Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Wishful Wednesday

Kelsey over at The Seattle Smith's is hostessing Wishful Wednesday.


Today 'I Wish'...My Pet Could Talk Because I've been dying to know...

1) If he's been cold the last few mornings we've gone walking. I walk Tyke on a harness (which he hates) because he's like a sled dog pulling on a lead if I don't, but his coat won't fit over his harness.

2) Why in the last two weeks he's gone from playfully chewing on his toys to full on devouring them. Included in the rampage were a pair of M's work pants, a button up shirt and his comfy work boots. Care to answer that one, my little darling???
3) And last but not least, if he thinks he's been abandoned when I leave him at pet resorts when we go on long trips.

I couldn't decide on just one question or picture. He is my furbaby after all!
4) L.C. (the cat) Why do you let Tyke bite and pull on your ears and harrass you when it'd only take one good swipe from your fully entact claws to make him lay off? You are a sweet kitty when you want to be.

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Monday, September 28, 2009

Tired...

What a weekend! Friday we went to the high school football game in a neighboring town. We ate dinner with my dear friend, Randi, and her husband, Shea, at this lovely little Mexican place that I always forget the name of.

Here Randi and I are before the game.


Saturday I got around and drove to my parents' to see my dad. Mom was in Amarillo doing the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure with two of her friends. One of which is a breast cancer survivor. We had to admit my granddad to the hospital late Friday night so I decided to go check on my dad Saturday. He and I drove to P-town and met Uncle Bud, picked up a horse and had lunch before driving 45 minutes back to my parents only for me to turn around and drive to Amarillo to see Granddad who has limited visitation. I met Mom up there and we spent an hour with Gdad before driving back to my parents.

Sunday morning I had to get up to teach Sunday school. I had 12 2nd and 3rd graders. They were VERY rambunctious! I took a nap that afternoon and Marty went and dove hunted and rode his horse with Justin and Ben. Then I went to "Pumpkin Patch" out at the garden and toted home some LOVELY pumpkins for my porch. Does anyone have a recipe that makes your pumpkins look shiny and waxy on the outside? I know I've seen one, I just don't remember where.

It was SO hot Sunday evening. So, Tamara and I decided to wait awhile to run our 8 miles. I LOVE having someone to help me get through those long runs. She pushes me so much! My knees started bothering me towards the end. Do any of y'all run with those knee bands? I've been going to try them, but wanted to ask someone if they thought they helped, first. It was 8:30 p.m. by the time we finished and I was not hungry at all, but by the time I laid down in bed around 10:30 p.m. I was STARVING so I fixed some brown rice and steamed veggies. Then drifted off into a beautiful oblivion of sleep.

Monday I had a 3 mile EZ recovery run and work was usual. Nothing exciting.

This morning was my "rest" day from running so Holly and I took the pups for a walk around 6 a.m. How Tyke, my little Papillion, keeps up with Blue, her Standard Poodle, I'll never know, but he LOVES it!

Hope you all had a great weekend! And are having a great start to your week!

Mom is coming up tonight and we're going to get our nails done, eat pizza and watch Marty play some softball.

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sterling Silver and A Giveaway...

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I sell Silpada Sterling Silver jewelry. It's comes with a lifetime guarantee and if you get it and don't fall in love with it, they'll let you exchange it or refund your $$$, no questions asked. I thought I'd share a few the new pieces with y'all from the 2009-2010 catalog which you can view by clicking here. I had an open house last night and haven't completed the order, yet, so if you find something you just can't live without, send me an e-mail at cassirash@gmail.com What girl doesn't love jewelry?


Ashley at Live.Love.Laugh is giving away an adorable ring dish of your choice from Wise Impressions. This one is my favorite.

So click on her site Live.Love.Laugh and enter the giveaway! You have until next Monday, September 28!

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Monday, September 21, 2009

Feelin' the Love, Y'all

Well, you ladies have been so kind to present me with a few awards lately. I would like to thank Modern Mom at How to Survive Life in the Suburbs for the Give Good Blog Award. She has an extremely fun and witty blog. You should all check it out if you haven't already.

The rules are: No one really likes rules, do they? She has made them simple. Make a cocktail, pick out some of your favorite bloggers. Send this award to four of them. Tell them why you think they give good blog. There are so many fascinating, witty and fantastic bloggers. Let's invite them all to the party!

