Year: 2011

  • This contains nothing that is useful

    You’ll be glad to know I’ve recovered from the shock of spending an evening with a group of girls who only know about Prince Charles and Lady Di’s wedding because they’ve seen pictures in their mothers’ commemorative Royal Wedding issue of People magazine.

    And, really, I’m okay with being on the dark side of my thirties because I have no desire to relive my twenties. Maybe someone else’s twenties, but not my twenties. Although I would pay cash money to have back the skin of my twenties. Skin that glowed and had no wrinkles despite my constant consumption of 64 oz. Cokes in the form of Big Gulps from 7-11. Now if water doesn’t account for at least 94% of my daily liquid intake, my face starts to resemble a raisin.

    So I believe I mentioned we all went to eat at Mi Cocina after Bible Study. That’s where I realized I was old and also where the girls told me about a Royal Wedding App I immediately downloaded to my phone.

    (I’m not even going to pretend I’m too good or intellectual to watch every moment of the Royal Wedding media frenzy. I will be front and center. I’ve set my DVR for every program that even mentions the Royal Family, including TLC’s Wild About Harry. It’s a sickness.)

    After we left the restaurant, AJ drove me back to her house and I helped her put clean sheets on her bed. Actually, I helped her put A clean sheet on her bed since she doesn’t use a top sheet because it’s just more laundry. I don’t even know what to think about that. But considering she confessed to sleeping in a sleeping bag for years to avoid the whole “making up the bed” thing, I guess the no top sheet thing is progress. Truth be told, I slept like a baby even without a top sheet so maybe there’s something to be said for laundry laziness.

    The alarm went off bright and early and AJ dropped me off at the airport. I would have loved to stay a little bit longer, but Caroline’s class had a field trip to The Botanical Gardens scheduled and I felt like I should be there so she could ignore me except for when she needed me to carry her lunch.

    After the field trip I treated myself to a Route 44 drink and some tots from Sonic and then made a quick stop by HEB because everyone at my house enjoys eating dinner and I had nothing to offer them. And it was while I was at HEB that my phone rang and I got a call that filled me with joy.

    THE GLASS FOR OUR FRONT DOOR WAS READY. THEY COULD INSTALL IT RIGHT THEN.

    I rushed home and, fifteen minutes later, my living room was all LET THERE BE LIGHT because I finally had a wee little window in my front door like God and the original builders intended. I tried to take a picture to show y’all but it was the time of day when the glare was too bright and it didn’t work. And I could get up and take a picture right now but that would take a lot of effort and what part of I CHAPERONED A FIELD TRIP TODAY do you not understand?

    We had chalupas/tacos/bean and cheese tacos for dinner and then, after Caroline went to bed, P and I started watching American Idol. He remarked that he could never be a singer because it seems unnatural to display all that emotion on a stage in front of people.

    (And also maybe because he can’t really sing. He didn’t mention that part.)

    I said, “Well, you’re different from a lot of people though. You hardly ever show emotion even in front of people you know really well.”

    He responded, “That’s because I’m courteous.”

    I’m still not totally sure how we ended up together considering that I can cry five times in an hour on a good day. Or a bad day depending on your perspective.

    So we watched American Idol and I’ve officially become a fan of Haley. I didn’t even really like her at first but she’s grown on me. Plus, her duets with Casey are spectacular.

    I’ve also got NBC’s new show, The Voice, recorded on my DVR but haven’t had the chance to watch it yet. I’ve just got too much royal viewing on my agenda right now and it’s not like that Wild About Harry special is going to watch itself.

    And here is where I wish I had some clever way to tie this whole post together but I don’t. But on a serious note, prayers wouldn’t be wasted on the South after one of the worst weather days in history. Love and prayers to my Alabama peeps.

  • I’m out of town

    Yes. I am out of town.

    But by the time most of you read this, I’ll be back home.

    About a month ago, AJ asked me if I’d be willing to come to Dallas to speak to her Bible Study group and I said yes because there are few things I adore more than a group of twenty-something girls.

