I am linking up today to the Sunshine Project. I follow Kimberly’s Korner and read about the Link up from her. The Sunshine Project is a post about anything that brought you sunshine this week ( a song, your family, a picture, anything).

I haven’t exactly felt my best this week. I’ve been struggling with sinus headaches every day and I hate having headaches! One thing that makes me feel better and that I make sure I have on my desk all day with me is Sweet Tea. There’s a chicken chain around our metroplex  called Raising Cane’s and they make the best sweet tea!  My boss also loves the tea so we bought a gallon of it on Monday and keep it in our fridge that we have back in our office.  So the tea has brought me sunshine all week.

Yesterday I was running errands and grabbing some lunch from a drive-thru during my lunch hour. My boss surprised me when I came back because she went to our other favorite place that makes the most awesome desserts – specifically  the yummiest strawberry cupcakes. That cupcake hit the spot and it made my day. Definitely some sunshine to my week!

Me,Myself, and I Linky Party

This months questions:
1) When you're feeling down, what do you do to pick yourself up? Typically I like to hunker down with a magazine or book and listen to my ipod (at same time). Music relaxes me.

2)  If you had to live in a different time period which would you prefer? I would go back to the late 60’s early 70’s (like when I was born). I would be a groupie for Janis Joplin and follow her to all her concerts. Peace out peeps!

3)  What is the most creative Halloween costume you've ever worn? I mentioned this before but when I was younger, my mom decorated me to replicate one of Dolly Parton’s album cover. I had the wig, big boobs, freckle on lip, high heels, the red bandana shirt, everything. I won the contest and it was so fun. ( I think the fake boobs jinxed me because I now I wouldn’t have to fake them).

4)  Five weird things about you we wouldn't know without being told?

*I HATE all things banana. No banana nut bread, candy, smoothie, nothing!!

*My bottom teeth are crooked again from not wearing my bottom retainer and I wore braces for 4 years. I’m so mad at myself.

*I had a breast reduction 13 years ago and the darn things grew back. Its just fatty tissue people.

* I wont eat eggs without mustard. Period.

*I am super picky and I don’t eat many vegetable but I love escargot and calamari.

5)  What would you tell your 16-year-old self? Please start understanding that there will be people that just wont like you no matter what. Quit trying to make everyone like you and learn to like yourself more. Don’t be so hard on your mom. She will be your rock when you’re older and you need to cherish every moment with her. You don’t know this yet but you’ll never have a baby and be married at a young age but you will have a full life.

Happy Tuesday- 2 posts in one week back to back- something must be in the air. :)

Lazy but fun weekend.

My weekend was so lazy but with a lot of fun mixed with it.  I stopped at Goodwill on Friday afternoon during lunch hour and I grabbed 4 clear plastic wineglasses for only .50 cents each. I am going to paint them for my Halloween party. I grabbed 2 cereal bowls for also .50cents because one of ours broke the other day. I found a dancing skeleton for 4$ but I didn’t grab a pic of it. Its in my garage at the moment. Later that evening, my honey and I joined another couple for dinner in Ft Worth at a sports bar called Flip’s.  Their food is ok but nothing to brag about. We were there for the company anyway and not the food. Saturday , I got up early to head to Walmart because our curtain rod broke in the spare bathroom. We had the kids this weekend so we kinda needed the curtain rod quick. On my way i only spotted one garage sale so I stopped. I got the cutest Halloween chip and dip dish for 1 whole dollar. They had 2$ on the box but I asked them if they would take 1$ and they did. My friend Kimi would be so proud of me! I usually never ask to come down on prices.

Garage sale 1$

I got home from the garage sale just a few minutes before Honey came by with the kids to pick me up.  Have you guys heard of TravelZoo? It’s like Groupon and other sites like that.  I had not heard of TravelZoo until a coworker sent me a great deal in email. It was a special that included 2 hours bowling, with shoes for up to 5 people, 2 pizzas and 2 pitchers of soda all for 40$. I bought that quick because I thought we might use that with the kids. We drove to Plano which is also where Honey’s parents live so we called them to join us and hang out with the grandkids for a while.  I didn’t get any pics of us while bowling. I  only managed to remember to grab our scores with my phone camera.  I also ran into the same friends that sent me the email on the deal there. They had all their grandkids that day so that kept them busy for a while too.  We played 2 games and I came in last both times. The funny thing is that I ended both games with same score of 36. Honey won both games and the kids took turns in coming in 2^nd and 3^rd place.  I was the most terrible player but still had fun.  Honey looked right at me and said” Wow, you’re really bad at this”!  Oh well, bowling is not my thing.

