Author: Big Mama

I seriously don’t know how we’re over halfway finished with October. It was like I looked at my calendar and all of a sudden realized all kinds of things that seemed forever away are now here. It didn’t help that I ran in Lowe’s the other day and found myself face to face with Christmas trees and a giant inflatable Santa.

But I’m going to think about that tomorrow. Right now I just need to concentrate on buying some pumpkins to put on my front porch before I look up and Halloween is over.

Also, just a quick reminder that you have until October 31 to send me a picture of you and your best friend or friends. If you missed the details, you can click on this post to read all about it.

Here are some cute things I’ve found this week:

1. layered shift dress

I’ve been looking at dresses this week because it dawned on me that I really have no dresses in my closet and there may come a time than I need a dress. This one also comes in red or black and has great reviews.

2. steve madden ponderosa suede boots

Love the simple style of these boots. They come in taupe, gray or black.

3. olivia moon long cardigan

Super cute cardigan that’s perfect for throwing on over a t-shirt. It’s on sale for $29.40 and comes in a cream stripe, mushroom and wine.

4. risen sun sweater dress

I saw this in the new Anthropologie catalog and it drew me in. But I thought it was a poncho-type thing. Apparently it’s a dress. I don’t know how I feel about that, but I really want to try it on and see for myself because I think it has potential.

5. spacedye swing tunic

This is for sure a winner. Look how cute the back of it is! Depending on how you feel, you could wear it by itself or over leggings. It comes in moss, navy and wine.

6. old navy quilted vest

Old Navy has these quilted vests on sale for $20.

7. indian print bell sleeve dress

I think this would be really cute over skinny jeans and boots.

8. black-knit faux wrap dress

Banana Republic has a bunch of dresses on sale for $48. This is one of my favorites.

9. loft two in one top

I’ve always loved a shirt layered under a sweater and it’s even better when it comes as all one-piece. This is 40% off right now along with a bunch of other tops at Loft.

10. cable sweater dress

I don’t know if this is long enough to actually be a dress, but it does look really great with leggings and a scarf with boots. It also comes in other colors.

That’s it for today.

Have a great Friday.

Yesterday morning I took Caroline to school a little bit early because I had to help her carry in some things for a project that was due. It was necessary for us to arrive early because heaven forbid any more of her peers than necessary should find out she has a mother.

It also warmed my heart that she asked me over breakfast if I could “look better than your normal morning self”.

We managed to get everything dropped off in her Social Studies classroom and she even hugged me discreetly in the hallway before I walked back to the car. When I got home I fed the puppies which is an event unto itself because everyone thinks everybody else has something better in their bowl. It’s basically twenty minutes of shenanigans where I occasionally have to command “EAT! EAT YOUR FOOD!” and threaten to pick up their dish. It’s only when there is an imminent threat of no breakfast that they become interested in breakfast.

After I finished with all the nonsense of the morning, I made myself a perfect cup of coffee and sat down on the couch to catch up on email and daily news and maybe People.com because I feel that it is important to be well-rounded and you never know when J.Lo’s weekend visit to the pumpkin patch with her kids might be the topic of conversation. I’d hate to be uninformed.

All the while, the puppies are barking at people walking by our house like it’s their job. Mabel, in particular, runs laps around the back yard every morning, pausing only momentarily to get a quick drink of water lest she miss something like the same eighty-year-old man who walks by with his Bassett Hound every morning. Oh sure, he may look harmless but Mabel seems to sense he might be a threat.

My point is that I should have realized earlier that it got much too quiet. Puppies are much like toddlers in that silence is a pretty good indicator that there is some tomfoolery afoot. But, frankly, I was like Simon and Garfunkel and enjoying the sound of silence.

It finally dawned on me that it was way too peaceful and so I glanced out on the back porch to check on the dogs. Scout was sleeping under the bench like he always does, but the puppies were nowhere to be found. However, I did see a large piece of something white that looked like stuffing.

