Hang Tight.........

I'm going to take a small hiatus until I figure all of this blogging stuff out.........I'm going to educate myself on it all over the holidays!

See you soon!

XOXO

I'd Like To Order More Time Off Please.....

What a crazy whirlwind of a time the last 4 days were! I need 4 more just to sleep please!

I got all of my baking done and everything turned out wonderfully!

I decided not to do my annual 4am shopping spree after I read some articles about being able to get better products online and the quality of some of the advertised products not being up to par. Plus we had a playoff game to get to!

It was off to Cowboy staidum for a grand ole time of high school playoffs in Texas.

                                   Sutton and Caden........

                                           Even got the boyfriend dressed in Wylie gear!

                                           Mom and Roger in their Pirate Best!

                              And We're OFF! YES WYLIE WINS!

I spent the rest of the weekend decorating or at least trying to! I got my tree up, and yesterday got some of the ornaments on. I like to have the kids put those on so they pick the ones they want. I have a kajillion of them LOL

                              I love my sweet little tree............

Notice the windows are open! There's just something wrong about that! The air conditioner is on now! UGH! I like snow!

I've got a busy week this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful week too! Bring on Friday and our next play off game! GO PIRATES AHMO BABY!

XOXO

Turkey Day and Black Friday....

Thanksgiving is almost here and I'm almost ready! It looks like our Annual Kickball competition is going to be cancelled because of weather but we'll see. We are already looking for indoor options!

I finished my pies, chocolate, cranberries, and cheesecake yesterday. I've only got a cake left to make today and then I am ready!

I'm going to buy our playoff tickets today too! That's what I'm talking about! AHMO PIRATES! I hope to find a good deal on a tv during the black friday sale and then go back to catch a few more zzz's until it's time to head to the football stadium.

I do hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! This will be the first one for Roger without Robyn so I'm sure it's going to be rough but we'll make him laugh I'm certain of that!

No matter how hard things are, I give thanks!

Have a great weekend! XOXO..........

I Need Another Weekend.........

Wow what a whirlwind weekend we had! It started with me dropping my sweet baby girl off at the airport for a week with her dad up in Minnesota.

                                    Doesn't she look so vogue?

I just can't stand dropping my kids off at the airport! I don't know what it is, but I don't like it.

I headed from there over to pick up the boyfriend and his kids. We were off to watch the high school playoff games at Cowboy stadium. We got to see a great game Allen/Trinity.

If you've never seen the Haka live, I encourage you all to go see it just once!

                                 Trinity Haka Warrior Dance!

                                   Blurry I know but still cute!

Also watching the Allen band is a sight to see as well. They have 688 kids in the band! WOW, it's AMAZING! They really are good!

I love high school football in Texas! Next week my Pirates play for the chance to advance to the semi finals. WOW I hope we win! I love me some Pirate Football! AHMO!

I'm going to work on Sutton's room again tonight, in hopes that it's all done before she comes home Thursday. I'll have to bake all day Wednesday, I guess. I'm running out of days! LOL

Have a great day today! GO PIRATES! AHMO! XOXO

Oops I forgot.....

I wanted to post the recipes for Stone Soup......

Stone Soup

1½ lb. ground beef, browned with onion (optional) and drained

1 pkg. Taco seasoning mix

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Dressing mix

1 can Pinto Beans & liquid

1 can Kidney Beans & liquid

1 can Black Beans & liquid

1 can Corn, drained

2 cans Stewed Tomatoes (1/both can be Rotel for extra heat)

Mix and heat to blend flavors.

Serve over Frito's or rice or both.............

and for dessert, serve Texas Sheet Cake......YUMMO

Texas Sheet Cake

Sift Together:

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

1 teaspoon Soda

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Salt
Combine in heavy saucepan and heat to a boil:

1 stick butter/margarine

¼ cup cocoa

½ cup oil

1 cup water
Add to flour mixture, stirring well and then add:

½ cup butter milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup cocoa
Pour mixture into ½ sheet pan that has been

sprayed with no-stick spray.

Bake at 400º for20 minutes.

When the cake has been in for 15 minutes use the

same saucepan to combine:
1 stick butter/margarine

6 Tablespoons milk
Heat to boiling then remove from heat to add:

1 box powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Spread over hot cake and enjoy

You'll thank me later.............XOXO

Rough Night At My House.....

I don't ask for much in my life. In fact all I ask for is respect, a bubble bath nightly, and sleep! Mess with any of those and I'm afraid for your life. I've got three teenagers in my house and one requires sleep while the other two apparently don't. It seems as though I have some lessons to teach them and rather quickly before I lose my sanity.

