Thankful Thursday #27

I have neglected my 'Thankful Thursdays' for far too long! I have SO much to be Thankful for and I'm a very appreciative person so this is one blog ritual that should not be neglected!

Thankful Thursday #26 was America's Freedom To Vote.. I guess I did this post related to voting elections coming up soon.

Thankful Thursday #27 seems it's right in line and only appropriate to be Thankful for at this moment but also something to always be Thankful for...

#27: Our Troops and Our Freedom- If you live in America and your any sort of a civilian, this needs no explanation...

I'm Proud To Be An American- Soldiers Tribute

Blog Book

It seems as though I've had a new outlook on technology, both good and bad...

For the bad part- I feel as though technology can often fail us.. As though it wont' always save everything of might clear out what you do have just randomly one day...

For the good part- Technology is so accessible and advanced and can make tasks so much easier these days!

With that being said, lately I've had a slight fear of not being able to access my blogger one day or to be more exact that eventually my very first post from
March 9 2009 will no longer exist in cyber space...

So I'm wanting to begin creating a 'blog book'

How easy is it? I do not want something that I have to position every box, text, picture etc..

What is the best site?
Pro's and cons...
Blurb.com
Blog2print.com
Blogbooker.com

Or none of the above?

I think making a blog book will be so fun to look back on one day and see all the fun times I've had, the things I've shared, the trends I liked and blogged about etc, and one thing I really look forward to making is something to do with my title page designs..

Check out a few of my FAVS I've had over time Thanks to my sweet friend Danielle
I can't find me first design, but I know I have it saved somewhere :)

I'm baccckkkkkk!!!

With that title you would think I've been gone for a year huh? Well no just 75 days and yes I counted! I have randomly checked up on a few of my favorite blogs about once every 3-4 weeks but as I said, it was a simple 'check up' so needless to say I'm lost on most of my fellow bloggers lives!

Yes I could go on and on about all the craziness that has gone on in my life this semester and what I've missed and who I've missed and how I learned some new ways 'stress can take a toll on your body' but let's be honest, you do not want to hear about it and frankly I'm not one to focus on the negative so I'll save that for a later date or possibly never..

So better yet, I'll share some of the enjoyable events in my life from the past 75 days..


I went into the semester returning to the Education program I was in after taking some time off, needless to say I knew no one.... I'm thrilled to say I had no problem making new friends (imagine that ;)) To be honest it would of been hard to not get to know new people when we spent SO much time together every week!
The picture above is from our methods class one day, (side note, there was only one guy out of all 28 of us.. He's a trooper) we had a quick break and ran to Chick-Fil-A, poor Lauren had to get stuff for a project and didn't get to join, but came back with some Scooby- Doo socks from Target for us :)


I enjoyed working my 3rd year on a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo committee! This might sound like a sales pitch, but those 3 weeks with 35+ hours on top of your normal daily life can be extremely exhausting but when you see the smile and excitement on the childrens faces (I volunteer on the committee that oversees all of the children exhibits and educational aspects of HLSR).. It makes it all worth it!!!
This picture is from one of my shifts worked with 2 of my longest friends, (we went to Enrique Inglesias at the Rodeo together.. does that tell you anything?) who joined the committee this year!

In between the rodeo shifts I enjoyed...

Tim McGraw with my best friend aka my mom!


Gary Allan with BD, Heather, Chad, Shelby, Taylor, Justin, Julia, and Michael!



The AMAZING Miranda Lambert with Lacy, Casey, Heather, Constance, Julia, and Kelly


Zac Brown Band with BD, Pierce, Mark, Kristen, Lindsey, and Mark


My favorite part of the rodeo, Mutton' Bustin'


I celebrated my 26th Birthday with some of my amazing friends and family causing ruckus at Bingo Hall.. I'm all about having fun in a different/unique way, (outside of standing in a bar where you can't even hear any of your friends to talk and your eyes burn from the smoke, just being honest..) so I always set out to find something everyone will enjoy, and this time I landed on playing Bingo!
Minus us being shushed most of the night by the regulars, it was a very fun night!

