Just a few little things

• No menu today because Brian is going back to Amarillo again! Ugh!
• Three people participated in Sing Along Sunday yesterday and one more tried. Hey, that's an improvement!
• I had a lovely birthday and a fun weekend. I'll tell a little more about it soon but I was awful about taking pictures.
• 4 more days until this girl comes to visit!!
• Sleep over with Stefanie tomorrow, yay, then brunch! And whoa, she posted again! Check it out, the girl is hilarious!
• I'm giving away a Southern Belle tshirt to a lucky reader and only 4 have entered so far. Go enter!

Sing-Along Sunday

Good morning! I hope your weekend is going great, it's a long one! We're having a wonderful time here.

It's time for Sing-Along Sunday again! I'm going to post a couple of songs that I'm thinking about and throw up a Linky down below. Then you pick a song or two that you have stuck in your head this morning or one you'd like to share, and post it on your own blog, the comments if you don't have one. Already have a recent song post? Feel free to use that one. Just enter the url for the specific post into the Linky so we can all come visit.

Sing-Along Sunday is kind of like this. Singing alone in the shower or the car is nice. Singing your favorite song with your best friend is really cool. But singing along with a whole church/bar/concert hall full of people can be amazing. So really, the more the merrier. All genres are welcome. I hope you'll sing along!

First one is from the band we saw last night, Emory Quinn. We've seen them about 5 times now. The video is at Sam's Burger Joint in San Antonio which we've seen them at before, but last night was at Gruene Hall.

This next song I'm posting as a Memorial Day tribute to all the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces especially those who died in service to it. I'm not a huge Toby Keith fan, but this song gets to me.

Fuming Fridays

My most awesomest blog friend, Neely, is hosting Fuming Fridays again today! If you have anything you'd like to complain/rant/b*tch about, now is your chance! I have just a few little things.

1. First thing I saw when I woke up this morning, on my birthday, was a big ugly roach on the wall across from us. I had to wake Brian up and get him to kill it. I hadn't seen one in the house since last Summer and I guess they're coming back again. G-ross!
2. My bestie, Allie, and her hubby were supposed to come visit and play this weekend, but Karl's dummy boss is making him work and so I don't get to play with my friends. Major bummer!
3. Brian and I already fought this morning and about something stupider than stupid, a hypothetical ice chest rack (yes, seriously) on a hypothetical FJ Cruiser. We honestly can not have a conversation about cars without it turning into an argument. How ridiculous, right? We worked it out and hopefully it'll be different next time.
4. I had to move all the furniture out from the rooms it belongs in and stuff it into the guest room so I could have the carpets and couches cleaned on Wednesday. The carpet is dry now but everything is still in there. I sat on one chair that did not get cleaned for the last couple days. Now we have to drag it all back out because three generations of Brian's family may be in that room this weekend, since our other guests won't be.
5. The only bakery in town refused to make a pink cake for me. They insisted that the only two flavors they have are chocolate and vanilla and wouldn't even consider putting food coloring in there. I hope the icing is pretty at least!

ok, yep, I feel a little better now. Go link up like me! It's the cool thing to do.

And also enter my giveaway. Otherwise, Neely wins by default.

Happy Birthday Giveaway

Today is my birthday! I'm 26 years old. Pretty exciting, huh? I'm getting ready for a fun weekend even though I'm not sure what all we'll do. I've already gotten three birthday gifts today. I figured this year, why not share the fun! So I'm offering a giveaway of one of my favorite things to wear, a Southern Belle t-shirt. I have two of these, and I've given one as a gift.

I have this one that says "Charm is deceptive and Beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is to be Praised. - Proverbs 31:30" I couldn't find the exact one online so this is a picture of mine straight out of the washer ;)

I also have this one on a green t-shirt. It's still in the store. It says "Advice is like cooking... you should try some before giving anyone else a taste!"
You can find these shirts at www.Southernbellestore.com. They have sweet messages, sassy ones, religious ones, state pride shirts (but not Texas!) and they're all bright and cute. You don't even have to be Southern to enjoy them but they do all have the flower logo with Southern Belle on the front breast. They include a free sticker and free shipping with every order so you should definitely check them out for yourself or a gift!