That's on my list of "to-do's" this weekend.......deal with the lack of respect for my sleep!

I'm also taking my baby girl to the airport. I don't know why but I always cry when I do this. It's like she's leaving me forever even though I know I have to pick her up in a week. LOL something about the separation I guess. I'm gonna miss her but she'll have fun and she needs that. She's been working so much lately. I want her to have a breather, and I need a breather too from staying up to pick her up from work.

I've got some serious baking to get done to get ready for Turkey day. I guess I'll start my grocery list today and work on it this weekend.

I'm also going to plot my strategy for Friday morning shopping! Oh yes, I am!

I would like to with the Pirates a big win tonight! AHMO baby! AHMO!

Have a wonderful weekend, I'm sure I'll see you again Monday! XOXO

I can smell Christmas....

We had our office thanksgiving party today and it dawned on me that Christmas is coming whether I like it or not, it's around the corner. YIKES!

I've only bought two presents! Oh the daunting task ahead.

I'm going home and taking a hot bubble bath and forgetting all of the stress tonight. I don't have to pick up my baby girl from work so I get to go to bed early! YAY!

I'll post more tomorrow, I'm really wiped out today. It's been a rough day.....

XOXO

Teenagers Today.........

As I was driving up on my house last night I saw a kid standing up by my garage door and wondered what he was doing? Then it dawned on me, he's urinating! I thought "Surely, this isn't what he is doing" and continued driving up. I rolled my window down and asked what he was doing and got a prompt "I don't know what he's doing" from one of the boys. I've got a temper on me when it comes to right and wrong and blatant wrong, I'll admit that. I proceeded to feel the steam blowing out of my ears and got out of my car. I absolutely lost my mind on this kid and his lack of respect for other people's property. I didn't back down from him and kept yelling. He was walking backwards and I think knew he was about to get pounced if he didn't get away quickly. My kids get mad at me when I voice my opinion to other kids but dad gum it, that's part of the problems with the kids today! NO ONE is telling them when they are doing wrong, and because of that, they have NO respect! Well, people, I'm not going to sit back and let it happen! My kids will understand one day that their Mom stood up for right, and vehemently hated wrong period!

I've stood up for what's right my entire life. I can remember being a little girl and I became friends with a girl that was disabled. I remember getting picked on because I was friends with her but you know what? I bet money that she still remembers someone that was nice to her, and it was me! It's a good feeling and it makes me think of that movie "To save a life" again. It should be a national anthem for our country! It's a fantastic movie! I know I've talked about it before but I'm serious! This country needs a swift kick in the arse!

If you haven't seen it, SEE IT! If you've got teenagers, MAKE THEM SEE IT!

I'm going to get off my soapbox now. I'm still so fired up by it all. I hope that everyone has a wonderful day today and make it a good one! Do something good for someone, buy the next person in line's coffee, pay for someone's gas, just do it! You'll be glad you did!

XOXO

Yummo.....

After an unbelievably crappy day yesterday I went to eat at one of the best steak houses around. We consumed more than our share of $200 bottles of wine and ate like kings. It was a fantastic way to end the day.

          Stone Crab started our meal off and WOW were they amazing!

We all had steak of course and you sure can't beat the steaks at DF's Double Eagle!

           Topped it off with the best Lemon Cake I've had in a long time.

I'm getting ready to start my holiday baking and made cookies this last weekend. Not my famous sugar cookies but still some awesome ones! If you buy the iced cookies with sprinkles in the grocery, you need to make these instead!

Sugar Cookies

• 2 cups "JIFFY" Baking Mix
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 5 Tbsp. shortening, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla

---

Preheat oven to 350°, grease baking sheet.
Combine all ingredients and blend well. Drop by tablespoon onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies and sprinkle with sprinkles.

I promise you'll be glad you did! They are good! The kids are begging me to get going on my cookies etc so I guess I've got to. I can't believe next week is Turkey day! Where has the time gone?

I'll see you tomorrow! ...XOXO

Hello World.....How Ya Doin?....

Well my weekend went by entirely too fast. I spent all day Saturday at the hair salon with Sutton...UGH........It was nice to get to walk around downtown with the boyfriend though......

There was a storm that blew through on Friday as I was going home from work. It was an amazing sight to see.

I've seen alot of storms and never have I seen one like this...one side the sun was shining brightly and on the other it was dark and dreary.......