    So I flew in yesterday afternoon, we grabbed some lunch, I took a quick nap on her couch and then we went to Bible Study. And I met some of the cutest girls. I totally meant to take a group picture but then I forgot and then we all went and ate Mexican food and then it just never happened.

    I’ll tell y’all more about the trip tomorrow along with other things, but for now I’ll just tell you that they were the most fun group. We had the best time hanging out and I hope I didn’t ramble endlessly about nothing. The only down moment of the evening came while we were eating some chips and guacamole and I was absolutely feeling like I was one of them. Just a young girl with no lines on my face. And then somehow our conversation turned to the Royal Wedding. And they all mentioned they weren’t born when Charles and Diana got married.

    That was 1981.

    Then, if that wasn’t enough, several of them recalled hearing about Princess Diana’s death. It happened at the beginning of their fifth grade year.

    And so I came home, put a little extra Oil of Olay on face and went to bed.

  • I’ve always been partial to a scuba suit

    Yesterday morning I met Gulley at 9:00 a.m. at Starbucks. We used to meet at Starbucks every Tuesday morning but then she started teaching preschool and that was the end of our Tuesday mornings. Basically, she chose a classroom of three-year-olds with questionable potty abilities over me. But I couldn’t really offer her a paycheck to meet me at Starbucks and spend the day shopping, although HOW GREAT WOULD THAT JOB BE? Not necessarily the coffee with me part because I tend to overshare and can sometimes be moody, but the shopping part would be perfection.

    Speaking of shopping (this transition is a stretch), I feel like I need to share the specifics on the dresses Caroline and I wore for Easter because so many of you asked. And here’s where I confess that I swapped dresses with one of my friends because FREE is always the right price. That specific dress isn’t available anymore because she bought it last year, but this one is by the same designer and looks very similar. I recommend zipping it up before you wear it all day. That’s just a free style tip.

    Oh, and my necklace came from Francesca’s, but I bought it a few years ago.

    I found Caroline’s dress on Etsy from a shop called Kissing Kumquats. And P’s shirt came from Old Navy. No one asked, but I don’t want him to feel left out. Of course he didn’t even know he owned a new shirt until I showed it to him that morning and said, “This is what you’re wearing”. He’s like my very own Ken doll but without the ambiguous sexuality or the Corvette.

    Anyway, Gulley and I sat outside at Starbucks even though the humidity was hovering somewhere around 115% and caught up on life. They’d been in Bryan for Easter so we hadn’t really talked in almost 48 hours and had so many important things to discuss like our hair and self-tanner.

    After a little while, we headed out to shop. Our first stop was Nordstrom Rack and it did not disappoint. Gulley found a few things she’d been looking for and I mainly sat in the dressing room and offered unsolicited advice. I wasn’t really there to buy since I’ve already reached my $15.00 shopping quota for the month, but I did find one great pair of shorts that I had to buy because finding a decent pair of shorts is like discovering a farm filled with unicorns.

    (Why a farm of unicorns? I don’t know. It’s what came to mind. Plus a ranch full of unicorns would be hard to manage and might not come with a big red barn and some friendly pigs with a spider that weaves magical webs living in a corner of the doorway.)

    (It’s my unicorn farm. It can be anything I want it to be.)

    We left The Rack and drove over to La Cantera because I always like to see what they have at Zara. Ultimately we ended up at the real Nordstrom since it’s one of our favorite places to eat lunch, largely due to the fries with the kalamata olive dip.

    But Gulley wanted to make a quick run through the workout clothes before we ate lunch. And the workout clothes are located, appropriately enough, right next to all the new swim wear. It’s just one big section of sweeping judgement and condemnation for the sins of cinnamon rolls and missed workouts past.

    We tried not to make eye contact with the swim wear, but got caught up in a spirit of optimism as we both recalled swimsuits from a few years back that we hadn’t hated. We thought maybe, JUST MAYBE, there might be a miracle waiting for us there amidst the racks. Ultimately, I told Gulley I wasn’t going to try anything on because I knew deep down in my heart that it would only serve to ruin my plan to eat way too many fries dipped in kalamata olive dip and I didn’t want to have a lunch consisting of lettuce, Diet Coke and regret.