So here's how to enter the giveaway:

1. Go here and choose your favorite shirt.

2. Leave a comment telling me which one you picked. You can tell me happy birthday too, if you want.

3. For an extra entry, blog or tweet about the giveaway @ErinSea. Leave a separate comment letting me know that you did. You can follow me on twitter if you want to, but I'm warning you my tweets are rather rare and are pretty boring.

4. After the Memorial Day weekend, on Tuesday, I'll draw a winner and announce it here.

5. I'll send you a gift card to cover any shirt you pick.

Good luck!, I hope you win!

Cutest Dog Contest

Don't you think this little character should win?

My Last Day as 25

25 has been an excellent year and tomorrow I'll try out 26! As a little bit of a celebration of a great year, I thought I'd share how I started it as well as 25 things I did during it.

Brian took me to breakfast at the Root Cellar Cafe. I don't remember what I ordered, but I do remember these waffles a la mode for dessert! What a way to start the day, right? Then we went for a walk along the San Marcos River. It was where Brian asked me to marry him too (not that day)!

My birthday present was Jack Rogers sandals. We had celebrated with my parents the weekend before since we were in town for a Memorial Day picnic/wedding shower. They gave me my phone.

After Brian had to leave for work, Stefanie came over to the lake house and we ran errands and layed out. We hung out last night and it was great to catch up despite truly awful service at the River Pub.

That evening we went to my favorite restaurant, Liberty Bistro, for dessert and wine. I call a lot of restaurants my favorite, don't I? Just goes to show you how much I love food I guess!

So you know quite a bit more about the rest of my year already, particularly the 2nd half, but here's a summary of some of the things I did this year. I'm working on a 30 before 30 list that I'll get started on tomorrow!

25 Things I experienced at 25 (many for the first time)

1. Married the love of my life

2. Sang karaoke

3. had a couples massage

4. went deep sea fishing

5. hosted Thanksgiving

6. played XBox

7. played bocce

8. made a toast

9. planted a garden

10. made a house a home

11. mowed grass

12. taught Life Teen

13. went to Mexico

14. got certified to teach math and science

15. paid taxes

16. joined NBRW

17. changed my name

18. got my first (2) pair of shoes over $100

19. saw Willie Nelson

20. bought a bike

21. climbed a rock

22. went to the rodeo

23. made a new friend

24. visited New York family

25. started a blog

Notice that I didn't get to put met Laura Bush on the list. Once I got directions to the place I realized there was no way I could make it before the check-in time so I stayed home instead and did enjoy my evening. Thank you to those of you with advice! My last day at 25 has been observed with a physical at the docs office, some cleaning and watching Gone With the Wind. I have a really yummy meal planned for when Brian gets home and then we're going down the street to a meet and greet for our congressional candidate, Bryan Underwood. All in all, a nice day. The birthday and weekend plans are still a little up in the air, but you'll hear about it after it happens!

Check back tomorrow, because I won't be the only one to be getting presents!

Say BEETS!

Little bit of a garden update here. The peas are finished and the okra is setting up to get going. There are about 60 green tomatoes of different varieties working on ripening, and more swiss chard than I can eat! But the exciting news is that the beets are just about ready! I just pulled these two out but there are at least 2 more that are pretty much ready too, but who can eat four beets in one day? Besides, Brian is going to want in on this treat! The others need a little more time I think, but I hear they're tastiest when they're young.

So, the question is what to do with them? I've only ever had steamed or boiled beets that I know of but I came across these other recipes in my Google Reader. Any sound good to you?

Beet Chips

Beet Pink Pancakes

Eggs dyed with beets - maybe a little too late in the season

Beet Greens Soup

Beet Salad

ok it's looking like the possibilities are endless! I do know for sure that I want to try the greens too this time. I've never had them before. I'm not sure if I'll fix them just like other greens or try that soup recipe. Maybe both before the season is over.