Sunday we went to birthday breakfast and it was really good to see You-you smile again...not sure if it was the bloody mary's or that he was really happy to be there! LOL

                            Sutton and Mom- Bryce had to work :-(

                         Sutton, Mom, and Danna........very cute pic!

It was alot of fun to just cut up and talk. Even my nephew was able to go and smile! That's really great!

I did get in the garage and cleared out three trash bins full and I'm super excited about that! My neighbor's daughter was able to wear some of the clothes that were Sutton's and she was super happy! I love that! Knowing that someone can truly enjoy them is a nice feeling.

My work days have quickly become stress filled not fun times. I'm hoping things settle down soon because I don't see the lotto winnings in my future although I'd take them if I did win!

I hope you all have a great day today! XOXO

Hello Friday.....

Well Friday is here and I'm so ready for it. I went to bed at 5:30 last night and slept all the way through. Fighting something, a cold I guess. I've got nothing planned this weekend other than cleaning house and Mom's birthday brunch which should be fun.

A weekend of movies and snuggling sounds perfect to me! I'd like to get in the garage and get more of it kicked out but we will see if the weather cooperates with us or not. Notice I said US, that means I'm hoping to have help LOL.

I scheduled the family pictures for the day after Thanksgiving and got all of the Wolf's lined up and the Hubb's are taking off work so we should be good! Now it's finding clothes for us LOL

Found out my cousin was getting a divorce yesterday and I was sad to hear that. It seems no one is willing to fight the fight of staying married anymore. I did it for 13 years and I wouldn't have left if I didn't have to. I believe in marriage and what it stands for, I just haven't been able to do it again. I will one day.............when I find a man willing to get the ring I want, it'll mean he's truly invested in me as much as I am him............

                                2 carat (center stone) platinum and nothing less..........

Don't lower your standards..........get what you deserve! I know I will........

Have a great weekend!  XOXO

Thank You.....

Today is Veteran's Day, and while I find myself thanking our current soldiers who are truly fighting for our freedom and risking the ultimate sacrifice for this great country. I sometimes forget that there were many before the soldiers of today including my relatives. Today is a day to remember them all.

I've gotten to know some amazing soldiers who are still in Iraq today and I can say that they are unbelievable men and I'm proud to call them my friend as well.

Thank you doesn't seem like enough but it's from the heart that's for sure.

                                   I salute you ..............XOXO

Knows Why Stressed Spelled Backwards is Dessert....

Wow what a day, make that week this has been.............

I'm just now getting a chance to post on here if that tells you anything?

Not much going on other than a whole bunch of stress, I'm about to just throw my hands up and be done....................it's your guess as to what I'm done with!

I'll be back tomorrow with tons to say so hold your breath! LOL

Bad Day in the Neighborhood..........

Ugh it's been an incredibly stressful ridiculous day! I'm already grouchy! Nothing is going right at work, my son broke his fingers, I have so much housework to do and no energy to do it because I'm spending it all getting mad at work!

Oh yea, Happy Birthday to my Mom! LOL There's a positive thing for today! That's about all I have though.....................

Here's a link to see me in the Winner's Circle at the race this weekend, that's another cool thing! Ok so I'm up to two good things for today, I gotta hunt for another!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbIrgXIeu14

Have a better day than I am! XOXO

WOW Another Great Weekend!......

I can't even begin to express my gratitude towards the Penkse Racing Team. I love those guys like they were my own family. Their hospitality was and always is above measure. I can't thank them enough......

Here is a photo replay of the weekend....

This is the cover photo on speedtv.com's website of us and Justin Allgaier.

        Myself and the boyfriend's son, Tanner in front of the TCU band!

      One of the VP's at my office and myself in front of the #2 Blue Deuce!

                           My BFF Lori in from Kansas for the race!

                Well looky here, it's the boyfriend and myself.......so cute!

                              Pushing car out to the track...........

               Roger Penske after their win of the 2010 Nationwide Cup

Brad Keselowski completely doused in Miller Lite beer....2010 National Champ

                        Cindy Lewis, my favorite person in Nascar!

                   Darin Russell, part of the best pit crew group around!

This was another spectacular weekend and I'm proud to know this group of people! I hope to one day be partnered with them.

Thanks a million, Penske Crew! YOU ALL ROCK! XOXO

Planning Turkey Day.....

Ok so I'm already trying to get everything laid out for Thanksgiving. There's so much to get done before then. I've already put my list of what I'm baking together now I have to find the time to do it! EECK!