Last place

I'm consistent!

I also become a furniture broker over the weekend. Haha! On Friday I stopped to talk to my neighbors on my way back from taking the trash out and asked if they were moving. I was sad to see them leave because their sons were so sweet. A few weeks ago, Honey locked us out of our garage and it  was past midnight. The boys grabbed their knives, coat hangers, anything they could to help us get in and they were great! We bought them some gift cards to say thanks and I told the neighbors that my boyfriend  had them and we hadn’t seen the boys to  hand them to.  We continued to talk about the neighborhood, etc and then they mentioned that they had some furniture that they didn’t want to move and did I want their armoire and table.  They have a ginormous wood armoire that looks almost exactly like mine but just not as tall.  I told them that I already had one very similar and I didn’t have the space but that I would ask my friends if anyone was interested. I took  a pic of it with my phone and of the tables to send out. My cousin Lauren immediately claimed a table right then. I walked back down and Daryl (neighbor guy) helped me carry both of the tables to my garage.  A few hours later my friend Panda replied that she wanted the armoire but they had already left for the day and were at their new home. So Saturday, when I got home from Walmart/garage sale, I saw my neighbors reloading and told them I had a taker. They were very happy because they didn’t even want to load it to drop off at Goodwill.  My honey stopped at our storage to borrow a large dolly so we could get it from their garage into ours. So now we have all this furniture and none of it is for us. My poor boyfriend cant even park in the garage until the armoire is gone. Panda was going to come by last night but it rained or sprinkled pretty much all day so she’s coming tonight. Oh did I mention all the furniture was free?!!

2 free table- my truck is a tad close i know

Huge armoire on its side taking up garage space

I did get a few of my crafty projects started with spray paint. I bought 2 old metal lawn chairs this summer ( I blogged about them) and I really wanted to get them painted since it wasn’t blazing HOT.  I got one of them primed and I painted 2 of my birdcages. I didn’t get the before pics of my birdcages  before I painted them. The short one was a faded yellow and the big one was a very old faded green. I like them much more now. Again, because of the rain I didn’t get to finish painting my chair yesterday. I cant wait to get them done. 

Really rusty beat up chair

Nice and primed ready to be painted (green chair in pic is next to be painted)

Like new bird cages- not everything in my house can be orange

I cant remember the last time I stayed at home ALL day without leaving once but it happened yesterday. I stayed at home to get started on packing for Canada while Honey took the kids home.  When he got back he made us homemade Cannelloni and Dang it was good! I packed, did some laundry, puttered around the house, read a magazine and watched football ( Cowboys lost). It was awesome!!

 I was supposed to be flying to Canada today but a personal thing happened with my boss and she couldn’t go.  I was traveling with her so now I don’t have to go either. My company also has an annual travel freeze for the rest of the year so it looks like I’m home for a while. Yippee!!

Go see me over at Emily's blog

Happy Wednesday folks! Click here and see my post as a guest blogger at Emily's blog Insanity Rules with 3 little boys . I met Emily through my Texas Bloggers group. I am excited because this is my 2nd time ever to be someone's guest. I blogged about my fave holiday coming up: HALLOWEEN!! Woohoo!

Oh and real quick mention, so did any of you watch the Season Premiers of Sons of Anarchy last night?! Holy Cow, it was frickin awesome and this season will not disappoint. Jax Teller is too yummy for words and my honey knows i have a Holliwood crush on him. :)
Go now and click on Emily's link.....

Today’s post is about my get together with some of the Texas Bloggers gals I’ve met through Facebook. Last Saturday , my cousin Lauren drove to my place from Rockwall and then I drove us to Ft. Worth where the shindig was taking place. We went to a fun place called A Piece of Work. It’s where they provide a piece of canvas, the paints, and an instructor to help you through the process. Three of our girls who was hosting the party provided yummy appetizers and lots of yummy wines. Julie from A Beautiful Day brought a shiner bock cheese dip that I can’t get out of my mind!! I seriously may have to make the dip this weekend. I saw the recipe online today so go get it!

