My Very Merry Happy Birthday Winter Festivities

Ok, I just need to open this up with something that has absolutely nothing to do with what I intended to write, but......Consider this a public service announcement! Clean your ovens, people! I've had a dirty oven for a while, complete with burnt over and over again stuff at the bottom. It finally caught up with me today as I was attempting to bake some butter cookies for tonight's Christmas Eve festivities. My oven warned me once, but I ignored it. I put the cookies in, and a few minutes later my smoke alarms are going off. I had to scrap the cookies and quiet the alarms. I guess I'll be cleaning that oven once it cools down.

Now for my real blog post....
I firmly believe that in 1985 I was the best Christmas present my parents ever received. I will say this all the time with no shame. I'm one of those people that have their birthday a few days before Christmas...the 21st to be exact. Us December birthdays often get lumped in with Christmas festivities. As a child, I guess I resented that. Now as an adult, I just embrace it while insisting that it still be a completely separate entity. I have no idea why, but every year I get so excited about my birthday...no matter how old I am. You would think I was a child. I turned 28 this year, nothing too special. Yet, I was still giddy with excitement when the day arrived. I am a really difficult person to surprise once I know that a surprise is coming. I'm like a dog with a bone until I figure out what is going on. If you want to surprise me, you must keep me completely in the dark. Otherwise, I will never relent in my pursuit to figure out what is going on. I think I have problems with suspense and the unknown.....Alas, my poor husband suffers every year for my faults. He tries so very hard to plan great surprises only to be subject to my nagging until he gives in. He did come up with a great surprise this year, but I found out sooner than he wanted me to. My real surprise was my parents coming to town just for my birthday. I know that I just saw them a few weeks ago, but it was still nice to have them here with me to celebrate. I haven't had a birthday with them since I've been married.

My day started with my dad and husband making me sausage gravy with biscuits and coffee. I spent half my day getting pampered. It started with an hour massage, followed by an hour facial and a mani/pedi. I came home and got ready for dinner. We went to P.F. Changs down in Sundance Square. My husband's parents also joined us for dinner. Following dinner, we ate some yummy cupcakes. Here you can see that I clearly enjoyed my red velvet cupcakes with the tower of icing...

Chinese restaurants are fun because you always get the anticipated fortune cookie. It's always interesting to see what a random cookie has in store for you. Not that I hold much faith in a random cookie, but it's still fun to see what other people's say. I enjoyed mine, but most of all, I enjoyed my dad's cookie fortune.

This was my fortune. Since there are a couple of things I'm wanting to accomplish this upcoming year, I thought this very befitting for me. Now, take a look at what my dad got:



Hahahahahaha! Some like it hot! You got that, dad? Random, but hilarious.

Sundance square is where my husband proposed to me the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2009. He did it right in front of the Christmas display. My parents have never seen it, so we took this opportunity to show them the decorations since the restaurant was right up the street. Side note: P.F. Changs is also where Mr. B took me to eat before the proposal:)
We took this opportunity to take some pics in front of the decorations, much to my dad's dismay (as you will soon notice in the upcoming pics).

The red and green lighting on the street gave some interesting back light to the photos. And yes, I totally rocked my fedora!

 

Mr. B also got me a Texas Tech charm for my charm bracelet. My mom made me a necklace and this awesome monogrammed tile to put in my living room. I love monogrammed décor!!! She made this using floor tile.

 

Now, another reason I enjoy holidays is because our nephew comes to visit. This past year or so he seems to enjoy my company more and more, and I LOVE it! He is 4 1/2, and this is the age where I really start to enjoy children and the things they say and do. We went out looking at Christmas lights on Sunday. He and I decided to take some selfies in the back seat of the car. Once we got started, he just wanted to take more and more. I'm not sure if it's because I let him push the button on the camera, or if he just loved the silly faces we were making. Either way, we took a few. I put them in a collage.

I just love when he comes to visit. Since his arrival, I've been getting phone calls from him inviting me to come over to Nana and Grandaddy's to play monsters and ninja turtles. He likes the "pick on" game. I wonder what games (and trouble) we can get into today.....

