Year: 2012

The carbs and the memories will remain

When we last spoke I wished you all a very happy Thanksgiving and said I would be spending the next few days staying up too late and watching movies and laughing with my people. And that’s exactly what I did. I also learned a couple of things:

1. I don’t think I digest carbs as easily as I once did. I swear I still have some sweet potato casserole sitting somewhere in my stomach. It’s a good thing we don’t serve noodles at our Thanksgiving lunch because one more carb would have put me permanently over the edge.

2. It is possible for the human heart to stop beating for a good three minutes due to anxiety. I know this to be true because it’s what happened to me when Johnny Manziel went down holding his knee on Saturday night during the A&M game.

3. When I have the luxury of no schedule I immediately go back to my preferred system of staying up until two in the morning and sleeping until ten. Or maybe ten-thirty. Don’t judge me. Night owls are people too. We’re the ones with bags under our eyes while we try to function in “normal” society. Monday morning is going to hit hard.

(It isn’t going to help that I have to get Caroline’s lunchbox that she left at school over the Thanksgiving break. It has chicken salad in it.)

(If you hear a gagging sound, it’s probably me.)

Anyway, we had a great Thanksgiving. On Wednesday I took Caroline and Gulley’s boys to see Rise of The Guardians which was actually pretty good. Turns out I’m a fan of a Russian Santa Claus and an Australian Easter Bunny. I had no idea.

And then Thanksgiving morning, look who got to make fresh-squeezed orange juice.

That’s right. The paper bag trick with the apples worked. The oranges ripened and she was thrilled. I didn’t even have to replace them with store bought oranges which was totally my back up plan because there was going to be much weeping and gnashing of teeth if those oranges didn’t get ripe.

We watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and then headed to Mimi and Bops’s house for Thanksgiving lunch. Gulley and her family joined us this year and we had a great time. It seems like it would have been a great idea to document Thanksgiving with pictures of some sort but apparently I was too busy shoveling in the broccoli rice casserole to take the time to capture any precious memories.

Later that afternoon we went back home in a carbohydrate induced stupor. And I vowed I would never eat again. And I absolutely DID NOT until about four hours later when I thought it seemed like a good idea to heat up some leftovers. No turkey, just straight carbs.

On Friday morning P decided to take Caroline, Will and Jackson to Cabela’s. I cautioned him briefly about Black Friday shopping, but then I decided he’s a grown man and could make his own decision to brave the crowds and traffic. Plus, Gulley and I really wanted to go get pedicures. Because, while I was thankful for many things this Thanksgiving, the state of my toes didn’t make the list. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem this time of year but the temperatures have refused to drop and I still wear flip-flops at least three times a week.

So P loaded up the kids for a little shopping and Gulley and I went to eat lunch and then get pedicures. As we were leaving the pedicure place, we decided to run by Gap just to check out their sale items. But I mentioned that I’d really like to stop and get a peppermint mocha first. And that’s when we experienced an unfortunate turn of events.

I was trying to pull my car into a spot right in front of Starbucks. And I misjudged the amount of room I had. And the front bumper of my car hit the back bumper of the parked car in the next spot.

Well. Great.

To make it worse, I got out of my car and realized I’d hit a Prius. I felt like there was a chance the Prius owner takes their car ownership much more seriously than I do based on their environmentally-friendly choice. I also wished I didn’t have the “Drill Here, Drill Now” bumper sticker on my car.

(I don’t really have that bumper sticker on my car, but it would have made the story so much better if I did.)

But since I was still craving what had now turned into possibly the most expensive peppermint mocha ever, I ran in Starbucks while Gulley waited outside in case the Prius owner came back to their car. Probably carrying recyclable bags from Whole Earth Provisions.

And, sure enough, I looked out and saw Gulley talking to someone who appeared to be the owner. So I got out of line and went outside. The Prius owner was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. She told me not to worry about it and assured me that she hits her car on her friend’s carport all the time. And then she started bumping it with her hip to show me how everything just pops right back into place.

I apologized profusely and gave her my name and number just in case. And then I just dreaded the moment I had to go home and confess to P that I hit a Prius. That was parked.

He actually took the news really well even though he did make sure to let me know it was possibly the dumbest wreck he’d ever heard of. He asked if Gulley and I were busy talking when it happened and I said no. And he totally busted me because he said that would be the first time EVER we weren’t talking when in the same vicinity.

Truth.

So maybe we were talking. But I was still totally paying attention. My parking physics were just off.

And so we’ll see what happens.