Me with my fabulous Bingo Cake Pops


My amazingly sweet friends brought me some precious gifts... One thing to learn about me, I strongly dis-like receiving gifts... I LOVE giving gifts and will buy the people I love a gift for the littlest thing but I do not like receiving, at Christmas time I always sit and watch everyone else and their excitement until someone catches me and yells at me to start opening, ha!
Thank You- Matt & Tracy, Michelle & Bill, Tracy, Heather, Rachael, Lindsey J, and Lindsey P


MY parents CAME!!! My parents do not get out often, so this was a big deal, especially for them to drive into town at night and stay out till after 10 when they normally are in bed by 10! I am sooo glad they came and boy my dad was the life of the party!!!!


Poor BD, he kept trying to keep up with my cards for me while I was a social butterfly, I think he finally gave up...


My BFF Rachael and I.. This picture makes me smile big and she's just amazing, need proof? Go here



Out of the 650+ people there.. We actually had a winner from our group!! BD's friend Pierce won a $700 something pot that was split 6 ways!!!



I'm kinda getting tired of uploading pics, so I'm just going to do a quick run down of a few more pics of 'big' things I've done..

We went to Dallas to watch BD's brother play Lacrosse.. It's his senior year at Texas Tech and we have not been to any of his games :/

So of course we can't ever make a Dallas trip without seeing 4 of our most favorite people!!

I told Fynn and Wyatt to 'say cheese' and this is what I got... LOVE their little personalities!!


Brian and his Brothers after the Lacrosse game


A few years ago a sweet friend of mine lost her father to liver disease, I was unfamiliar with this awful disease until Julia put her amazing will power into force and began spreading the word for a cure! We walked in honor of her dad, here's a pic of half our group!


I have another friend that's getting hitched, it's actually this weekend! I'm so excited about this wedding, I have known Sherry for 8 years.. We met through a guy I used to date that she was close friends with.. Over the years we have discovered the many of friends we have in common, although I don't see her much, we know each other is always there and we will randomly text each other anytime we need something
I can't wait to see her walk down the isle in her dress that fits her to a T and see her little baby girl Ky strut down the isle!



I have other random pics and events but I think you've seen enough :) Basically my life has been rather boring and mainly consumed with school, it might look like I've done a lot but the pics you see is about it to be honest..

I do have another special announcement that I can't wait to blog about and show pics but that will have to come next time ;)

Thanks to those who are still 'following' me!

It won't be too long until my next post :)

Ringing In The New Year- Things to look forward to!

*Side note: This post was created January 3rd, yes I'm just going back mid February to complete and publish it.. Enjoy :)

This year BD and I rang in the New Year with a few close friends at our friends parents house.. We defiantly are over the whole going out "in town" idea, for one we don't have the money for it (although I still spent more than I would of liked to on decor, fireworks etc) and it's just not safe going from in town to the suburbs even in a taxi.. We only drove approx 10 miles from our friends house back to Brian's for the night and we had a car pull out in front of us at a light, our light was green and had been green and this car just went straight threw his red light, BD was driving since he does not drink at all and he was very shook up and scared.. So just goes to show no matter how little you drive on NYE it still can be dangerous!

We had a great night with lots of laughs, dancing, being silly, taking pictures, shooting fire works, and just having fun out on all the land the house was on! Here's very few pics to show:

Brian and I celebrating another New Year together, hopefully this year brings us as many great times as 2010!

The Girl's of the night!

And that's all I'm gonna post as far as pics.. ha!

Now onto the more fun part of the post!!




Things I'm looking forward to in 2011:
*Weekends at Bernard..

