of all my highlights..along with some other girls that deserve THEIR own posts. I think it is more than fitting, considering the fun we have always had, that she and I go to our 10 year reunion together.

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GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT!!

I'm extended my little book giveaway through SUNDAY!! I'll annouce the winner on Monday morning!

I smell a pecan pie baking..

Picture by myself of my husband and his band mates rehearsing.

"Men want the same thing from their underwear that they want from women: a little bit of support, and a little bit of freedom." ~ Jerry Seinfeld

I swear, y'all. I haven't seen this house so clean in months. Jeremy was in a cleaning frenzy yesterday because we are having company today. His friends from work, and his band mates, are coming over for a bbq. We have sausage, we have potato salad (which I sort of refused to make from scratch), we have stuffed jalapenos, and we have a pecan pie (which I DID make from scratch, right down to the crust..so it makes up for the potato salad). And, a brisket is going to make it's way here sometime today.

That brisket better be worth it, too. My husband was nearly crushed by a falling mesquite tree branch to smoke that stupid brisket. He has the scratches all over his back to prove it. I can't say that Jeremy didn't bring it upon himself (ha ha). It was his smart idea to have Stuart pull the ladder out from under him so he could "jump" (i.e. fall) to the ground and just break off a little bit of the branch. Instead the whole thing came down on him. Men...and their bright ideas.

Last night we went to see Candlebox play (with the same group we will be seeing today). I didn't even realize it, but I guess I can mark off #50 from my 101 list (Go see a rock concert). It was an interesting evening. Graham's never fails to amaze me with how much they THINK they are a 'high class' place. The drinks are overpriced and watered down, and the plastic chairs that were provided on the patio are all busted up. Just what you need with a bunch of drunk people around, broken plastic chairs. Speaking of people, I can't decide what was more fun..watching the band..or the crowd. These women *shakes head* are something else. Considering they won't let guys wear football jersey's, I think they should enforce a dress code for women. No one needs to see all of that, not everyone WANTS to see all that. Anyway, the people watching was highly entertaining and a little disturbing. And it reminded me all over again of why we don't ever go to Graham's.

And can I just say how much fun I am having poking fun at my husband and his friends. I really am just teasing, because it's been great to see Jeremy having such a good time with his buddies. But I do like to joke about them acting like teenage girls. They see each other nearly every day at work and still call each other in the evenings. Ha ha. If I didn't know better, I might be worried about having to fight them for trying to steal my man. (JUST KIDDING, Honey!! I love you! ha ha)

101 Update

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ~ Albert Einstein

My 101 list has sort of fallen by the wayside. It's still in the back of my mind, but there have been other things that have been taking up brain mass. I have completed a few more tasks, or at least got myself on the path to complete them.

~ Even though I am STILL trying to decide which purse I want for my birthday (I'm not usually this indecisive!!), I did buy another tote from Etsy.com. That completes #76 on my list.

~ I sent my registration money for my 10 year high school reunion. It was a tough decision to make, because I'm not sure how I feel about GOING to the reunion. But, it's on my list and my friend Julia is coming into town and promises she won't leave me sitting there all by myself (right, Julia?) #91

~ And I'm counting the candy bouqeet that I made for my sister as #41. The original item was 'send my sister flowers backstage'. Flowers, candy...one is as good as the other

I'm Her #1 Fan

“Make them laugh, make them cry, and hack to laughter. What do people go to the theatre for? An emotional exercise. . . . I am a servant of the people. I have never forgotten that.” ~ Mary Pickford


Tonight is the opening night for the local theatre's production of 'Grease'. My sister is playing the part of Jan, one of the Pink Ladies. I wanted to give her something, a 'good show' gift. Something to let her know that I would be thinking about her on opening night. I was going to have flowers delivered, but after talking it over with a theatre 'insider'..ha ha..I was informed that flowers were best left for closing weekend. These actors are a very supersitious lot. Anyway, flowers might have to wait for another time..and there will be other times, lots of them.


I decided to creat something from scratch. Something sort of fun and unusual. My sister prefers things like that, things that have a little thought put into them. It's not professional and I held my breath while we drove it over there because I just knew that it was going to fall apart at the very last second. But, it's from the heart and it was made with love.


So, good L...er...I mean...Break a leg, Sissy!

Photo Hunt: Bad Hair

I didn't have anything in my many folders of pictures that would fit the theme, so I was a little desperate. But, I'm not afraid to put myself out there. So...here is MY bad hair...



"Everybody has a bad hair day, but us girls still like to be told we look nice even if we don't feel like we do." ~ Cat Deeley

Also, with this post I can mark off #97 on my 101 list.

101/#5 - Pictures of the Longhorns plus some

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs




Today was a FREE DAY at the park, so Jeremy and I went to check it out. They offered a trailer ride to go see the Bison and Longhorns, and learn about their history as well. The weather was perfect, a little cloudy with a cool breeze. Our guide was wonderful, she had a lot of information about the indians, bison, longhorns, our park, and even some of the plants that grow around the area.




When we first pulled into the pasture there were no cattle. The driver of the truck pulling the trailer went to honking the horn over and over again. This was suppose to be a dinner bell for the bison. After about five minutes I was starting to worry that maybe the ride would be a bust and we wouldn't see any of them. And then..




You could see them in the distance, running over the rise. It was so cool and I couldn't even begin to imagine seeing hundreds of thousands of them running together like that. The herd had five babies with them.




We had a fence seperating the bison from us, but the longhorns could have come right up to the trailer. They didn't, but they could have. And even though I was so excited to see the longhorns, only two came to visit. There are more in the park. I guess they were busy off doing whatever longhorns do. All in all, a very successful trip.




Oh...and on a side note. We have a covered patio on the back yard, and every spring for a few years now the birds have made a nest in the opening into one of the patio support beams. It's very protected from other animals and the weather and right next to our bird feeder. Perfect location. Anyway, every spring we get the treat of hearing the little babies chirping and then see their heads poke out. Usually we only know they are gone because it's quiet. Well, today we got to see this round of baby birds leave the nest. Isn't nature cool?

101/#11 - Take pictures downtown

“People were once afraid to go downtown, ... People are everywhere now with lights, music and art.” ~ Bill Morgan quotes