What do you think about beets? Love them? Hate them? Have a favorite way of fixing them? I've gotta say the pink pee pee might be my favorite!

And I'll go ahead and leave you with this gem. Anyone remember that?

Wedding Wednesdays - 2 for 1 special

I've been slacking on the Wedding Wednesday posts lately, but today I'm going to round up the last two weeks. This week the theme is groomsmen gifts. Brian picked these out all on his own and I've got to admit, they were quite well received. He ordered monogrammed 24oz beer mugs for each of his groomsmen and ushers. I don't remember where he got them, but they looked a lot like these. He also gave them their Brooks Brothers bow ties cummerbunds and argyle socks but I'm not sure any of those boys counted those as gifts. They sure do look spiffy though, huh?

The mugs were quite the hit and I don't think I saw any of them running low all night. The unforseen benefit to liquoring up those boys early on was that they really helped get the dance floor going. See Taylor in action below. His wedding is in South Padre in just over 2 weeks. Brian is a groomsman and he may be able to return the favor.

Now last week I missed posting about Wedding Wednesday and the theme was reception dinner. I've got to tell you my single favorite day of wedding planning (yes, even better than picking out my dress) was the menu selection day. And my poor poor hubby was travelling for work that week, as his now, and missed out big time! I did have my mom and dad there helping me and it was pretty great!

When we first started planning the wedding I wanted the reception to be at a local restaurant called Palmer's because it was my favorite in town and they have the best pecan crusted chicken you've ever tasted! My plan was to serve that there, but the guest list grew and it grew and we grew right out of that restaurant and ended up looking at a bunch of other places before ultimately choosing the San Marcos Convention Center that was just being built. We booked the wedding before they even had a chef so we were agreeing to tentative prices and menus. As it turned out the chef they ended up getting was excellent and very willing to work with us to make a meal that we wanted and promised to give pecan crusted chicken a try.

So the tasting started out with our signature cocktail. They brought out some seriously delicious drinks! My dad, who doesn't drink at all, was making fast work of these even. We decided on a poinsettia which is champagne and cranberry because we could use that for the toasts and cut down on extra champagne costs. We renamed it Explosion of Love (go ahead, laugh it up) because that's what I'd been calling the whole party. Plus it was beautiful sparkly red with a cherry in the bottom, perfect for 4th of July! It helped decorate the tables for me.

Next we tried hors d'oeuvres and decided on mushroom caps stuffed with herbed Italian sausage, roasted bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeños, and a spicy shrimp skewer. Delicious! I'm glad I got to try them then because they were all pretty much gone by the time we got there. I guess that's the whole point of the cocktail hour.

The salad we chose was fabulous although the only thing I remember about it is that it had goat cheese and pink (raspberry) salad dressing. There were also herbed rolls to go with.

Finally we tried several delicious main courses including beef medallions, shrimp, snapper, tortilla chicken and pecan crusted chicken. You know I went with my favorite! In the setting we had with a plated meal and about 200 guests the coordinator assured me that it was best to go with just one option rather than trying to get everyone to choose. We didn't have any vegetarians or allergics in the group so that worked. We also chose cilantro rice and haricot verts with julienned veggies.

All night long people were telling me it was the best wedding food they had ever had and I'd have to agree. Brian refused to get up and mingle until he had cleaned his plate (I did too) then we at another whole plate after the party up in our honeymoon suite. It was that good, and I didn't have to worry about fitting in a dress anymore!

I didn't make menu cards for the tables since they didn't really have a choice anyway so I'll print one out here:

Menu

Passed hors d'oeuvres

Mushroom cap stuffed with herbed Italian sausage

Jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon

Spicy jumbo shrimp on a skewer

Salad

Mixed field greens with pecans, goat cheese, strawberries and berry dressing

herbed rolls with butter

Main Course

Pecan crusted chicken breast in a chipotle cream sauce

with a side of cilantro rice

and haricot verts with julienned mixed vegetables

On our anniversary, which is coming right up, we plan on going to Mass at the church we were married at. That's a given, since it falls on a Sunday and we go there anyway. Then going back to that hotel and having dinner and spending the night. We might even get to reexperience one of my favorite honeymoon moments in their spa, the couple's massage. I can't wait!!

