May in Pictures

Time for another month of pictures of what I was up to last month.  It was pretty busy for me, if it's possible, it felt like it went by faster than April!  Even with the monsoon!

We went out with our good friends to the local brew house for a cold one and some live music...

Me & Sue

...I got to see Darcy for her birthday...

Vicki, Me and Darcy

...it started raining, so we stayed in for drinks the next week.  I tried my hand a fresh pineapple / jalapeño margarita, and it was pretty dang tasty, if I don't say so myself!...

Pineapple Jalapeno Margarita

...we took my mom out for lunch for Mother's Day...

Me, Mom & Randee

...and it kept raining...

Downtown Krum

...we celebrated Mother's Day with a tornado....

My front yard

Wayyy too close!!

Storm Damage

More local damage

...it stopped briefly in time to catch a ballgame with my honey...

Elvis at Bat

Me & Studhubs

 ...I went out of town for a girls weekend and worked on my blog and some scrapbook pages.  After an adventurous 4 hour drive, we finally made it to our retreat.  And were treated to a nice sunset...

Maypearl

...back home it kept raining...but a few days later this strange thing appeared in the sky for a few minutes...

7:30 AM

...then it was gone...

9:00 AM

...took Studhubs out for his birthday, but came home for cocktails....

Fruity Cocktail I Made Up

...threw a birthday for my step-daughter, now 18!...

Jen and her own cake

 ...made Jen a monster cake for her party...

Piñata Cake

 ...my family came...

Jennifer, Doug, Lauren and PaPa

...and all Jen's friends, a rousing game of Apples to Apples ensued...

...love these crazy kids!...

Kaylee, Lauren, Josh & Jen

...it rained here literally 25 days during the month of May this year.  There was a LOT of water....everywhere!...

...when it finally stopped raining, Studhubs and I wandered out for a walk...

Studhubs

...we live near the creek and there have been turtles everywhere!  They've been displaced by the flooding.  One of my neighbors mentions helping a turtle cross the road almost every other day....

...we even found some crawdads...

...I tested my bartender skills one more time with a watermelon margarita...there was nothing else to do apparently, it was too wet. LOL...

Watermelon Margarita

So what did you do this month?  Did you stay dry?

Tell Your Story Tuesday...Challenge #12

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that is so popular with weddings that goes, “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” Well, this week’s challenge goes right along with that!

You really could inserts whatever you want here: something green, something squishy, something metallic, something cheap, something round, etc., but just to keep it fun, see if you can try to make it rhyme!

I’m still a newlywed so I went ahead and did it the old fashioned way.  Here were my something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue from my wedding in September.

Challenge 12: Find your favorite somethings and record a little bit about them!

Something...

...Old

I wore my great grandmother’s necklace.  I’m not even really sure what the center is, but it’s a silver necklace with a diamond in the center.  It’s really pretty and everyone loved it.

...New

Of course the dress and shoes were new.  Plus I bought new earrings.  The girls of course all got new dresses and shoes too.

...Borrowed

Really the only thing we borrowed, was the home where we got married.  It was a very small, private, laid back event, and our good friends Austin and Sue let us use their house.

...Blue

The blue was in my flowers, and on my cake.  And I made all the kids where blue as well.  They weren’t all formal or matchy-matchy or anything, but ya know….it was still a wedding.

As I mentioned, it was very small and informal, but it I still stressed all day to make sure everything was perfect.  And of course it was, I got to marry the man of my dreams! 

So how about you....what are your favorite somethings?

Link up and play along.

Tell Your Story Tuesday...Challenge #11

Perfectly Imperfect

This week’s challenge is another deep thinking one.  The hardest part in this challenge really, is to truly be honest. We are all human, and therefore imperfect. It’s hard to embrace our imperfections sometimes. We want others to think we are perfect, right?  But it’s okay to embrace our imperfections, as much as it’s okay to admit that we’re doing pretty good in other areas as well!
What are 5 things you have (or almost have) perfected? What are 5 things you are far from perfect in?

(almost) perfect…

• Cooking – I like to cook and I’m one of those people that always use a recipe as a “guideline.”  I usually try to customize it to fit things my family likes, like omit onions or add garlic, etc.  I ALWAYS use more spices than most call for.  It seems to me a lot of time, especially those you find on the internet or a church cookbook seem to be a bit bland for us.  I like to bake too, those you can’t play with too much, but my family loves when I bake.

