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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Goldilocks


Tay wanted me to show everyone that I don't have "all that dark hair anymore." Neither she nor Dave like my hair dark even though that is my natural color. I generally change the color with the seasons but, since we're going out of town for Spring Break, I decided to get a head start last weekend.

My wonderful hubby did a fantastic job, don't you think? Yes, you read that right...his mother was a hairdresser and (thank God above) she taught him how to do highlights before she passed away. He is so meticulous that it's almost comical but I can't really argue with the results or the fact that I was able to watch the Nascar race while getting it done. Thanks, sugar plum!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Finally - The New Couch Arrives

I don't think I've blogged about all of the drama we've had with our couch in the past few months but let's just say it's been MAJOR. The one we had was fabulous except that the fabric started pulling and was threadbare in certain spots. Did I mention it was less than a year old? 


So we contacted the company but the warranty wouldn't cover it because it wasn't "pulling at the seams." We hadn't quite finished paying for it so we obviously didn't want to keep a defective couch and we didn't want the same one again since this one hadn't lasted. In addition, it was microsuede and I learned the hard way that you can't keep that stuff clean...at least when you have three puppies.

So we returned the old couch and ordered a new one. We only got a 15% refund but we swallowed that and resigned ourselves to 3 weeks without a couch. Tay loved it because she could practice tumbling...

Three weeks later, I inquired about our new couch and was told it had only been ordered 2 days before. WHAT?!?! Oh, and it was backordered so it would be 6-12 weeks. I was livid and just couldn't contain my fury any longer. It all culminated when the guy told me to "take my business elsewhere" if I didn't like it and then hung up on me after I asked who owned the store.

Needless to say, Dave was pretty hot by this time as well. (Funny thing - I fly off the handle easily but get over it just as quickly. It takes him a long time to blow but, once he does, look out world!) To make a long story short, he had a chat with the owner, we picked out a new couch from the catalog and were told it would be shipped on February 17.

It came in last week and was delivered on Saturday. Only it was WAY too big for our living room. So I got creative because there was no way I was calling these people after all the drama and saying 'oops, I made a mistake.' I took the middle section out of the sectional (thank you, Lord, for decorating shows on TLC where I got the idea) and replaced the old chaise lounge in the office with a swank little loveseat. 

I absolutely LOVE IT but, honestly, if it hadn't worked, I would have rented a storage unit just to hold the thing rather than return it and go through this drama again.



The new couch - don't you just love the giraffe-print pillows? Dave doesn't really care for them but said the phrase all women long to hear "as long as it makes you happy, I don't care..."

The center section I took out and put in the office. Our office is octagon-shaped so it curves really nicely with the wall. And it doesn't take up as much room as the chaise did so we have extra room to move around. The Lord saved this foolish girl yet again, y'all!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone!

We did indeed have our Mardi Gras celebration last weekend. Unfortunately, Dave was called in EARLY Saturday morning so we had to wait until Sunday. That was ok, though, because Tay and I had some time to stock up on decorations. We got Dave this cute tie but he wouldn't wear it (Mr. Crankypants emerged after working 48 hours in 4 days...can't say I blame him for that one, though.) so Prissy wore it instead.


We got these cute hats too...Bo wasn't too crazy about his but we eventually got a picture.


We made my Paw Paw's chicken and sausage jambalaya and it was absolutely delicious!


We made a King Cake and it was good too.


Tay loved posing in her garb so you're being treated to several shots of us being silly on Saturday while poor Dave was working...




This one is my personal favorite!
Not sure yet what, if anything, we're giving up for Lent. In general, we've been trying to eat much healthier and exercise more which seems to finally be paying off a bit. In doing so, we've either given up or severely limited a lot of things we would partake in otherwise...you know, super fattening sweets, red meat more than once a week, a once a week soda, etc. That all takes willpower, right? 

Friday, February 20, 2009

Mardi Gras Celebration



So most people who know me also know that I'm originally from Louisiana. Needless to say, this is one time of the year that I miss being there...not for all of the raucous fun and crazy bead throwing that I wouldn't even want to be a part of but because I have great memories of Mardi Gras.

I remember watching the parades on television at my grandparents' house. When growing up, I collected dolls and one year I got the King and Queen of Mardi Gras from Santa - it was awesome! We always had king cake and whatever Cajun food was on tap at the time - jambalaya, gumbo, etc. When we first moved to Texas, my mom made king cakes for my class and we decorated shoe boxes like floats and had a little parade through the halls. That's the kind of wholesome goodness I want to share with Taylor.

So this year we've decided to bring a little of that fun to Waco, Texas! Thanks to my Mom, who painstakingly compiled a "family" book of recipes a couple of years ago, I was able to quickly get my Paw Paw's famous jambalaya recipe. I also got a good one for king cake but, I must admit, we will be cheating a little bit by starting with canned biscuits instead of making the dough from scratch. You see, I learned about a month ago that active yeast and I are NOT friends.