 

 

Happy Holidays, friends:)



An Early Christmas Present for Me!!!

I've curbed my shopping addiction over the past few years. Something about the holidays just makes me want to shop. I bought myself a new pair of black snow boots, red pumps, and nude colored pumps. I did promise to rid myself of some shoes that I no longer wear. I have yet to do it, but it's on my "to-do" list. Now, my next purchase could actually be construed to be Mr. B's fault. It all started when he was making steaks on the George Foreman Grill one night. As he was cleaning the grill, he dropped it and broke it! So, of course we need a new one. Since we don't use it all that often, we really weren't in a rush to purchase a new one. So, whenever I got the chance I would browse Khols and Bed Bath & Beyond to see what deals they had. That leads me to today...I was looking at Khols since I had $10 off and a 30% off coupon. I found the grill for $55. But I saw my stand alone electric mixer on sale for $350 and $10 Khols cash for every $50 spent. So I did the math and found out with the mixer purchase I would have enough Khols cash to get the grill for like $15. I used my $10 off coupon with my 30% off coupon and paid $258 for the mixer. AND....I get a $50 rebate off the mixer. So, the mixer comes to a little over $200! Win for me. Win for Mr. B! While I'm thrilled with my new mixer, if Mr. B wouldn't have broken our grill, I wouldn't be searching for one and ending up with the mixer. The mixer would still be on my "wish list." Alas, I have it now. I will purchase the grill after Christmas.

 

I even purchased it in my favorite color...RED!!! And it so does not match my green kitchen (unless of course I am going for a Cinco de Mayo theme-which I am not).

 

I got right to work using my new toy. I had some holiday baking to do, so this came in handy. I started off making the cookie batter for my blueberry cheesecake cookies for the cookie exchange we are doing at work Monday. While the dough was chilling, I got right to work on my dessert for Sunday's potluck after church. I made red velvet cheese cake bars. I got the cookie recipe from Pinterest. I got my cake bar recipe from a blogger I follow- Mix and Match Mama. I made her pecan pie cake bars twice, and they were a huge hit. I hope these cheese cake bars are just as delicious. I decided I needed an inaugural pic of me and my mixer:

Yes, I am a spoon licker....don't judge!

 

 I must say, I have been so busy today. Mr. B and I woke up, made breakfast, and went straight into town. We had to drive all the way to south Arlington to the mall to get our jewelry inspected. CAUTION: I'm about to go on a soapbox....I think it is ridiculous that there is now only one jewelry store where we bought all our jewelry. There used to be a closer location, but they closed it. Now I am forced to drive 45 minutes to get my stuff inspected. Needless to say, future jewelry purchases will NOT be at that store. Anyways....after that, we headed back to our part of town to purchase some K-cups at Bed, Bath & Beyond, then on to Khols to get my mixer. After Khols, we ventured to Sprouts to get some produce and yummy chicken parmesan sausage. We went home to unload our goods and headed to Boomer Jacks for a huge burger before heading back home for a quick nap. Mr. B had to go to work, and I had more errands to run. I braved Walmart (not something I do often) to get some last minute Christmas shopping done. I was smart and did most of it online. Just about everyone will give you free shipping this time of year. While at Walmart I came into some obstacles at checkout...all due to the Walmart gift card.

 

Register 1: Lady in front of me wants to purchase a Walmart gift card but can't find any envelopes to put it in. She walks up and down the registers asking other cashiers if they have one. Of course, she comes up empty handed. She tells our cashier she no longer wants it since there is no envelope. The cashier says he can get her one. What does he do? He walks up and down the registers asking the other cashiers if they have one. Like, was he expecting a different result? Did he think the other lady asked in a foreign language? So I move up a register thinking it was moving along nicely.