The rest of the weekend was spent just relaxing. On Friday night P went to bed early and Caroline and I curled up on the couch together while we both read books and I don’t know that life gets much better than that.

Then the Aggies won and Johnny Manziel’s knee appears to be fine and if he doesn’t win the Heisman Trophy then they need to quit giving it out.

That’s just my opinion.

And to make up for my lack of actual Thanksgiving photos, here’s a pic I took of the kids while we watched the Aggies. There is no such thing as personal space.

All around, it was a great holiday. In fact, Thanksgiving is my new favorite.
Happy Thanksgiving

We made it home from Bryan yesterday around 1:00. It took a little effort for us to get the kids up and the car packed and all of us out the door and into the car by 10:00 a.m., but we managed it. Although I think I was still half-asleep until we were about thirty minutes into the trip.

Which wouldn’t be a bad thing unless you consider the fact that I was driving.

Of course the only problem with getting home so early was that there were still so many hours left until happy hour and Gulley and I could have used a glass or a bottle of wine after a three hour drive with the kids. Forty-five minutes of which may have involved a burping contest.

But I spent the afternoon doing laundry and unpacking suitcases and making a grocery list. And then I actually went to the grocery store and the whole experience was slightly more pleasant than ramming my head into a brick wall.

Now I’m home with my people. And we’re going to spend the next few days staying up late and watching movies and eating too many carbs and just generally enjoying life.

I hope y’all will be doing the same.

I am so thankful that you take the time to stop by here and wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, and I wrote a post about my favorite Thanksgiving T.V. moments over on Ree’s blog if you want to check it out.

Gobble, gobble.
Alligators who wear vests

Well, I didn’t mean not to post yesterday.

Which isn’t exactly true because I’m in Bryan with Gulley and the kids at Honey and Big’s house and we were too busy laughing at a random assortment of things for me to take time to focus and write. Not that I really ever focus but, you know, there’s always a first time.

This trip wasn’t originally part of our Thanksgiving week plan, but Gulley and I went to lunch last Tuesday and agreed we were both a little sad that a trip to Bryan/College Station wasn’t on our agenda because we sometimes forget that a road trip with the kids is less relaxing than a trip to Walmart on Black Friday.

Because of soccer games and football games and end of season sports parties, we weren’t going to make it in town for the Aggie game. However, we would make it in time to eat homemade soup at Honey’s and eat brownies and that made it seem worthwhile. Plus, we really wanted to take the kids to Santa’s Wonderland because we have to face the reality that they may not be that into that whole thing for too many more years.

Actually, I don’t really want to face that reality. I find denial is a lovely place this time of year because passing of time LA LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU.

Anyway, we left town about three on Saturday. As usual being in the car with the kids made the trip feel at least an hour longer, largely because they like to spend the last hour asking “Are we there? Are we almost there?” and ten minutes later, “ARE WE THERE YET?”

And Will always enjoys waiting until we’re about five minutes from our destination to announce “I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM SO BAD RIGHT NOW AND I CAN’T HOLD IT”. Truthfully, I think he just does it to mess with me. But I don’t want to bet the upholstery on my back seats on it so we have to pull into the DQ parking lot.

On Saturday night we stayed up late visiting with Gulley’s Aunt Diane and had the best time. Diane cooks Thanksgiving dinner and we spent some time discussing various Thanksgiving side dishes because I was a little puzzled by a few of you that mentioned noodles in Friday’s comments. I have never heard of a noodle for Thanksgiving. Now, my Me-Ma and Pa-Pa used to serve spaghetti and meatballs on Thanksgiving in addition to turkey, but they were Italian. Spaghetti and meatballs are pretty much an option at every meal.

But just a noodle? Like a plain noodle? Or an egg noodle? How does the whole noodle thing work? I don’t understand.

As for me, my favorite Thanksgiving side dish is a tie between broccoli-rice casserole and dressing with just the right amount of homemade cranberry sauce on the fork with it. I couldn’t care less about the turkey. I don’t care if it’s fried or smoked or baked or whatever. I think poultry is kind of foul. Get it? Foul?

I’m so sorry.

(I don’t really think it’s foul as much as it’s just not my favorite. But the pun worked.)

We also watched Baylor beat K-State and Stanford beat Oregon and wondered if the world was ending. Between that and the whole Hostess cupcake thing it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. Although now it appears that the Twinkie may live to see another day. I have to think that all those people freaking out and buying up all the Twinkies haven’t actually eaten a Twinkie recently. Or ever.

