Hop to It!

I love these photos Abigail took of the bunnies a couple weeks ago. She has such a unique perspective and the bunnies are always so sweet. We let them out so I could try and clip their nails. Ohmyword....why do I even try? They are so jittery when I try to start snipping. I managed to get some of them done on both bunnies so I called that success. And, we will live to try another day.

SABLE

BUBBLES

Yes, we can see you, silly rabbit!

I'm Not A Fan

I don't know why I sit around and think about these things. I guess it comes from an extremely stressful, long October. My neck has decided to start hurting again and I've been putting heat on it this morning. This has nothing to do with this post, except when I am sitting still with heat on my neck, my mind wanders and here is where it wandered today...I'm sorry.

There are some things that many, many people like...dare I say LOVE...that I simply do not care for. (Sorry about the sentence ended with a preposition. I hate that, too!) And, remember, I apologized earlier.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I will eat one, but I can actually avoid one even straight out of the oven.

Crazy, right?

Oreos

I just don't care for the whole black teeth thing or, the whole scraping your teeth over the icing if you're into eating them that way. Ugh. Nails on a chalkboard...

Hot Chocolate

It's just too sweet or something.

(And I don't know why this is underlining and won't go away, but I don't like that either.)

White Cake with White Icing

Boring

Squirrels

I believe I've spoken enough on this topic for you to know my true feelings.

Dogs

Yes, I know. It's practically unAmerican.

Sorry.

There's really no point to this post. In fact, I think I need to go back and put heat on my neck again. Thinking about things that irritate me have really irritated my neck. Heavy sigh...

So Let's Talk About Football

I know! Me? Talk about football? What in the world is this blog coming to? More importantly I would like to discuss the Aggies and their complete inability to play a full four quarters of a game. I can't tell you how many texts I've gotten from Jeff (at the game) which look like this:

14 - 0 Ags up

17-3 Ags

24-3 Ags at half

time passes....

31-6 middle of 3rd

time passes...

31-34 ballgame

What?!? Did they just walk out of the stadium? Stand there? Forget all their plays? Now I know these guys are smart because they got into A&M. (I refuse to acknowledge any rule bending to allow "less than qualified" players in. Sure, they probably live with their tutor, but they came in legally, right?)

Not sure what's going on with those guys but, to borrow a High School Musical phrase, they "gotta get their head in the game!" (And yes, I know that was about basketball.)

Anyway, to get to my point...and I do have one. Aggies, I need you to win. The moods in our house are not happy when you blow a game in the 4th quarter. Romo is killing us with the Cowboys and even the TCU Frogs lost this last weekend. Thank goodness the Rangers are in the playoffs!

Of course, everyone loves to hate on the Aggies, so we get all that grief, too. You know...how dare we move to the SEC because we couldn't possibly play all those great teams. Hello...news flash. It's not about winning, people; it's about money. (and you can quote me on that)

My favorite comment over the Aggies' loss to Arkansas this last weekend was posted by my husband on Facebook: As an Aggie and a Cowboys fan, I am glad my joy comes from the Lord.

Gig 'em!

It's A Good Thing

As all four of you who read this blog know, I am no Martha Stewart. I have a good idea every now and then, am a passable scrapbooker and a fairly decent cook. I can be crafty when called upon in a school project emergency. (Like the time I made Rebecca a Jacqueline Kennedy pillbox hat out of a sailor cap, black fabric and hot glue.)

But, THE SNACK BOX. Definitely one of our better ideas. It was mostly a "necessity is the mother of invention" type situation, but a good idea nonetheless.

After I pick the girls up from school they are always thirsty and starving. Maybe it's the fact that we have a 20 minute drive home, but they are "dying, I tell you, dying" and don't want to wait for food. So, being the gracious and generous mother that I am, I would stop at 7-11 and buy them (and me) a drink and a snack. Well, at an average of $7.00 per stop x 3 days per week, we were racking up an impressive amount per month.

