We're baaaack...

So we're back from a sweet and fun time in the Dallas area. I took off last Thursday to do a little prep for our trip but first there was some important business to take care of: the Family Bracket Challenge. All three of us filled out brackets for both the men and women over a homemade taco dinner Wednesday evening. 

Tonto went with logic and stats. I went with bold predictions. The girl chose the team with the coolest sounding name. Let's just say she had a banner day during the chaos on Saturday and, overall, we're all about tied...  :-)

Thursday was a big errand running day. The girl and I took advantage of the car was being next door to the snow cone place...

...and put the finishing touches on some St. Patrick's Day festiveness later in the evening before settling in for an evening of basketball. We were on the edge of our seats as the Baylor Bears finally put South Dakota away for good. They were a scrappy little team but our guys prevailed in the end.

We were up and at 'em early Friday so we could be at Six Flags as soon as it opened. I have tons o' pictures to share (you knew that already, right?) but here are a few highlights as a bit of a teaser.

This is what happens when you go off with someone who cannot be embarrassed...

...and we were visited by a leprechaun early Saturday morning. :-)

All of the folks working at Six Flags were clearly fans of the Bears as they were wearing Electricity-colored shirts. Just like our new uniforms.

We got up close and personal with Rangers Ballpark at one point. Probably the only time we'll ever get to drive through the valet line...

...and we also visited Fort Worth Zoo where this longhorn buried his head in a box. Maybe he heard how UT was doing in the tourney? :-)

Our hotel had an amazing atrium complete with koi ponds.

There's so much more to share but that will have to wait until another day. 

Happy Monday, y'all!

Weekly Top 10 - Spring Break Edition

1. So it's Spring Break, which means things have been really quiet (and nice) around the office. Lots of projects are moving in the right direction thanks to a productive few days so I'm going to take off the rest of the week and have big fun with my man, the girl and one of her friends. 

2. I'm so excited about the next few days, y'all. Perhaps even more than my girl. But that's only because she doesn't know about all of my surprises yet, one of which is St. Patrick's Day goodie bags that include glow sticks, hair glitter and other leprechaun-y items. :-)

3. Yesterday was Prissy's birthday. She is now seven, which means she's come a looooong way from the tiny puppy we never had a clue would grow up to be 120 pounds. To celebrate, Rambo (being a good little brother), picked out some treats from the case at Dogtopia yesterday. The girls were very appreciative.

4. It occurred to me about 10pm last night that I should get a picture of the birthday girl. Tonto had already turned off his lamp (something about having to be at work at 6am) so the only light was the television. And let's just say P was more interested in sleeping...but she's still sweet...

5. And she can also give you the cold shoulder when she really wants you to put the phone down.

6. And then she turns on the pitiful face to the point that Tonto says, "Please just let that poor dog go to sleep..."

7. Yesterday also brought an amazing announcement for the Baylor family as Drayton McLane and his family have made the lead gift for a new football stadium, which will be call Baylor Stadium. Having worked for D and knowing a bit about his heart, I really felt like this was coming but it's so nice for it to be official. And we cannot wait to pick out our new season tickets in the stadium along the banks of the Brazos River.

8. I'm not a fan of humidity. I can handle cold, rain and heat. But just hold the humidity, please. 

9. In reference to #8, let's just say the Lord is laughing at me this week because it's been nothing but humid.

10. I won't be back on the ol' blog until Monday since we'll be having big fun and all. But I promise to return with pictures (actually taken with a real camera and not my phone) and some type of random story because that always happens when we embark upon an adventure.

Relaxing Weekend, Take Two

To say that it was a lowkey weekend would be an understatement but it was also exactly what I needed. Friday evening my girl spent the night with a good friend and they went skating the next day. She got home about 5:30pm on Saturday and Tonto took her to another friend's house after dinner. They were having so much fun she spent the night there again last night.

Do I miss her? Absolutely! But it's Spring Break and I'm at work (at least for a few days) and I know we'll have some quality time together later this week. I'm just thankful she has great friends with amazing parents. And that she's enjoying her time off. 