I consider myself crafty in many ways but painting has always intimidated me. I can’t color in the lines very well and I can barely draw a good stick figure. If it wasn’t for the instructor giving step by step direction on where to start and which paintbrush to use, it would have been a disaster for me. I had so much fun but I’m going to be honest and tell you that I don’t know if I would do it again. The event was very affordable and I would have spent the same amount on food and wine had it not been provided. It’s just that I am stuck now with a hideous painting that I feel guilty even donating to Goodwill. Part of this concept is that everyone paints the exact same thing. There were 2 artistic girls that went all rebel and painted their own thing and they both came out fantastic!! The rest of us painted a country setting with a house in a field of bluebonnets. I was WAY out of my league with this group. All of the other’s did such a great job and I would even consider putting one of their paintings in my house. My house looks dilapidated and should be abandoned in the field for sure. A funny part was when I was painting the windows I wanted to give it that barn look with the “x’s. I was using this mustard looking color and when I was done it looked like I had police crime scene tape across the window’s. We got a good laugh on that and that I filled it in with black paint. When I first got started, I wanted to paint a hidden word and so I painted Todd on my canvas. You know like a subliminal message or Where’s Waldo. After I brought it home, Todd was able to find his name once I told him to look for it. That was fun! Nicole is busty like myself and had the great idea to use 2 aprons and so i did too. I had coverage across the girls and i made it home spotless on my clothes. My bracelet and my hands didnt get off so lucky.

The night for me was not about the painting (obviously). It was more about getting to meet this wonderful group of gals in person. All of the gals were just like you’d expect from reading their blogs. All of us are so different from each other but yet there is a great bond and connection between us. Blogging is this virtual world that many of us get pretty personal with. I felt like I’ve known some of these girls forever. I can truly say that I can call many of them friends and isn’t that a blessing!

My hidden word

anticipation

Wine goes so well with painting

Nicole and me (love her!!) Check out the 2 aprons on us in these pics

My cuz and me holding our end results

I think my paint tray was as pretty as my painting

Focus-focus

which brush do i use now?

Lovely Texas Bloggers

 Cheers to a night with fun gals, good wine, and lots of belly laughs!!

Brought to you Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue

If you’ve been following me then you might have noticed that I’ve been a concert goin’ fool  this year. I guess I’m making up for the last few years that  I didn’t make it to any. Well, I get to add last night to the mix. I was supposed to be going to  C’s ( my honey’s son) freshman football away game but I got an offer to see Toby Keith in Dallas with my friend Panda.  Panda’s friend had bought 4 tickets but got called into work and so this all happened very last minute. This is where I get to mention what a lucky girl I am to have the most awesome boyfriend ever.  You see, Panda’s friend still had his tickets and he was at work in Grand Prairie. ( I know this may not make sense if you’re not from Dallas).  I was at work in Carrollton and Panda works near downtown Dallas and also had her son that she needed to get home to Garland. My honey drove to Grand Prairie to pick and up and pay for the tickets, then he came home to deliver them to me so that I would have them, then he had to drive an hour east in traffic to the football game. If he had not done that, we would have never made it to the concert on time with driving all over the city during rush hour.

I got to the concert around 7 and had a slice of pizza and a bottle of water while I waited on Panda to get there. The concert was held at Gexa Energy Pavilion which is an outdoor arena where you bring a blanket and sit on the lawn or there is also a covered seated area which is where we were. We had row M which is 13 rows from the stage and dead center. Seriously the best seats! I just have to tell you that the temp’s yesterday was 108 degrees and humid to add. I jump at every chance I get to wear my cowboy boots and I’ve been fine so far because the other venues I’ve been to was indoors with air conditioning. I totally regret not wearing my flip flops! I was such a sweaty hot mess and not in a good way. They were giving out fans and that provided a nanosecond of comfort but I was fanning myself at such a high speed that I was working up a sweat more.

There was 2 openers before Toby and I didn’t get the name of the first one. He performed before we were seated . Once Panda arrived we had to get in the food and drink lines and make a quick stop to the girls room before the fun began. The next performer was Brantley Gilbert and he was GREAT! I was familiar with many of his songs but I never knew it was him that sung them. I listen to country a lot but I have a habit of changing the station before I hear the DJ announce the singers. Brantley is a cutie-patootie!! Holy cow , his arms were muscular and tattooed all over. His t-shirt (that I did not buy) had him on  a back of a motorcycle and it was HOT in the sexy way not temperature although it was scorching that way too. I have been buying far too many concert shirts and I liked him but not 30$ worth. Some of the songs you might be familiar with by Brantley is Country must be Country Wide ( my fave), My Kind of Crazy, You don’t know her like I do, and Kick it in the Sticks. I am glad I got to see him even though I wasn’t sure who it was at first.

