From the backseat

Sometimes when you're on a 2,600 mile (roundtrip) road trip, the natives get restless and you do crazy things like handing over your very expensive DSLR camera. And because of those sometimes you get little surprises like these.





I'm just now getting around to going through the rest of the 600+ images from our road trip to Florida. More to come.

Why, hello.

It's raining here, and I don't know what it is about rain that makes me want to post here. Well, I also wanted to post because it's obviously been about 386 years since I've posted here. Gah. Details....

It's been raining for days, and it's supposed to rain until next Tuesday. Isn't that crazy? It's awesome though, because the wildflowers? They are so beautiful and wild and abundant. I love wildflowers with all of my heart.

I also love this white horsey with the pretty purple wildflowers and blue, blue sky.

I love my beautiful children and white baby lambs.

I love, love, love this expression on BJ's face when his teacher announced that he'd won first prize.....

.......for this creation.

I love that sometimes, just sometimes, my children actually act like they love each other.

And finally, I love sunset on the Frio River.

D'Alien

On our way back from our ski trip, we passed through Roswell, New Mexico. None of us had ever been there, so we stopped for lunch and a little sightseeing.

Apparently we had a stow-away, and I'm now a mommy to a 5 foot tall Alien. Or D'Alien as Mia likes to call him. He's pretty good with the kids, knows how to clean toilets, and doesn't say much. I told him he could stay.

I am happy

Oh so, happy because Melissa and Jen (one of my awesome new Twitter friends and fellow Sister in Shrinkage) presented me with this lovely award! Thank you, hookers!!!! MWAH!

As always, there are instructions:

1. Copy the image and display it on your blog.
2. List 10 things that make you happy.
3. Try to do at least one of them today.
4. Pass on the award to 10 bloggers who brighten your day.

So here are the 10 things that make me happy!

1. My children. Each and everyday I marvel at their existence. They both have amazing personalities and are truly a miracle.
2. My husband. He spends his weeks in Houston working hard so we can have an amazing life. I don't think I tell him enough how much I appreciate him.
3. My brand new iPhone. It's amazing. I pretty much make out with it all the time.
4. The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. I cannot begin to describe the fulfillment I get from that site. Not only am I improving myself on a daily basis, but I'm watching so many other women do the same. It's a haven for support and love.
5. Food. Yes, food makes me happy. Not necessarily the consumption, but the discovery of new recipes and healthier options. I love sharing my knowledge with others, especially my children.
6. Seeing my children make good choices. With food, with friends, with life. It validates me. It makes me feel like my husband and I are doing something really right. Really important.
7. Running. I love to run. I love to workout. It makes me happy because 1 year ago, I didn't have this love, and I certainly wasn't this happy.
8. My friends. I have some of the best friends in the whole wide world and web.
9. My new end tables. We just got them, and they make me SO happy.
10. Cuckoo clocks. I love them. They are complicated, and beautiful, and they have a little bird who jumps out and tweets at you. How could you not be happy with one of those hanging around? If I could only teach that little bird how to wash the dishes, we'd be golden.

And here are 10 bloggers I'd like to present with the Happy Award, because they make me happy:

1. Lisa
2. Amanda
3. April
4. Brooke
5. Nancy
6. Ann
7. Kirsten
8. Tiffany
9. Audrey
10. Karena

You totally need to visit all of them right now, because they will make you happy, too!

Testing, testing, 1,2,3.....

Tap, tap, tap....Is this thing on?

So you know how it goes. You haven't talked to a friend in awhile, and then that while gets longer and feels a little awkward, so you just keep putting off talking to them, until one day you wake up and realize, OMG this is so STUPID.

That's kinda how I feel about this here blog right now. I've been busy, so I put blogging here on the back burner. And that back burner kept getting further and further back (is that grammatically correct, or should it be farther?) until I almost couldn't see it anymore. So today I pulled out my binoculars, and searched the burners until I found it. And here I am.

Does anyone even still come here to see if I've blogged?

I promise that I will blog ever single day for the next 30 days, okay? You're really going to get sick of me!

Okay, so what's been going on?

1. We're having an awesome challenge over at the Sisterhood. That's pretty much where I've been spending all of my time, so stop by and check it out. We're doing some wonderful things!
2. I finished up my 6-week Challenge for EA SPORTS Active More Workouts. The first week of January, we took an amazing trip to Los Angeles for a retreat. I got to hang with all the other challengers AND some celebrities. Check out my Flickr photostream for all the details via photos. You know I took a lot!
3. The kids are great! Mia's talking up a storm, and so is BJ. Unfortunately, he's talking up a storm at school. And getting in trouble. A lot. Brian and I both had THE SAME issues as children, so we're trying to find creative ways to deal with it. Do you have any suggestions? I've run out of duct tape.....
4. I just registered for Fitbloggin! I'm so excited to get to meet up with some of my Sisters from Shrinking Jeans, and some new fellow-shrinkers I've met on Twitter! WOOT! The conference is in March in Baltimore.
5. I am officially registered for the San Diego Rock 'n Roll half marathon on June 6, 2010. That's right, I'm running 13.1 miles in 5 months, and raising money for a cause that's so close to my heart. More on this exciting endeavor soon!

