Hello Old Friend

Oh my goodness. Where do I start. I have so much to share with you.

• I graduated!! Yes, on December 17, 2011 I walked across the stage at UNT! I can't tell you how great it was to be DONE!
• I have gone gray. Here is a pic. Excuse my droopy eye; Kate was smooshing me. Honestly, I am not sold on it yet. It has been 2 months and I still scream when I see myself in the mirror!
• I accepted a certified teaching assistant position at the elementary where I currently work. I am loving every minute of it. I pray that is turns into something permanent.
• Kate is doing great. She was invited to join the ACE program at school. I could not be prouder. It is hard but she is holding her own!
• We just booked our next trip to Italy! We are going over Christmas again. This year we are also going to spend a couple of nights in Paris.
• Cita is doing well. She is traveling quite a bit for work and counting down the days until she retires.

That is it for now. I've missed you!

A Year From Now...

God willin' an da creek don't rise, I will be preparing a classroom for a group of kiddos I will be blessed to teach. So grateful for what God has done and is doing in my life. My last semester begins on August 26. 4 classes left, 12 hours to go. Can I get an AMEN?!

So, a gray update. I found the coolest website! It is called Going Gray and Looking Great. Says it all doesn't it? It is loaded with useful information and a bazillion before, during and after pictures. There are so many women going gray AND they are my age!!! Even more hopeful for me. Here are some before, during and after pictures:

Isn't the transition amazing? Here we go!!

Going Gray....

It has been a while since my last post. Busy with school and summer. Really just school - that is my summer. I am glad UNT is air conditioned. Oh my heck it has been hot. Crazy hot. Bad hot. Sizzling hot. So hot a lady got 2nd degree burns on her feet from walking in leather flip flops. OUCH.

Summer school is almost over and I return to work next week. Fall classes will soon follow. The last semester before graduation. I am so excited it is almost here.

If this summer has taught me one thing it is that I am tired of coloring my hair!!! I am prematurely gray. Thanks mom and dad!!!! I got my first gray in 10th grade. And the fight was on from then. I am done fighting. It is too expensive and too much of a pain. My hair grows so fast I have to color it every 4 weeks. I am excited and scared to see what it will look like. The transition is going to be ugly. I don't want to dye it gray or do highlights. Can you say two-tone? Skunk? Oh well, here goes. I figure I can always dye it again. Here are some pics for inspiration. Thoughts? Anyone?

What a summer!

Whew! What was I thinking? Long story short, I took 9 hours during the summer 1 semester. That is 3 classes in 5 weeks. Without a doubt it was the hardest semester of my college career. It even brought me to tears a couple of times. But I did it. Now I am taking 6 hours summer 2. Still a lot of work but doable.

My summer break consisted of a 3-day weekend in between summer 1 and 2. I read The Help. It was so good. I would highly recommend it.

That is it for now. Back to studying!

I am alive....

Have you missed me? It has been forever since my last post. Life is busy! Here is the low-down:

1. Kate finished her 8th grade year and entering high school next year!
2. I finished my spring semester (all 12 hours) with all "A"s. (One reason for no posting).
3. The school year is over for me and I am off for the summer.
4. Well, not really off...I am taking 9 hours the first summer semester and 6 the second.
5. Cita is good. She is busy too doing a lot of business travel.
6. We have a new pet. I found a baby red-eared slider in the parking lot at school. Kate named him/her (shim) Geraldine McQueen.
7. Oh! And there's this....

Spring Break Road Trip 2010 - Day Five

Waaa! Today is our last day in Fredericksburg. It is bittersweet. Sad to leave my dad and Bren but happy to see Nancy Jo, James, Ben and CeCe in San Antonio. My brother showed up with his new baby, PJ, right before we left. Another short but sweet visit. I did not take any pics this trip!!! So sad.

We drove through Kerrville on our way to San Antonio and had lunch with my uncle Peter. This is the same uncle we went to Italy with in 2008. He took us to lunch at a little Italian restaurant there in Kerrville. I was NOT excited about it. Seriously, come on, good Italian food in Kerrville, Texas? I think not! Boy was I wrong. It was SO good! It was called Valentino's. What a nice surprise. If you are ever that direction and need a little Italian--Valentino's is the place. They serve this warm, Italian rolls with a dipping sauce of butter, olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. It was all I could do not to drink the whole dish up. I had the Tortellina Alla Panna. Good and creamy.

