I've Been Tagged

Katie over at Bower Power , one of my new favorite blogs, has tagged me.

The Game is this:
Here are the tagging rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you (i.e. me)
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger (me) know when your entry is posted

Six Random Facts About Me:
1. Keeping my car cleaned out is a real challenge for me. It's usually a mess. My husband loves to remind me of the time--before we were married, so at least 12 years ago--when I poured hot chocolate over the door handle on the outside of my car because it was frozen closed and then I didn't wash it off for several days.
2. All summer, I've been doing the oil cleansing method on my face --much talked about over at Big Mama--and have really liked it.
3. I am the baby of my family and have brothers ten and twelve years older than me. One of my brothers just turned 50!
4. I have a small case of phone-phobia--an expression coined by my good friend K. I get a little bit nervous making phone calls.
5. Reading to children is one of my very favorite things to do. I absolutely love children's literature--especially older books. I'm quietly opinionated on this topic! I have numerous books checked out from the library at any one time. Right now it's over a hundred--mostly children's books!
6. I often draw little-bitty stars all over the paper in front of me when I'm listening to a lecture. I've done this since high school.

So, Biscuits are Never Boring, Kelly's Korner, Tickled Pink and Green, 60 piggies, Doing the Next Thing, Good Soil...tag, you're it!

I Love This...

Emma Bridgewater Salad Bowl!

It's Time to Buckle Down

Needlepointing my children's stockings...this is something I love to do. It all started because my sister-in-law needlepointed her whole family's stockings, and they are marvelous! When I was a newlywed, I was looking through catalogs and trying to find the perfect stockings to buy for us. Because he had seen my sister-in-law's and loved them, my husband encouraged me to stitch them myself. I objected at first because I knew the countless hours that it would take. I also knew that I couldn't stitch just one. Once I did the first one, I was in it for the long haul. However, I could tell that he thought that it would be really special, and I knew I would enjoy it.

So, we went to pick out his stocking first. He really wanted something with a Texas flair. I looked and just could not find the right thing...until I went into Key Stitches...the most wonderful needlepoint store!!! They said they had the perfect thing, and, sure enough, they were right. A cowboy Santa!

My husband loves the State Fair of Texas. He is actually judges different food items there..another story for another day. I always love to go by the Creative Arts Building and see all of the amazing needlework and other handiwork. That year, to his surprise, his stocking was hanging in the case with a red ribbon on it. He thought that was the neatest thing in the world..that his stocking won a ribbon at the fair!

Next, it was my turn. It took me a long time. I finally finished it when I was newly pregnant with B. Again, I entered it in the creative arts contest at the fair and was thrilled to receive another red ribbon.

When I found out that I was having a boy, I chose B's stocking. However, it was not purchased until he arrived. His won a third place ribbon if I recall.

Now, it is finally time to begin Baby J's stocking. Here is what I've chosen.

It's called "Where's Rudolph?" I've bought my threads for the first few things I'll be working on..so, I'm off and running.

The Sale

Twice a year, I host a children's clothing homeshow. I've done this with a friend of mine for the last 3 1/2 years. She has decided to take a little break, so this time I'm excited to be hosting the show with another precious friend. We are having so much fun gearing up for it. While it doesn't start until mid-August, we send out postcards next week. Needless to say, we've been diligently working on our list. Historically, Two Friends has been the line we've sold. However, due to some mishaps at the factory, they are not having fall shows. We found another precious line that is new to Dallas called Shrimp and Grits Kids. It is full of the most adorable children's clothing. Here are a few of my favorites from the fall line.








Oh, boy...if I had a girl...this pink coat would be a must!!!

Friday Favorites

1. Having popsicles and lemonade on hand at all times during the summer. These go great with slip and sliding!
2. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days--love that movie!
3. Hoop earrings
4. Pimiento Cheese--from Kuby's for you Dallacites
5. Birthday Parties for my adult friends
6. Wired ribbon--I even found some that was really cute at Sam's!
7. Double names for girls
8. Amy Grant
9. Old Fashioned Pharmacies (not chains) Preston Road Pharmacy for Dallacites
10. Mascara

A Celebrity Sighting

Well..not really a celebrity, but you would have thought so seeing the way I acted. Today, while B was a sports camp, I was at Northpark w/ J, strolling him along doing a few things I've been needing to do. Suddenly, I saw a familiar face, and felt pretty sure it was Kappa Prep from Monograms and Manicures. I was close enough to her to call out, but I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to yell out "Hey, Kappa Prep!" So, I whipped my stroller around and tried to catch up with her...she was walking really fast, and I had to maneuver the stroller to the ramps instead of the stairs. I finally caught up with her and, all out of breath, said, "Hi..Excuse me..do you have a blog?" Anyway, it was her!! It was so fun to get to meet my cute blogging friend! She was there on a work errand decked out in a darling Lilly dress and was just as friendly in person as she seems on her blog. Anyway, it made my day. Fun!!

