Author: Big Mama

  • My little pumpkin

    This morning we took advantage of the 98% humidity and 90 degree temperatures and headed out for a morning of fun fall activities.

    Nothing like a pumpkin patch complete with the smell of pumpkins rotting in the extreme heat.

    It’s the smell of fall.

  • It’s better than a cheap Harlequin romance novel

    I feel fairly certain that half the free world reads Confessions of A Pioneer Woman, but if you belong to the other half, go read this. She’s been writing the story of how she met and fell in love with her husband.

    I am seriously addicted to the story and wait for each installment like it’s a big bowl of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream.

    Maybe one of these days I’ll write about how P and I met and fell in love. Of course, it lacks some of the drama and suspense of Pioneer Woman’s story, but does involve raw chicken and possible salmonella poisoning. Just like all great love stories.

    I’ll be back tomorrow with Fashion Friday.

  • Let me tell you ’bout the birds and the bees

    I made spaghetti last night, and Caroline helped me make a Caesar salad.

    Then we all sat down to enjoy a family dinner. We were just like the Cleavers, although I’m not sure Ward and June ever had this discussion with Wally and Beaver.

    “Mama, this bread is delicious. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS DELICIOUS BREAD!”

    “You’re welcome, Sweetie. Thank you for your good manners.”

    “Daddy, did you know the firemen came to my school today? We saw the firetruck!”

    “Wow! That’s great, Doodle.”

    “Mama, how do babies come out of your tummy?”

    Oh my word. I started to choke on my pasta. I thought P was going to have to heimlich some noodles.

    “Do they come out of your mouth?”

    Hmm.

    Wasn’t I supposed to have a few more years to figure out this kind of stuff? I’m sweating. Is it hot in here?

    Meanwhile, P is looking at me, beyond amused, like he can’t wait to hear my answer.

    “Well (huge deep breath)…babies live in their mama’s tummy and when they’re ready to be born, they come out of her tee-tee.” (Do not judge me, internet. I’m fully aware the proper anatomical name is hoo-hah. We’ll teach her when the time is right.)

    Caroline looked at me for what seemed like an eternity.

    She finally said, “Oh Mama, that is yucky.”

    And then she burst out in hysterical laughter as if to say, you people kill me with the kind of things you think I’ll believe.

  • Wandering towards my own Canaan

    I walked into church three weeks ago feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and impatient. I’m in the midst of some life changes right now and, while I trust God’s hand is in all of it, sometimes I lose sight of that.

    When circumstances get too big or seem to be different than what I want, the doubts start creeping in. Thoughts of, what if this isn’t the right thing? What if I heard God wrong? What if I’ve quit my job and it was a mistake? I get scared. I’m not any different from anyone else. We all like to feel in control of every aspect of our lives, and it’s hard to let go and surrender that control.

    It’s hard to say “I trust” no matter what.

    Over the last year, I’ve had some fairly significant changes. I left a job that I’d been in for 10 years. As much as I don’t like to admit how much security I found in that job and my income, it’s the truth. I based a lot of my security on knowing what was going in our bank account every two weeks. I based a lot of security on insurance and 401k plans and my abilities.

    So, when P and I decided that it was time to quit my job after a long series of circumstances, it was a big leap of faith. P’s business is seasonal and there is never any guaranteed income. Add to that a long, rainy summer and a back surgery and it’s enough to make me worry.

    Three weeks ago, I walked into church feeling all those feelings. I grabbed a bulletin and saw that our pastor was starting a new series on destiny. Specifically, finding our God-given destiny. I wanted to cry.

    The scripture passage he referenced that first week was Genesis 12:1-5, where the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” I had just studied this same passage the week before in my “Woman’s Heart” Bible study and known then that God was speaking to me. So when my pastor started teaching from that very same chapter, I felt a little like God was holding a big megaphone and saying, “HEY, YOU. YES, YOU OF LITTLE FAITH. I HAVE A PLAN.”

    Abram had no idea what God had in store for him. His mind couldn’t have even conceived what God was going to do, but yet he packed up his camels and what-have-you, loaded the family up and headed out towards a strange land. What made him do it? His faith. His faith that God wasn’t going to do him wrong. His faith that God wasn’t going to lead him to a place with no provision for him and his family. His faith in God’s promises.

    What if Abram had stayed? What if he had decided the whole venture was just a little too risky? What if he chose to stick with what was familiar? I don’t know the answer to all that, other than knowing that God wouldn’t have been able to use him the way he did. Sure, God has a destiny for all of us, a plan that He has known since before we took a breath, but He never forces us to do anything. We take our own steps, whether they are towards His will or away from it.