Enter the Snack Box. I now keep a full box of snacks in the car at all times. The girls' friends absolutely love riding anywhere with us. We always have food. Then, I added a little cooler of drinks, too, making me the most generous mother anywhere in the world. (also making my girls the most spoiled children in the world: negative side affect)

I recommend one for your car or minivan. It's a good thing!

Just a Little Trip Cross Country

Rebecca took up a new sport this year -- cross country. It's been a great experience for her. Her team is like a big family and Coach Raines has really developed this group of kids into good runners. We've enjoyed this sport because we have our evenings free. Sure, we've been waking up at 5:30 a.m. every Saturday since August 13, but we're home by 10:30 a.m. That's not so bad, right?

It's also been good for me because while the team is running and lifting weights I've been walking. Nothing like a good hour of forced exercise.

Group Shot from the Grace Prep Meet

I've commented that the starting line looks like a scene from Braveheart. This is one of the smaller meets we attended. At some starting lines, there were anywhere from 75-100 runners. Becca is almost in the middle here. (Click on any photo to enlarge and actually see!)

Mid-Race (Becca in yellow, Jeff on left, me in shadow)

Audrey, Becca, Lizzie

Jeff and I working the finish line at the Grace Prep meet

This is usually how you see the runners, from a distance.

Becca's shirt is the color of the grass!

The middle schoolers love Becca. Her coach says she is the "team mother."

Crazy group shot!

Three more weeks...I'm actually going to miss it, especially when I'm sitting on hard bleachers in a smelly gym. Oh, basketball, why'd ya have to go and ruin a good time?

And Now Back To "Why Was This Photo Taken?"

Some time last year I posted photos that I had found on my computer that were odd in some way. Mostly I asked the question, "Why is this on the computer?" I've discovered this year's collection of photos to mostly have one photographer, which explains quite a bit about Abigail and her sense of humor. So, I give you Why Was This Photo Taken - Version 2.0. Enjoy!

Tee Hee...

Oh My Delicious Goodness

Stop what you are doing right now. You must go out right this minute and buy the ingredients to make this cake. Well, you can finish reading this first...

PUMPKIN SPICE BUNDT CAKE WITH CREAMY PUMPKIN GLAZE

I was just in a baking mood this afternoon. No matter that I can only allow myself a small slice of it. I just felt like baking something. It's very relaxing. And, the Creamy Pumpkin Glaze...well, let's just say I probably embarrassed myself by licking it out of the bowl. Seriously.

Click here if you want to have this amazing goodness in your life. You can skip most of the post and scroll down to find the recipe. You will not be sorry.

Happy 14th Birthday, Abigail!

My baby has grown up. I mean really grown up. She is the tallest girl in our family. Her older sisters aren't too fond of this, but what are you gonna do, right? My sweet little cheeky baby has turned into a beautiful young lady. She keeps us all on our toes that's for sure. Her wit and smile are just like her dad's. She plays the piano beautifully. She has "great hair" according to her sister, Rebecca. I've always called her my "unexpected blessing" because she was...well, unexpected. She's the best present I never knew I wanted. Love you, Absie, and the happiest of days to you today.

We held a small party with three of her close friends from school. She received some fun gifts. We ate Chicken Express and I took them to see a movie with Taylor Lautner, because he's adorable. (according to teenage girls -- me? not so much) Here are a few pics from the party:

Thank you Sydney, Olivia and Emma for making Abigail's day so special.

Would You Please Call Me Cordelia?

"I know I chatter on far too much... but if you only knew how many things I want to say and don't. Give me some credit." ~ Anne

I was thinking this very thing today. I guess it's a good thing that with experience (aka "age") comes the wisdom of keeping your thoughts to yourself and not blurt out what you really think in a given situation.

So many times I just want to say what I am thinking but know that it will not be well received. Does that mean I should always be quiet? I don't know. I certainly don't believe in being politically correct. There's far too much of that skipping around hand in hand with tolerance these days. (but that's for another post someday...something political or when I decide to quote Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity) For now I will be Anne of Green Gables and suffer my thoughts in silence...

"My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes. That's a sentence I read once and I say it over to comfort myself in these times that try the soul." ~ Anne