*Starting another semester and a semi new chapter in my life in the Education field

*Celebrating 1 year engagement with BD, you can read back to the proposal here

*Our big camping trip with some of our best friends

*The Winter Boat Show at Reliant

*One of my bestest friends Birthday celebrations, were going to see Randy Rogers Band! Head over to her blog and feel free to leave her a little comment saying she should start blogging again :)

*My first Nephew's Baby Shower, OK not "technically" my nephew but close enough.. It is my God sister also one of my MOH's baby shower.. When she called to tell me she was prego, she said, I have something to tell you, "You're going to be an Aunt" so yep I'll be an Aunt!

*The World Championship Bar-B-Que , This is one weekend I look forward to every year! If your not from Houston, here's a little run down.. It's a 3 day event, hundreds of cooking teams come out and compete for the best bbq, all put on by sponsorship, you have to "know someone" to get into a tent.. you have to have tickets into each tent and are checked at the door, when you go in all the tents vary but most always have tons of good food- free drinks- dancing- and just lots of fun, I don't even drink but I just love going and having fun with friends and taking it all in. I love the scene and the cow boy hats and laughing at the crazy people!

*Working another year on the Ladies Go Texan Rodeo Committee! Also very excited that 2 of my girl friends' that I've been close with since Middle School have joined the committee this year so we will be signing up for as many shifts as possible together

*Not really looking forward to this one.. But my 26th Birthday!

*Spring Break, fortunately I will be able to look forward to this every year forever with the career field I have choose.. Unlike most people have to stop looking forward to it once they graduate college!

*The arrival of the baby boy mentioned above :)

*The Child Advocates Gala and Auction

*My friend Lyndsey's Wedding in April

*Helping host my friend Courtney's Baby shower

*BD's 26th Birthday

* Finishing another semester of school, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel..

*Our cruise in May to celebrate Brian's dad's Birthday & Brian and his bro's Graduations... We will be leaving the weekend we were supposed to get married this year, so this will be perfect timing for a little get away!!

*Possibly my family's 3rd Annual Craw fish Boil

*Summer weekend's at Bernard aka the river house

* My friend Sherry's Wedding in May

*Events/Tournaments with the Wakeboarding organization were involved in:
GCWA

*Hopefully finding an Education related job during the summer months

*My friend Julia's Wedding in August

*Celebrating all my friends and families Birthday's in 2011

*Graduation in December

That's all I can think of off the top of my head that I know is for sure happening in 2011, maybe I can do an updated post mid year!

My Lovely Blog Readers.. I don't like not blogging!

I'm not even gonna go into the whole spill as to why I haven't blogged in so long and how busy I've been cause let's be honest here.. That's not what y'all want to read nor is it really what I want to talk about!

Just a brief update:
*The demand of schooling this semester is absurd..speaking of I am supposed to be in Dallas with BD's family as we speak for his cousins wedding but I had to make the tough decision on Wednesday to go ahead and back out due to the amount of work I've been doing on weekends and have to do this weekend, it just wasn't feasible for me to try and get my work done during the week to allow me to get away this weekend.. If you know me, you know I must really have a lot to do cause #1 I love going to weddings and spending time with BD's family and #2 I've never really let school work keep me from doing something I want to do.....
SO I'm sitting here doing work and taking a break to blog :)

*I LOVE the elementary school I'm at this semester and really really enjoy my SBTE teacher's classrooms I'm in

*I'm not getting to go to boot camp as much as I was going and would like to go... I know I Know it's part of the "real world" and I"m working on getting used to it but after dealing with 43 fourth graders everyday and then also having endless assignments due for my college courses and making lesson plans etc. Boot camp is basically the last thing on my mind, unfortunately...
On a positive note though, I have lost another 7 lbs. totaling approx. 28 lbs
(if you realize this is much smaller, good for you.. If you know me, you know I strongly dislike talking about myself and my accomplishments)

*I miss seeing my friends... enough said!

*I'm ready to have my own classroom to practice my own classroom management and watching my kids minds bloom and develop on my teaching philosophy and so much more... Yes I'm going to be a teacher even though I just wrote out one of the most horrible sentences, don't judge!