    The thing that’s scary is, sometimes the steps towards His will are the hardest of all because they require us to leave the familiar. Wasn’t it Loretta Lynn who said, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”? And yes, I just quoted Loretta Lynn (and really, I’m fairly certain the quote didn’t originate with her) because it’s part of my charm.

    It’s all about faith. “By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Hebrews 11 even goes on to say how God used Abraham even though “he was as good as dead”. I’m not great, but I’m certainly doing better than that.

    Anyway, that’s how I feel right now. I’m not sure where I am going. I know God has a plan. I’ve seen large pieces of that plan start to come together, but not as quickly as I’d like. It’s not on my timetable and I start to feel scared. I start to doubt. It starts to seem too good to be true.

    That Sunday, my pastor said, “Faith recognizes that the voice of destiny is really the voice of God”. Then he asked us, “Do we believe that? Do we believe he cares enough?” And, at that moment, I realized the deeper question stirring inside of me was, do I believe God sees the value in me? The Sunday School answer is yes, but the reality is deeper than that.

    Over the last few months as I’ve seen incredible things happen in my life and watched God put amazing pieces of the puzzle together, the question that has been gnawing away at the very heart of me is, who am I to deserve any of this? I am so flawed and so weak. Some days my faith wouldn’t even rate as average. I relate all to well to the man who asked Jesus to heal his son in Mark 9:23-24. Jesus told him everything is possible for him who believes and the father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

    It makes me laugh because I relate to it all too well. How many times have I done the same thing, professed how much I believe and then prayed to overcome all my doubts in the same breath? Too many to count. Seriously. I am a weak vessel.

    But, so was Abraham. And so was Moses. And so was King David. They all had moments of doubt, moments where they took matters into their own hands and tried their best to screw everything up. Yet, God had amazing plans for them. He used them in spite of their human limitations. Only God can do that. Only He can take the weak things of this world and use them for His plans and purposes.

    He is the architect and the builder. My job is to take the step of faith, away from what I know and away from the security I cling to, towards what He is building with my life. He never promised it would be easy and He certainly never promised it would be on my timetable, He just promised that with Him all things are possible and He’ll be with me always.

    “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

  • Happiness is Lubbock, Texas in my rearview mirror

    I don’t think it will really surprise anyone to know that the A&M game today caused me to make chocolate chip cookies so that I could self-medicate with cookie dough.

    Here’s a little history lesson.

    The last time the Aggies won in Lubbock was 1993.

    I was at the game.

    As a student.

    I should have known after last week’s game when Coach Fran said, “We may not win another game all season…” that he wasn’t kidding.

    But seriously, there may not be enough chocolate to get me through the rest of the season.

  • Edition 4: Fashion Friday

    Remember that song from the movie “Annie” that said you’re never fully dressed without a smile?

    Yeah. That song lied.

    Whoever said that, totally discounted the fact that smiles come and go, but good accessories last forever, or until they go out of style.

    Many of y’all have emailed asking about fall handbags. In fact, AJ and I even looked for a good handbag for her while we were shopping, but it seems that I have crossed over into appreciating the “Mom Bag”. I was hit with this realization when I pointed out a really cute purse to AJ and she said, “Oh yeah, that would be perfect for you. It’s a Mom Bag”.

    She said it in the same voice you would use to describe something that smells bad. “Oh, that smell? That’s chicken that’s been in the garbage can all night.”

    However, she is young. She’s at a point in her life where she can leave the house for 24 hours and only take a cell phone and a tube of lipstick. In fact, while she was trying on a pair of jeans at Neimans, I remarked that they had an odd little pocket inside the actual back pocket. I wondered aloud what is was for and she explained it’s the perfect place to just put your I.D. when you go out.

    Like at night.

    As in somewhere other than HEB to buy allergy medicine for your child.

    Hmm.

    These days the only thing I need my I.D. for is to collect my social security check.

    Oh, I kid because I feel old.

    Anyway, I am not a girl who changes purses to go with various outfits. That would involve way too much transferring of various lipsticks, gum, HEB Buddy Bucks, juice boxes and Nilla wafers. For the most part, unless I have a special event, I carry one purse per season. And after that season is over, I usually put the purse out to pasture.

    There is only so much grape juice the lining of one bag can absorb.