I have a conundrum

I can't decide what to do this evening. I have two real options and I'd love your help in deciding what to do.

Option 1: Hurry home after school, feed the dogs, then turn around and head into Austin to see LAURA BUSH speak about her new memoir Spoken from the Heart.

Pros:

• It's Laura Bush and I admire her greatly and have heard that she's an excellent speaker from other people who have gone to her readings.
• I would get a copy of her book. Signed if I'm fast enough.
• I would be doing exciting things even when Brian isn't here.

Cons:

• Tickets are $35 and I don't have one yet, so I'd have to figure that out.
• My dogs wouldn't be getting my attention.
• I'd be rushing around all afternoon and that's not usually fun.
• I'd be alone.

Option 2: Go home and relax. Take the dogs on a walk. Pick up all the furniture so the carpets can get cleaned tomorrow. Eat a nutritious dinner. Blog. Make phone calls. Watch Glee and Dancing With the Stars.

Pros:

• I would be relaxed and not rushing which is great. And there's something very pleasant about being home alone every now and then.
• Those are all things that need to get done anyway.
• The rest of my week might run more smoothly if I spent some time this evening getting organized.

Cons:

• I might not be responsible about my evening in and end up just watching tv and eating cereal out of the box.
• How is this different than what I do most days? Not exactly carpe diem.
• I'd miss an opportunity (even if it might not be once in a lifetime) to gain wisdom from a good woman.

I really might go with the plan that gets the most votes over the next few hours since I can't seem to decide on my own. So please comment and let me know what you would do, or what I should do, if they're different.

Summer Reading List

Booking Mama is hosting a Summer reading challenge to read the 18 books recommended on Entertainment Weekly's list of new Summer reads. Not letting my brain rot is always one of my goals so I figured I would join in and read along!

She's set different levels of completion and it just so happens that if you read 4-6 of the books you achieve the rank of Guppy. Something yall don't know about me is that my nickname from my parents is Guppy so that's where I'm setting my sights - 6 books. I know there will be other books that aren't on the list that I will want to read and I'm guaranteed to not be drawn to them all so I figure this is a reasonable goal. I might reevaluate mid-summer and see if I can raise the bar.

I'll keep you updated with what I'm reading and what I think of it. Head on over here to join in the fun.

Come Holy Spirit

Happy Pentecost! It's the end of Easter now, but God never leaves us alone but sends the gift of the Holy Spirit to be with us always.

From here. This is framed on our mantel.

Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,

they were all in one place together.

And suddenly there came from the sky

a noise like a strong driving wind,

and it filled the entire house in which they were.

Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,

which parted and came to rest on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in different tongues,

as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven

staying in Jerusalem.

At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,

but they were confused

because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,

“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?

Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?

We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,

inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,

Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,

Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,

as well as travelers from Rome,

both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,

yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues

of the mighty acts of God.”

Sing-Along Sunday

It's time again for another round of Sing-Along Sunday. I'd love to see a few more people participate, but you're probably busy having too much fun this weekend to think about it, right? I know I am!

I am posting a karaoke favorite (at least in these parts) that's taking a particularly sad tone this week. You see, hubby will be in Amarillo for a work trip by tomorrow morning and gone until Thursday with the possibility of being gone till Friday, my birthday. So here's the ever handsome George Straight. enjoy!

I'd be even sadder if it weren't for the sheer volume of fun we've been having this weekend! I can't wait to tell you all about it tomorrow. Also get ready for some birthday posts this week.

Now, if you'd be a doll, head on over to YouTube (or any other music hosting place) pick out your favorite song, or any one that's on your mind today and post it on your blog. You can post it in the comments if you don't have one. Then come back here and use the nifty linky tool below to link up to your post. That way we can all sing along with you today!