The lights didnt capture Brantley so well ...

Super hot during Brantley

Toby Keith was such a great entertainer. Like he doesn’t pull any punches with his concerts. Ford is one of his sponsors which helped I’m sure in his elaborate light shows and videos. They inserted a Ford truck in EVERY one of his videos. It was pretty funny how they did it some of his old videos. Anyway, he sang nonstop and his band was excellent too. It was amusing because like most concerts, he made his exit but I knew he would come back on.  Toby had not performed his patriotic songs and he’s all about that.  Several military people in their uniform and not came and stood with him on the stage. One guy was in a wheelchair and had a prosthetic leg. Another guy was using one of those walkers that also has the bench to sit on. There was a military dog with someone that was so cool. Then he started singing An American Soldier.  Several of the audience had American flags with them and I loved seeing all the flags waving during the song. I am not embarrassed to tell you that I get a little emotional and cried. The camera man stayed on all the military and to be reminded of what they sacrificed for us and seeing the disabled guys was too much. Yes I was sober.  His last song was Brought to you Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue. TK let some of the soldiers sing the last part of the song “cuz we’ll put a boot in your ass, it’s the American way”.  The crowds went wild. There was this little old man in front of us and he sat most of all the concert. It was very very uncomfortably hot and I understand his sitting. When Toby started singing these 2 patriotic songs, he stood up and even moved his hiney a little like dancing. He was too cute! After the last song, Toby let all of the soldiers walk the edges of the stage and shake everyone’s hands. The guy rolling his wheelchair was very moving and to see people appreciate him was awesome.

Beer for my horses-Willie appeared via his video

Red Solo Cup- Let's have a party

TK

On break between Brantley and TK-getting water

My ever so handy fan during 108 degrees

Military next to Toby



Guy in wheelchair shaking hands



I had so much fun singing to every song and hanging with my friend Panda. I couldn’t believe how gritty and sweaty I was when I got to my truck. Thank you Lord for air conditioning!  Oh and i grabbed a bootleg Toby concert shirt in the parking lot for 10$. Score! After i paid him I was walking to my truck  and i saw an officer carrying a huge armload of the shirts. Yikes. 
When I got home I actually took a cold shower before I went to bed.  It sucks going thru hot flashes, it takes so long to get cooled back down.  I’ve been so busy all day today that I’m just now posting . Have I mentioned that tomorrow I have a blogging event with the Texas Blogging Gals? I’m so excited. There’s several girls in the Dallas-Ft Worth area and we’re going to a place called A Piece Of Work.  We all get to paint and drink wine at the same time. I’m hoping the wine will improve my painting skills.  My cousin Lauren is coming with me.  Stay tuned.

Head out on the highway- Looking for adventure in whatever comes my way

So how was your Labor Day weekend? I had probably one of the best weekends I’ve had in a while.  Friday, my honey and I drove to Oklahoma on the Harley to visit a few days with my brother, Sarah, and my nieces.  From our place to their place is almost 250 miles one way.  We got a late start and didn’t leave until 11am which was not my preference because it was going to be hot but my BF had some work stuff to get done before we left. We stopped a few hours up the road in Gainesville, TX for lunch and we ate at the FRIED Pie CO & Restaurant.  I’ve been there a few times and it’s so yummy. I had the coconut cream fried pie and my honey got a peach one. I didn’t think about taking a pic until after we ate them.  Todd (yes my honey has a name) also had to catch a conference call during lunch so I had time to people watch.  I just love to eat at local restaurants during lunch hour in little small towns. Gainesville is very rural with lots of farmers and ranchers around. Living in Dallas, it’s not every day you get to see people wearing spurs. The whole place was filled with old guys wearing overalls or wranglers and boots (with spurs). 

When's the last time you saw spurs?