We're doing our biweekly grocery shopping tonight and will be raiding the Mardi Gras decorations. When we were there last week, they had masks, beads, hats, dubloons, etc. Taylor is super excited and I've almost convinced Dave that he will like jambalaya. You see, he thinks my family and I are a little bit crazy because 'everything y'all eat has rice in it.' Personally, I don't see that as a problem but I guess it could be odd to someone who's not used to it :-)

Just in case you want to have your own Mardi Gras celebration, the recipes can be found at bowersfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com.

Have a great weekend, everyone and Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Science Fair Follow-Up




When I posted my diatribe about the science fair, I had not yet downloaded the pics of the completed display and Miss Tay with her blue ribbon. Here they are for your viewing pleasure. :-)

First BBQ of the Season

The last weekend Dave was off (2/7), the weather was really spring-like so we did what our family loves to do when the weather gets warm - brought out the BBQ pit! Honestly, if the weather would permit, we would eat nothing but food cooked outside all year long so we jumped at the chance to get started a little early.


Miss Taylor asked for ribs and sausage but the wind started blowing really hard so we had to finish the ribs in the oven (they already had that great smokey taste, though) and we saved the sausage. Dave will actually be smoking it today so we can have it for dinner this evening.

I made my dad's yummy baked bean recipe and my mom's tater salad. We also got some fresh French bread and toasted it up with butter and garlic powder. Yum, yum, yum is all I can say. The ribs we found (at Wal-Mart which is unusual for us) were so big that Dave and I could only eat one each. Tay was full after half :-)...

While the pit was going, Tay brought out her basketball and challenged us to a game of Horse. She is only 9 and almost 4'11" tall so this is one game that just might be in her future. I was super impressed with her accuracy. Bless her heart, though, she's about as coordinated as I am (ie broken foot in kindergarten and broken arm in second grade...both happened at school); however, I figure if she's big enough to block and accurate enough to shoot, she'll be good to go!!

One of my new favorite pics - love, love, love that face

Tay lovin' on her favorite four-legged folks. By the way, she specifically requested this hairdo...not sure where she saw it...probably one of those tween shows she watches.

Hey, guys, let's go check the mail!

My man overseeing his BBQ empire.

The pit...this is the smoking pit. We have a gas pit as well...Dave insists on it :-)

She shoots...she scores!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tay and I are having a leisurely holiday today. Dave's working so we're just hanging out. I did an incredibly smart thing this morning when I let Tay choose a new DS game instead of a trip to Build A Bear for her present.

We are becoming inundated with cute teddies who are dressed to the nines. So I took her to Wal-Mart to pick up a copy of Mario Kart and now she's so focused on the game that I have a little time to breathe. Good news all around!

Since we were updating her blog to reflect the next holiday (St. Patty's Day for those of you who weren't sure - actually, Mardi Gras is next but we haven't been able to find any backgrounds for our favorite Cajun holiday), I thought it was a good time to share our V-Day pics.

Enjoy!





Friday, February 13, 2009

A Little Valentine Cheer

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Random Cuteness

We don't have a whole lot going on this week now that the science fair is behind us. Tay signed and addressed her Valentines last night and we're planning to decorate a shoebox for her mail receptacle on Thursday night. We have to schedule these activities around gymnastics (Monday and Wednesday) but it's worth it because she has a great time, I have a little over an hour to work out with no interruptions and she is getting pretty good :-)...


Anyway, I thought this would be a good time to share some cute random pics. Before I do, let me just say that I recognize Perkie is not represented; however, she is super camera shy and it's quite a challenge to capture her EVER. I was successful a couple of days ago, though, so she'll get her very own post.

Precious Prissy - while it is apparent that a boxer/lab mix results in some consequences on the intelligence front, Prissy is the most loving one in the family - humans included :-)

An actual super cute, smiling pic of Tay. These are hard to come by because she's always being silly...see caption below the next pic...
Tay Tay being silly...this is a daily occurrence. She is the funniest kid I know - cracks me up all the time!!


Bo has been Mr. Photogenic lately. He absolutely loves having his picture taken and poses every time I take the camera out of the case.



Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Science Fair Experiment

A few weeks ago, my science enthusiast (who clearly takes after her grandmother and NOT her mother in this area) informed me she wanted to enter the science fair. After my mom reminding me of a fairly easy yet successful project I did in the third grade, I decided even I could handle determining how water flows through a plant by using carnations and water tinted with food coloring. 


Knowing this generally only takes 12 hours or so, the procrastinator in me decided to wait until the weekend before it was due. So we went to Hobby Lobby and stocked up on supplies to make a beautiful display and then hit Wal-Mart for some carnations. They only had miniature ones so we headed to HEB. No luck there as the ones they had were already colored. But they had white Gerber daisies. Smugly thinking they would work, I paid for them and off we went.

My adorable child put food coloring in all of the vases I gathered from around the house and, of course, she chose some interesting colors like turquoise and purple - no standard red, blue, yellow and green for my child. After trimming the stems, we placed the daisies in the vases and finished our chores throughout the afternoon.

