not that i'm complaining

1. but it never fails, we usually have nothing to do on the weekends then bam, we get hit with doing something all at once.

2. friday, kaylee had some girls over for a last day of school/pizza party. they swam for about 4 hours and ate pizza, cheese fries, chicken strips, fruit, cookies, donuts and ice cream. (our awesome neighbor heard the girls and brought over more cookies and ice cream)

3. kaylee didn't want to invite 2 of the girls because one seems to be always mad at her for some unknown reason and other is just mean but since i know their parents, i told kaylee to invite them anyway.

4. well those 2 girls won't be invited over the next time. they just caused some un-needed drama and bummed everyone out.

5. after swimming and eating, they played hide and seek till it was time to go home. (9pm-ish)

6. i went and got my hair colored on saturday. i wanted to go back to my close to natural color and it turned out beautifully.

7. after mike getting his haircut and picking up cupcakes and beer, we made it to bruce's birthday/crawfish boil. man was the crawfish good and spicy!

8. it was also our 11th anniversary. mike forgot.

9. sunday we were invited to one of kaylee's friend's brothers graduation/shrimp boil.

10. the brother took his sister lunch on friday (kaylee said he was there everyday for lunch this week)  and picked her up friday night from the party. he seemed to be a very nice, courteous young man doting on his sister. i told mike he and ham could probably learn something from him thats how well mannered he was!)

the weekend, food and taking the fitness plunge

1.  we had a get rid of junk sale (aka garage sale) friday and saturday. got rid of all the big pieces and made about 600 bucks. [mike and ham were ready for a clean garage so they can lift weights]

2.  went to a new taco place and saw blended friday evening. that movie was hilarious and i pretty much laughed the whole time.

3. we had one of mike's co-workers and family come over on sunday for some swimming and eating.

4. we had teriyaki meatballs and cilantro lime shrimp for appetizers (from costco).  i made a new pulled pork recipe which will be my now go to recipe, crunchy asian salad, corn casserole, and au gratin potatoes. also picked up a huge apple pie and vanilla ice cream from costco for dessert.

5. they brought a huge double layer chocolate cake from heb. (i like to post what we ate so i can go back to it for ideas and so i don't make the same thing)

6. mike ran the first annual gleannloch 5k on monday.  he came in 3rd place for his age group of 26-40 year olds.

7. they had all sorts of food and tents set up with sponsors. [kaylee's awesome dentist was there, thats how i heard about the race]

8. one of the sponsors was for a 6 week boot camp and since i'm tired of the way i look, i took the plunge and signed up for their july class.

9. and after shopping with kaylee in the afternoon, came home and ordered some weight loss/health supplements that was also a sponsor at the race. (talk about feeling like a moo-moo cow!)

10. i've been trying to lose some weight before our june vacation but nothing has been working so i thought i would give this a try. plus, its suppose to give me some much needed energy.  i should be getting it on thursday and i will post results. 

happenings...

1. this was taken a few weeks ago on our way to school. i used the waterlouge app to make it look like a water color.

2. i wish we still had a magnolia tree. they smell so good and they're so pretty.  maybe i should get a mini one...

3. well, saturday we decided to get out of the house and took the kids to an astro vs. white sox game.

4. we had a great time eating and the game was pretty close. 

5. of course the db behind us was annoying. another white sox fan was cheering when the wife said, "she's going to get beat up if she doesn't be quiet."  her intelligent husband said, "well i hope she does."

6. kaylee heard the whole thing and it only made her cheer louder for our beloved white sox.  we ended up losing by 1.

7. i went and spent my birthday money [for the 100th time] on monday and got an iPad mini. i LOVE it!  its the perfect size for when i don't want to be on the computer.

8. meryl davis won dancing with the stars- whoop whoop!  kaylee and i cheered and cheered like it was the super bowl or something!

9. seriously, i could watch her and max dance till forever, its just beautiful.