    Since so many people have asked for fall purse recommendations, here are some cute ones I have found.

    This red purse from Target

    This brown suede tote bag, also from Target. By the way, I don’t know why the Target photographer hates this bag, it’s much cuter in person.

    How about this smaller brown purse? Two guesses where you can buy it. Oh, and it also comes in red, camel or black.

    But if money were no object, just like it is in my dreams, I would love to carry this Kate Spade bag. Can’t you almost smell the real suede?

    Of course, even if money were no object, grape juice and graham crackers are just a part of who I am. It would be a travesty to unleash that horror on what is certainly not faux-suede.

    And I wouldn’t want to carry it everyday, but I would love this purse because it’s just pure fun. I saw one that was similar to this in TJ Maxx about a month ago and was thrilled. Until I looked at the price tag and saw that it was marked down to $350.00.

    MARKED DOWN to $350.00.

    When did TJ Maxx get so full of itself?

    Bottom line, there are a bunch of really great purses to be found for fall, whether you lean towards the “Mom Bag” or just need a cute little something to keep your I.D. in when it’s not in the fancy little pocket of your jeans.

    Now, for a few questions.

    1. Serah and Jenny both asked: “What do you wear on your legs in the winter when you’re wearing a dress or a skirt?”

    Ladies, I am going to be honest and say that a lot of the time I wear nothing on my legs. Nobody said fashion is painless.

    Sometimes you just have to be cold if you want to look good. I believe Eleanor Roosevelt said that.

    However, I live in a climate where cold temperatures mean in the 40’s and if it’s that cold, I’ll usually just wear pants.

    That being said, I’ve been very excited to see the return of the black tight. I love the look of black tights with boots. And if the boots scare you, then wear the tights with a good black shoe like these that are sturdy enough to balance the tights. It will create a long, lean line even if you’re not very tall. That’s my recommendation, but I realize not everyone is a fan of the black tight.

    Does anyone have any other suggestions? What do y’all do up north where it actually freezes on occasion?

    And please don’t say legwarmers, unless you’re a professional dancer.

    2. Jodie asked: “Okay, so I have a fashion question. What’s the word on overalls?”

    The word is no.

    At least that’s my word.

    I know they’re comfortable, but unless I decide to start growing corn in my backyard I’m staying away from them. I believe I confessed my unfortunate maternity overall situation a few weeks ago. There are some scars that even time can’t erase.

    However, some people like overalls. I used to be one of them. So, if you like them you should wear them and be proud.

    And send me a bushel of tomatoes.

    3. Shannon asked: “So, elaborate on the high-heels-as-an-acquired skill thing. Because right now, I can’t say I believe you. I’m afraid some girls (like me) are destined to be wobbly-ankled klutzes their whole lives. But assuming you CAN acquire the skill, do they ever become more comfortable to you?”

    Gulley saw this question in the comments a few weeks ago and called me immediately with her advice. She says that she, too, used to be a wobbly-ankled klutz, but was at a point in her life where she needed to wear heels to work everyday so she wore them around the house and even VACUUMED while wearing them. Practice made perfect and she began to feel comfortable walking in heels.

    However, now that she’s been out of the work force for almost 6 years, she is out of high heel shape.

    I can attest that walking in heels is an acquired skill. I had to wear heels to work almost every day for 10 years and it just became second nature. That being said, I still had days where I would come home and have to put band-aids on blisters and drink heavily to forget the pain in my feet.

    It’s a good thing I quit work when I did because I was going down a dangerous path that could have easily led to corns and bunions.

    Now, I only wear heels on occasion and they have to be comfortable. If you’re a heel novice, look for wedge heels. They are your friend because they distribute weight more evenly.

    4. Kelly asked: “What does a fashionable lady wear when she’s throwing up every 34.5 minutes?”

    Not a smile, I can guarantee you that.

    Finally, to wrap things up. I have one more fashion find to share. Gulley’s sister, also known as The Other Gulley, emailed me the other day and so I asked her for her thoughts on fall fashion. She lives on the East Coast and is fab, so I knew she’d have a good tip.

    She told me that it’s all about the dress right now and even included a picture of a darling sweater dress she purchased to wear with tights and boots for the fall. It’s from J.Crew.

    It also comes in black. And best of all, it’s on sale right now.

    I hope it goes without saying that if y’all are going to try the sweater dress, you’re going to need some good foundation garments.

    You know you’re never fully dressed without them.

    And a good purse.

    And maybe a smile.

    Y’all have a great Friday!