Or you can just put it on your mantle and watch it sparkle. I am going to opt for this option since I have two other blog awards to dish out.

This next award comes from Mimi at A Peek At the Pierces. She is a new blog read, but oh so sweet! She awarded me the Honest Scrap Award.

The rules are as follows...1) thank the blogger that gave you award. Thank you, Mimi! Keep on keepin' on towards that 5k. I know you'll do great! And 2) Share 10 things that your blog readers may not know about you. I'm pretty much an open book on here, but I will try and dig deep.

3) I am supposed to present this award to 7 bloggers I find brillant in content and/or design, or those whose blog has encouraged me.

1. I was ready to be done with school, so I finished in College Town in three years. I then moved back to Texas, married the hubs and finished my last 9 hours online.

2. The hubs and I were engaged 8 months after the day we met.

3. I am EXTREMELY emotional *lol* I cry...when the preacher gets up in the pulpit to pray, during songs whether on the radio or during church, at the love I feel for my family, one day of the month for any reason at all, when praying out loud with/for my friends, when something the LEAST bit sentimental comes on the television. I'm going to be a wreck when it comes to my kids, y'all.

4. I own 7 pairs of boots and four of those are cowboy boots. (and I'd really like to have at least one or two more pair.)

5. I want EVERYTHING in the Pottery Barn/Ballard Designs Catalog. If only my bank account was that big!

6. Marty and I already have our kid's names picked out even though we have one year left in "the plan". The boy name we just decided on recently, but we've had a little girl name decided upon for years.

7. I LOVE being involved and being in the middle of everything. If I'm going to be involved in something, I'd rather lead it.

8. Which leads me to the fact that I serve on our local city government and someday would like to be involved in politics. I have strong opinions about a lot of things and would like to see certain things happen in my lifetime. Watch out Washington! *lol*

9. I sell Silpada Sterling Silver Jewelry. They have some beautiful pieces and I don't work my business as hard as I used to, but it still offers some great benefits. Go here to visit my site.

10. Sometimes I entertain the idea of getting my Master's Degree, but I never can decide what degree I'd pursue.

Last, but certainly not least, Miss Jody at Miss Fancy Pants...Proud Army Wife. Hoo-ah! gave me the Kreativ Blogger Award. To accept the award I must 1) Thank the lovely lady that gave me the award. Thank you kindly, Miss Jody! So glad you are a fan of my blog and I'm forever grateful for the service your husband has done for me and our country! 2) Copy the logo and put on your blog.


3) Link the person who nominated you.

4) Name 7 things about yourself no one knows. Sorry, but to kill two birds with one stone, I'm going to say the previous 10 things about me count. Any objections to that? I don't think I have 17 things to share with y'all that you don't already know. I'm not that mysterious!

5) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers and post links to their blogs

6) Leave a comment on each blog and let them know you nominated them.

I'm giving the following gals The Honest Scrap and The Kreativ Blogger. If you've already received one or both of these, just repost your initial post. They can really be a lot of work!

1. The Wife

2. Cow Patty Surprise

3. The Seattle Smith's

4. Ladybug Blessings

5. The juice is worth the squeeze...

6. Brownies for My Breakfast

7. French Kiss

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Another Style Show and A Little Two Steppin'

Friday night we had some friends over and we cooked out. I got this Cosmorita drink mix in Canton that you put in a blender with white wine and ice. It was YUMMY! It was definitely a hit with the girls.

Saturday I had another style show, but this time my Gma, Mom and I were all in it together.

Here's one of Mom and Me.

And the three of us. Are they not two of the most gorgeous women you have even seen?

We had so much fun and went and had lunch a little coffee shop afterwards.

Then Mom and I made a flying trip to A-town to check on my Meme. She looked better than I expected, but I just hate seeing anyone I love in a hospital bed. I talked to her yesterday and she said she wasn't feeling as well as she had the day before. Poor thing, she spent her birthday in the hospital.

I snapped this picture on my way home. I know it's tacky. I know it's rude, but I just could help myself. Accessories typically make one look better. In this picture I'd say the accessories are the motorcycles...and I'm going to leave it at that...

When I got back to C-town we met up with some friends and went to the most quaint little outdoor dinner and dance. They only have it through the summer months and there is always a yummy meal, a local artist feature and an outdoor concert and dance. It was so much fun!

Jocelyn and me.