10. still getting stuff around for the big garage sale this weekend. i'm in shock that it could actually happen.

ham saves mother's day

1. my surprise weekend for kaylee ended up in many, many, many tears.  i wanted to take her to elkhart for the weekend so we could surprise her bff for her slumber/birthday party but things just didn't work out.

2. stand-by tickets through my sister were kinda pricy [$250 for the both of us] and i'm guessing my sister didn't want to drive to chicago to come and pick us up and i didn't want to spend any money for a rental car since it was a quick getaway to elkhart.

3. we did sit for an hour on saturday at a talent agency only to have them tell us that we can come back for a final interview on monday at 2:30pm because of kaylee's looks.

4. i canceled that appointment. no need for kaylee to miss any more school since we're so close to being done. plus, i would like to find a talent agency closer to the home.

5. i got to taste my first hawaiian mule. [it was pineapple flavored of course] it was pretty good, a little heavy on the ginger side.

6. and this is my hair right before bed. it always looks nice before bed, never during the day. humpf!

i also think its the longest its ever been.

7. i was sad on mother's day. people on Facebook posting pics of them with their moms and it made me miss my birth mom. i have no idea what she looks like, what she sounds like, was she happy? type of things.

8. and i was pretty bummed that my family didn't have anything planned for me like breakfast in bed, or a day out walking along the beach or grilling out.  yes, mike asked if i wanted to do these things but it would of been nice if he would of just planned it.

9. we ended up going out to dinner at the last minute- it was already close to 7pm before we left the house.


10. thankfully, ham's sense of humor put me in a good mood on the drive there so i was able to enjoy my dinner.

the weekend

still able to do her signature pose while trying to balance

1. mike and i had a late dinner friday night. tried a new mexican seafood place. [he went out with the guys to twin peaks after work]

2. the kids had already eaten because ham wanted something quick once he got home so i picked them up zaxby's.

3. saturday i got my tan on while reading a book till a certain 21 year old mentioned throwing me in the pool. kids!

4. after pf changs for dinner, the kids went swimming. mike had turned on the heater for them.

5. ham mentioned he wanted to go hiking on sunday but we ended up staying home instead.

6. my legs are hurting plus i would of liked to have been better prepared. we had no food to pack.

7. and ham needs hiking/walking shoes. 

8. mike brought out the old surf board. it use to be my older brother's from the days we lived in california. i'm guessing its about 30 years old.

9. and see that chair laying on its side? mike sat on it and broke it. i'm going to see if my mr. fix it neighbor can fix it.

10. i'm about taking kaylee on a surprise weekend get away if my sister comes through for me. she's got the airline connections i'm needing. [meaning stand-by tickets = a cheap get away. she works on united]

catching up wednesday

sarge bearington hitching an easter egg hunt ride

1. she named her bear after austin's bear on austin and ally. [ham got her that bear when she was born]

2. friday kaylee spent the night over at friends house and got to ride the only bus our school has. [everyone else either gets dropped off or walks]

3. after 5 or so outfit changes, we went to drop off kaylee's sleeping bag and overnight bag to her friends house. 

4. she wanted to see us before we headed down to mike's friends house for our own sleep over.

5. we went to a mexican place for dinner then to see the spazmatics- an 80's cover band.

6. the boys drank too much. [his friend's wife was the designate driver since she had a mud run the next morning]

7. the next morning we actually made it down to galveston to watch her and her team run.

8. after eating a late mexican breakfast, mike and i decided to see what houses were for sale in the village of tiki island. [its right before you hit galveston]

9. we even got to go through an open house.

10. depending on mike's next move with his company, we are considering moving closer to galveston. while our house will be smaller we're hoping the outside living space, boat and jet skis make up for it.

random stuff

via my instagram so don't go stealing my picture

1. had an awesome easter.

2. been doing 4-5 miles and running at least 1- 1.5 miles of it.

3. currently at 971,616 steps since january. need to get to that million to get my 500 points for our health insurance benefits.