Well, I don't want to use up all my material in one post, so I'll stop here. Do check back and harass me if you don't see a post from me everyday, okay? I miss all of you, and I promise to start making the rounds to your blogs this week.

Also, just so you know, I'm going to be obsessively refreshing to see if I have any comments, so leave me one, okay!

You Capture - Food

I haven't participated in You Capture in awhile. That makes me sad, but it's because I've so, so busy.

Busy baking cakes for 2 year old little princesses, among other things.

Head on over to Beth's for more food porn. I think I"ll probably gain 10 pounds just looking at them.

I heart faces - sun flare

So, I've never participated in an I heart faces challenge, but I saw someone tweet about it tonight and I knew I had the perfect shot for sun flare. I am totally and completely in love with this shot of my daughter. I took it on Halloween this year!

A special girl

She's my brown-eyed Lovey Bluebird. Her hair is golden-brown and so very soft. Her skin is that of her daddy's; more olive than pale, and smooth as butter. She's tiny in every way, from her nose to her toes. My petite princess.


She loves oranges, taking baths, our dog Molly, chocolate cake, riding in the jogging stroller while I run, her bubba, milk, brushing her teeth, rocks, clothes, babies, coloring, Daddy, shoes, jumping, sitting in her chair, Elmo, books, singing, and, well, I could go on for days.

She loves everything.


She loves life. She embraces every new experience with the enthusiasm only she could have.


She is saucy, and I think it's wonderful. I'm pretty sure she gets that from me. Thank goodness.


She is determined. At all times.


Her kisses and hugs are the sweetest. Without a doubt.

Before bed, she begs for just one more book, and she holds me tight as we sing her night-night songs.

She says, "I lub you. So much." My heart melts.

I love her with my entire being.


Today she is 2.

Happy Birthday to the most amazing gift I could ever ask for. I am so lucky to have her, so proud she is mine, so eager to watch her grow. As long as she slows it down just a little. I might have to pop her if she doesn't.


Because of her, we are complete.

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend was beautiful. Cool in the mornings, warming up to the lower 70s in the afternoon, and so sunny. Typical fall weather in Texas. We took advantage of the beautiful weather on Saturday and headed to the pumpkin patch, and I just KNEW I was going to get that shot. You know, the one for the Christmas cards this year. Only I didn't. The sun was too bright, shadows too harsh, and I couldn't get either one of the kids to look at me at the same time, much less smile without squinting, to save my life!

We still had a wonderful time, and I did get some great shots, even if I didn't get "the one"!




This was the typical shot of them together.

BJ and a baby turkey chick.



Getting ready to toss some hay.

The obligatory Texas Longhorn shot.



Mia and the turkey face off. That thing was as big as she was! I loved this shot in black and white, but the color version was so nice, so I'm sharing BOTH!



I used the Pioneer Woman's free actions for Photoshop to edit these photos. They are so much FUN, and did I mention FREE?

real life adventures - Atlanta, Georgia style, part 2

Remember a couple weeks ago when I was in Atlanta? Well, this post has turned into Atlanta, part 2!

Before we left for Tennessee, we still had half a day to kick around in Atlanta, so the kids and I headed downtown. We parked and walked through the Olympic park, which is so beautiful. A huge green space with playgrounds, nice cozy nooks for sitting and relaxing, and beautiful reflection pools. There was also a splash pad that was crazy-busy, and my kids were disappointed that we didn't get to try it out!







After we walked around the park, I asked BJ was he most wanted to do, and he chose visiting Georgia's state capitol building. It's hard to miss the beautiful golden dome in the Atlanta skyline, and with his thirst for knowledge and love for history, it was sure to be an adventure!

We headed off on foot for the capitol building, and saw some sites along the way.

I loved these red doors so much. If there hadn't been construction on the sidewalk in front of them, I would have gotten closer and taken lots more shots of them.




Looking up at the inside of the dome

We learned that the dome is covered in gold leaf and it has to be replaced every 30-35 years. If you were to take all the gold off and wad it up, it would be the size of a soccer ball and weigh 900 ounces. BJ wanted to know how much it would be worth, and the guide told him about 35,000 bucks!

The architecture was amazing!


At the end of the tour, we were taken inside the General Assembly Room for some Q&A. Of course, BJ peppered our guide with questions about the architecture, the chandelier, and whether or not the legislators ate lunch at their wooden desks. Oh, and he also asked if they used the 2 fireplaces in the room (which they don't anymore).

After the tour, we grabbed lunch at Ted's (Turner) Montana Grill and it was fabulous! An awesome restaurant with a wonderful twist on Eco-Friendliness. Think drinking straws made out of recycled materials! As a matter of fact, the restaurant is 99% plastic free! All this, plus they had amazingly huge picture windows and great natural lighting.

After lunch, we walked back to our rental car and headed to the airport to pick up daddy. He was flying in to meet up with us for the Tennesee leg of our trip.

Click here to read Part 1 of our Atlanta trip!

Stay tuned for more from our trip. We did alot of really fun, family friendly things in Tennessee!

You can see the complete set of photos from the trip here!