That being said, I'm very much looking forward to seeing her this evening!

The man and I took advantage of the alone time on Friday and had dinner at Wing Stop. I always forget about that place but I absolutely love wings. It was also a good diversion to the Baylor/Kansas men's game. We were nervous wrecks. But our guys pulled it out and rock chalked those stinkin' Jayhawks! :-)

This was also Tonto's weekend to work so the pups and I hung out on Saturday after I did Zumba and then I cleaned house. Like, even wiped down the ceiling fans. Why? Because I had a lot of nervous energy as the Lady Bears were playing A&M for the Big 12 Tournament Championship. They won - in dominating fashion - but I always clean when a Baylor team is on television. 

The pups and I celebrated and sang along with the championship songs and watched the ladies cut down another net. It reminded me of being there when they won the regular season championship and my girl was dancing in the confetti while my parents and I watched on. Good. Times.

Saturday evening brought our men playing Missouri. I don't want to talk about it much except to say that if you don't believe abhorrent officiating can cost a team a game, just go watch a replay of this game. It was pathetic. And our guys deserved better.

Sunday morning I headed to church and then the grocery store. While there, Tonto called and asked me to pick up their takeout order from Chuy's as they had a surprise delivery and couldn't leave. So I did (and their food smelled delightful) and then I found myself surrounded by sweet babies, quickly became overwhelmed and barely made it back to my car before full out sobbing.

Yesterday's date was significant but I don't really want to go into it right now. Just want to say that yesterday was bad but His mercies are new every morning. And for that, I'm incredibly thankful.

Also very thankful to have an awesome man who knew I was struggling and came home with this...

He knows me well :-)

I did make it back to the store and even managed to get the girl a swimsuit (they always sell out so quickly in her size - it's tough to find one long enough for her!), get everything on the list and get dinner in the crockpot before watching some basketball with the pups.

Then we watched the selection show where we learned our Bears were not exactly given an easy bracket but they were rewarded with a 3 seed and play on Thursday. Sic 'em!

While at the store I found this...

...and, yes, it's as delightful as it looks!

This was one of my favorite pics of the weekend - Priss does this all the time. Sometimes you just have to pick yourself back up a little at a time. Seems there's a lesson in there somewhere... :-)

Happy Monday, y'all! Keep your fingers crossed the Lady Bears are rewarded with great bracket placement tonight and have an amazing day :-)

Luck o' the Irish

So we're in the throes of March Madness and that can only mean one thing for home decorating at our house: it's St. Patrick's Day season.

Yes, as we've discussed before, I do decorate for all holidays. It keeps things fun, my girl likes to participate and - because I'm such a sanguine - constantly changing things up is kind of my thing.

We revamped the apothecary jar that currently adorns the dining table. We make a point to sit down and have family dinner each night so we spend lots of time here. We also always have salt and pepper shakers on the table, which led me to wonder why we don't have seasonal shakers...hence the shamrock shakers in the photo. Love. Them.

Lightweight foam beads and foam shamrocks made for an easy (and stress free) switcharoo...

There are also a few leprechauns adorning our shelves right now as well. Unfortunately, some are apparently shy as not all of my pictures uploaded. Guess that means there's more green fun coming up next week as well.

Not only does this table have a sweet bear and green vase but we also have a new lamp. I absolutely LOVE it. It was sort of a necessity as the original lamp became a casualty during a pillow fight. My girl thinks "it looks like it's wearing a belt...that's not normal for a lamp."

I, on the other hand, find it delightful.

On an entirely unrelated note, it's a seriously cold, windy and dreary day in Central Texas. But Spring Break is upon us so here's hoping it clears up before we attempt to have some fun in the sun next week. Tonto is working this weekend so the girl and I plan to do a little swimsuit shopping.

Yes, I realize it's early March but I have a daughter who's almost 5'6" tall. The selection gets rather slim very quickly, friends. Like in an instant.

