Prom Girls

There is just something so fun about girls in prom dresses in the spring time. They remind me of a bunch of Easter eggs...so colorful and looking pretty in the grass:) Kelsie and her friends found their dresses in Dallas on one of our college tour trips so it has been fun to see the full circle of preparation that takes place...the shoes, the jewelry, the hair...it's a lot of work!!! But the result was a fun and memorable evening for all. We helped the girls get ready, then the moms went out for dinner to help us get over the anxiety of how much our daughters have grown up:)

Time Flies!

Well we finally had Nolan's senior pictures made. Mr. Lena took them out at Avery Ranch during sunset. He is the parent of a friend of Kelsie's and the husband of Kelsie's second grade teacher:) Photography is a hobby of his and we just love him! He also always does the girl's soccer slide show for HS soccer and says his ultimate goal is to get those parents crying...and we do! We looked through several hundred photos and tried to find one favorite to send with his announcements...a very difficult task but this is one of my favs.

Love is in the Air

Well Randy's brother, Danny, got married last Saturday. The event was at The Arbor Walk which is just off hwy 79. I didn't even know it was there, but it's a little winding road that leads you back into a beautifully landscaped area surrounded by trees. I was thrilled that the rain stopped that morning and it turned out to be a gorgeous day as they were married outdoors. We had lots of laughs with Randy's sister, brothers and their kids. They had a smoothie bar which was a big hit and of course there was dancing;)) Randy and his brother, Jerry, decided that they needed to go decorate Danny's car so around midnight they headed out with 6 teenagers in tow to draw hearts on the windows and tie cans to the back of the car.

Birthday Fun

Well Nolan turned 18 and I turned...40 something! Well we are 30 years apart so you do the math:) One of our favorite restaurants since the kids were little has been Benihana. Each time we hope we get a chef who has learned some new tricks and of course we look forward to the usual tricks...when they light the fire, when they throw shrimp in the air for us to catch in our mouths, the smokestack made out of onions, etc. Our guy was great and had some new "material" for us...and something new...since we were celebrating birthdays, they brought us ice cream and took our picture. All in all a great meal and fun way to celebrate.

Spring has Sprung

I felt the need to change my picture today. I took pictures of how the creek looks now...finally some rain has brought back the beautiful shades of green. We've been taking college road trips and our most recent trip to Stephen F. Austin allowed us to visit with Tori and see some lovely azaleas. We visited the farmer's market and got some delicious cheese, then Tori took us to a great local Italian restaurant (our trips are really all about the food!)

March Madness

I'm feeling a bit like life is on fast forward lately and wishing I could push a magic button and make it slow down. Have you seen the I Love Lucy episode where she trying to sing along with the record player and it speeds up and she is trying to keep up with it? We are in college visit mode with Kelsie...I think we've hit 6 so far with 3 more in the coming weeks. Today we are off to Nacogdoches to see SFA...the bonus is we get to see Tori and we are going with our road trip buddies from soccer so we will have fun! I could end up with a whole scrapbook of Kelsie's college visit adventures. Nolan was so easy....UT or A&M...pick #1 or #2. But now for him it is the never ending adventure of applying for scholarships...due dates and deadlines, essays and transcripts...lots of money out there if you can survive the process and get chosen among the busloads of students who are also scrambling to find tuition money:0 And to add to my fun, Nolan decided to paint his room (seems a little late to me:) and we found termite damage in his walls. The little critters arent' there anymore but Randy is having to replace 2x4's and sheetrock so now Nolan is living in the den and his has always been the room that I didn't visit much cuz you can't walk across the floor without tripping on stuff. I am thinking this is one of those tests of patience...dang I hope I pass...I've never been that good at test taking:0

Veggie Pick Up Day

Wednesday was my first veggie pick up day! The pick up spot is just a few miles from my house on Sam Bass Road...very convenient. I encountered a box full of green!!! Salad greens, broccoli, arugula, garlic, radishes, mustard greens, spinach, mint, parsley...and a few tomatoes, oranges and a grapefruit. There aren't quite as many varieties ready for harvesting right now, but as the season progresses we will get to enjoy carrots, potatoes, celery, asparagus and much more. So I sauteed the greens and spinach with the fresh garlic to go with our beef dish and put some mint in my tea! Oh and added an orange to our fruit salad. Tonight we'll use the lettuce, broccoli & tomato for a salad. The broccoli was more like little sprigs instead of thick stalks which I really like cuz it blends nicely into a green salad (I forgot to take a picture before we ate it:) We will see what next week's harvest brings.

