Author: Big Mama

In which I attempt to begin to recap the last week and do a poor job

I’m sitting here on my couch and I may stay here for the next twenty-four hours. I mean I do plan to go to bed at some point but then I think I’m going to wake up and get right back on this couch and catch up on as much DVR’ed T.V. as I possibly can.

I believe it’s important to have goals.

Honestly, last week will go down as one of the craziest, busiest, exhausting, most fun, precious weeks of my life. The response to Nobody’s Cuter Than You has blown me away and I debated just writing a blog post that said THANK YOU over and over again.

But that would probably be boring so I’ll do my best to give you a recap of the last several days.

Last week I mentioned that on Tuesday, the day the book released, I decided to go for full-on glamour and made a trip to Walmart to buy an iron and an ironing board. Then I came home and served my family leftovers for dinner, pretended like I knew how to help Caroline with her math homework while I secretly googled it on the internet, and ironed a few shirts. This is what some people mean when they refer to a “rock and roll lifestyle”.

The real fun came on Wednesday. I started the day getting some fresh highlights in my hair because I’d texted my sweet hairstylist and said,”HELP! I HAVE GRAY HAIR MULTIPLYING AROUND MY FOREHEAD!” Fortunately she was able to fit me in and even styled my hair for me. But, cue the sad trombone, I came home from the salon and when I opened the back gate, Piper and Mabel decided to sprint down the street at full speed. It also happened to be a day when the humidity hovered around 412%. This really caused a downturn in my hair volume which was sad times.

In addition to my hair drama, Jen and Jamie were texting from Dallas informing me that Jen’s white blood cell count was too low for chemo that day and they weren’t sure if they were going to be able to make the trip. However, Jen once again convinced her nurses that chemo could wait until 1 p.m. on Thursday and so they got in the car and headed this way. I would have totally understood if they hadn’t been able to come, but I was so glad I was going to get to celebrate with them.

Meanwhile, my friend Tiff was driving in from College Station. They all got in town about 4:00 p.m. and we met over at Gulley’s house before driving over to Barnes & Noble for my book signing. We had some wine, made some toasts, ate some cookies, talked and laughed non-stop and celebrated with Tiff who’d found out on the drive over that her oldest daughter had just accepted an offer to play soccer in college. And Jen showed us her boobs because it’s her favorite party trick these days since her inflammatory breast cancer has changed them significantly.

We arrived at Barnes & Noble and I was so excited to get to meet so many of you who have read the books and the blog for all these years. The best part of a book coming out is getting to put faces with names I’ve seen on the internet. It makes it all feel real in some way.

And the whole night as I signed books, I kept overhearing my friends and family laughing and talking behind me and there was a part of me that wanted to put my head down and cry with gratitude that we were all together in one place.

This is Jen, Gulley and Tiff. If you’ve read the book, then you’ll know who they are and how much I love them. I have no idea why this picture is smaller than the others. I could research it but it probably wouldn’t do any good and so I’m saving myself the time.

Here we are with our friend Jamie and I’ll give you a little friendship family tree. Jamie and Jen have been friends since middle school. Jen introduced Jamie to all of us when we were in college, but then Jamie and Gulley lived in Austin at the same time after graduation and got to know each other better. And Jamie and her husband, Trevor, lived in San Antonio while he was in med school and so we all became close friends. My smile in this picture sums up all my feelings. Nothing like showing both rows of teeth.

P brought Caroline right after soccer practice so she got to hang out for a little bit. And my friend Donna even drove her to Chick-Fil-A to get her some dinner since Caroline’s plan to eat a protein pack at the in-store Starbucks was thwarted by the fact that all they had were “weird sandwiches”.

And I loved that Mimi, Bops and my sister Amy were all there, plus P’s mom came too.

Can we discuss that Caroline is almost as tall as her grandmother?

(I’m starting to feel a little bit like this post is reading like an Academy Award’s acceptance speech or maybe just an entirely too detailed summary of events, but my brain is at less than half capacity right now. I’m doing the best I can.)

Anyway, my friend Debbi was there and made sure to take plenty of pictures and I’m so glad because it wouldn’t have occurred to me pull out my phone even one time and then I wouldn’t have any photographic evidence of this night.

Debbi is also the one who’s responsible for all the fun Instagram pics, like this gem that’s one of my personal favorites. I may get it blown up to 16 x 20 and hang it over my mantle.

Someone guessed correctly that I was hiding dog treats inside the book. I would like to think that Mabel and Piper hang on my every word, but the truth is Mabel thinks she’s the real writer in the family as evidenced by this haiku I found in her dog bed.