We also plan to grocery shop, do a bit of laundry, go to church, play with the puppies and maybe even see a movie. Clearly we're planning to live on the edge.

Happy weekend!

Just In Case You Miss Me...

...I'm in full March Madness mode watching countless basketball games, celebrating victories by both the Bears and Lady Bears today, and planning a short getaway for Spring Break. One that includes rollercoasters.

So I'll be back tomorrow to share some St. Patrick's Day cheer but, until then...

Sic 'em Bears!!!!

Weekly Top 10

1. After a rough week, I'm feeling much better. In fact, I've even been able to do Zumba again without breaking into a fit of coughing every 3.2 seconds. To say that is progress, friends, is an incredible understatement.

2 My girl will not admit this but she's really talented and is doing amazing things in her art elective this year. Case in point - this duck...she didn't get this talent from me (I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, no kidding) so I'm both proud of her and in awe...

3. Next week is Spring Break and I can't wait. The girl's pretty excited as well because Tonto has a special outing up his sleeve for T and one of her friends. :-)

4. T and one of her friends went skating Sunday afternoon and she returned home with some funky glasses. Rambo thinks he's quite the gangster. He even bared one tooth. Scary, huh?

5. I've finished decorating the house for St. Patrick's Day. Next up will be Easter but I'm somewhat hesitant to pull out all the bunnies, chicks and eggs because thoughts of "this time last year" are beginning to swirl through my mind much more often than I would like. Funny how something can start that process in motion again when you've been doing great for months, isn't it?

6. No, I'm not descending into some spiral of depression. My God is greater. I'll be fine. :-)

7. Volleyball tryouts are tomorrow evening. I'm a little sad because it means her last season at the family center. Hopefully she'll make the middle school team next year because she really love playing.

8. She informed me a couple of weeks ago that she's also planning to try out for the basketball team next year. I've been begging her to play for years and she refused...clearly she'll be attending some type of basketball camp this summer so she won't be completely unprepared.

9. She worked at an elementary school fall carnival last Friday night as part of her Panther Pride service hours. This is what she looked like when I picked her up. It's a shame the child doesn't have a sense of humor. :-)

10. The Big 12 basketball tournament starts this week. The NCAA tourney starts next week. And Baylor football started spring practices yesterday. Can I get an AMEN?

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Undefeated: 31-0

Last Saturday morning we headed out to the Ferrell Center for one last time this season. It was also the last time our Lady Bears would play in this venue until next year. The opponent was Iowa State. On the line was the first undefeated regular season record.

Early on the Cyclones were quite fiesty (as was their coach; settle down, man, for the sake of your blood pressure) and we actually went into halftime in a tie.

Personally I felt like Coach Mulkey had taken it easy on them a bit as it was Senior Day (morning?) and our starters were only in for about half of the first period. Also, she and this coach seem to be friends. And you know what? If I was a Big 12 basketball coach, I would try to befriend her as well because I would want to be beaten by less than 30 points. But maybe that's just me...

The seniors were honored at halftime - Terran Condrey...

...Ashley Field...

...Lindsay Palmer...

...and former Lady Bear player, Cherrish Wallace, who played for two years before having to retire due to injury...she now serves as the student manager...

Before you knew it, they were playing again and the Lady Bears were off to the races...

...and Brittney Griner scored a career high 41 points. Let that sink in for a minute...

After the game we had a nice conversation with Terrance Ganaway (aka Gangway), who was our amazing running back last season. He's currently training for the NFL draft and is truly an amazing young man. 

The other player in this photo is Lanear Sampson. Now I had never spoken to Lanear before but was incredibly impressed with him. We are so blessed to have athletes at Baylor who are both talented and humble. Driven and intent on giving back. And Lanear is now one of our new favorites.

Also, please note I was still recovering from a somewhat major illness and my face was still pretty swollen from the inflamed sinuses. Just sayin'...it's not the most flattering pic of me ever but we'll treasure it all the same.

And, at the end of the day, the Lady Bears did go undefeated. March is now upon us. Let the madness begin!