Fuming Fridays

I'm fuming because this is the house where flowers come to die. Our veggie garden is doing just fine but every attempt we've made at flowers has been an utter failure. Everything is shaded in our yard except the one spot on the side where the veggies went in. It upsets me because I actually do care a lot about gardening and making the house pretty. Our house has ZERO curb appeal on it's own and I thought for sure a rose bed would brighten things up. Our neighbors have knockout roses that look pretty much like this. They grow like this all over the place

what happened when we spent $150 and a couple days trying to get roses? This:

Exhibit B is our dweeby looking oleanders that came with the place. Partially thriving, partially dead as a door nail

Exhibit C: This plant used to be a Pinta. It was bright and beautiful when it came but it may have been left in the cold.

Since this is the first house I've really attempted much gardening I'm going to blame it on the place and not us. My parents have a gorgeous yard, Brian's parents have. We ought to be able to do this. I think I'm going to try once more with some Summer hardy flowers in the new bed that's fixin to be empty and if that doesn't work I quit until we move! Because this pitiful plant routine has me fuming!

What I Wore Wednesday

I love seeing all of the outfits posted by Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy and her readers that link up each week. So after reading last Wednesday I decided I would participate this week by taking a picture of what I wore each day.

I do my best every day to not look like a frump, but I don't have the stellar fashion sense and creativity that I know some of yall do. I'm also realizing just how bad my photography skills are. I don't think I can blame it entirely on the camera. Anyway here is what I wore.

Wednesday:

Home and errands

Tank - Target

Skirt - Gap

Sandals - Nine West

Necklace - J.Crew

Thursday:

Subbed high school geometry

Tee - Madewell

Skirt - J.Crew

Sandals - Target

Necklace - Maurice's

I forgot to take a picture Friday.

I was subbing high school English and I looked really cute!

I'll have to wear that outfit again.

Saturday:

Wore this outfit for just a little while to run errands.

Cardigan - J.Crew

Tank - J.Crew

Skirt - J.Crew

Sandals - PayLess

Then changed into grub clothes to help B in the garage.

Then into this outfit:

Birthday party (birthday girl not pictured, that's my friend Kim)

Jacket - Ann Taylor Loft

Dress - Old Navy

Shoes - Ross

Necklace - Hawaii

Sunday:

Housework, errands,

I added capri length tights for Mass in the evening

Dress - Old Navy

Sandals - Banana Republic

tights (not pictured) - Target

Monday:

Cooking and housework, Republican Women meeting

Shirt - J.Crew

Belt - Target

Skirt - Target

Shoes - DSW

Tuesday:

Subbing middle school history, Roll out at J.Crew

Dress - J.Crew

Sandals - Payless

Any outfits I should definitely not wear again? Any recommendations on the picture taking? You should post your outfits next week. It's kind of fun and hopefully it'll help me remember not to wear the same thing to the same place in a row.

Top 2 Tuesday - Bucket List

Taylor is hosting Top 2 Tuesday again this week and the theme is two things you'd want to do before you die. I'm thinking about starting a list of things to do before I'm 30 a la 30 Before 30 List now that I'm entering my late 20s (and facing my own mortality, ha) so this is just a start.

1. Tour the Holy Land. I want to walk where Jesus walked and "experience the miracles where they happend." I'm want to go with a guided group so I can really know what I'm looking at, but I just think that would be a trip fo a lifetime.

2. Get caught up in a flash mob. I really don't even care whether I'm in on the act (if you're organizing one, I'll totally learn the dance!) or if I'm one of the lucky passerby in the right place at the right time. I would totally geek out! I'd better start hanging out on college campuses and in train stations. That seems to be where they happen. There's tons of videos but this one is from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Not sure why I can't get it to embed.

A Super Simple Treat

Hey guys! I'm probably a little more excited than I should be that I get to share this with you but I link up to other people's recipes so often and I very rarely post any originals. This one is from my friend Kim. She just told me about it less than a week ago but I knew I wanted to try it right away so I made them yesterday. It's the easiest thing ever, and even though you probably don't need it, I'm going to post my very first tutorial on how to make these little treats. I don't know a name for them, maybe you can think of one?