That’s weird. Stuffing? But there isn’t anything stuffed in our backyard. In fact, thanks to the puppies there is hardly anything in our backyard except for dead grass and mud.

Oh. And the target Caroline uses for archery practice.

That used to be filled with stuffing.

But it was clearly a menace and they killed it dead.

There are a few different things I’ve been meaning to mention and then I see something shiny and forget about it. But today is the day that I will try to remember all the things. It’s like I’m finally coming out of a fog after turning in the new book and can now use my brain in a manner more closely resembling a normal person. Although I will tell you that involved catching up on the entire third season of Homeland last week while I pretty much stayed in my pajamas, so normal is a relative term.

In my defense, I was fighting a cold that has now turned into something that sounds like a cousin of bronchitis and I felt I needed the rest.

Anyway, here’s a list:

1. This Friday morning, October 17, at 9:00-11:30, I’m speaking at Ready, Set, Shop! for the San Antonio Junior League’s Holiday Ole’ Market.

It includes a brunch and two hours of private shopping. You can find out more details and purchase tickets by clicking here.

Even better, if you want to go and leave a comment on this post, I have two free tickets to give away for you and a friend. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I’ll close comments at midnight tonight and choose a winner at random.

2. On Monday, October 20th, I’m doing a Mat Chat at Smart Barre in Alamo Heights. Details are below.

I realize I haven’t mentioned going to Smart Barre in a while and that’s because it was one of the things that fell to the wayside while I finished the book, but I plan to get back to attending on a regular basis. P thought he was really funny yesterday when he remarked that speaking at a workout facility was almost the same thing as actually working out.

3. Two more events I want to mention and then I’ll shut up.

Sophie and I are doing two events together in November. We’ll be at First Baptist Charlotte in North Carolina on November 7-8 and then at First Baptist West Monroe on Sunday, November 16th. You can contact the church offices for ticket purchase and more details, but we’d love to see you there.

4. I have several friends that have new books and/or Bible studies out that you might want to check out.

I will be honest and tell you I haven’t had time to read any of them yet, but I wouldn’t mention them if I didn’t think that there is something in this stack for everyone. And I am planning on doing the Breathe Bible Study by Priscilla Shirer throughout November and will work my way through the others at some point.

5. I loved this post Sophie wrote about this past Saturday.

Otherwise known as the day Mississippi State became the #1 team in the nation. She loves the Bulldogs like I love the Aggies and I’m thrilled that at least one of us is having a dream-like college football season.

That’s it for today.

Don’t forget to leave a comment if you want a chance to win two tickets to Ole’ Marketplace on Friday morning! (I realize that probably leaves many of you out because you don’t live here in town so if you want to leave a comment about something else then just specify that you aren’t entering to win tickets.)

Well.

I didn’t write anything yesterday because it was Columbus Day and Caroline had a school holiday. In case you’re wondering about the significance of Columbus Day, I believe Les Miles explains it best in the clip below.

It’s not like St. Paddy’s day.

So let’s start with the good news. The Aggies don’t have to play another team from Mississippi the rest of the season.

But here’s the bad news. We have to play Alabama in Tuscaloosa this Saturday.

You can rest assured that I have read all manner of theories and opinions as to what is going on with the Aggie football team right now and I really don’t have anything to add that’s of any interest. As much as I believe Coach Sumlin probably wants me to weigh in, I’m going to just say that my love of Texas A&M goes much deeper than our football program and I’m choosing to focus on that.

Anyway, the important thing is Gulley and I were there together and had a great time in spite of the outcome of the game.

When I dropped Caroline off at school on Friday morning, I was so ready to get out of town that I had to remind myself to say, “Goodbye! I love you! I’ll miss you!” as opposed to “See you later, sucker! Mama’s out of here!”

We couldn’t leave until Gulley got off work at 3:00 and she texted me at noon that the day was dragging by. I had the same exact thought. There are just times you are ready to get on the road with your best friend and this weekend was one of them. Junior High is about to kill us both and we needed a break, not to mention we haven’t had an uninterrupted conversation since August 20.