The next morning, we raced into the kitchen only to find plain white Gerber daisies. Thinking we must apparently need carnations, I raced back to Wal-Mart and purchased the miniature versions as that's still all they had. We repeated the ste
ps and off we went to school and work on Monday (please keep in mind this project was due on Thursday).

When we got home on Monday evening, we still had plai
n white miniature carnations. At this point, I'm beginning to panic. It's at this point that my precious child explains to me that they've moved up the due date and she must turn this project in on Wednesday instead. 
What?!?!

What happened next must have been comical...if you weren't in the middle of it...

Tay and I spent the next two hours getting her display board ready. (By the way, I'm no longer a fan of the glue stick...it took days to get all of it off of my fingers.) By this point, the tinted water had made its way to the base of the flower petals but wasn't moving any farther. So I put Tay to bed and left her with Dave while I scoured all of Waco for white, standard size carnations. At the fourth store I visited (by this time it was after 10pm), I found a small group of white carnations that were surely divinely place just for us - thank you, Father.

After buying the THIRD set of flowers for this project, I headed home and placed them in the tinted water for Tay and promptly passed out as it had been a long evening. Unfortunately, though, I couldn't sleep because I was stressed about this whole thing. At 3am I was up looking at flowers that still had not changed colors...

At 7am the red one was starting to turn pink - praise you, Jesus - and I left for work with hope and Tay's notes that I could transcribe for the written report. Dave came for lunch and promised me all of the flowers were turning their appropriate color and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

When we got home, they had indeed changed colors!! We finished the display, put the report in a cover, had some pics printed at Walgreen's and called it an evening. We proudly carried everything into the school the next morning and I just knew my little one was going to be rewarded with a blue ribbon.

Well, I was partially right...all of the students who entered got blue ribbons. Some simply said 'participant' or 'honorable mention' while others got ribbons for specific areas. Tay got the ribbon for 'good organization.' Anyone else find that rather ironic after hearing the story? Yep, that's all she got...well, that and a great meal at Cheddar's with Dave and my parents to celebrate. She enjoyed the process so it was all worth it, right?

Did I mention this was an OPTIONAL entry...she wasn't even required to participate. Next year she's going to enter the art fair instead of the science fair. It just sounds less tiring...








Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Sic 'Em Lady Bears!

Tay and I went to the Lady Bears' basketball game on Sunday afternoon after church. They were, at the time, ranked #4 in the nation and were playing #16 Texas. While we fully expected to cheer them to victory, it was not to be. 


Somehow the Lady Longhorns ended up victorious...it was a bit of a bummer but at least it was t-shirt day!! We now have super cute white shirts courtesy of Time Warner Cable...

The team will hopefully get back on track this evening at Nebraska. The OU game was disappointing as well but that one was kind of expected. The basketball just would not go in for the Bears on Sunday, though. It seemed like we got off at least four times the number of shots as Texas but the ball kept bouncing off of the rim.

As a side note, I would like to say that the officiating did leave a bit to be desired. I'm not much of a basketball expert - AT ALL - but I do know that one should be called for traveling when one repeatedly picks up their pivot foot. Just a comment from the peanut gallery...

Best of luck to the team this evening as they get back on track with a win. Sic 'em Lady Bears - we're ready for another national championship!

Lookin' cute outside of the Ferrell Center
I prefer this score to the final one
Check out the new Baylor ad on the video board
Love Coach Kim - we Louisiana girls have to stick together!
The Lady Bears played some tremendous defense but the darn ball just wouldn't go in...
They looked much sharper in their pregame uniforms than UT did in their windpants and pink t-shirts...I'm just sayin'....
You can't really tell but she actually let me put her hair in pigtails - I'm very limited on the type of styles I'm allowed to try out on Missy's hair...

Cowgirl

I'm not sure what Miss Taylor's obsession is with hats lately but she's been begging me for a straw cowgirl hat for a few weeks now. I originally told her she'd have to wait until the summer (she wants to wear it while we're at Disney and I just know it will suffer some damage between now and then) but I gave in last weekend. 


I got a call from the Waco Family Y on Friday afternoon saying that they didn't have enough kids to form a basketball league for Tay's age group so they are refunding the entry fee. She was pretty bummed so I let her use a portion of the fee to get her cowgirl hat. Needless to say, she really likes it and I think she looks rather cute too!

I had to promise to post this one because "everyone will want to see the cute bow."
Howdy, partner!
Love, love, love this one!
We were a little pouty and about ready for bed here...note the quilt pallet that she decided to sleep on in our empty living room. Hopefully the new couch will arrive soon!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Mayborn Museum

Continuing on about our fun on MLK's birthday, we went to both the Mayborn Museum and the movies. We saw Hotel for Dogs, which was incredibly cute and my little animal lover absolutely adored it! She's already asking me when it comes out on DVD :-)

Waiting for the movie to begin - I was told at this point to STOP taking pictures, lol

We had a terrific time at the Mayborn. This is one of Tay's favorite places and, if she had her way, I'm pretty sure we would be there every weekend. She wanted her picture taken with every single exhibit on this day so you'll be happy that I just picked out a few of my favorites to share instead of giving you all 50 at once.