4. tried eating some sweets but they didn't taste very good so i think the weight loss tea is working.

5. did some good shopping.  had birthday coupons to use. vera bradley was the best one- 40% off an item while anthropology was a stink'n 15%. (i've spent so much money in that store this past year!)

6. also have an addiction to bags/purses. yup, ordered another one "on the line" (quote from the movie internship)

7. watching dancing with the stars and hope meryl davis wins.

8. also watching 19 kids and counting/courting and the little couple. tonight i watched truetori instead. can't help it. i've always liked her.

9. went to our first crawfish boil saturday and tried my first mudbug. taste like shrimp!

10. still cleaning and doing laundry.

an awesome birthday weekend

1.  so last thursday was my birthday. i got this in the mail and knew who it was when i saw it was from hawaii. 

2. that would be one of my favorite people from indiana who knows that heather brown is my favorite hawaiian artist. (this is her new book.)

 3. this was delivered in the afternoon sent by my sweet family.  i've always wanted one and i have to say they are awesome. did you know it costs extra for pineapple and chocolate?

 4. then mike came home with these.  the one on the right is kind of a joke bouquet. he use to get me those all the time and one time i asked him if he realized they had other arrangements that had different varieties of flowers? (not saying he had to get me more expensive ones!)

5. then we went to campioni's (local restaurant) for dinner. the food was so awesome!

 6. this is mike retrieving one of my earrings he knocked into the 68 degree pool. thats what he gets for trying to push me friday morning after our 2 mile walk.

7.  mike's parents and my parent's sent me money. (yeah- money!)

8.  saturday, before dinner, we took ham shopping for clothes. he got 2 pairs of shorts and a shirt. we went to one store for 30 minutes then he was done- men!

 9. we went to benihana's to continue my birthday celebration. i wanted ham to be there.
(he should be smiling after what we spent on his 2 pairs of shorts and shirt!)

10. and one with me and the kids. it was an awesome birthday!
 (our waiter wrote happy 18th birthday on the receipt so i'm keeping it with my other birthday cards)

wishful thinking

hawaii 2011

1. oh how i wish i back there! or living there. 

2. the weekend was good, didn't do too much.

3. in fact, sunday, i didn't do squat and i kinda liked it.

4. mike was feeling adventurous on monday and suggested we drive 45-50 miles to eat dinner at sharky's. it was a gorgeous day to eat by the lake.

5. mike's usually in bed by 8:30, vapor locking by 9 so he can get up by 3:30-4 to go run.

6. monday i started this cleanse. i'm having a hard time doing step 3. its making me feel sick so i'm going to try and take it with some food. (like with a banana or kind bar)

7. i have a hard time doing anything with a powder mix so i'm proud of myself for making it to day 3.

8. the mom whose baby shower i went to last week sent a few pics of me last night. i look like a quarter back! (small head, big shoulders/body) 

9. so i'm going to start watching what i eat, how much of it and of course get exercising! (as soon as i pop that blister thats still on my foot!)

10. yes, i still have that dang blister on my foot. its still the size of my thumbnail but its less painful and its getting softer. now to work up the nerve to pop it. (my neighbor whose a doctor said i should pop it)

the weekend

1.  friday, after eating lunch with kaylee, mike and i went and bought lots of flowers.

 2. saturday was spent planting those flowers.

3. i got bit twice by a fire ant.

4. saturday evening i went to a baby shower. it was fun, the good was yummy and i won a game.

5. sunday, we went looking for more flowers but didn't see any at a different garden center.

6. so we went to willies for a late lunch.

7. after eating a late lunch, i came home to do this:

8. that's chicken parmesan, blackened tilipia, mahi, salmon, steak and grilled chicken with pasta, potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, and mac n cheese. (there's also chili and corn bread from a previous meal)

9. ham took most of it with him. he just puts them in his freezer till he's ready to eat one. lets them defrost in the fridge for the day then he's got a home cooked meal.