First, get your oven going. It doesn't really matter what temp. I put it at 350 but if you have something else cooking in there anyway that temp will be fine too.

Ok, here's what you'll need

You're only limited in how many of these you can make by the smallest bag of something you have. I don't know why I bought such a chintzy bag of pecans, that's what I ran out of first.

Lay out your pretzels on a baking sheet. Unwrap the Rolos and set one up on top of each pretzel. Keep in mind that if you enlist the help of your husband in unwrapping the Rolos, about half of them are going to go missing before they make it on their pretzel. Pop those in the oven for just about 5 minutes. You'll be able to see the chocolate getting soft but you don't want to let them get fully melty.
While they're still hot press a pecan half into the Rolo like a thumbprint and it'll squish out a little over the pretzel. This picture is really just so you can see my pretty diamond.

Then all you have to do is let them cool on your counter for an hour or two or faster in the fridge. Wait till the chocolate hardens up again before you take them off the baking sheet. It's less messy that way. We've been just snacking on them but I think they would go really well in a cookie sampler tin come Christmas. Salty, sweet, nutty, chewy, crispy, you're going to love them!!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday- I'm going to my NBRW meeting, but Brian is being taken care of. I thawed out some gumbo I made a while back for him and made fresh corn bread.

Tuesday - Slow Cooker rotisserie chicken, Baked beans (my crockpots will be doing all the work all day because I have no time to cook tomorrow. Subbing, then J.Crew) and broccoli orange salad. Notice how often I use Beth's recipes. She has such great recipes, I haven't tried a bad one yet!

Wednesday - This is going to be another no time to cook day so I'm just fixing boxed red beans and rice with venison sausage and steamed zucchini.

Thursday - Mongolian beef over brown rice and steamed edamame. Edamame is a take-out favorite of mine and oh so healthy! I never used to have it at home until I realized how cheap a frozen bag of it is and so easy to steam up. You should definitely give it a try if you haven't before.

Friday - Omelets with whatever leftover veggies we have by then, hashbrowns and grapefruit.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Cobbler is for dessert every night until it's gone. I made it with blueberry pie filling and it's delicious!! I followed her recipe but used reduced fat everything and Splenda instead of sugar and it came out perfectly. Probably still bad for us, but not nearly like it could have been!

Getting to Know You

1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is.....? My wedding dress. I'm trying to sell it, but no luck yet.

2. Have you ever played a team sport? Swim team for a few years and a thoroughly unsuccessful stint on a boys soccer team in 2nd grade.

3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be? I'd be one of those really fancy beetles like with the horn and iridescent exoskeleton.

4. Where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned?your chest. I don't want splotchy damaged skin there later.

5. Are you happy? incredibly so!

6. People are always abbreviating..are there any abbreviations that make your skin crawl when people use them? I don't mind abbreviations at all. I use a ton!

7. Do you love where you live..or could you live anywhere?I love where I live! There are other places I could love just as much maybe, but no, I couldn't live just anywhere.

8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you're full? I have a really sensitive tummy and if I eat just one bite too many I have to throw up, but I'm much better now about reading the signals that I'm done and ignoring anyone trying to tell me I should try to finish this or just take one more bite of that.

Sing-Along Sunday - feels like Summer to me!

Sorry I got this up so late. I hope you'll play along by posting the song (or three) that make you feel like Summer. I'm holding back any that are about Summer specifically for a later edition. But these just have that feel for me, you know? What songs sing Summer for you?

It was tough not to put 10 up here. I'd better get to work on a playlist. I can't wait to hear what you're singing now that Summer is (almost) here! Go ahead and link up to your post.

Oh, Olan Mills

Presenting our first Olan Mills church directory portrait together! Why do I feel like this singular picture just aged us 10 years? In another 20 we'll be ready to be featured among the greatness of this blog. Anyone else follow Sexy People? I love it- hilarious! What do you think? You should have seen some of the other shots!