Marty, me and Ben.

A few of the boys. Don't think that just because they're cowboys they don't influence what one another wears. Marty asked Justin before leaving his house, "Do you have a vest I can borrow?". I think they all thought it was going to be cooler Saturday evening than it was, but it makes for a funny picture.

Daggot, Justin, Marty and Ben.

We didn't get in until around 2 a.m. so I slept in a little and put my 7 mile run off until the evening. Church was A-MAZING! The song service and sermon were exactly what I needed to hear. It was all about not carrying your hurts, habits and hang ups with you that they start affecting those around you. My favorite quote from the sermon was, "It's none of your business what other people think of you." Amen to that! M and I went out to lunch with some friends and then came back to the house and took a LONG nap. It was wonderful! My run however, was not. It could have been due to the fact that we were out late, coupled with me not taking a water break until almost mile 6, but I just feel like these long run aren't getting any easier. It's over and done with, though, as is my 4th week of training! Only 8 more weeks to go!

Happy Monday, y'all!

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Friday, September 18, 2009

Quotable Friday...

I LOVE quotes, love them and love to live by them! Hence the "quotes i love" section on the lower right of my blog. So, I'm going to try and do a "Quotable Friday" every Friday to cap off the week and because by Friday, I'm exhausted both mentally and physically.

I had a four mile pace run this morning and IT WAS TOUGH. Maybe it was the leftover pizza I had for dinner ; ) Whatever, it was made it hard to get through, but it's over and done with as is almost my day so YAY for that!

I have another fashion show tomorrow and then we're off to A-town to check on my grandma who they put in the hospital today with advanced pneumonia and congestive heart failure. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. This is my other grandma, not the one I model with-just to clarify. She's a real petite little thing and very frail.

Well, here's the quote for the day. I will post about a few awards I received this week on Monday. Happy Friday, y'all!

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earn, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." -Unknown

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Gratitude and A Baby Gift Idea...

Geez, girls! Y'all are just too sweet! Now if y'all all lived in Small Town, USA we could have one heck of a puppy party! Thanks for all of your comments. I really appreciate it and you all made me think that maybe I'm not completely cRaZy.

Then head on over to Bowheads & More. The first 5 followers get a free bow and I think there's one spot left! Also, checkout the girl behind Bowheads & More at The Wife. She has a LOVELY blog that I just recently discovered and it has quickly become one of my favorites!

Happy Thursday! It's almost the weekend!

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Polling My Friends in Blogland...

Remember, I live in Small Town, USA, so some things that are permissible and "normal" in bigger places are simply not here.

Which leads me to my question...Tyke (if you don't know who Tyke is by now-you haven't been reading my blog very long, but he's my Papillion puppy and you can scroll down my blog and to the right to see his adorable picture) turns one on Oct. 19th and I've been entertaining the idea of having a Halloween themed "Puppy Party". I know, I know...some of you are laughing and even scorning me, but hear me out. One of my friends did something similar for her pooch in Oklahoma City. I was trying to make a list of people that I know that have small dogs or well-behaved large dogs and I thought I'd poll them too. I absolutely LOVE Halloween and decorating my house for it, but I'm too intimidated to throw an all out adult Halloween party, so this way it's like I get to do a scaled down version of what I'd do for an adult party complete with a dog-friendly birthday cake. And I've found some of THE CUTEST dog costumes. We could have a costume contest for the dogs, too...

What do you, am I a complete nut job that loves my fur baby a little too much? *LOL*

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Fashionable Weekend...

Friday night we went to the high school football game. I ended up being slightly overdressed and was a little warm until the sun went down, but I'd always rather be overdressed than under...

Here we are before we left the house.

Saturday morning I woke up to a drizzly, overcast day-so not compatible for good style show hair...thus the reason for my flat do in the following pictures...

This is my lovely grandmother. I refer to her as "Gma" because "Grandmother" has always seemed too old and outdated for her. She has been modeling in local style shows for years and has such grace about her. I look up to her in so many ways.

I didn't know any girls from C-town were modeling, but myself and I walked in to find my cousin, Candy, (on the far left), Ada and Angela.

Sunday morning I got up before church to run my 6 miles, but I guess I didn't get up quite early enough, because by the time I got out the door I only had time for four miles. So, unfortunately, I had to go finish the other two that afternoon after Tyke, Lily and I had a lovely nap.