10. my friend tania said that it almost made her cry when she saw this because it shows what a good mom i am.  proud mama moment.

keeping the economy going

1. after going to trader joes for more cookie butter this morning, i went next door to nothing bundt cakes. big mistake! huge!

2. because not only did i walk out with a single serving size of carrot cake but also with a dozen of these mini ones. [the carrot cake was quickly devoured after eating left over salad. its all about the balance and no one knows but me and you so it never happened]

3. kaylee had a friend spend the night friday. we went to the alamo draft house and watched muppets most wanted. we also ate at the theatre which i do not recommend-way too expensive!

4. saturday was watch mike mulch the yard day. it looks so much better.

5. sunday we headed to ikea for another fiddle fig plant and a bistro set for the breezeway. what i had in there before was too bulky.

6. then we headed to the yard house for a late lunch. i ended up getting the biggest turkey pot pie ever seen! it was delish!

7. of course i had to stop into anthropology and found a cute top on sale which i wore yesterday and felt really cute in it. getting my hair done also helped with the cuteness factor.

8. one day last week, i decided to turn in all my gift cards i had sitting around. everything pretty much came in yesterday so my doorbell was ringing like it was christmas or something.

9. i'm still waiting for my much needed haan steam mop which should be here today.  if you sign up for their emails, they will give you $20 off which makes it the cheapest i've seen.

10. also waiting for my erin condren goodies. they had given me a $25.00 gift card for being a repeat customer. got $25 off my order and a free t-shirt. not too shabby.

wow- its almost march

1. her outfit last friday for her school's fun run. she completed all 36 laps and then some.

2. i still take outfit photos of her every school day but just too lazy to post them for what she wore wednesdays. [wsww]

3. went to my favorite local furniture store called the perfect piece and got a new end table and buffet. the end table has a crank that still works to make it taller or shorter.  photos coming soon.

4. ham came home friday and stayed till saturday. he needed more food so i had mike grill about 4 pounds of chicken, shrimp, salmon and sausages while i made potatoes and blackened tilipia, all done in an hour!

5. he said he could wait on the broccoli and asparaguts [what we call them] so i could finally stop cooking. he's generous like that.

6. saturday kaylee stayed over night at a friends house, mike and i got invited to play pool and drink over at the johnson's house. [a guy who use to work for mike in indiana and was willing to move so mike got him a job here who still works for him]

7. i think i have paint colors picked for the master bedroom and bathroom. going with a navy blue-ish for the bedroom and a purplish color for the bathroom.

8. just need to finish the rest of the painting projects i have going on but at least i have colors.

9. we lost power last night. not for very long but again, it reminded me that i really need to get an emergency kit put together.

10. we are in a hurricane zone.  our neighbors/friends said they went about 2 weeks without electricity when hurricane ike striked. [the strong winds knocked everything down]

brain dumping monday

1. these are my korean shoes that i brought along with me when i was adopted almost 38 years ago.

2. i wish i had taken better care of them because they're starting to crack. [they're made out of rubber.]

2. my friend's daughter is in girl scouts and they're learning about korea and she wanted a photo of my shoes to hang up. i need to get in with the group and learn too.

3. i also want to get a traditional korean dress known as a hanbok.

4. i would love for kaylee to wear one if she ever competes in a pageant or goes to prom. [she got the call back from national american miss but we already have plans]

5. ham came home thursday night and we got to see him for about an hour before he left friday night.

6. he said he might stay for the whole weekend this week but its too far in advance to commit.

7. i'm trying to make plans with mike's mom to fly her down her for her annual spring break visit. its a surprise for mike and kaylee.

8. this might come as a shock but i actually feel like cleaning house and getting some painting done.