We prepared the Thanksgiving invite...announcing the team captains for this year's competition....Mimi and Papa Dude (You-you).....He has two names because the older kids would rather call Roger "You-you" because it goes with Mimi! LOL I can't figure out how to put the invite on here grrrr


This weekend is race weekend and I can hardly wait! My buddies are all in town now. I'm going to head out super early in the morning to pick up the boyfriend and his kiddos. I am looking forward to a great weekend!

I thought I would include my Cranberry Sauce recipe to help get everyone in the mood..........

Cranberry-eeee Sauce

• 1 bag (about 12 To 16 Oz) Fresh Cranberries
• 16 ounces, fluid Pomegranate Juice, I use Pom brand, but Pomegranate/Blueberry juice
• ¾ cups Sugar
• Orange Zest

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Mixture will thicken as it cooks, and will thicken more as it cools.
Cool in a jar and put in the refrigerator.

It's yummy! Have a good weekend everyone! XOXO

Could It Take Any Longer For Friday To Get Here? .....

What a week this has been! I'm so tired. I'm back to not sleeping all through the night and it absolutely kicks my booty! I'm going to the Dr today so we'll be discussing that and a couple of other things.

This weekend is race weekend and my buddy from Kansas is already in town! Woot woot! It's always a good time when she's here. I get to see my friend from the #2 car too and I adore her!

                                My buddy Miss Cindy! LOVE HER!

                               My other buddy Darin, love him too!

I'm ready to see the boyfriend again! He didn't come over last night because he was tired. LOL I'll show him tired! Sheesh, I need to wake him up every time I wake up hahaha. Naw, I wouldn't do that.

I'm rambling today, so I'm going to get off here and work some...........XOXO

Rainy Tuesday......

Woke up to a super chilly morning and some rain. It's storming here now. I've got a daughter that's not feeling well and I'm waiting to hear from the school because it sounds like she has fever. UGH.....

This last weekend was halloween and Bryce sure looked cute in his Alf get up. He won "best costume" at the party he went to.

                   It cracks me up every time I look at him. It's so silly.

         Jordan's face is hysterical in this picture. Gettin kisses from Alf!

Sutton took some pictures in her new uniform and my goodness it hit me how unbelievably gorgeous that kiddo is. I see her every day and while I know she's pretty, to see her in photo's just puts the WOW factor to just how pretty she is.

                      Absolutely stunning! What a proud mom I am!

She looks so cute in her uniform too! She's enjoying working in H town and hasn't been at Hollister much, I see that job going away because she just can't get along with that manager they hired. It will absolutely be Hollisters loss because she sure looks adorable in their clothes too.

It's too bad the Rangers lost the world series last night but they seemed to have lost their steam after the win with the Yankees. It's almost as though it was the Bad News Bears out there playing. You could tell the way it was going to go just by the expressions on the players faces. They had a great year and should hold their head's up high! Who would have ever thought we'd see this?

                                      Awesome year guys!

I'm getting ready to see my buddy at the races this weekend! Look out for crazy pics from that! It's always a big giant blast out there! I'll talk to you all tomorrow! Have a great day!

Wow What a Weekend ........

It was a very busy weekend but a good one. Unfortunately the Rangers lost last night but my son was able to go to the game which is so unbelievably cool! That's a bucket list thing for alot of people and he's 20 and got to go!

I don't believe the Rangers are going to win the World Series and that's ok. They got this far which is an amazing feat in itself.

They said that this flag carried by our servicemen and women was the most amazing sight to see. I know it was very moving to watch on tv, I can't imagine being there live.

It looks like they stayed until everyone left, the stadium is empty behind them. I don't think I'd want to leave either if I was there.

We are proud of our Rangers! We'll get em next year! (Watch they will end up winning after I've already buried the trophy!)

I will post pics of Bryce's Halloween costume tomorrow. I've got a ton of stuff to get done this morning.

Go Rangers! I hope you win tonight!

Homecoming 2010...............

Well it's finally here! Diddle's last homecoming, I've waited 12 years for this day. I've spent over a month adding all of the finishing touches to her mum. I got up, pinned the 30 pound thing on her and snapped what pictures she'd let me!

                               Awesome shirt I had made for her!

I can't believe she's a Senior. It's so unbelievable how quickly they grow. This one is ready to fly out of my nest and while I'm sad, I know she'll be something big one day with all of her hopes and dreams clearly in front of her.

As you can tell her Mum is GIANT! But it's not near as big as what some will have. I've seen some that are unbelievable. She just wanted sparkle and that's what she got. Oh yea and a rabbit's foot hahaha, she got that too!