“Mother likes to write
puts simple words on the page
yet I bare my soul”

Whatever. Everyone’s a critic.

After the book signing was over, we went back to Gulley’s house. She’d made the cutest little party favors out of tiny mason jars with daisies and a blue ribbon with a picture of the book cover and had pictures of all of us over the years glued to copies of the book’s pages hanging from her light fixture. Plus her husband had picked up fajitas and guacamole and queso for all of us. It was sheer perfection.

We stayed at that table until midnight catching up on life and telling old stories. I think we experienced every emotion in the book as we covered as many topics as we could fit into that amount of time. And even when Tiff and I drove back to my house, she and I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. talking some more even though we could barely keep our eyes open.

It was all just a sweet reminder of how much we all love each other and pick up right where we left off, no matter how many years have gone by or how much things have changed. Our friendships were woven into our lives when we were not even twenty years old and yet they have survived time and distance. We are family.

And, honestly, I’d sit in Starbucks wanting to pull my hair out as I try to find words for seventeen more books if it meant that we all got to be together like this at least once a year. There’s just nothing like being surrounded by all the people you love the most and who love you the most.

I was going to talk about Dallas too, but it’s lightning and thundering like crazy and I’m about to lose my internet. So I’ll be back tomorrow with stories from the rest of the week.

Also, a few quick book notes in case you still need to pick up a copy. Nobody’s Cuter Than You is still in stock online Barnes & Noble for less than $10.00 and you get free shipping when your order is more than $25.

And if you happen to be in San Antonio, the Walmart at 281 & 1604 has A BUNCH of copies, including many that I signed while I was there on Saturday.

If you’ve looked for it in your local bookstore and they don’t have it, keep asking or see if they’ll order it for you. It should be in most Southern Walmarts and most Barnes & Noble stores this week for sure.

One last thing, I’ll be in Houston this Saturday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m. signing books at the River Oaks Barnes & Noble on West Gray.

Finally, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

A MILLION TIMES OVER.
And, yet still, Nobody’s Cuter Than You with a giveaway!

***The giveaway is now closed and the winners have been chosen at random and notified by email! Thank you!****

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Here are your random numbers:

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To say I have been overwhelmed with your response to Nobody’s Cuter Than You is the understatement of the year. In the last two days, I’ve laughed and I’ve cried and I’ve had to put my head between my knees to keep from blacking out.

I cannot thank you enough. Seriously. You are the absolute best and I am so grateful.

I thought many of you might wonder what an author does on the day her new book releases. Well, I went to Walmart and bought a new iron, ironing board and carpet deodorizer, along with a copy of my book.

Don’t hate me for the glamour in my life.

And, not to rub it in, but then I came home and actually used my new iron and ironing board and also ate leftovers for dinner, vacuumed my rugs and did four loads of laundry.

But one of my favorite things all day was to watch the pictures my friend Debbi posted on Instagram using a little photoshop magic. They are masterpieces.

Obviously we had Ron Burgundy because he’s kind of a big deal.

Johnny Manziel loved it.

And of course Coach Taylor had some inspirational words to share.

Lucy and Ethel couldn’t get enough of it.

And even Kate and William got some reading in before Baby #2 gets here.

Plus, you know Mabel had to write a haiku.

Finally, Piper summed up all of our feelings at the end of the day.

She also ate half of a cake I left on the countertop but asks that we not focus on that indiscretion since at least she didn’t eat my book like her sister did.

Anyway, as a way of saying thank you for such a great launch day and to give you a chance to have a fun day with one of your best friends, my publisher and I are giving away TWO $200 gift cards to two of you to Spafinder.com so that you and one of your girls can go get a massage or pedis and manis or facials or whatever $200 will get you for a day of beauty in your town these days. You’ll also get a signed copy of the new book.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post for a chance to win. Maybe you can tell me something you love about your best friend. I’ll leave comments open until Sunday, April 12 at 6:00 p.m. and then choose two winners at random.

ALSO, in case you aren’t one of the two winners chosen, I’m giving away THREE jars of my very favorite ever Julia body butter from Hummingbird Farms along with three signed copies of my book to three of you. My dear friend Debbi owns Hummingbird Farms and she developed this line of products many years ago and I am not kidding when I tell you I might be addicted to it. You will hate all other lotion once you use it.

So go ahead and leave a comment for a chance to win. I’ll notify the winners by email on Sunday evening. Thanks again for all the love and support and encouragement. Y’all make this so fun.

Also, if you’re having trouble finding the book online or in stores right now, you can find it here at Barnes & Noble (free shipping when you order $25 or more so get one for you and two for a friend!), here at Christianbook.com, here at Family Christian, and here at Parable. And of course you can always just download it on your Nook or Kindle or iPad or whatever fancy thing you might own.