And so I was parked in front of her house ready to go at 3:30. She jumped in the car and we proceeded to talk non-stop for the next four hours as we drove to College Station. That’s right. I said FOUR HOURS. This is significantly longer than it usually takes but we were in traffic for over an hour just to get to San Marcos because there had been a big wreck on I-35 that had completely shut down all three lanes and everyone was being diverted to the access road. Normally, this would drive me crazy but I didn’t even care because we had so many topics to cover. What kind of topics, you ask? I don’t even know. We started with our eyebrows and went down the list from there.

When we arrived at Honey and Big’s house there was a ton of food waiting for us and it took us about five minutes to change into our pajamas and gather around the kitchen table. Apparently this is what happens when you’re forty-three. Who cares about going to the Chicken or Midnight Yell Practice? Give me my pajamas by 7:30 and some chicken salad with Fritos. What more could a girl want for a complete Friday night?

Then we all sat down in the living room and solved a myriad of problems and speculated on the Aggie football team (it turns out we were all wildly optimistic) until I finally looked over at Gulley to have her confirm a point I was trying to make only to discover she had fallen sound asleep sitting straight up in a chair. This is what wrangling three-year-olds for a living will do to you. Although in all fairness, this is what she’s done since I’ve known her. She can fall asleep mid-conversation like no one I have ever seen. I choose to not take it personally.

We all went to bed, slept in the next morning, and then watched Gameday and drank coffee and, I’ll just confess, stayed in our pajamas until 2:30. In our defense, it was pouring down rain and we had nowhere to be until the game kicked off at 8:00 p.m. Around 3:00 Gulley and I realized it was significantly cooler than what we had planned for and made a quick trip to Target to look for some type of sweater or jacket to wear over the maroon shirts we’d packed for a forecast that had predicted temps in the 90’s. And we lamented over the inaccurate forecast that had caused us both to leave all manner of maroon sweaters and jackets in our closets at home in San Antonio.

Finally it was time to head out to tailgate and mentally prepare for the game. We absolutely succeeded on the tailgate front, but all the preparations in the world couldn’t have prepared us for that game.

(We smiled for the camera, but the girl’s face behind us speaks volumes about what was going on down on the field.)

Here’s the thing. The new Kyle Field is amazing, the crowd was as loud at kickoff as I’ve ever heard it, the turf looked perfect, the weather could not have been better, and the Aggie band was at its finest. The only thing lacking was the actual football team. I could give you all my theories and thoughts but I’m assuming if you care that much then you’ve already spent time on various forums and message boards and have your own opinions, plus I bet Ann Voskamp will post all about it tomorrow.

We got home around 1 a.m. and fell into bed, then woke up Sunday morning hoping it had all been a bad dream but thankful that Big had picked up breakfast tacos for all of us to ease the sting of the loss. You’d be amazed what an egg, bean and bacon taco can do for your mental state. And then Gulley and I began to deal with the reality that our weekend away had come to an end. That’s always the worst part of looking forward to something on your calendar for so long, the realization that it’s all over.

Around 3:00 we finally made ourselves pack up our stuff and get in the car to head home. And as soon as we saw our people, we were excited to be back to our real life.

At least until we remembered we both had to go to the grocery store.

I’m not sure if it’s allergies or a cold, but something has left me unable to breathe normally through my nose and with a scratchy throat and cough.

All that to say, I’m keeping this brief because I need to save all my strength to watch the Aggies play on Saturday night.

1. j.crew quilted jacket

This is a great quilted jacket. It’s on sale for $74 and comes in black, navy and olive green.

2. snuggled in softness top

I would like 7 of these. One for every day of the week.

3. j.crew leather jacket

I love this leather jacket because it doesn’t have too much going on. It’s just a great classic leather jacket. Plus, it’s normally $375 but on sale for $187.50.