Questionnaire

A. Attached or Single? Attached--Married 12 years to an adorable man. I prayed for my husband for a long time, and I am so very thankful for the one God chose for me. We met in high school and dated off and on for seven years before we married.
B. Best Friend? I have many very dear friends.
C. Cake or pie? Pie
D. Day of choice? Friday
E. Essential item? computer, Diet Coke/Diet DP, bathtub (I love to take baths), the library
F. Favorite color? blue, red (not orangey-red, blue-red), hot pink
G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears
H. Home town? Dallas, Texas
I. Favorite indulgence? Chocolate
J. January or July? July
K. Kids? Two sons--ages 18 months and 5 years
L. Life isn’t complete without? Christ
M. Marriage date? June 22, 1996
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 2 brothers--ten and twelve years older than me
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples
P. Phobias? Bugs, Heights
Q. Quotes?--"Hurting people hurt others.", "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be neat and wipe the seat." (That one comes in handy raising boys!)
R. Reasons to smile? a precious family, wonderful friends, my cute dog (Hattie)
S. Season of choice? Fall--I love the colors--However, Texas pales in comparison to New England that time of year
T. T.V. Favorite: Grey's Anatomy
U. Unknown fact about me? Don't ever invite me to go white water rafting. It sounds terrifying, and I would hate it. Also, I don't like pedicures--they are anything BUT relaxing for me.
V. Vegetable? spinach, asparagus
W. Worst habit? diet drinks
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? ultrasounds
Y. Your favorite food? avocados, cheese, chocolate, peanut butter, mashed potatoes, good salads
Z. Zoo favorites: elephants, giraffes

What's Happening

We had a good weekend. My husband went out of town, so it was just me and the boys. B and I watched High School Musical on Friday night. Neither of us had seen it, and we both loved it.

Saturday morning we went to the Galleria first thing to meet my friend ML and her three. We got there about nine o'clock to play in the play area before it got crowded, but there were already people there. I guess we weren't the only ones to think of that. Anyway, that was fun. We followed it up w/ a swim at ML's house.

That night after I put the boys down, I watched my new favorite movie...P.S. I Love You...so sweet. I really loved it.

We were all so happy to see Daddy come home on Sunday. We got to spend the evening with some good friends of ours. I had been craving guacamole, so we picked up dinner at Taco Diner. Yummy! I have not had enough Mexican food lately, and it tasted so good!

Today B colored his face w/ a brown marker...he wanted it to look like pirate whiskers. I'm on a bit of a bad run w/ kids and markers lately! Also, today I had another chicken salad sandwich from Chick-Fil-A....I'm telling you..you must try one! Also, I spent part of the day trying to organize B's closet....Playmobil is taking over our house; bits are EVERYWHERE!!! Oh, well...it's a season, right?!

This week, my goal is to start J's Christmas stocking....poor little guy...maybe I'll finish it by the time he's five...more on this subject another time.

Friday's Favorite Things

1. Cute pajamas
2. Little Girls with a silver or gold bangle bracelet on their wrist
3. Mixed CDs
4. Teamonade from City Cafe to Go in Dallas
5. Beautiful flower arrangements
6. Having dinner with my daddy
7. Chocolate chip cookies
8. Diet Coke--unfortunately
9. A phonecall from one of my brothers
10. You've Got Mail w/ Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks

Awards!

Sweet Kappa Prep at Monograms and Manicures gave these two very kind awards. No matter what, it's always fun to get a recognition!!





So, now it's my turn to pass these on. So, without further ado...

A Long Way from the Theta House

Seersucker Stories

Congratulations! I love your blogs!