Thank you so much!
Nobody’s Cuter Than You – Now in a bookstore near you or online near you

Well.

It’s weird how you have a date marked on your calendar for so long and it seems so far away and WAY IN THE FUTURE and then all of sudden it’s here.

That’s April 7th for me. Which is today in case you aren’t clear.

This is the day that my third book, Nobody’s Cuter Than You, is officially out in the world and I’ve had it circled on my calendar for almost a year. Actually, I don’t have a paper calendar anymore so I’ve just had it on my iPhone calendar which is the 2015 version of having it circled on your calendar.

And in case you’re in any of these areas, here are some places where I’ll be signing books in the next few days and weeks:

Wednesday, April 8th – Barnes & Noble San Pedro in San Antonio at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 9th – Barnes & Noble Lincoln Park in Dallas at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 11th – Walmart at 1604 & 281 in San Antonio at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 18th – Barnes & Noble River Oaks in Houston at 7:00 p.m.

I know I’ve talked about the book a little bit but here’s the story. This wasn’t the original book I was going to write last year at this time, but I knew it was a book I wanted to write eventually. And then I flew to Chicago to meet with my publishers and we agreed I should go ahead and scrap the original plan to write a book about friendship instead. All of a sudden I went from extreme writer’s block and massive anxiety to having a million ideas all at once because, while I don’t have it together in many areas of my life, I am surrounded by good friends who have taught me what it means to be a good friend.

The title comes from something Gulley and I say to each other when we’re having a bad day. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, but it’s just become our shorthand way of saying, “I’m your biggest fan” and there are all days when we need our biggest fan to make us feel better about ourselves and life and all that goes with those things.

(I also briefly debated calling it “Chicken In The Bed” which is another thing Gulley and I say to specify a day that would be nice to sit around and do nothing together, but that title doesn’t exactly suggest a book about friends as much as life on a poultry farm.)

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is God knew that this was the book for this moment in time and directed this path. When I began to write it a year ago, I had no idea what the next twelve months would hold. I didn’t know that one of my dearest friends, Jen, would be fighting cancer again or that we were going to lose Gulley’s grandmother, Nena, who meant so much to us all. I couldn’t have known what it would mean to me on the other side of turning in this manuscript to have spent all those months looking through old photo albums and retracing the lines and history of friendships that mean more than the world to me. And in the end, to have something tangible to let these girls in my life know that in so many ways they saved me and continue to be my sanity and bring more joy to my life than I could ever convey.

I am seriously sitting here with tears running down my face because there is nothing like a book release to put you on an emotional roller coaster and this one is just so dear to me. And, ultimately, I hope that you read it and it makes you hold your friends just a little bit tighter. Life can get so busy and throw us all in so many different directions, but there are times we just need to remember what a gift we have in our girlfriends. They are the ones who know us, love us, encourage us and challenge us.

I’ve already received so many emails from women who have bought it to give to their bridesmaids or to send to several of their best friends or to read for their next book club and I hope that continues. That in some way it inspires us all to love our people fiercely, which may be a lofty goal for a book where I tell the story about the time I left Gulley to sleep in the lobby of a hospital in downtown San Antonio for hours and then pretended I didn’t know who she was.

I thought I’d share a little excerpt. The pictures aren’t included in the book, but they make me so happy.

“I’d found something deeper than what I always thought I wanted, because God knew what I really needed: friends who carved out a permanent place in my heart. And those friends ultimately helped me find my way back to the God I’d left behind all those years before. He knit my heart together with the people he knew would hold my hands as I walked the path of the Prodigal Son.

Each of them brought out something in me that I couldn’t have found alone and taught me what it means to be a friend who shows up, wipes tears, laughs hysterically, cooks a meal, and eats raw cookie dough right out of the bowl. They taught me that friends share their clothes, their hearts, their dreams, and their study notes.

Friends give grace, advice, fashion tips, a shoulder to cry on, and some of the best memories a girl could ever want. A real friend will help you push your car across a busy intersection when it stalls, pull you out of a trash can when you fall in, listen to you analyze the same situation over and over again, speak the truth even when it hurts, help you find your way when you’re lost, and hold your hand when you have to say a final good-bye to someone you love.

It turned out that my soul mate wasn’t just one guy, but these girls who are some of the greatest loves of my life. There is rarely any other time in your life when you’re given the gift of living day in and day out with people who ultimately become your family.

If I had grasped that then, I would have cherished it even more and maybe looked into staying in College Station for enough years to earn a doctorate in something. My time in college and these people whom God placed in my life had healed what was broken in me, and it broke my heart to say good-bye to them.”