Six Senses Saturday

I'm linking up with Julia of The World is My Oyster again! You should too!

***

Right Now I'm...

Tasting:

A pimento cheese and whole wheat bread sandwich and coke.

Smelling:

Ammonia.

Brian is cleaning the garage and I just helped by cleaning one shelf.

I'll help some more right after this.

Seeing:

A much more beautiful sight in the garage to my right.

And 2 cars in there!! WHOO!

Hearing:

Eddie barking. There must be a squirrel out there.

Touching:

My hair. I'm thinking about cutting it short. It's getting on my nerves.

Feeling:

Hopeful. I just got an ovulation test kit and we'll see how that goes.

Lots more peeing in cups this month.

What are your senses doing today?

***
Have a great weekend!

I'll be doing a Sing-Along Sunday post tomorrow. Join in to post a song that reminds you of Summer!

Fuming Fridays

This Friday, I'm fuming about TV writers. Sometimes they can be so dumb, you know? I'm not even really talking about the time they went on strike for a whole freaking season, the deadbeats! But when they are working, sometimes they do the dumbest things! I just found out from Neely that something awful happened on Private Practice last night that isn't at all how I would have the show go. And who is responsible for putting Preston in a mustache for a few weeks? Every time I watched Desperate Housewives I vomited a little. G-ross! Thank heaven it's shaved now.

Also, my favorite show in the whole world for like 3 years, Weeds, has gone to pot (pun-intended)! What used to be a hilariously snarky show about a drug dealing soccer mom has just gone off the deep end (totally lousy show) and become about this sleazy chick who is in way over her head with slimeballs. I don't even want to watch next season. And how many times have you shouted at the tv or wanted to cry because your favorite characters end up with the wrong guy?

There are so many shows that are cancelled way too soon (Jericho, Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me) and others that just drag on for WAY TOO LONG (Lost, Prison Break, South Park, American Idol). Sorry if those are your faves, it's just my opinion. I am sure I have zero talent as a TV show writer, but quite often I feel like I could do a much better job.

So that's my rant today! Glad to have that off my chest!

My Life According to Queen!

Neely tagged me to play this game today and I'm only too happy to play along! It's certainly been long enough since I blogged last, and it's high time I got back on the bandwagon.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)"

Pick Your Artist
Queen (Second and third choices were Regina Spektor and Willie Nelson)

Are you a male or female:
Sweet Lady

Describe yourself:
Fat Bottomed Girls

How do you feel:
Get Down, Make Love

Describe where you currently live:
Is this the World We Created...

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Seven Seas of Rhye

Your favorite form of transportation:
Spread Your Wings

Your best friend is:
You're My Best Friend

You and your best friends are:
Doing All Right

What's the weather like:
Rain Must Fall

What's your favorite time?
Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon

If your life was a tv show, what would it be called:
Somebody to Love

What is life to you:
The Miracle

Your last relationship:
Loser in the End

My significant other:

Love of my Life

Your fear:
The Invisible Man

What is the best advice you have to give:
Hang On in There

Thought for the Day:
Don't Stop Me Now

How I would like to die:
Sheer Heart Attack

My soul's present condition:
My Life Has Been Saved

My motto:
If You Can't Beat Them

I'm Tagging:

Allie

Sarah

LittleDaisyMay

Alissa

Carrie

Mrs. Smith

And YOU!! If you'd like to play along, grab it and let me know you did!!

Sing-Along Sunday Mother's Day Edition

Happy Sunday! And Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are moms and your mommas too. Today I thought it would be nice for anyone who decides to link up and play along this week to post a song that reminds you of your mom or maybe her favorite song rather than any one that's running through your head.

Today I'll be going in to San Antonio to be with Brian's mom and his Granny and they are great women. I'm so happy to have them as second moms to me now. I'll be missing my mom but I can't wait to get to see her again. The rest of this post is for her!

For my mom, I'm playing You'll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins.