    However, Gulley ventured in because she saw a suit that seemed to hold some promise. She went into the dressing room while I checked the Twitter on my phone. The silence coming from the dressing room was deafening. And then the salesgirl walked in with a few more swimsuits for Gulley to try. I heard Gulley say, “Aw. That’s nice. Thank you but I’m done for today.”

    As we walked towards the cafe’ I told her she was one of the bravest women I’ve ever known. And we agreed that being in your late thirties isn’t for the faint of heart. Then we ate a lot of fries dipped in kalamata olive dip and laughed until we cried over various things and went back to our happy place of swimsuit denial.

    The reality is that I probably need to spend some time with my arch nemesis, Jillian Michaels.

    However, I chose to go all Scarlett O’Hara and think about it tomorrow. But now tomorrow is today.

    Dang.

  • All she wants for Easter are her two front teeth

    Here’s what you need to know about our weekend. We experienced the mythical and elusive Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy exacta on Saturday night. (I wish I could say trifecta because that sounds better, but that would have required Santa Claus or our door guy showing up.) The Easter Bunny even left a note letting us know he ran into the Tooth Fairy in the hallway of our house. What are the odds?

    (The Easter Bunny also signed his note, “Hoppy Easter!” because he/she is hilarious. It was a real crowd pleaser. And by crowd pleaser, I mean Caroline thought it was the best thing she’d ever read.)

    It all started on Saturday morning. We were on our way to Caroline’s soccer game when she mentioned that her remaining front tooth was bleeding. P and I kind of blew it off because the tooth hadn’t seemed that loose the day before and he told her to leave it alone since “the middle of a soccer game isn’t the best time to lose a tooth”.

    And then she lost her tooth in the middle of a soccer game.

    I noticed that she kept messing around with her tooth during the first part of the game as opposed to, oh I don’t know, trying to score goals. Then right after half time, she was running down the field when she suddenly stopped and yelled to P, “DADDY! MY TOOTH JUST CAME OUT!”

    He sent her over to me. She looked as if she wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry, but ultimately handed me the tooth and ran back on the field to the cheers of the crowd. After the game she told me that she was running down the field, put her tongue behind the tooth, it popped out of her mouth and she caught it in her hand. I so appreciate her cat-like reflexes even though I can assure you that she doesn’t get them from me, especially considering that I watched a wooden cutting board fall on my foot yesterday and couldn’t get out of the way.

    (My foot appears to be fine, by the way. Bruised, but fine. I did, however, have to ask for forgiveness for my thoughts toward the cutting board and the cookie sheet that propelled it onto my foot. And the white hot fury that tempted me to throw it across the kitchen.)

    After the soccer game/tooth drama we came home and dyed Easter eggs.

    We took it very seriously this year. As opposed to years past when the goal was to dunk each egg in as many different colors as possible until they all were a color that can only be described as tie-dyed mud.

    On Saturday night we spent time with some friends and got home a little late. Fortunately, the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy had indulged in plenty of caffeine throughout the day so they could complete their appointed rounds. Just like the postman, but without the slew of Boden catalogs I get in the mail EVERY SINGLE DAY.

    And ALL THE EXCITEMENT resulted in a Sunday morning wake up call at around 6:00 a.m. But if Jesus can rise from the dead bright and early on Sunday morning, certainly I can make myself get out of bed. Especially since I was being dragged by a toothless seven-year-old.

    She had already found the money left by the Tooth Fairy and ran into the living room to see what the bunny had delivered.

    That’ll do, Pig. That’ll do.

    Also, please notice the freaky shadows cast on my walls by the animal mounts. Nice.

    And then the search was on for hidden eggs.

    It required some thought and effort. The Easter Bunny upped his/her game this year.

    After all the eggs were found, it was time for a nutritious breakfast of chocolate bunny ears.

    We all got dressed and headed to church. Unfortunately, in my rush to get Caroline and I both looking presentable, I forgot to zip up the side zipper on my dress. A fashion faux pas I didn’t notice until AFTER Easter brunch. Classy.

    And now, a million pictures of the day. You can be like Caroline and ask, “WHEN IS THIS GOING TO BE OVER?”

    Look how cute they are.