(That last picture was when my Tiff got married and I think our hairdresser was like Annelle from Steel Magnolias and her work tended to get a little poufy when she got nervous. The good news is the hair helped balance out those sleeves. Bless.)

And our friendship has remained. From the days of hot rollers and all getting ready at Gulley’s mom’s house.

to days of unfortunate hats and big perms

from Harley-Davidson costume parties

through graduations

to rehearsal dinners and weddings

(I can’t talk about that vest. I just don’t know.)

to having babies

We have loved and laughed and fought for our friendship.

I so hope that you love this book. And I’m so excited that it’s officially available today.

You can download it on your Nook or your Kindle or whatever. Or you can walk in a Barnes & Noble or a Walmart and buy a real copy. Or you can order it online from any of the retailers you see on that fancy thing below. Just click on whichever one you prefer and it will take you directly to the site.

I will never be able to thank you or even find the right words to say how much I appreciate the way you cheer me on and encourage me. Thank you in advance for buying the book and spreading the word. If you need anything to pin or tweet or broadcast live on network television, you can find it on the official Nobody’s Cuter Than You book page. Truly, nobody is cuter than y’all.

And just in case you haven’t seen the trailer, these are many of your sweet faces. I love every minute of seeing all the friendships this represents.
An Easter recap and a podcast

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend. My only complaint is that it went by too fast. I could use about two more weeks of downtime but, considering that I have a new book that releases TOMORROW, that doesn’t appear to be a reality in my near future.

On Friday morning, we got up and relaxed a little bit before we got Caroline ready to head to Austin for her best friend’s birthday party. They were going to iFly which is an indoor skydiving type place and she’s been super excited about ever since last year when she had to miss the exact same outing because she came down with a stomach bug the night before. And you know what isn’t a great activity post-stomach bug? Indoor sky-diving.

As soon as they picked Caroline up, I started cleaning the house a little bit and may have watched an episode or two of Friday Night Lights and then eventually got out to run some errands. Specifically, I needed to find Caroline some sandals to wear on Easter. Which is how I ended up needing to return five pairs of sandals on Saturday afternoon.

I also took advantage of the quiet house to record a new podcast with Sophie. As usual we discussed new beauty treatments including using frankincense as in the three wise men brought baby Jesus, mascara, the resurgence of cauliflower and flare jeans.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here.

Or, as always, you can subscribe on iTunes

We picked up Mexican food on Friday night because we didn’t feel like getting out and then on Saturday morning P loaded up the dogs and he and Caroline picked up her friend and they headed to the ranch for a day of fishing and just hanging out. R had never fished before so she was super pleased with her big catch of the day.

Meanwhile, I ran to the grocery store and got things ready here for Easter brunch on Sunday. And I also may have watched a couple of more episodes of Friday Night Lights.

They got home later that evening and picked up dinner on their way into town. Then, after dinner, we all dyed some Easter eggs.

It’s safe to say that our efforts wouldn’t win any contests or be anything people would pin on Pinterest, but we had fun and managed to not ruin the countertops with Easter egg dye so that felt like a win. At one point I told Caroline we needed more pink eggs and she said, “You’ve gotta let the creativity flow, man” in a voice that indicated she stopped just shy of giving me a peace sign.

On Sunday morning we woke up to see what the Easter bunny brought. And Mabel helped herself to a few leftover carrots that the bunny had left behind. She also tried to get a chocolate egg, but we caught her just in time.

The Easter bunny also brought everything in a large bag this year because I might have been overzealous during a clean out earlier this year and thrown out all our Easter baskets. So the bunny had to run to Michael’s to choose from what was left in the way of baskets at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday evening.

(This is also when I made one last trip into Nordstrom Rack to see if I could find a shirt for P. I found one that was hot pink and white gingham but just didn’t know if he’d wear it. Fortunately, he texted me from the ranch right about that time and so I sent him a picture and asked if he’d wear it. He immediately texted back “yes” with no sarcastic comment included and, while I was surprised, I took it at face value. Of course later that night when I showed him the shirt in person, he admitted he’d thought it was red but agreed to wear it anyway.)

Anyway, we went to church and then came home and my sister and her family and Mimi and Bops all came over for Easter brunch.

Please note that Caroline started off in the sixth pair of sandals I brought home. They made it through church and a few photos but were immediately switched out for her high-top Converse in time for the Easter egg hunt.

Because sometimes a girl needs to be able to run without being hindered by a sandal.

Especially when there’s chocolate at stake.