 

Register 2: The guy in front of me is paying with his Walmart gift card, and the cashier is telling him there is no money left on it. It isn't working. So what does this guy do? He takes the card from the cashier, shrugs his shoulders, takes his bags and walks off. Apparently he thought it wasn't his problem that there was no more money on his card and he could have the items anyway. Poor girl at the register tries to chase him out the door, leaving me stranded once again at the register, but to no avail....he is gone! So I move on to my next register....

 

Register 3: The lady in front of me is paying with what? Why yes, a Walmart gift card! The cashier scans it several times, as does the lady in front of me, but you guessed it....it doesn't work. The customer argues with the cashier saying how she's used it before and doesn't understand why it won't work. I'm still standing there patiently thinking "what are the odds?" At least this lady doesn't think she's entitled to the product with or without the money like the last guy. She decides to not take it and begins to walk away when he friend offers to pay for it. They step right back in line in front of me and make the purchase. At least the friend has a working credit card. Now, I can pay for my ONE item in peace. And would you believe it, my card didn't read the first time! Seriously? Lucky for me, my card took fine the second time and I could finally leave that place.

 

I figured I deserved a drink at Starbucks after all that nonsense. So I treated myself to a coffee while I grocery shopped. I came home and unloaded my stuff and got to work. Pretty much from 5pm till this very moment (after 10pm) I've been baking, wrapping presents, preparing for my Bible class lesson tomorrow, and blogging. I even stopped to take my shower. Now, all I have to do is prepare for my Holidays Around the World lesson for Tuesday. I got this! This is what happens when you are lazy during your time stuck at home. When you can go amongst society again and be busy, you have to play catch up. Oh, well! I will leave ya'll with pics of my final products of my baking....well, and this blog post:)



In the Holiday Spirit

Thanksgiving is spent with my hubby's family at his parents' house. His brother comes with his wife and son, and we have a great time. There is always a huge feast, and we eat left overs for two or three days afterwards. My mother-in-law had the week off since her school district is cool like that. I, however, had to work Monday and Tuesday that week since my school district thought it was a good idea. She had a week of fun times with my adorable 4 year old nephew. No worries though! I was over at her house pretty much every day from Tuesday-Sunday that week. I had to get in some serious ninja turtle and nurf gun wars time with my nephew. Foam darts were fired all over my mother-in-law's house that week. I'm sure if she were to move some furniture, you would find some lost darts lingering. Good thing we have a multipack of extras. I love spending time with my nephew because he likes me picking on him and he picks back. It's great! He says, "yes, I want to play the pick on game!" He would always ask me, "when are you going to come play with me?" Don't worry, I did my duty in the kitchen. I made mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and cherry fluff salad. I also helped chop and mix other items. We enjoyed an all day football event starting with the best team ever (if you ask Mr. B) the Greenbay Packers taking on the Detroit Lions. Of course, the Packers lost. Hahahahahahaha! Of course, we all make fun of Mr. B for liking such as strange team. I mean, come on! This is Texas for crying out loud! AND, we live in DFW! Dallas Cowboys all the way (who, by the way, won their game on Thanksgiving!). Now, I did have to watch my Texas Tech Red Raiders suffer an agonizing loss to the Longhorns that night. Since I got to watch the cowboys win and eat lots of good food, I was spared any large amount of rage.

Now, I don't partake in the black Friday ridiculousness. However, I did decide that this year I wanted a second Christmas tree. We've had a tree decorated with blue and silver ornaments for the past few years, but I have always wanted a red and gold decorated tree. Since I'm greedy and didn't want to give up my silver and blue ornaments, I just went to Big Lots and bought a second tree. I then ventured out to (GASP!) Walmart and Hobby Lobby to purchase ornaments. Believe it or not, Walmart wasn't too bad Friday afternoon. I was in and out. I always make Mr. B unpack the trees and "de-fluff" them. His mom said she used to pay him to do that when he was in high school. I didn't pay him! I feed him. That's enough payment. Here are the results of our decorating....yes, I helped decorate.

Notice how there is no Green Bay Packers hat! And...it will remain that way:)

Here is a pic of an ornament that my neighbors bout me from Branson, Missouri.

