See ya next week!

Aggies win!

The Texas Aggies beat the Texas Longhorns 38-30! Whoop!

Blessings!

Wordless Wednesday - Cinderella's Christmas Castle

(Yeah, I'm rubbing it in just a little!)

Ten Things I'm Thankful For

I'm doing the alternate Ten on Tuesday list this week, because I couldn't come up with Ten Reasons It's Great to Be a Woman (how sad is that?). Happy Thanksgiving to everyone - here are Ten Things I'm Thankful For:

1. Jesus Christ being my Savior
2. my wonderful family
3. my dear friends
4. the roof over my head
5. the food on my table
6. my health and the health of my family
7. my church family
8. my dogs
9. being able to stay home with my children
10. Disney World!

I want a Once Upon a Time.....

The World I've Dreamed of Lately

I'm leaving Saturday!

Recipe for ME

Found this over at Stacey's blog - fun stuff!

Bubba's Sis - a dash of charm - a pinch of trustworthiness - a dash of beauty Combine all stirring until smooth.

'What is your personality recipe?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Friday's Feast #23

A late Friday's Feast for me this week:

Appetizer

What was your first “real” job?

I bussed tables at Piccadilly Cafeteria.

Soup

Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?

to a dance production

Salad

Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…

I have a big pimple.

Main Course

What values did your parents instill in you?

love of Jesus, love of family, strength through adversity

Dessert

Name 3 fads from your teenage years.

parachute pants, big hair, Swatch watches (guess when I was a teenager?!?)

Wordless Wednesday - Whale Tail

Ten Songs That Bring Back Memories

This week's Ten on Tuesday list is a good one for me - I love music! Music has always been such a big part of my life - I'm a dancer, a hopeless romantic, a sentimentalist....my list could go on much past ten, but here are Ten Songs That Bring Back Memories (and why!):

1. New Orleans Ladies by Louisiana LeRoux - when Hubby and I were dating this was the song we loved to dance to at the C&W club where we met - and it was the song we were dancing to the first time he kissed me. It will always be "our song".


2. On Broadway - when I was on the drillteam in high school we did a dance to this song every year at a football game halftime show (of course it was the high school band playing and not George Benson singing); I have fun memories of being on the drillteam.


3. Take My Breath Away by Berlin - another high school memory - my senior year, this was the song played when the Homecoming Queen was crowned (no, it wasn't me). For years and years it had always been a cheerleader who was crowned Homecoming Queen, but this time it was a member of our drillteam - we were so proud! Then it went to her head and she got all hoity-toity, so whenever Queen T would walk into the room we would sing behind her back in our breathiest voices, "Take my breath away...."


4. Rocky Mountain High by John Denver - this song brings back memories of my childhood, when my parents would listen to John Denver's albums - I can remember it being spring and Mom had all the windows open, she was cleaning house and this song was playing - I don't know why this stands out in my memory, but it does. Just carefree childhood days.


5. Because He Lives brings back memories of my grandmother - it was her favorite hymn, and we sang it at her funeral.


6. Jack and Diane by John Cougar Mellencamp - reminds me of the summer of 1983, when Wendy Bird and I went on a road trip with our grandparents (you can read about that here).


7. Fishin' In The Dark by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - reminds me of someone I once loved and the summer we spent together - it was his favorite song, and we did go fishin' in the dark.


8. Jump by the Pointer Sisters - I did a really fun dance to this song once, and I can still remember parts of it! I learned it at a dance camp with a great friend of mine and we had a ball with it.


9. Never Say Goodbye by Bon Jovi - yet another high school memory! My senior class voted this to be our class song but the school administration didn't think the lyrics were appropriate so we had to change it. I don't even remember what it ended up being - this song will always make me think of my senior year in high school.


10. Dude Looks Like a Lady by Aerosmith will instantly flash me back to the first time I rode Rock 'N Roller Coaster at Disney MGM Studios - it scared the crap out of me and thrilled me at the same time - check out my crazy, adrenaline-pumped mug just after I got off the ride with Little Son:

That's my musical trip down Memory Lane for this week - Happy Tuesday!

Cranberry Bread

All who know me know that I am not a fan of cooking. It's just not my thing - I'm not very good at it, I don't enjoy it, and preparing a meal is more of a chore to me than a pleasing thing to do. I do cook, or we would go broke eating out every meal, but like I said, it's not my favorite thing to do. Sometimes I do bake - I'm better at that - but always from a mix. I'm especially good at a Bundt cake or a pan of brownies.

HOWEVER, once a year I reach to the back of my pantry and pull out the scratch and make homemade cranberry bread. It's that time of year. I made the first loaf of the season yesterday and it turned out great - I gave half the loaf to D, and the kids and I ate the rest! So I'll be making more today. It's an easy recipe - I've had it for years and it's certainly not secret. I got it off the back of a book I had as a child called Cranberry Thanksgiving. I tweaked it a bit because I don't care for nuts or raisins, but my version is pretty close. And quite delicious, I must say. So, faithful readers, today I share my cranberry bread recipe with you:

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup orange juice

2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add egg and orange juice all at once; stir just until mixture is evenly moist. Fold in cranberries. Spoon into a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes (check at one hour), or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan, cool and enjoy!