Is this song cheesy? You bet! But if you can't be cheesy on Mother's Day, when can you? The reason I chose it though is because it was my solo song in high school dance team. Pretty weak connection to Mother's Day, right? But every time I hear it I don't think about performing it in competition, I think about my mom watching me to practice and helping to choreograph it. I think of the many many hours she spent driving me to and from Dolls events and practice, supporting me in my love for dance that she also had. She pushed me to do my best in everything I was involved in, and it was quite a lot! She loved me through a lot of the pain and frustration I went through during those high school and middle school tough years even if we fought sometimes.

I think about things before that too, like how she took me to every single fun, educational thing you could take kids to within a hundred miles of our house. She taught my Sunday School class for years and took the mother's day out group on field trips galore! She played with my dolls with me and gave all of them voices, and a personality that they retain today. She walked with me and our dog Mandy to school every day in addition to walks along the bayou, walks to the park, walks in nature ares. Lots of walking with that woman, still is! I was such a well loved child! Even though I desperately wanted brothers and sisters my mom (and dad) loved me and paid so much attention to me and were so involved in my life that looking back I'm not sure it would have worked to have more kids around!

I also think about now. How my mom and I laugh when we say things in unison because we do, all the time. How whenever I call the first thing she asks is "are you ok" because she has that silly alarm ring tone set for me. I'm becoming more and more like her and I'm so glad about that! I love our relationship now. We have so much fun when she comes to visit, and she encourages me in my marriage and gives me advice but respects my opinions too.

Today I want to repay a compliment that she gave me before. Mom, even if you weren't my mom I would want to be your friend. You are that special to me. I love you so much! Happy Mother's Day!

If you have a mom you want to post a song for, please go ahead and link up! And have a very happy Mother's Day!

Try not to point and laugh!

My poor little guy has a hot spot that he needs some help overcoming! I took him to the vet yesterday for the larger spot on his back and they shaved him and gave him a cortisone shot and some spray we can put on it twice a day. He was so embarrassed he hid his little head in my belly and would barely accept treats from the vet. Then this morning, he had already created the second spot right above his tail. That's when we decided the cone of shame was necessary. Poor thing! I learned that white dogs, and especially Jack Russell Terriers have very sensitive skin and a flea bite, or allergic reaction can set them off on a spot pretty quickly.

Six Senses Saturday

***

Right Now I'm...

Tasting:

Sweet tea and a pack of

Lance whole grain with cheddar cheese crackers.

Smelling:

The dryer going - so fresh, so clean!

Does anyone else have their computer in the laundry room?

I'd love to think I'm not the only one on this.

Seeing:

A rather dreary day forming.

Today was supposed to be a floating day, or at least a sailing day

but it's in the 60s after a week of 90s.

Hearing:

I Just Want to Make Love To You - Etta James

I just read about stereomood.com from my new Real Simple magazine.

I love it! I'm on the Spring Cleaning play list right now for a little inspiration.

Touching:

My smooth legs! I've been using the Jergen's lotion with the gradual tanner

that's supposed to put a hold on stubble. I think it's working.

Feeling:

Rather peaceful know I have the house to myself for a while.

Brian just headed out to help a friend with his boat.

What are your senses doing today?

Head over to The World is My Oyster with Julia and play along today!

Then play with me tomorrow for Sing Along Sunday for a special Mother's Day edition.

Fuming Fridays

The funk from yesterday has lifted, but I'll go ahead and fume about it anyway. I hate PMS! It makes every little bad thing seems 100 times worse than it is and puts a haze over the happy things. But what really sucks about PMS is that I was so hoping to have "crazy pregnant lady" mood swings by now, not "that time of the month" mood swings.

On a much more serious note, a student of mine from my last teaching assignment died over the weekend and I found out about it on Wednesday. I've been praying about it and dwelling on it, but not talking about it much. If you would, please pray for her and her family. She was a junior in high school and a handful in class, but so funny, and a good friend to her peers. She fell from a golf cart and hit her head. It's so hard to make sense out of the death of a young person. Only God can sort it out and bring healing the people closest to her.

Well, if you have something to fume about or get off your chest. Head on over to Neely's place and join in the conversation. Just click the button above!