 

It really started to feel like winter the next week. DFW got hit with what would come to be called Icemageddon 2013! We went from 80 degrees on Wednesday to the 20s on Thursday with freezing rain. I got a four day weekend out of it, but I was trapped inside for 4 days straight worrying about Mr. B who had to get out everyday in the mess to go to work. I wore my "give up on life" clothes for 4 days straight. Haha...love that term "give up on life" for sweats and PJs. Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for introducing that term to my vocabulary. This is our backyard after the storm. This may look like beautiful snow, but it is ALL ice!

Ok, so now I am about to be one of those people who shows you several pictures of their pet. I love my two dogs. Please excuse their disheveled look (it's been a while since their last groom), but these pics were just too cute not to show the world.

 

 

I thought it was so cute that they were sharing the big dog pillow. I've seen them each lay on it separately, but never together. I just couldn't resist snapping the shot of Harley snuggled up on the ugly Green Bay Packers blanket. These next two show them cuddled up with me and sleeping with Mr. B.

 

 

 

I returned to work on Tuesday and went straight ahead. Here it is, Saturday, and I've got one more fun-filled crazy week before the 2 week Christmas holiday. Stay tuned for the craziness!





Family Festivities (a month late!!!)

Ok, so I know I've been neglectful of my blog. I really have no excuse at to why. I mean, I've been busy, but not so much so that I can't write. I really can't use the excuse of not having anything noteworthy to blog about...because now I am having to play catch-up this Saturday night. I guess the only excuse is pure laziness....

I will start with my Thanksgiving festivities that start about a week prior to Thanksgiving. I get to see my parents and sisters maybe 3-5 times a year. We live clear across the state of Texas from each other, and we all work. My parents and sisters came to visit me and Mr. B for the Texas Tech vs. Baylor football game at Cowboys Stadium (a/k/a AT&T Stadium, but whatever!). Whatever official name you give it, people will always really refer to it as Cowboys Stadium. Anyways...we started this little "tradition" last year. My parents arrived first on that Thursday, and we just got to visit until Mr. B came home at 11pm. We ran some errands on Friday, and my sisters arrived later that evening. Me, being the great hostess that I am, had dinner on the table when they arrived from their 5 hour journey.  Now Mr. B and I try to eat healthy the majority of the time, but when my daddy comes, well it's on! This is what I made for dinner the night everyone was together:

Yummy BBQ sausage. Followed by:

fried potatoes and onions. Followed by:

sautéed veggies and jalepeno cheddar cornbread (from scratch)

Now when my parents came, they came with some yummy treats for us. They spent the last few months canning, canning, and more canning. They had 4 boxes full of jams, jellies, pickled okra, sweet pickles, dill pickles, green beans, beef stew, tomatoes and okra, and even corn! My pantry was pretty empty, but we ok, Mr. B, organized the shelves to make room for all our goodies.

 

So now it's the day of the game. I will go ahead and share the end result: my alma mater got their tails handed to them by the Baylor Bears. Most teams this season, with the exception of one, would go on to have similar fates. This is my second time in this stadium, but my first time sitting at the very top of the stadium. It was quite a hike up there. Any higher and we could've swung from the rafters on the roof. Thank goodness for Jerry's jumbo-tron. What made this game fun was my family and my life-long BFFs who got to join in on the fun. Here are some pics:

 

Me and Mr. B decked out in our Texas Tech gear. Thanks to my sis for letting me borrow her jersey. My mom bought me that sweet necklace you see around my neck. Since my school has a saying "Get your guns up!" the pistols added a nice touch to the chunky red and black beads. I can remove the pistols and wear the beads solo:)

 

Next up is me with my twin besties since high school and even years before that! All 3 of us are Texas Tech Alumni!!!

 

 

The next 3 pics are of our view from the rafters the "cheap seats." We also got some shots of the "Goin' Band from Raiderland" in the shape of Texas and the sacred Double T.

 

We had a great weekend with friends and family. Until February, when we meet again:)