Christmas 2009

This Christmas was very low key for us and it was quite nice! We drove down to my parents' on Christmas Eve and got stuck in a snow drift 1/2 a mile from their house. Once that was over we just relaxed and opened presents once the boys got in from hunting.

The next morning we got around and headed to my grandparents' house. We did Mexican food for lunch since we did a HUGE traditional meal at Thanksgiving. The food was yummy and the clean up was SO MUCH EASIER than usual!

Every year my grandma buys a "gag" gift that one of the guys ends up with. This year Dad was the lucky recipient of this B-E-A-UTIFUL Christmas ornament. His face says it all!

I know y'all have seen the three of us before, but here's a shot of Mom, Gma and me. The dress I'm wearing is a Christmas gift from the hubs.

Mi familia.

This is my grandparents' cat, Skittles. I thought it was so cute that he was sunbathing on the festive bench.

Me and Marty. He was less than enthused about taking pictures that day.

We are having a small cousin get together at our house tonight. We are just having appetizers and playing games. That being said, do y'all try and stick with a theme when doing appetizers? For example, all Italian or something? I don't know why, but for some reason I think the food should "go together", but I've had the hardest time planning what to make.

We leave Thursday for Wichita Falls where we will celebrate New Year's Eve with one of my besties from college and then Friday morning we will drive the rest of the way to Marty's parents' house in East Texas.

So, in case this is my last post of 2009, y'all have a very safe and Happy New Year and I'll see you in 2010!

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time...

This time of year means many things to me...holiday baking with my mom, ice skating and Christmas shopping with a few of my besties in OKC, The Rader Ranch Christmas Extravaganza, sprinkled with festive attire and a few holiday parties here and then my favorite part-the giving.
A couple of weekends ago I went to OKC to spend some time with my girlfriends. We ate sushi at Budda Tao, did a little shopping, had dinner at Cheesecake Factory, went ice skating downtown and then went to look at Christmas lights.
Here's a picture of Becky and I at the ice skating rink.

It was cold if you can't tell by my Rudolph Red nose. I fell once on my knee and decided that perhaps I am too old and unathletic for such things, but I sure felt festive while doing it!

The next day Becky and I went to Life Church in Edmond. Life Church is a non-denominal church that is based out of OKC, but has satelitte locations all over the nation. You can view sermons at http://www.lifechurchtv.com/. If you live in the OKC area and want to hear some amazing Christmas music, this is the place!

Afterwards, we grabbed brunch at The Bagel Cafe (one of my favorites) and then I loaded my stuff and headed to Norman to see Caitlin who was a camper of mine when I worked at Camp Balcones Springs. We had a late lunch at BJ's Brewhouse and then I headed back to Texas.

As you know if you've been following my blog, the hubs was gone ALL LAST WEEK to San Antonio. He got in Friday evening and we got around and went to The Rader Ranch Christmas Extravaganza. It was fun, but we didn't close 'er down like last year. Marty was tired so we got there about 9 p.m. and left around midnight. Here's a picture of Jocelyn and me before we left our house.


The following night we had another Christmas party. I was SO excited about wearing my dress, but am SO disappointed in the pictures. I look greasy for some reason-so frustrating! But, we had a great time and their tablescape looked fabulous! Just like something out of Better Homes & Gardens or something!

Marty and I in front of the fireplace. How do you make "dewy" not look "greasy"??? Any ideas??? I was going for a slightly smokey eye and nude lips. I failed.

And for your viewing pleasure...


My dad got these hats on a trip to Russia. We came across them last weekend and I kept thinking, "'Cause baby it's cold outside..." *lol* I hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas! God has blessed us SO abundantly and I hope we've been able to give some of that back this year in some small way. I'm all about paying it forward! Speaking of which, I am planning on hostessing my first giveaway as soon as I reach 100 followers!!! So tell your friends!!!

Merry Christmas Y'all!!!

I Love...

My Husby...I know this is a no brainer, but Marty has been gone to a training in San Antonio for an entire week and it's ridiculous how much I miss him. I think sometimes I take for granted having access to him 24/7 and I forget about how well we get along and how much fun we have together. I always thought I wanted a job where I could travel all the time even if it meant us being apart. THERE IS NO WAY! He is such a sweetheart, I can't imagine having to be away from him like this on a regular basis. We have two Christmas parties this weekend and I am so excited for him to get back into town! We have a very casual relaxed party Friday night and possibly dinner with friends before that. And then Saturday night we have a fancy-cocktail dress type affair. I haven't told him yet that he has to dress up for that one!

The picture is from last winter. He would KILL me for posting it, but I love that he is holding Tyke and sporting his pj's. My favorite boys...

Prescriptives

Do any of you use Prescriptives skin care or make up? I switched over from Clinique a couple of years ago and my mom read yesterday where they were doing away with Prescriptives. I absolutely LOVE their stuff and am so saddened by this news.

So I need some advice...what brands/products do y'all wear? What are your favorites? I am SUPER anal about my foundation matching so I usually wear a tinted moisturizer or have them custom blend everything.

This is What I Know...and Quotable Friday

Hey Lovelies! This post is probably more honest and more real than I've ever been with you all. And, it may be more than you want to know to the point of being a bit boring so with that said...