*I'm ready for RODEO!! I say every year I'm going to go to sooo many shows and let's be real here... After working a 6 hour shift on my feet running around with kids at the Rodeo, I very seldom want to stay for the show or even go back to enjoy myself... But I'm going to try and change that this year and seriously go to several shows, this should be easier since 2 of my girlfriends are on the committee with me this year and since my friend H Ty and I have talked about going to some shows, like old times... 4 years ago we went to I think 7 or 8 out of the 18-20 shows together!

This is the only pic I can find right now of us at the Rodeo together, Rodeo Cook Off 2005/6? (I know there are at least 25+ from over the years, but them all off of my facebook and have moved them off my laptop onto an external hard drive)
Did I mention how proud I am of this girl? NO I didn't, so wow I've always envied how headstrong she is and her Faith but this girl has shown it more than ever in the past 6 months! Without giving too much of her personal life out into the cyber world... She has been burned 1 too many times, after years of guarding her heart she finally let the guard down and yet it happened again... I'm not going to lie and say she was OK, she was lonely and confused for a few months after she fought through with that determination and Faith that I mentioned she had, she's back on her feet and full force!!!! She is back to the H Ty we all know and love. I tried to be the best friend I could and stick by her side rather it be to cry to, vent to, send her surprise cards in the mail, or just all around be there.. I hope I helped! This ole silly boy is not all that brought her down, she has had a rough past few months but nothing will hold this girl down, I promise you!!!! OK well I did not plan on talking about that and I think I've shared enough of her business and now that I'm teary eyed, I'll stop :)

H and I at her apt. before going to see Randy Rogers for her B-Day!

*I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of a little baby boy named Luke... If this little guy doesn't hurry up and get here, I might mentally go broke! I do not walk in ANY store and not see something pick something up and think about buying it... I've learned that I have to resist the temptation, I've bought him a few little things and my mom keeps telling me to stop so we can focus on something bigger and more beneficial for the future parents! Although I most importantly pray for good health for the mom and baby and comfort of labor for the mom, I pray a little bit also that he decides to come closer to afternoon time so I'm able to get up to the hospital shortly after and not have to miss school ;)

*I'm really excited about the little Valentine's I'm making for my students... I know I know all you teacher's are saying, just wait after a couple years that will be the last thing on your mind and your lucky if you make it to the store to buy candy, ha! But for now I'm excited and ready to get out my scrapbooking supplies!!!!

*I'm behind on my Daily Devotional, yes that is NOT something you allow to get behind on but I have.... so I'm going to wrap this post up so I can get back to writing this extravagant lesson on Civil War and then on the next break, I'll do some reading :)

Sorry so long and very few pics but until next time....
Smile, it's the ultimate anti-depressant!!!

Face Powder Help/Suggestions?

First things first.. Thanks to all those who noticed my post after post after post the past few days... That's what staying in on a Friday night and experiencing the "grown up" world can do for ya :) (After reading and catching up with a bunch of blogs, I was in the mood to blog.. So I went to my drafts and my list of blog ideas and I started typing away, I set the post dates for the following days)

With a busy busy semester ahead of me, I am trying not to really make any "plans" for BD and I on weekends, minus the "can't miss activities." If you know me, you know this is very uncommon.. For years I have had something of some sort planned for BD and I to do pretty much every weekend rather it simply be dinner or going out with friends or as extreme as going out of town..
Since I know I will be more exhausted come the weekends this semester, I'm ready to kinda 'grow up' and have more nights in relaxing... I know my big sis is probably saying see I told you or Thank God your realizing now, ha! But she has no room to talk as she has always been Ms. social bug!

Now that I went off on my random tangent, on to the reason for this post...

I need some of you wonderful ladies advice/help...

I'm not happy with my powder I'm currently using... As mentined in my post a few days ago about concelear, I strongly dislike buying new make-up!!