I'm looking forward to the game tonight. I hope the Pirates win! The Rangers lost and if they keep playing like they did last night, I don't want them to win. It was crazy walking 2 or 3 runs home! That's little league stuff!

                                  Ok yea, maybe it's a bit heavy!

Fun times indeed! I've got a date tomorrow with the boyfriend. I'm looking forward to that too. I'm going to see him tonight too. It seems we are getting along great now and gosh it is a great feeling. I love that guy. He's important to me and it's apparent I'm important to him. I'm not sure what knocked him over the head but he's gotten it. YAY!

I'm going to the Cowboys game on Sunday just because I want to see our suite. I've never gotten to see it. I wish I could take the family and the boyfriend but I can't, it's a work deal. It's ok we will all go one day when someone else is playing! LOL

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I know I'm going to! I can hardly wait! XOXO

Bummer.............

Well the Rangers lost last night. It seemed like they lacked some umph. I got to spend some great time with the boyfriend. My neck was beyond bad so I wasn't feeling that great but it was still fun. Today is better but not 100%. It's always rough after I get acupuncture for about a day. The last time I had it, I could barely drive home. It actually scared me. Hopefully one day this will all be gone.

Tonight is game 2 of the World Series! YAY We gotta take this one!

We are also down to 100 days until the Superbowl! OH MY! That's not much time! Good thing I am ready! Bring on that game!

I haven't had much time to read my book lately but I'm planning on doing that this weekend. I want to finish this one so I can move on to 90 Minutes in Heaven. It really looks like an awesome book. I wanted to read it first and then give it to my mom and Roger.

I've been craving my Caramel Apple Salad, so I guess I'm going to have to make it this weekend too. Here's the recipe if you are interested.....

Caramel Apple Salad aka Snicker Salad

• 1 bag fun size Snickers
• 5 Green Apples
• 2 - 3oz pkgs. Vanilla instant pudding
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 - 8oz container of Cool Whip
• Large Bowl
• Knife/Slicer

1. Mix together the vanilla instant pudding and milk.
2. Fold in Cool Whip.
3. Peel, core & slice apples into bite size pieces. (I like my apples with the peel on)
4. Cut Snickers bars into bite size pieces.
5. Add apples and Snickers into the pudding mixture, stir well.
6. Chill in the refrigerator.

I hope today is a great day!

It's Time.....

Well tonight is game 1 of the World Series and you can sure feel the energy of excitement when you drive around town. I'm excited too!

I had a good night last night with the boyfriend. My neck is still really bad and it changes my personality. Its amazing how a bad neck can ruin your day. It's so hard to hold my head up without massive pain. I hope to go get acupuncture tonight, that should help.

My friend Amy had her baby last night! YAY Hunter Thomas, welcome to the world buddy! I can't wait to see you!

I am trying to get in the Christmas shopping mode, ugh! I'd like to start buying now so that I am ready by the time it gets here! I already know what I'm getting for most people so that's a bonus! With the Superbowl being in Dallas I won't have much time to spend shopping because I'll be working more than likely. At least the Cowboys won't be in it, that's a God send to me! Seriously! It's amazing how when the Cowboys win the entire country buys more wings! I know now why they are called "America's Team".

I'm going to log off now, I've got a lot to get done today. I get to see my honey again tonight! YAY! GO RANGERS! IT'S TIME!!!!!

Come on Wednesday!

I don't even want to watch the Cowboys anymore! I'm not a fan of Mr Jones anyway so it's no loss to me.

I'm not in a good mood today and I hate when that happens. I'm trying to turn it around but it's not easy.

I was driving home last night and came up on the most police cars I've ever seen. I thought there were alot at Robyn's house! There were 10 times more at this deal. It turns out that there was a teenage boy that was walking around Sachse with a gun. The police saw him coming out of a wooded area off the highway, holding a gun. The police ended up shooting him after he wouldn't put it down.

It turns out that he was always alone and walked everywhere. It's so sad to me that no one took the time to get to know this young man. My daughter went to school with him in elementary school and said that he was the sweetest boy. I really wish schools would make it mandatory that all students watch "To save a life" it's an incredibly good movie about teenagers. I bet this kiddo could have been saved. It just renews my passion for teenagers and how in a way we as adults have let them down. It just breaks my heart.

On a good note, I'm absolutely in love with the boyfriend and it's so great to see him finally professing his love for me too! It's sure a nice feeling!

I get to see him again tonight so that'll be good! There's nothing like being held at night, I must admit!

Ok I'm having a better day now! I hope you have one too!