Veggies!

I have been on the waiting list for Johnson's Backyard Garden for about 6 months. I just got my email that my name finally came to the top of the list so I joined. The farm is part of the movement for Community Supported Agriculture and is located just east of Austin. Once a week I will go to a pick up spot in Round Rock and get a box of fresh organic veggies for $28.50/week. On their website you can see what will be in your box each week and there are even recipes especially for vegetables that are more difficult for us average people to know what to do with:0 I have really been trying to eat more fruits and veggies so I am so excited...the kids were like, yea, whatever:) But I'm hoping that when they taste the freshness they will be hooked as well. I'll let you know next Wednesday when I pick up my first harvest:)

Free Breakfast at Chick-fil-A

Who doesn't love Chick-fil-A???? It's one of my favorites so imagine my excitement to see the free breakfast headline in the newspaper:) It's happening February 9-14 from 6:30-10:30am. The article said that the location on Louis Henna was participating...not sure about other locations.

Monday, Feb. 9th Free Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit
Tuesday, Feb. 10th Free Chicken Biscuit Minis
Wednesday, Feb. 11th Free Sausage Biscuit
Thursday, Feb. 12th Free Chicken Biscuit
Friday, Feb. 13th Free Chicken Biscuit Minis
Saturday, Feb. 14th Free Sausage Biscuit

Free Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny's

You know how I love to share freebies that I see advertised...Tuesday, Feb. 3rd from 6am to 2pm...free breakfast at Denny's:)

IHOP is offering free pancakes on Feb. 24 in celebration of National Pancake Day.

This will be the fourth year that IHOP has celebrated the national event, with nearly 1,400 IHOP restaurants throughout the United States giving guests a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Diners will be asked to donate what they would have paid for the free pancakes, or more, to their local children's hospital or another charity. IHOP is hoping to raise $1 million for Children's Miracle network, a nonprofit helping children's hospitals and other causes.

Last year, IHOP gave away more than 1.5 million pancakes and raised more than $875,000 for charities.

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Changes

I changed the title of my blog today...borrowed from the Sam Cooke song. It is an appropriate theme for so many things in my life right now. Some changes I am looking forward to and some are just going to happen whether I like it or not. First and most simply I am anticipating the change of seasons. Can't wait for the green grass, flowers, spring cleaning and warm breezy afternoons. Change, as in, "the change." I am not welcoming this one so warmly, but it is a reality that I am learning about and dealing with. Career change, as in closing my business of 10 years and now enjoying some time to slow down, re-group, be at home and decide what is next for me. Family change, as in being 6 months away from Nolan leaving for college and having Kelsie leave the very next year. And more generally I am hopeful for changes in our country and looking for ways that I can be a part of a positive change. I read this quote by an anonymous writer..."Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become." Yea that fits perfectly...I'm working on it one day at a time and it may take me awhile:)

High School Soccer Blues

Blues....as in frozen, ice cold blue northern season is here again. On a positive note, Nolan is not playing this year so now we only have to freeze for half as long. I will never understand how those girls can play in the cold, but I guess if you are running around chasing a ball your body heats up a little. For the first time the girls had an alumni game and with Kelsie being a junior, she used to play with many of the girls who were on the alumni team so it was fun for her to see them again. Hopefully they will keep up the tradition and pretty soon she'll be an alumni...gasp! I took this picture at a tournament a few weeks ago in Killeen...it was ssooooo cold and windy Saturday morning and the girls on the bench were doing their best to stay warm.