Dinner Company

After a long day of shopping at Houston's annual Nutcracker Market * yesterday, Bubba's Mom and I were in no shape to cook dinner (well, let's face it, I'm rarely in any shape to cook dinner, but anyway....). So the whole family headed to a small, local Italian restaurant for dinner. This place has been here for 40 years - just a bit longer than I have - and I've been eating there all my life. It's not a chain restaurant - but a great place to go for good, inexpensive Italian food. When we got to the restaurant there were only two other people there - an older man eating alone, and a youngish (30 maybe?) woman, also dining alone at a booth on the other side of the small room. We took our table for six somewhere between them, just as the woman was asking the man if she could join him. As we ordered and shared stories of the day, I noticed that the older man did not speak English very well. He had what sounded to me like a German or Russian accent. I strained to eavesdrop on their conversation over the chit chat of my husband, children, and parents - the young woman asked the man what brought him to town. "NASA" was his reply. And so they talked, her slowly, and him in broken English, and they shared a meal and a bottle of wine. I overheard a story of Chicago and of travels somewhere in Europe (why couldn't my family be quiet so I could hear better?!). I found myself wanting to join them, too. At the end of their meal they each paid their separate checks and parted ways. I like to think each of them went home with a smile on their face because they did not eat alone that night. Their lives intermingled for just a short time and it was good. You don't see that kind of thing too often anymore. I thought it was a neat thing to witness.

*Check out the link - it's a pretty awesome event!

Friday's Feast #22

Friday's Feast is served! Enjoy!

Appetizer

Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?

Milk Duds!!!

Soup

What year did you start using the internet?

I think it was 1996 or 1997 - I was pregnant with Little Son.

Salad

What is your first name in Pig Latin? (Here’s how to speak it if you don’t already know!)

Illjay

Main Course

Name something you are picky about.

my calendar

Dessert

Fill in the blanks: I ____ ____ yesterday and I ____ ____ today.

I earned money yesterday and I spent money today!

Wordless Wednesday - Carrousel

Ten Words to Describe Me

Ten on Tuesday is back, with a whole new look! Check it out! And here's Ten Words to Describe ME:

1. Christian
2. loyal
3. anal organized
4. compassionate
5. funny
6. loving
7. lazy laid-back
8. dog-lover
9. smart
10. petite

Go!

Last night was the premiere of the 12th edition of The Amazing Race! I LOVE THIS SHOW! Eleven teams started out from Hollywood, California and flew to Ireland (the home of my ancestors!) for some amazing tasks and adventures. I already have some favorites among the teams (and some not-so-favorites); I think this is going to be a great race!

Did anyone else watch?? Who do you like/dislike? Let's dish!

Friday's Feast #21

Enjoy my Fall Friday's Feast, ya'll!


Appetizer
How much money do you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season?
as little as possible - budget, budget, budget!

Soup
What was the last television show you watched, and was it good?
I watched CSI last night and it was good.

Salad
If you had to paint the walls of your living room tomorrow, what color would you choose?
This one's tough because I LIKE the color of my living room walls! If I HAD to change them I guess I would pick yellow.

Main Course
Name something clever or practical you have thought of that should be invented, but hasn’t yet.
I'm not that clever.

Dessert
List 3 things you would like to receive as gifts this upcoming holiday season.

1. a new camera
2. clothes
3. bubble bath

The Forgotten Holiday

Poor Thanksgiving. Now that Halloween is over, it seems we are headed straight to Christmas! All the Christmas stuff is out in the stores, even some decorations up around town. The shopping frenzy has begun, and it's just a matter of time before Santa shows up at the mall.

But what about Thanksgiving? How sad that in the flurry to spend our money on material possessions and holiday decorations that we overlook the day we should be giving THANKS to Him who gave us all that we have! Thanksgiving is truly the red-headed stepchild of the holidays - no one decorates their yard, there are no presents, no giant turkey at the mall to sit upon and tell our wishes. To most people Thanksgiving is just a day to eat like there's no tomorrow and watch football on TV. Many will already have their Christmas trees up (not me). Some will enjoy a 4-day weekend (not Hubby - he has to work the Friday after).

This year I'm not starting my "Christmas season" until after Thanksgiving. We are kicking it off with a trip to Disney World the week after Thanksgiving - our first time to see it in all its Christmas finery. After celebrating with Mickey and friends we will come home, put up our tree and decorations, and begin the beautiful Advent season. The most wonderful time of the year.

Just don't get too hurried! Take time to be thankful. Celebrate Thanksgiving for what it is - not just for the turkey and football.