On Sunday morning we slept late and then went to see Nena at the assisted living home. We visited and she was especially interested to hear about my visit to the eyebrow specialist. She told me she has always gotten her hair cut by only well-known hairdressers who cut famous people’s hair. (This isn’t exactly true, but she likes to say it because the woman who used to cut her hair once cut Barbara Bush’s hair.) Anyway, she’s been debating whether she should let one of the aids at the assisted living home cut her hair. Gulley and I told her she needed to feel free to say no because you can’t just trust anyone with your hair.

We also got in a discussion about marriage and she told us that she and Granddaddy had NOTHING in common, except, WELL, he really liked to eat and she likes to eat, too. Which, you don’t really hear people mention that specific commonality in premarital counseling, but it must have been enough because they were happily married for sixty-six years.

After our visit we got in the car to go eat and somehow we all started telling jokes. I don’t really know a whole lot of jokes because I usually hear them and forget them immediately. But my friend Annie Downs just finished doing thirty days worth of jokes on her blog and a few were still fresh in my mind.

I was feeling inordinately proud of myself for remembering the jokes so I asked the kids, “What do you call an alligator wearing a vest?”

Will called out from the back seat, “A PSYCHOLOGIST!”

Which, hilarious, but no.

The correct answer is an Investigator.

But Gulley and I have spent the rest of trip discussing various things going on in our lives and wondering if either of us needs to go see an alligator wearing a vest. And you have to admit that sounds so much more fun than saying you’re going to see a psychologist.

Feel free to use it for yourself.

Later that night we took the kids to Santa’s Wonderland. I’m happy to say they had a great time and still loved the fake snow and the hayride and all the lights.

They even sat on Santa’s lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas. Caroline wished for a puppy.

Thankfully, Santa was non-commital on that wish.

Because a new puppy might be enough to send me to an alligator wearing a vest.
Fashion Friday: Edition it’s almost Thanksgiving and a giveaway

Okay.

So I’m really excited.

For two reasons:

1. I’m typing this on my new computer and the B works and everything. I feel very fancy.

2. There’s a great giveaway today.

One of you has the chance to win a $50 gift card from A Thread clothing boutique. And there is so much cute stuff to choose from that I don’t know how you’ll decide how to spend it. The nice thing is they have a great little holiday gift shoppe all set up to make it easy for you to pick out something for someone you love. Or yourself.

Because you should love yourself. You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

All you have to do for a chance to enter is leave a comment on this post. Maybe tell me what your favorite side dish is for Thanksgiving lunch or dinner or breakfast. I don’t know your life. You’re free to eat your Thanksgiving meal whenever you choose. God bless America.

And the Indians and Pilgrims.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites from A Thread in case you’re interested.

They have this gorgeous collection of jewelry by Simona V. I really love this Amethyst Cluster Tear Drop.

Or this Amethyst Slice necklace.

And I adore these softest pullovers that come in a variety of colors.

I also really like this lightweight utility jacket.

Here are a few other great things I’ve found this week.

1. swiss miss wrap

I love this. It’s perfect for this time of year and would be great to wear to Thanksgiving lunch.

2. bb dakota sheath lace dress

Beautiful dress. And a great price.

3. tee shirt skirt in moss

This is a great color for the holiday season. It’s a little festive without the overkill of reindeer embroidered on it.

4. faux fur vest

I go back and forth on the faux fur vest. On one hand, will I look like some version of Cookie Monster? Or will I look chic like Rachel Zoe?

I have no idea. Which is why I haven’t committed to the fur vest as of this point.

5. out of mind top

This is another great top. Love the colors. It would be so cute with jeans and boots.

6. 1969 legging cords

The photo doesn’t do these justice. They are so soft and pretty in person and the colors are amazing.

7. drop needle tunic sweater

Love this sweater. And it’s a great length so I feel like that gives it a ton of options.

8. cable poncho

I tried this on the other day. Because I believe I’ve mentioned that I am powerless against the poncho. There is something about it that draws me in.

The only reason I didn’t buy it was because I couldn’t decide on a color.

9. fitted boyfriend flannel shirt

I am also a sucker for a plaid flannel shirt. I once bought one of Gulley’s old plaid flannel shirts for $2.00 when she was selling it in a garage sale. To this day we still wonder why she actually let me pay her $2.00 for it.

But I’ll tell you something, it was money well spent.

10. ruffled boiled wool jacket

I have this jacket but mine is purple. Normally, I’m not a fan of purple but I loved this jacket so much that I made an exception. The good news is that this one is charcoal gray and so it might be even better in case you’re like me and have purple issues.

That’s it for today.

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to enter the giveaway for the $50 gift card to A Thread. I’ll keep comments open until Monday at noon and then choose a winner through a random drawing.