My parents left last week for a trip to the mountains with some of their friends. The guys hunted mule deer and Mom and her friend would take little day trips in town and shop and have lunch. So, I was SO excited when she called Sunday and said she was driving in to stay the night with us and pick up Lily. My mom is my very best friend and we talk a million times a day on the phone so the fact that I hadn't really been able to talk to her during her trip was KILLING me!

I think Fall is officially here! It was in the mid 70's all day yesterday and I think they said it was like 55 degrees this morning. There is definitely a chill in the air.

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Friday, September 11, 2009

My Ode to East Texas...

Oh East Texas, how I love thee...let me count the ways...

Marty and I left Thursday after work and got to his parents' around 2 a.m. I got up Friday morning and decided I would run outside around Marty's parents' land. The first mile was ok and then the humidity and hills about did me in...it was only a three mile run, but it felt like I was in a sauna the entire time. When I finished and cooled down I made my way to his parents' porch to stretch and got bitten by fire ants. Those things HURT! I proceeded to tell my husband how I think fire ants should be called piss ants. (Piss ants are little black ants that we have in the panhandle that don't bite.) He said, "no, because fire ants bite you and it feels like fire". I replied, "yeah, but when they bite you, it just pisses you off."

The rest of the day was LOVELY. The weather although, humid was nice and I found so much at Canton I wanted...I always say I am going to take a trailer next time and just fill 'er up! I found some cute accessories, a few dip and drink mixes, Tyke some doggy clothes, my mom a few birthday gifts and my prized find, this entry table.

I'd been looking for something for FOREVER! And all the tables I looked at just weren't exactly "it" and the prices ranged from $250-$700. I got this little jewel for a mere $150 after a little bargaining he came down from what it was marked. See, there is some positive to a recession.

After Friday's running experience I found a 24 hour fitness place to do the rest of my running. It was nice and I fell in love with this machine called The Wave. Have y'all ever seen or tried one? It's like rollerbladding and 10 times better than a stair climber . That afternoon we went to Los Pinos Winery and had lunch with Martys parents and then spent the rest of the afternoon at some friends' house. Marty went to high school with Justin and Robin and we always enjoy catching up with them. Robin recently opened her own chiropractic office and so she adjusted me since we're never around to actually make an appointment.

Here's the hubs and me at the winery.

That night, Marty was coming in the house and let this lovely creature in...it's a wolf spider with about a million babies on her back. Granted, we have wolf spiders at home, but never one like this in the house. Marty sprayed it with bug spray and all the babies fell off her back. I should have gotten a picture of that. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE! (If you look closely you can see her eye glowing. I've always heard that if you shine a flashlight across your yard at night you'll be able to see the spiders because their eyes glow. CrEePy! I don't know if you can tell, but there are some glowing spots on her back too!)

Sunday Jerrye, my mother-in-law, and I went to church (the boys went to a gun show in a nearby town) and afterwards we drove to Pittsburg to Aunt Barbara's Victorian Tea Room where we had the tastiest lunch I've had in East Texas. Peter, the owner is originally from England and moved here a little over a decade ago and opened the tea room. We will definitely be going back there. They even serve afternoon tea and high tea complete with sandwiches, pastries, scones and cake. How adorable is that?

Here's a picture of Jerrye and then of me in front of the tea room it also serves as a bed and breakfast known as The Pecan House. I wish we could have gotten a picture together, but Peter was busy serving other people and we didn't want to interrupt.

It was shortly after that that we stopped at a gas station and I had the pleasure of meeting a good 'ol East Texas hillbilly. I needed some gas and although, it was late in the afternoon, I still had my church attire on. I walked towards the door and heard somone say, "How you doin'?" I look over and it's an older man (older than my parents by quite a bit), missing several front teeth with the biggest goofy grin on his face I've ever seen. I looked at my feet and said, "Fine, thanks." Well, he followed me in the gas station and stood in line behind me a few short seconds before yelling over the other people that were in line, "Y'all take food stamps?" The lady behind the counter told him yes to which he replied, "Great!" and turned and went back out to his truck. I was lucky enough meet him again when exiting and held the door ('cause that's how I was raised) and with the same gap toothed grin, he giddily thanked me. Don't get me wrong, I am not being judgemental at all, he was just a little creepy.