9. i found a steam cleaner but of course its out of stock and they're not sure if or when it will come back in stock. [i want to order it from target because i have that gift card]

10. i already went to walmart this morning to return a few items.  good thing i was able to get cash back because i forgot my wallet!

the weekend

1. kaylee was invited to a birthday on friday.  long story short, she got to go around 4pm instead of meeting them at the movies at 6pm. [it was really disorganized but hey it worked out in the end]

2. so mike texts me and says he's on his way and for me to stay home, he has plans. 

 3. and he came home with this and told me to hop into the car,  we have reservations.

4. i guessed on the way where we headed- benihana's! [he asked me a few days before the name of the place]

5. the food was SO good and i had 2 grape escapes- vodka +moscato wine+ muddled grapes =delish!

6. by the time we got done eating and back home, it was time to pick up kaylee. [since we didn't know them, we said she couldn't stay the night]

7. saturday was a stay in jammies-chill-be really bored -kind of day. [no cleaning or organizing got done]

 8. my "where's ollie" pic. because, i too, was bored.  and kaylee sending me she's really bored texts.

 9. we got an invitation in the mail to attend an open call for NAM- national american miss. kaylee really wanted to check it out so we did. she got to do a mini photo shoot and a solo interview.  now we have to wait for a phone call telling us she was one of the girls selected to do the pageant.

kaylee with miss texas and miss NAM who is also 9 years old

10.  i'm not just saying this because i'm her mom but i thought she looked the cutest with her outfit and converse.  the bad part, if she does get called, we can't do it because its the same time as our vacation. she's going to be so disappointed!]

brain dumping tuesday

1. she wore this cute outfit last monday. i bought her that skirt 2 years ago and it finally fits her tiny waist- barely.

2. friday after eating lunch with kaylee at school, mike and i had a date. he drove me to ikea and we bought some stuff for kaylee's room. [she was going over to a friend's house after school]

3. then we went to saltgrass for some steaks and potatoes. and hit target + specs liquor store afterwards. [had to buy some ingredients for super bowl sunday]

4. ham came home friday night. he had a haircut appointment saturday. went back to his apartment saturday after i fed him dinner. [korean bbq with rice]

5. while i was making everyone's plates he asked me why i was so angry. i told him because everyone was getting on my nerves! [everyone was talking to me at once which just means noise to me]

6. we went over to our neighbor/friends house for super bowl. she made SO much food! mike brought beer and i brought a drink for us girls called fish bowl. it was yummy.

7. the bad part about me not cooking, there are no leftovers for us to munch on later.

8. and how horrible was super bowl? my only highlight was watching the red hot chili peppers at half time even though they only got to play one song.

9. thats on my bucket list btw, to see them in concert.

10. i signed up for a handmade valentine swap and of course i have no idea what to make. well, i have lots of ideas but don't know how to turn it into a card.

the weekend

november 16, 2013

1. she loves flaring her nostrils. not sure where she got that talent from. [mike does have a big nose and nostrils.]

2. friday kaylee went over to a friends house after school for a playdate.

3. saturday we cleaned house then treated ourselves to lunch outside at one of our fave. mexican places.

4. later we took ham's new weight bench to his apartment since he couldn't fit it into his car.

5. kaylee thought it was so cool to hang out in ham's crib and order pizza. we watched ham put his weight bench together then left because he had some bday celebrating to do.

6. ham texted me later that night thanking me for bringing up his weight bench. a proud mama moment.

7. sunday we drove to lake houston trying to find a place to eat lunch. a realtor had told us about a few restaurants and shops but we weren't quite sure where. thank goodness for google maps on the iPhone.

8. we decided to eat lunch at sharky's. it was our kind of place- good food and right by the water.

9. after lunch kaylee and i walked around the area while mike stayed behind to drink another beer and watch some football. we found a cute shop where i got a sweatshirt and kaylee some hair ties.

10. then came home to rest before the dreaded monday rolled around.

confetti of color

making a leaf angel : november 20, 2013

1. kaylee and our neighbor friend played in our leaves after school last week.

2. our yard was the only one with leaves on it [still is] but i don't mind. its a confetti of color.