We arrived at my brother’s around 5 after we got stuck in rush hour traffic in Oklahoma City. It was frickin HOT peeps on the bike and I was not too happy with the ride. My backrest was not high enough and the bike had pegs for the passengers which is not too comfortable.  When I mentioned to Jeremy that I dreaded my ride home he just happened to have a back rest that fit my bike and it was a huge improvement. His was higher up on my back and I could lean back on it more. I didn’t take a pic of it but I can later. I was not going home without buying some floor boards and switching out the pegs so that was our ride for the next day. Jeremy’s buddy at work loaned him his Harley so that we could all ride together.  Saturday we started off our day with breakfast at the sweetest little place called Marketplace in Meeker. I think I mentioned it last time I went there. It’s a family owned café that is decorated with bible verses. They even have an Ark room for special events. The meals are named after biblical characters and they are huge quantities. I really was excited to take Todd there because I told him all about the place from last time. When we were done with breakfast, we dropped off the girls at the house and we got ready for our ride. Jeremy and Sarah hopped on the street glide that was a loaner and we jumped on ours and went west to Reno,OK. We stopped at a Harley dealership to buy the floorboards and Jeremy brought his tools to put them on for us in the parking lot. YAY- free labor.  We stopped in Bricktown which is in downtown Oklahoma City for lunch and at a sports bar called Brix. I really enjoyed spending my day riding side by side my baby brother. Y’all I seriously get choked up on the love I have for him.  I am blessed to have the relationship I have with him. Jeremy is not just my brother but one of my best friends. Jeremy’s wife Sarah is unbelievable and  they are the just the cutest darn couple you can come across! I’ve mentioned a gazillion times how much I adore my nieces and just spending time with them makes me smile for days afterwards.  Ok, back to my weekend- my A.D.D just kicked in.  After we returned from our ride , Jeremy gave the girls a ride around the block too. They are both naturals and love being on the Harley. We start ‘em young in our family. Hehe.  Sarah made a yummy chicken casserole from Pinterest recipe and my stepdad came over to  eat dinner with us. My stepdad is in poor health and I haven’t seen him in a while. When I saw him the other night it caught my breath. He appearance has drastically changed and he’s lost too much weight. One thing is that he still has that spark in his personality and as he says “piss and vinegar”. I am very glad that I got to spend a few hours with him during my visit too.

Cafe in Meeker, OK

Ark stage

Maci,Sarah, and Brynna

Maci at the Ark podium

My new floorboards (equals happy feet)

Sportsbar in Bricktown, OKC

Honey and me at red light (Sarah took pic)

Jeremy and Sarah- aren't they cute?!

Todd and I did not want to be riding in the hot hot sun so we got up early on Sunday and left Jeremy’s around 8am. We stopped at McDonald’s in Moore (home of Toby Keith for those country fans) to grab a quick breakfast but we had a  good head start behind us.  We rolled into our garage right at noon and I was ready to get off the bike. We stopped twice to give our butts a break and to gas up so we made great timing. After vegging on the couch for a few hours watching season 4 of Sons of Anarchy on DVD, we took Todd’s parents and both his kids to dinner. Now my honey and I both got some good family time in this weekend.  Yesterday we met a few of our riding buddies for a breakfast run that we like to go.  Mary’s Brazos Café in Weatherford (west of Ft Worth) is a little hole in the wall restaurant but has the best food. Good southern cooking like grits and biscuits and gravy is just what I like for a long ride. There was 9 of us total in our group -4 couples and a friend in their car. We were all done with breakfast by 9:30am so of course we decided to ride for a while.   The  location we were at was perfect for riding. We went through Weatherford, Mineral Wells, and all the small towns in between.  Some stops were included here and there for refreshment breaks and parked in the shade. I think by the time we got back yesterday we rode around 200 miles.  I have a funny biker tan and sunburn behind my neck that is a little uncomfortable from the rides. Riding the Harley 4 days in a row for miles and miles each run has also made my butt a little sore. Seriously!  I had a blast and I love being on the bike but dang my hiney isn’t as tough as it used to be.  All I can think of is that I actually rode all the way from Dallas to Sturgis, South Dakota years ago and I don’t remember being so sore. Getting old sucks!  Good news is that I watched the rest of the episodes for Sons of Anarchy last night and so I’m completely caught up and ready for the new season to start this month. WOOHOO!!

Todd's ready for some breakfast

My weed mustache drooped (me and Bobbi)

Place we pulled over for a water break

So glad that this is a short work week~