4. free people shipping news tunic

Love this and it’s on sale right now.

5. calla tunic

This is the kind of top I really like to have to wear under sweaters or jackets during the fall and winter, but it’s great because you can wear it by itself, too. It’s on sale for $39.95 and comes in a bunch of different colors.

6. tadashi textured lace mermaid gown

Just in case you need an evening gown. I thought this one was really pretty.

7. kimchi blue weekend cardigan sweater

Okay, maybe I could get three of these and just four of the other sweater up above and alternate them throughout the week. I love this because it would look great with jeans, but is long enough to wear with leggings, too.

8. gap pure body leggings

I don’t know why I don’t have a picture of these but it’s too late now. These are the softest leggings ever and I love them to wear around the house and with long sweaters. They’re more like pajamas but that’s okay with me.

9. tartan plaid infinity scarf

This is such a great plaid scarf. And I love an infinity scarf because it requires almost no effort.

10. bobeau asymmetrical fleece wrap cardigan

I featured this a couple of times last year and I still love it. It’s really cuter in person than it is in the picture and comes in all kinds of colors and patterns. It also comes in plus sizes.

That’s it for today.

Have a good Friday.

So Monday was a great day for America or maybe just for me because I finished my book and emailed the whole shebang to my editors at Tyndale. Now it’s their problem. And then it will be my problem again when I get back all my edits, but I’ll think about that tomorrow or next month.

The truth is I spent all summer thinking that I couldn’t wait to be finished. It felt reminiscent of my senior research paper in high school. But when I actually hit send on the email, I put my head down and cried real tears that were mainly relief but also sadness. It’s been such a part of my life for the last eight months that I felt a little lost.

But then the plumber showed up to install the toilet in our bathroom and discovered we had a gas leak on the side of our house, which meant I had to call the utility company to come fix it and you’d be shocked to know how fast they get to your house when you cry “gas leak”. As soon as that was repaired, the plumber realized he couldn’t turn off our water all the way because the valve was stuck and then we had to call the city to come fix it. However, after several hours and various complications we are officially a two toilet household once again.

What I’m saying is I turned in my book and was immediately thrust into a life of glamour and intrigue.

And if all that wasn’t exciting enough, I made a trip to the grocery store because I’d let us run out of everything the week before as I typed furiously like a little hamster in a wheel. One of my goals for this school year was to be better organized about dinner every night, mainly because it seems like our afternoons and evenings are much more hectic with the advent of junior high, and so I’ve spent some time on Pinterest looking for good, easy recipes. I made this sausage tortellini skillet pasta on Monday night and it was delicious. And then I made this beef and broccoli in the crockpot on Tuesday night. I thought it needed a little more flavor, but I also have the beginnings of a cold or something so my tastebuds might be off. Anyway, I just thought I’d share because the tricky thing about Pinterest is something can seem like a good idea and turn out horrible. I’m looking at you dried strawberries.

I took Caroline to school early Tuesday morning because there’s a Bible study that meets before class and then I came home and really focused on catching up on my television. The whole time I was writing, I kept promising myself that my reward would be at least a week of mindless activity and I feel like I’m off to a great start.

One more thing about the book, don’t forget to send in pictures of you and your best friends. And it doesn’t have to be just you and one best friend, it can be a group if that’s how you roll. I’ve loved looking over the pictures during the last few days and I have to say some of my favorites are the old pics from kindergarten, summer camp, prom or sorority days. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can read the post I wrote about it here.

In other news, I’ve started a list of things I’d like to accomplish in the next few months. I won’t bore you with the whole thing but it includes such things as painting all the trim in our kitchen, buying new socks for Caroline, cleaning out my makeup bag, and figuring out what to do about drapes in the living room since the puppies tore my other ones down.

I realize this all sounds very ambitious, but I plan to pace myself and only do these things after I’ve caught up on all my T.V. shows because PRIORITIES.