3. the weekend was strangely long and boring. i think its the cold, rainy temps. [high in the 40's]

4. saturday was a fun day. mike suggested at 10:15am we go and watch catching fire at 10:45am.

5. glad i had just finished showering and was dressed.  the movie was awesome btw.

6. afterwards, we grabbed lunch to take home so mike could watch the aggies get beat by lsu.

7. i went to the grocery store so i could make a home cooked meal before he went back to his apartment. 

8. i also made 2 small devil's food bundt cake's. so yummy!  i made the ganache and frosted the cakes then sprinkled powered sugar over it per ham's wise suggestion.

9. ham decided to take back the mac pro and get the mac air because its lighter. just glad he was able to get the one he wanted.

10. kaylee has the whole week off from school. love how the school plans this break. think we might bust out the christmas decorations[because its cold and rainy and we will be bored]  since thanksgiving will be spent over at another neighbor friend's house.

everyday life and mike let me out of the house

 doing homework while eating a breadstick

 mike putting in ham's car battery

blurry photo playing life

1. i wanted to post some pics of everyday life around here.

2. went to target yesterday to pick a few christmas gifts that were on sale. i had a coupon for this game. 

3. i remember playing it non-stop with my sister.

4. kaylee needs a close-to-her -age sibling so they can play non-stop too.

5. mike finally let me out of the house saturday night.

6. long story short: guy friend's wife said she would go if i would go but she ended up not going. butthead.

7. so it was mike and i with guy friend and his son. we went to buffalo wild wings to watch the mma fight.

8. guys beating each other up + boneless chicken wings + side salad + 2 red bull w/ GRAPE vodka's = FUN! 

9. my drinks were so yummy that i went and bought some grape vodka and red bulls. they're hidden from mike. not ham but mike. because he will drink anything and everything.

10. anyway, it was just what i needed to feel almost human again.

fall decor and debates with myself

 front entry

family room 

1. after seeing the johnson's house all decorated in their gory halloween decor, i decided to go and get some fall decorations. still needing some mums and pumpkins for the front porch then thats it for the year unless its something on sale.

2. happy that i was able to score some halloween decor for 50% off. one thing i learned, if you like something buy it cuz' it won't be there when you come back.

3. mike left saturday for his dallas get away with the guys. [cory and bruce]

4. he got mad at me saturday night. my feelings are still hurt.

5. i made dinners while he was gone and 2 different types of energy/protein bars for ham.

6. friday we went out for pizza only to find my pizza place in the woodlands is gone. not sure where they went either. 

7. so we ended up eating at pf changs. [ham even came with us] 

8. and got the cheesecake factory for dessert to- go.

9. while waiting for our seats, i went over to anthropologie and debated, again, on getting a mug. they're so pretty but do i need another mug is the debate. 

10. so i decided i'm going to get one the next time i'm there.

weekend stuff, new houses and sugar induced coma

1. my september birchbox was much better. i decided to give them another try only because i love getting happy mail.

2. i did end up finding kaylee both school picture day outfits i had in mind. she got to choose which one to wear.

3. ham came home again. we went to the outlets on saturday. it was a win! he found a pair of blue jeans and some shorts and shirts.

4. then we came back home and decided he didn't like the jeans because they're not black, just a really really dark blue. grrrrr. [now i have to return them]

5. sunday we went to see a few open houses.  just to get ideas and to see whats out there.

6. it makes me want a NEW house now. of course it just made mike want to stay in our current one.

7. i understand why, its got great bones and the layout is almost perfect. we do not feel cramped in any part of the house. [ham's side is the smallest area]

8. but to have new cabinets and floors...*sigh*

9. boy did i have a bellyache last night and i was in one serious sugar induced coma. i need to quit buying so much cookies and donuts.

10. yet i couldn't help picking up a slice of carrot cake from the bakery. i only had half a slice. hiding the rest for later tonight.