Have you ever had somehing happen in your life that makes you step back and re-evaluate yourself. This particular instance is the loss of a friend. Not a death, but the dissolving of a friendship, a life long friendship.

I have never had many girlfriends. Growing up it was just easier for me to get along with the boys. No drama, no fuss and if they didn't like you or something you did they told you about it-fair and square. I always had one best friend from my hometown although, it wasn't always the same person. I COULD NOT WAIT to escape the pettiness of high school and move on to bigger and better things and hopefully friendships with girls. My freshman year of college was A-MAZING! I remember calling my mom after 11 of us had just made a trip to the city. Even though, there are times I long to be part of a larger circle of friends, I had much rather be one on one with one of my best girlfriends. I like to connect and really get to know how they're doing and sometimes I guess I feel like when I've been in a big group it can be more surface level friendship. I think that may be attributed to the fact that I am an only child.

My parents instilled a strong sense of self and confidence in me at growing up. Even during my super awkward coke bottle glasses, huge gapped front teeth and overly permed hair stage, I was a confident kid. And even though that confidence has waxed and waned at times in my life, people still tell me they think I'm a confident person. I've been called "fake", "too nice" and a group of kids in high school considered me "stuck up" because I wouldn't come to their beer parties. I didn't take my first drink of an alcoholic beverage until college and I am still very conscious of my hometown reputation. It was a town of 1,300 people so everyone knew anything and everything you did. On top of that, I was very close to a lot of the youth there and wanted to set a good example for them.

Since moving back near my hometown and to another Small Town, USA it has felt like high school all over again. There is a large group of girls here that do things together and are close to my age. I have what I would consider two friends here that aren't family. And I pray for God to bring new people into my life daily.

I keep in regular contact with two friends from high school, one I actually attended high school with and the other I met at a trackmeet and we became instant friends. I also keep in touch with two friends from college. These girls keep me grounded. It's just so hard because we're so far away from one another.

So, sometimes I think it's just me. Why is it so hard for me to have friends when that's the thing I long for the most? Growing up even though I struggled with friendships, God had always placed amazing people in my life. We've been here three years and I feel like it's still hard for us to make friends.

And then, there's my mother. The most A-MAZING God-fearing woman I've ever met in my entire life. We live an hour apart, but talk multiple times a day on the phone and spend A LOT of weekends together. She's taught me about life, loving others, forgiveness, kindness and she's my favorite shopping partner to boot! I thank God daily for our relationship and realize that although, most daughters share a special relationship with their mother, I couldn't ask for a more amazing mom. I thank God for the gift that she is to my life daily. And maybe our friendship is all I need...

Well, that's enough of that. Now, that you're all thoroughly confused...I guess this all stemmed from the fact that in the dissolving of the above mentioned friendship she said that keeping up with me and reading my blog "made her feel bad about herself". I guess this was my attempt to be more honest about what I'm feeling at this stage of my life and a combination of what I've thought about over the last few days.

I must share this quote I came across on another girl's blog for Quotable Friday. Fellow blogger, forgive my lapse of memory and please remind me if you come across this post and you happen to be the one I'm stealing this from! I apologize!

"I don't wake up and run to give me that extra boost of energy. I don't spend hours at the gym to relieve stress. And I didn't start taking yoga classes to spend even more time with my friends. The truth? I want to look good naked. Doesn't everybody?" ~Nike

Doesn't that just make you smile? Hope you all have a happy and safe weekend!

With This Ring...

My dear friend, Jeff Goins, is requesting that I, and any of you who feel compelled repost this article to get the word out about this selfless cause.

"Ali Eastburn decided to make a radical gift and give up her wedding ring to help dig wells in Africa. Since then, she has been challenging people to give radically to change the lives of people around the world. Right now, With This Ring is auctioning off the rings that people have donated from around the country (which you can see at http://www.withthisring.cmarket.com/)." *Blogger wouldn't let me insert the link so you could actually click on it from this post.*

They are also doing a 12 Rings of Christmas feature on the blog to highlight 12 of the rings and the stories behind each of them (Dec. 7-18). You can link to the blog at http://withthisring.wordpress.com/ (where a new ring will be featured each day for the next 12 days).

Now, this reminds us what true giving is really about. I don't know that I am at a point that I am unselfish enough to donate my own ring, but I am amazed and inspired by these people who are able to do so themselves.

I've been gone...FOREVER...

Hello Lovelies and Happy Monday! I have no pictures to post from Thanksgiving and the last week of our lives because my dad took my small digital camera on his latest hunting excursion. He is currently out of the country in the wildnerness in search of big game. Thus, my mom came to stay with us Saturday night and is here for the majority of the week.

Our company came in Wednesday evening and left yesterday morning and then another group arrived yesterday evening! I just love this time of year! I got my house mostly decorated, minus the Christmas tree-hopefully, I'll get it up this evening. Mom and I are going to make Christmas candy Tuesday evening and go see The Blindside Thursday evening and then I'm off to OKC for the weekend.

I will post pictures from all the recent happenings soon, I promise! In the meantime, I hope you all have a lovely week and enjoy this wonderful time of year! Muah!