With big smiles and full bellies, we set off for San Antonio! We got to Nancy Jo and James, unpacked and got caught up on each other. The Hooper's (my cousin, Casey's, in-laws) invited us all over for dinner. Gail and Bob are great people and great fun. It was a Mexican fiesta. with grilled and stuffed jalapenos, chicken enchiladas, rice and beans. For dessert we had buneolos and ice cream. We sat on the back patio and visited and laughed and had a grand old time. Gail is a great hostess and she can decorate a table. I am sick I didn't have my camera to take pictures! It was the perfect way to start the last half of our spring break.

Spring Break Road Trip 2011 - Day Four

Another beautiful day in the hill country. Today was Meals on Wheels Day! My dad delivers MOW once a week. Today he took Kate with him. They have done this together in the past. It is "their" time. I took the opportunity to pick up some candles at Circle E. They have wonderful candles in about a gazillion scents. My favorite is Bird of Paradise. My dad Kate hooked on the Leather scented one! Every time she lights it I freak out thinking the house is on fire!!!!!

Dad, Kate and I met back up for lunch at Porky's Hamburger and Onion Ring Company. Good burgers and the onion rings are as big as your head. Seriously, you could wear one as a necklace. Dad went back to work and we headed back to the farm. My sister, Michelle, drove in from Austin with her new stepdaughter and foster baby Malachi! He is adorable. It was good to catch up with her and hold that baby. We spent the rest of the evening just BEING together. I love just BEING together. Good times and another restful night of sleep in the country.

Spring Break Road Trip 2011 - Day Three

Coffee in the country is good! I love the sounds of the country. I woke up to the wind blowing the chimes on the porch, the cows mooing and the birds chirping. No trains, cars or motorcycles. Don't get me wrong I LOVE the sound of a Harley, but I don't like to be woken up by one. Anyway, I had some coffee with Dad before he headed to the office and then rest of the house rallied and we headed to the Wellness Center for a workout. Okay, I know the key to long life is diet and exercise! I know, I know!!!! I got to see it in action this morning. There were a ton of elderly people working out harder than I was! I have been doing WW but I need to get moving!

After our work out we headed to H.E.B. for some groceries and to get the ingredients for Kate's favorite chocolate pie. It is her absolute favorite. And the kicker is it is a WW recipe! It is so good and yummy. Kate has decided she wants them served at her wedding. Crazy girl, she doesn't know yet that she will never be leaving home! Anywho, we got the goods and headed back to the farm. We baked and hung out until Dad got home. Then we rallied for a game of horseshoes. I am not good...at all. This is not good for my competitive streak. Especially when every time I pitch a horseshoe my father yells, "Great throw! No POINTS!" ARGH! Aunt Ann, the nurse, came out for dinner. Dad grilled burgers, Brenda made turnip french fries, and Ann made pinto beans. It was yummy! We ate and then we talked about all of our old family road trips. It was so funny remembering all the trips and how we all almost killed each other. It is good to laugh about it!!!

Spring Break Road Trip 2011 - Day Two

We woke up and headed to church. They had a guest pastor and he was good. I really enjoyed it. After church, Forrest, Kate, Brenda and I went to the Fredericksburg Brewing Company for lunch. I had a wonderful salad with strawberries, mandarin oranges, blue cheese and candied pecans. I ate every bite. We relaxed the rest of the day. We watched movies, cooking shows, talked, laughed, worked on a puzzle and just enjoyed each other. Nothing better. It is so good to slow down. I move so fast most of the time I forget what it feels like to just be. A word about puzzles. My dad has a table by the front window in his living room and you will ALWAYS find a puzzle (and my dad) there. I love to sit there with him and work on puzzles. Just sitting with my dad. Peace, safety and love. I need to make a place in my home for a puzzle table.

Spring Break Road Trip 2011 - Day One

We were soooooo excited to get out of town! We loaded up the car and left at 6 am. We made it to Fredericksburg around 11 am and started shopping! We stopped at a store called Zertz. They carry great brands like Rocket Dog and Yellow Box. Love love! We have been in dozens of times before, but today I found these!!! Don't you love them? We headed to the rest of our favorites: Something Different II, Root, Henfeathers, Heirlooms and Haberdashery. The Haberdashery had these amazing boots.

They didn't have my size but hopefully I can get them in black in the fall.

We got out to Dad and Brenda's and unloaded all of our stuff! My 23 year old nephew, Forrest, is living with them for awhile. It was nice to visit and catch up with everyone. Dad smoked a wonderful ham for dinner. Yummy! I fell into bed tired and happy!