Hope you all had a great Easter! I’ll be back tomorrow with all manner of book release day excitement and giveaways!
Fashion Thursday: Edition Happy Easter

This will be my last post of the week because I’m going to be busy enjoying Easter with my people. But I wanted to leave you with this song which has been one of my favorites all year long. It is especially appropriate in light of Easter.

And on a more shallow note:

1. embroidered linen crops

I tried these on in Anthropologie yesterday and I can’t even tell you how great they are. Super soft and so flattering but with the best detail on the side that takes them up a notch. You could wear these all summer long. In fact, I’m already regretting that I didn’t go ahead and buy them.

2. astro espadrille sandal

I did, however, buy these. I’ve been on a long, painful search for a black wedge sandal and after kissing a lot of shoe frogs, I tried these on and fell in love.

They also come in nude, orange, turquoise and white to cover all your shoe color needs.

3. rae pintuck tunic

I love navy with white in the summer and this tunic would be perfect with white skinny jeans. It also comes in white which would look great with just about anything.

4. geo what fun dress

I love a dress that’s easy to throw on in the summer. This fits the bill and I really like the colors and the print.

5. sleeveless embroidered tunic

I saw this in Free People and it is so pretty. I have no need for something else like this in my closet but this makes me wish I did.

6. j. crew classic chambray shirt

You can’t go wrong with a simple chambray shirt. It’s the perfect neutral to wear with blue jeans or white jeans or pink jeans or shorts or a great skirt. You can throw it on unbuttoned over a tank, wear it by itself or tie it at the waist with your favorite maxi skirt.

7. j.crew denim roll up shorts in white

I forgot to upload the photo of these and now I don’t want to mess with it. So I’ll just tell you that these are white denim shorts with a cuff. I ordered a pair for myself a few weeks ago and I love them. They fit true to size and can be rolled up or down depending on how short or long you like your shorts.

8. free as can be tunic in lemon

Another thing that would be great with white skinny jeans. Love the bright yellow and I can totally envision this paired with turquoise jewelry.

9. gap girlfriend jeans

I have searched high and low and have decided these are the best white jeans out there. They have a great fit that’s comfortable and flattering all at the same time. You can dress them up or down depending on your jeans need.

10. ingrid & isabel maternity wrap dress

So many of you have asked about maternity wear and that ship sailed for me almost twelve years ago. I will tell you that my maternity wardrobe consisted of a few maternity shirts from Target and Old Navy, some Gap maternity jeans that I nearly wore out and one black pantsuit that I wore to work almost every day throughout the entire summer. I think you’ll understand why I just threw it away after Caroline was born.

But I think you can’t go wrong with a wrap dress. They’re universally flattering, comfortable and can be dressed up or down depending on your needs. Black is my personal favorite, but it also comes in berry, metal and navy.

That’s it for today.

I wish you all the happiest Easter filled with the love and peace of Christ.
Some Wednesday things

Here’s what you need to know about my day yesterday. I spilled almost an entire large bottle of water in the bottom of my purse because I didn’t put the lid on right. I literally had to turn my purse upside down in the Target parking lot to pour water out of it.

I was as happy about this as you would expect.

It is currently sitting turned inside out in the hopes it will return to some semblance of its former non-soaked state.

On a different, happier note, Jen was successful in getting her chemo rescheduled and will be able to come to San Antonio for my first book signing next Wednesday, April 8th. I am so thrilled.

And speaking of that book signing, it’s at Barnes & Noble San Pedro across from North Star Mall starting at 6:30. And I’m super excited because B&N is donating a percentage of profits from all sales that night to S.A. Reads which is a reading program designed to have at-risk students reading on par with their peers by the end of 3rd grade through their participation in a tutoring program. They also run one of the biggest book banks in South Texas, donating thousands of books each year to underprivileged children in Bexar County. If you’d like more information about them, feel free to visit their website at sareads.org.

But, most importantly, today is a big day for my dear friend Angie Smith. Her very first Bible study releases today. It’s called Seamless and it’s a seven session study that is designed to help you develop a great understanding of the entire story of Scripture and the themes, places and promises in the Bible that run from the beginning through the end.

(I won’t even tell you how old I was when I realized that the Bible really tells one long story, but the answer might rhyme with “schmirty”.)

The thing I love about Angie is that she has one of the best hearts of anyone I know and she seeks Jesus in a way that is real and relatable and makes you want to listen when she speaks. She is also one of the funniest people I know although I’m not sure that quality necessarily relates to this Bible study, but I want you to know that because I so appreciate people that make me laugh out loud and she falls solely in that category.

If you’re part of a church group looking for a good Bible study for the summer or just want to get together and study scripture with a few girlfriends or neighbors, I have no doubt you will love Seamless.