I'm one that always wants to try new things and I jump around.. Rather it be toothpaste, body wash, make-up, or even cloths...
I love trying new things and rarely 'finish' a bottle of anything in my bathroom.. I'm learning this is not smart for more than one reason!
1. Too expensive
2. Never know if your going to like it better than the last
3. Makes my bathroom look cluttered
and the list goes on...

You know the saying, if it's not broke.. Don't fix it! I need to learn to live by that, If I like the way something is..then simply stick with it and use it!

So with that being said!

In middle school/high school when I started wearing make-up I began wearing Cover Girl and would alternate and use Clinique..



Over the years I've used Clinique Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder




A few times over the years I've tried ( remember above me I mentioned I cant' stick with anything, prime example..I'd have something that worked fine but yet I wanted to try MAC) using MAC Stuido-Fix Power.. I never liked it, not the first time, not the second time, and yes you guessed it.. NOT the third time!
So many people wore MAC and I always wanted to be that 'MAC Make-Up user' don't ask why...




Over the years of switching, I decided to try Bare Minerals Powder/Foundation and really liked it! You might be asking OK well then why don't you use it, I mentioned in my Concealer Post, I'm allergic to Bare Minerals Make-Up. I absolutely loved the natural-radiant glow that this make up gave me though!


After reading some good reviews and having a lady at Sephora help me.. I decided to go with Laura Mercier Pressed Power

To be brutally honest I do NOT like it!
I feel as those my face looks like this...



OK, that might be a bad image.. Cause fortunately I do not have any wrinkles yet, but what I'm trying to get at with this image is you can see every little imperfection and hair.. You can def tell there is a layer of make-up on her face (You can also tell on mine when I wear that make up)

I feel like MiMi from the Drew Carey Show



OK not literally but you get the picture...

So what do I do? I want the natural yet pretty look back!! Do you have a recommendation or should I try going back to the Clinique that I've used for years or try another Mineral Loose Powder?

P.S.



I use this Primer after my lotion and have always had great results with it, I've also changed my face lotions a few times and have had all the same results of the thick yuck looking make-up!


Thanks in advance for any tips/opinions!

Sending My Luck & Love!

I just want to send some Good Luck and Love to a few of my special friends...

* I have a friend starting a new job on Monday, she really deserves this and needs it to ease her life!!

*I have another friend who went to an interview on Friday, cross your fingers things work out!

* I have a friend who just finished her first half marathon this past weekend, she has been training for half a year and put so much dedication into this.. Technically she doesn't need the luck anymore cause she already finished, maybe the luck I sent her in a card at the first of the month helped her ;)

*I have another friend going to some training tomorrow in hopes of possibly getting a "not so good" job to then eventually hopefully move up to the good job part! PLEASE say a big prayer for this one!!!

* I have a friend who landed an awesome job only 2 weeks after graduating! She is in her very own classroom and doing great, she also found out a few weeks before that she is expecting her second child!!!

* I have another friend who is having bad back pain that's sometimes keeping her in bed, hopefully she finds solutions soon!

* I have a friend who is running a 5K in a few weeks, followed by a 10K.. And I will be pushing her to sign up for a half shortly after that! She has the dedication and strength to complete it with her eyes closed, she just needs the Faith!

* I have a friend who moved back to her home town of Dallas today... It made me sad to see her go this week, but I know she will be happier there and know that I will be seeing her again, so I'm not too worried :)

* I have a friend who is planning her wedding and dealing with a lot of unnecessary/unfair stress that is making her experience very unpleasant


* I have a fiance (bet you can't guess who that one is ;)) who is ready to make leaps and bounds!! New doors are opening and I'm so proud of him!!! We still need to land a job for him, but he's headed in the right direction!

Wow sounds like I have a lot of just random "friends" ha!
I'm sure I forgot someone that I have been praying for or thinking of but don't you worry, I haven't forgot about them in my heart :)

Good Luck, Get Well, and I Love all my friends!!!