Y’all have a great Friday.
We are experiencing technical difficulties

Okay.

So here’s the thing.

The staff here at Big Mama, Inc. are currently upgrading to a new system. By which I mean that I broke down and bought a new computer yesterday. It was something that has needed to happen for a long time and I could no longer ignore the random pieces of plastic that would go flying across the room every time I opened my Macbook up or the fact that my “B” key made the decision to retire about a week ago.

I gave him a gold watch for his years of faithful service.

And so I walked in the Apple store expecting to walk out with a new computer. But that didn’t happen because I needed them to transfer important data from my old computer to my new computer. Specifically, Taylor Swift’s new album.

Apparently the data transfer took the better part of the afternoon and, by the time they called to tell me it was ready, it was already dark (CURSE YOU DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME) and I felt it probably wouldn’t be the safest move to go to the mall by myself after dark because I am now eighty-five years old and worried someone might try to mug me and run off with my genuine leather handbag before I could make it safely to my Cadillac with a box of Kleenex in the back window.

And since I have no laptop as of this moment, I’m typing this post on our desktop computer which is fine and lovely. However, it is not in front of my T.V. and doesn’t allow me the luxury of sitting on my couch while I write a post. And, frankly, those two components are the only reason I’ve managed to blog for the last six and a half years. Otherwise, I’d have called it a day back in 2007.

But I’ll get my new computer complete with transferred data in the morning. And then I can write a Fashion Friday post that will be complete with a giveaway. So HOORAY FOR THAT.

In the meantime, there is a group of Compassion Bloggers in Peru right now. You absolutely need to go read Love Moves by Angie Smith. And I know Angie would appreciate our prayers for her nine-year-old twin girls that are with her on this trip.

I also liked this post by Kevin and Layla at The Lettered Cottage.

See y’all tomorrow.
The post known as Wednesday’s post

I know.

I didn’t post anything yesterday. The reasons were three-fold.

1. It seemed right for the Aggie post to get two full days.

2. A cold front blew in late Sunday night and I was up all night because the wind blew all of the pecans off our TWO pecan trees and it sounded like a reenactment of D-Day on our roof.

I may have PTSD.

3. I went to bed at 9:30 last night because apparently I have a touch of the narcolepsy.

Other than that, there just isn’t much going on here. I spent most of Sunday and Monday reading message boards and watching highlight videos and just generally enjoying the Aggies big win.

On Monday morning, Caroline’s school had a Veterans’ Day Program that started right at 8:00 a.m. so I had to be up and at least appear to be a functioning member of society bright and early. It’s always a sweet little program complete with “God Bless the USA” and this year they even took it up a notch with “You Raise Me Up” complete with sign language. Well played, music teachers. Well played.

And then Monday was also the special Thanksgiving lunch at school. Which meant that P and I got to enjoy a delicious lunch of instant mashed potatoes, some questionable turkey and some cranberry sauce that wasn’t really an appetizing color.

I’m not sure why the Thanksgiving lunch was a full week and a half before Thanksgiving, but I’m sure there was a good reason. Frankly, it seems that Thanksgiving is really early this year. I mean, I guess in reality it’s only about five days earlier than usual, but it’s throwing me off. I feel like Halloween just ended.

But, on the plus side, maybe it will make the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas not go by so quickly.

Or maybe I’ve just put way too much thought into the whole thing.

And since I have nothing else to talk about, although I’m sure you’ve found my discussion of the date of Thanksgiving completely fascinating, I need to discuss a wardrobe situation.

Specifically, Caroline’s wardrobe situation.

(Insert weeping here.)

She has practically no clothes that are appropriate for cold weather. We did a huge closet clean out at the end of summer and discovered that she’d basically outgrown everything she owns. Which, fine. Kids do that.

The problem is that she needs winter clothes and doesn’t like anything. Yesterday she wore a shirt with sleeves so short that they almost hit her mid-forearm. It was the high water version of a shirt. And I’ve tried to buy her a few long sleeve shirts when she’s not with me, but she doesn’t like anything I pick out and I end up having to take it all back.

And, honestly, I would be happy with anything at this point that will do these three things:

1. Keep her warm.

2. Not make her look like a hobo.

3. Not make her look like a mini-version of Britney Spears circa 1999.

Okay, so I’d settle for her looking like a hobo.

My question for those of you not necessarily older (but hopefully wiser) is where do you shop for girls that aren’t teenagers after they decide they’re over Gap and Old Navy? Is there some secret place I don’t know about?

Help me.