• Making Lists – I’m a list girl.  For one thing, if I don’t write something down I tend to forget about it.  Plus I love getting check something off that has been accomplished, it makes me feel productive.

• Crafts – I love crafting.  I have gone through spurts where I’ll do one craft a lot, then try something else and get all addicted to that, then just stop for a while and not do anything.  But I’ve tried lots of different things, and with instruction I can usually do a pretty good job of it.  Plus I like being able to say “I made that myself.”   Although I can always find flaws in my stuff, most people are always impressed with my creations.  I guess I’m my own worst critic.

• Washing My Hands – I’m almost OCD about this.  I wash my hands at least 20 times a day.  Before I start cooking, after I get home from someplace, after using the restroom, after cleaning.  I don’t know maybe I’m a  germaphobe, but I will say, I hardly ever get sick.

• Cleaning My House – I’m not talking about scrub the baseboards, spotless clean, but I try hard to at least keep everything picked up and presentable.  I cannot stand to leave dishes in my sink, I vacuum twice a week, swish the toilets often and wipe down the sink and counters.  With 2 teenagers, it’s not always an easy feat.

• Yelling – This wasn’t my answer, I asked my kids for suggestions while making this list and both of them said this and didn’t know the other had offered it up.  I do not yell all the time, they exaggerate…but maybe if they’d pick up after themselves once in a while.

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(far from) perfect…

• Budgeting – I make a budget every month.  My problem is actually FOLLOWING it.  It seems to turn out more of a track my spending kind of thing.  I can tell you where all of my money is going….it’s just not always where it’s SUPPOSE to be going.

• Exercising Regularly – I go through spurts, where I will exercise pretty regularly for a while…then I forget, or get busy and there goes my good habit.  Then I’ll go weeks before even doing it again.  I wish this was something I could get addicted to, like lip balm or baseball.

• Listening – I think I’m ADD, and I am horrible at actually sitting quietly and listening.  Someone will be talking to me, and something they will triggers a response and I have a hard time waiting til the end to give it without interrupting.  And if I do wait….I usually forget what it was when it’s my turn.  Or if I’m in the middle of doing something and someone tries to tell me something, I have a hard time stopping mid-task and giving my full attention, then I’ve missed half of the story.  If you know me, I’m sure I’ve probably done this to you and I’m sorry.

• Multi-tasking – I use to think I was good at this….I’m really NOT.  I’ve come to realize that when I’m trying multi-task, none of those tasks are really getting my full attention.  So then one gets partially done, while I start another, then I flip back and forth, taking twice as long to finish….or each is only getting a partial effort and I’m not really giving a good quality product….like that listening thing.

• Calling My Parents – I really stink at this.  They both live within about 15 miles of me, but I hardly see them or even talk to them.  I just get busy doing my own thing and when I get free time, I don’t usually use it to talk on the phone.  I need to start making more of an effort.  I don’t want my kids to grow up and ignore me…treat others and all that.

• Cleaning My House – I have 2 teenagers…it’s an effort to keep the house clean.  And I don’t dust every week or scrub the baseboards.  I have too much stuff in my house, so you run out of places to keep things, or there’s that spot on the bar that tends to collect mail and sunglasses and keys.  There are rooms I try not to even walk into if I can help it (the girls rooms), my closets aren’t neat.  I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever try to sell my house…

What about you...what are your perfect imperfections?

Link up and play along.

Tell Your Story Tuesday...Challenge #10

I’m sure you've all had it happen before. You’re at family dinner and your Uncle starts his story about "When I was a kid..." It usually involves a story about having to walk 5 miles to and from school in 3 feet of snow, up hill both ways!  You roll your eyes and groan inwardly, or maybe laughingly egg him on.  well, now it’s your turn!

This week’s challenge: How are things different now from when you were a kid?

Transportation: There was no seat belt law, heck some older model cars didn't even seat belts, and even the newer ones only had a lap belt.  We used to pile a bunch of kids in the back of the pick up truck and ride around town, up on the wheel wells, you didn't have to sit back against the cab.  We actually rode our bikes or walked almost everywhere we went.  And almost all of my friends had to save up and buy their own cars!