    And look at what I had to endure before I got that picture.

    Also, I discovered it’s not as easy to hold Caroline as it used to be. I’m seconds from falling over.

    My delicate Easter flower.

    Mimi and Bops and my sister and her family came over for Easter brunch. And guess what? We took more pictures.

    Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of all three kids looking at the camera at the same time? If it had been a test, I would have failed.

    Then the cascarones (confetti eggs) came out.

    It was shortly after this picture that I found myself with a hair full of confetti. It should all be out by sometime in July.

    Not even Luke was safe.

    The day ended with some high level Easter egg negotiations.

    It was such a fun day. I totally understood when Caroline said last night before bed, “I WISH IT WERE EASTER AGAIN TOMORROW.”

    While she’s at it she may want to wish for her two front teeth.

  • Fashion Friday: Edition because He is risen

    “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.
    For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10

    Happy Easter!

  • Ten things

    A list. That’s what I have today. A list.

    1. A few days ago, my friend Holly Mathis wrote a post featuring houses with yellow front doors. And I’ve become a little obsessed with the colors used on this house.

    I’m not saying I actually want a bright yellow front door, but I’m not saying I don’t.

    It sure is cute.

    2. Speaking of front doors, we’ve had to face the reality that we are dead to door guy. I have no doubt that both of our phone numbers are now on permanent DO NOT ANSWER status. And since I have no desire to forever live with a piece of plywood stapled to the hole in our front door, I called a glass company to come give us an estimate.

    Lo and behold, it is no big deal to replace the glass, contrary to what we were told by door guy. It will be ready next week and the whole thing is costing a little over $100. Which makes it even more shocking that door guy didn’t just pony up a new piece of glass.

    3. Gulley told me she saw the movie trailer for The Help the other night while watching a T.V. special about William and Kate. I tried to swallow my bitterness that at the same time Gulley was experiencing T.V. perfection, I was being subjected to some movie called Zombieland.

    And then I found the trailer on Youtube so I could watch it for myself. LOVE.

    If you need me in August, I’ll be at the theater.

    4. Several of you asked about the Mama Tried t-shirt Caroline had on in the picture yesterday. It is one of my absolute favorites and was sent to her by the Junk Gypsies. If you’ve never visited their site and seen all their cool stuff, you’re missing out.

    5. And, yes, she was wearing a Mexican dress in the picture with my sunglasses. We bought it at the Fiesta Store here in town, but you can find approximately one million of them at El Mercado in downtown San Antonio.

    But if you don’t happen to have a mercado in your town, you can find them on Etsy.

    And if you want to recreate my seventh grade year, you can wear it with jelly shoes.

    6. The app I used for my phone pictures is Instagram. If you don’t have it, you need it. And it’s free.

    7. I know I haven’t talked at all about Friday Night Lights season premiere. Mainly because I don’t even know where to begin. So let’s start where all good things begin, Tim Riggins. Hated to see him in jail, but I was glad to see him at all.

    Julie Taylor leaving for college about did me in. I was seconds away from the ugly cry.

    Coach Taylor was perfection as always.

    And Landry visiting Grandma Saracen was one of my favorite scenes.

    All in all, I can’t wait to see what happens. Based on the previews, it looks like it’s going to be quite the ride.

    8. Boden is having a big 40% off sale right now on all kinds of cute stuff, including their raincoats. I’ve wanted one of their raincoats for a while now but I don’t dare order one at this point and I’ll tell you why. I finally bought a pair of rainboots back in January and I’ve worn them ONE time. WHEN IT SNOWED.

    I feel like I might be singlehandedly responsible for the drought. Who knows what would happen if I bought a raincoat? I couldn’t live with the guilt.

    9. What’s everybody doing for Easter? Any big plans? Do you eat Easter lunch or Easter dinner? What do you have? Or do you just eat a six-pack of Reeses’ Eggs and call it a day?

    10. Don’t forget about the Tracy Porter giveaway. You can enter by visiting this page right here. I’ve also got a giveaway going for a $100 Visa gift card from Tropicana. You can enter by visiting here.

    See y’all tomorrow.

    Tracy Porter reminder/ Tropicana reminder