Monday we went to Longview and had lunch with some of Marty's friends from college at David Beard's Catfish Village. Don't laugh, they have the best chocolate pudding in the world...except, I think they changed the recipe because it didn't taste quite as good as last time. It tasted artificial, so I was slightly disappointed, but we still took several tubs home with us. That evening we cooked out with the family.

Here's my sister-in-law, Cristy, niece, Ciara, brother-in-law, Wayne, Marty and our youngest niece, Cadi. I don't know why, but I hardly got any pictures while we were there.

If you're still here at the end of this long post, you deserve an award.

We are off to the high school football game tonight. It's homecoming here in C-town. Question: I haven't been to a high school football game since my freshman year of college. And now that I'm an adult (*lol*) what does one wear to a football game? Mind you, people dress up here more than they do in your average small town, but I'm totally at a loss...HELP?!

Tomorrow I am modeling in a fashion show in a neighboring town. I'm a little nervous. My mom is always there modeling with me and she won't be there this time because she and my dad are in the mountains. I'm sure it will still be fun. I'll try and post pictures Monday!

Have a fabulous weekend!

*Some of the pictures are out of order...what's new blogger?

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Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Garage Sale=A Thumbs Down

I don't know why, but I never seem to get around to my weekend recap until mid-week. Hope y'all don't mind too much! Friday evening Marty and I hauled a TRAILER LOAD of stuff over to my grandparents to start setting up for the garage sale Saturday morning. But, before we began pricing and unpacking things we went and had dinner at The Plaza. I had a chicken fiesta salad which was YUMMY! Then we came back and worked until about 11 p.m. getting things priced and situated. I HATE GARAGE SALES...remind me of this the next time I think having one is a good idea.

The next morning we woke up around 6 a.m. to an unusually chilly and almost Fall-like morning. We were in the shade for the first few hours and it was downright cold. Typically, when we have a garage sale, we have people showing up around 7 and 7:30 a.m. when we've put 8 a.m. in the paper. Saturday that was not the case. We didn't have anyone until after 9 a.m. Someone mentioned, the economy, but I was like I think the economy would improve garage sale attendance.

Miss Abby who lives in the same town as my grandparents and whom I hadn't seen or spent time w/ in awhile came and had lunch and then we ran to a local boutique to try on clothes for an upcoming style show that we're in. That was fun and refreshing. Abby just started her half marathon training last week as well. She was my workout partner in college and always pushed me. I miss having her as a workout buddy.

All in all we made $300 less than we did in the garage sale we had three years ago. But, the good news is, we have more $$$ in our pockets than we did before and we got rid of ALL of our stuff!

Sunday morning, Tamara, came in before church and we did our four mile run. I was wishing we had been in the picture taking mood because she stepped out of her vehicle with the same shorts I had on, and we both had pink tennis shoes...it looked like we planned it. *LOL* I'm not gonna lie, the run was tough. Around mile three I was really struggling and had slowed my pace WAY down (and I had chosen a path that included mostly hills for the majority of mile three so that didn't help). I thought I was going to have to walk, but I just started praying and once we topped that hill and hit mile 4 I felt amazing! We sped up and ended up finishing just a few seconds slower than we had aimed for...I was so glad to have someone to run with or I know I wouldn't have finished that strong. God is good! It was a beautiful, cool morning and we went back to mi casa and had granola with blueberries and strawberries. And then I proceeded to be late for teaching my Sunday school class. Story of my life...am I the only person who has to set an alarm for when I should be leaving my house?

Happy Hump Day, everyone! The hubs and I are heading to East Texas sometime tomorrow for to spend Labor Day with the in-laws. So, I probably won't be blogging until next Tuesday or so...I am excited to go to Canton and visit the local winery...hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Another Award and a Giveaway...

The lovely Mrs. EyeCanSee over at The juice is worth the squeeze... was kind enough to give me the Splash Award. The Splash Award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs. When you receive this award you must...


  • Put the logo on your blog/post.

  • Name up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.

  • Let them know they've been splashed by commenting on their blog.

  • Remember to link the person from who you received your Splash Award.

I am passing this award along to...

Her Southern Charm

Discom-BOB-ulated Running

The Honey Bee

Life After I "Dew"

Bon Bon Rose

The Pink Clutch

Smile Steady

Also, stop by My Teacups in Peony. She has a lovely giveaway donated by Down and Out Chic. Check it out by clicking on the Teacups link!

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