1977 Ford Maverick

Technology: We had 2 TVs in the house, and about 6 channels.  The went off at midnight and showed a colorful striped screen.  We got cable when I was a teenager but all the local stations still went off air by 2AM.  I remember rotary dial phones, but by the time I was in middle school we had a push button.  It plugged into the wall and you had to sit next to it because the cord was only like 2 feet long.  By high school, I talked my parents into about an 8 ft cord so I could at least wander a bit or do chores while I talked.  Cameras were either Polaroid that spit out a grainy pic you had to wave around and blow on to finish developing or some type roll that you had to take to the photo shop to send off for developing and got back like a week later.  We had to GO to the movie theater to see a movie, Beta and VHS movies didn't come out til I was in 8^th or 9^th grade, or at least we didn't have one.  As for video games, we got an Atari for Christmas one year, and had Pong and Space Invaders, or had to go to the arcade.  I had my own stereo in high school, it had a turntable, Cassette player and an 8-track, along with AM/FM radio and these huge speakers.  I wasn't lucky enough to get a Walkman, they were too expensive.

Food: I think school food is pretty close to the same, except they get more choices.  Pizza, Hamburger, Tacos, and usually a fruit, a vegetable and milk.  I mostly took my lunch, my mom would pack me a sandwich, a pickle some chips and a drink in a thermos!  We didn’t have juice boxes to carry.  We ate at home most nights, and when I got older and my parents got more social, I did a lot of cooking.  It was ALWAYS my job to do the dishes at our house, no matter who had dirtied them.

Friends:  We mostly played outside.  When I was in grade school I remember playing tag, hide and seek, football, soccer all out in the yards with the neighbor kids.  We played school, made mud pies and went fishing for crawdads in the creek.  Even in middle school after we moved to a new neighborhood, we were outside.  Usually all day, and after dark.  We pretty much stayed in the neighborhood, and our parents would just open the door and yell so you knew to come home.  Janice had a pool, so we were there a lot too.  I met Janice when I was in 5^th grade, and after a bit of a rocky start, we've been best friends ever since and still talk almost every day.

School: I had to walk to school every day until I was in high school.  Then I had to ride the bus for 2 years, then I was too close, so I either bummed a ride, or had to walk a few times.  I finally got a car during the summer between junior and senior year.  The school actually offered Drivers Ed back then too, it was an after school class. Back then they also offered more elective classes in school, and we weren't required as many core credits.  I did well in school, was pretty much a straight A student all the way through (with just a couple of exceptions).  We had to actually do work in class, and if you didn't finish you had to take it home.  I had to come home and finish my homework before I could do anything else.  Kindergarten was only half days for one semester, and elementary school went through 5^th grade.  Both middle school and high school was 6 classes per day for 6 week grading periods. Oh, and people actually LICKS when they got in trouble and real DETENTION!

Pizza Day

Holidays: I always enjoyed the holidays.  We usually got together at my grandparents house and all the cousins were there.  My mom was always the first one ready to leave.  She still does that.  We ended up always celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve, because my brother and sisters would whine that I got to open a gift early and they couldn't wait, and I think my parents just got tired of hearing it and would rather sleep in.  I always noticed, more so at the big family events, that while everyone else got 2 Christmas gifts to open, I usually got a Birthday gift and a Christmas gift… but they always got another one on their birthday too.  I don’t really remember having very many birthday parties.  Now it doesn't bother me at all, I’d really rather not acknowledge my birthdays anyway.   These days I don’t really like the holidays at all, it’s just too much work and stress and I’d really rather just stay home and watch movies in my PJs.

Sports: I played soccer for several years when I was in grade school and middle school.  I played halfback and we had practice twice a week.  Only the kids on the 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd place teams got trophies.  If we didn’t win, we didn’t get anything.  I played because I wanted to, and I had fun and had friends on the team.  I still actually talk to a couple of them!

Highland United

Styles:  My hair was stick straight, my mom made me get a “Dorothy Hamill” haircut and I hated it!  When I got older, I wore it layered and feathered, and had to use a TON of hairspray!  At one time or another I have worn gauchos, parachute pants, neon, acid wash and leg warmers!

80's Hair and Acid Wash

So what's your story?  How have things changed?  Link up and play along.