Table Tops

I love to look at pictures of tables all decorated for a fun occasion. To me, one of the most special times is sitting down to a festive table in someone's home. In the latest issue of Domino, several tables were featured that had been at Diffa's Dining By Design. This was one that I was so taken with that was done by David Stark for Benjamin Moore. He used all of this fun color to make the most fun looking birthday table you have ever seen. Look at all of the paint chips! How incredibly creative! Wouldn't it be fun to spend an evening around that table?

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig

Our vacation was fabulous!! We had such a sweet time with our boys and were able to really relax, too.

My husband loves to cook and is good at it. He cooked almost every meal while we were away--breakfast, lunch and dinner. What a great break for me! We stayed at my brother and sister-in-law's lakehouse, and they have a Green Egg--one of those fancy grills (I'm sure my husband would say that description does not do this amazing grilling/smoking/cooking apparatus justice). Anyway, my husband cooked on that thing almost every night. Steaks, smoked ribs, chickens, sausage...we had it all.

I love to watch my husband be a daddy...our boys have so much fun with him.. B is at a place where he can do so much and my husband loves that--they jet skiied, played putt-putt, went on nature hikes, rode everywhere on the golf cart, ate about a thousand of those icey pops, went swimming, and just had a blast together. It's such a treat for all of us to have Daddy with us for a whole week.

Because J and B are in such different stages, J and I were at a little bit slower pace. We joined in for swimming, boat rides, and golf cart rides, but we also spent a lot of time on some of his favorite activities--reading books, taking baths, napping, and watching the deer there.

In other news:

Today I cashed in a coupon and tried the Chick-Fil-A chicken salad sandwich. I'm a fan. It was really good. It had fresh, pretty lettuce on it. It was on toasted wheat bread. From my research...350 calories. Now...if I just had the self-control to not order fries w/ that! You must try one and tell me what you think.

Three out of the four of us have had the stomach bug within the last two weeks. Daddy first, Mommy second, Baby J next, and we're waiting for poor B. Hopefully, his little immune system will be able to stave it off. A few other people who, prayerfully, will not get it....N and B--their sweet godparents who were keeping the boys when Baby J came down with it Sunday night. Oh, how I hope they don't get it.

Time for bed!

Time to Get Away

We're off for a family vacation!! We're headed to East Texas to enjoy time relaxing and playing on the lake. I'll try to e-mail in a post here and there. Take care!

4th of July

We had the most fun 4th of July this year! Here are some of our favorite parts.




The Parade






Family Time




Our boys!

P.J. Ride

Well, we tried a PJ Ride tonight! It was really fun. We put the boys to bed early--about 6:45. Then, about five minutes later, my husband and I ran through their hall hollering and shaking their toy musical tamborine and maracas. We said we were taking a "PJ Ride". We piled into the car and headed to Baskin-Robbins where we had ice cream cones. It was so fun, and B loved it especially. A sweet memory--I look forward to many more!

Costume Pageant Part II

Here are more of B's costumes....if you missed the first edition, lookie here.

The Football Player--a Dallas Cowboy mixed with an SMU Mustang


The Pilot



The "Army Guy"


And...The "Old-Timey Boy"
He and his daddy watched an episode of Andy Griffith which inspired the hat and our sweet neighbor painted the walking stick for him. I guess the "old-timey" part is because Andy Griffith is in black and white and those boys had on those hats..I'm trying to synch w/ his line of thinking!

That's all for today!

Parmesan Chicken

Rocks in My Dryer is having a Five Ingredients or Less Version of Works for Me Wednesday. Here is one of my very favorite recipes that fits into this category. It's so easy and so good.

Parmesan Chicken
2 sticks of butter
6 chicken breasts--boneless, skinless--cut into strips
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter. Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts. Cut breasts into strips (for some reason we like this better than just buying the strips). Dip breasts into butter, then into bread crumbs, which have been mixed with parmesan cheese and seasoning. Place in a buttered baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 30-50 minutes.

Enjoy!

Anthropologie Catalog

I have never bought much from Anthropologie, but I always like what other people find there. Today, the catalog came in the mail and I picked out a few of my favorite things. See what you think.

I love this. It would look cute with jeans.


So would this!


This jacket is adorable. I'm not sure that this color would do much for me, though.


These flats are fun...different than anything I have.

That's all that really hit me..except for a navy blouse that I loved in the catalog, but it didn't strike me on the website for some reason. I cannot believe that fall is around the corner. I'm enjoying summer way too much right now!