Shanelga Helga

Let Your Heart Be Light

2010-12-26T02:43:00.008-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, it's not technically Christmas anymore but since I haven't gone to sleep yet, I think it still counts :) The last month I've had a hard time believing it was already almost Christmas and now I can't believe it's over! Time really does fly sometimes. It's easy to get caught up with the chaos of the season but at the end of the day all that matters is the memories that were made and this year was definitely memorable!

I didn't have any expectations this year. I didn't even make a Christmas list! My favorite part of this entire day was spending time with my family and my tortoises. The babies truly made this day extremely special for me. I am SOOOO happy to be their "mom" and just being with them was a gift. I can't adequately explain how much I love my tortoises. I honestly don't think there are enough words. Perhaps it borders on obsession but I cherish every moment I am with them. I dread the day they are too big to carry around or fall asleep on me and it's quickly approaching :( I know my heart will break in two but since we haven't crossed that bridge yet, I gladly let them crawl up to my neck and fall asleep, even if it puts me in the most uncomfortable position! It's totally worth it.

Hanging out with Sylv by the barn at night. Fun/weird times :)

Annual Reyes Family Dinner at Reata!

We periodically napped for hours while everyone else wrapped gifts. Lazy bones ;)

They LOVED being the main attraction!

Sylv. Again!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from Elmer, Shanelle and Sylvester :)

The Teachings of a Tortoise

2010-09-29T23:26:00.005-05:00

Forget The Tortoise and the Hare- I have a much better story than Aesop ever told! Last night when I got to my parent's house for Biggest Loser Night, my pops and Crys had Bert, the smaller of our two big tortoises, in the front yard to play. He was roaming around the yard, trampling on the newly planted flower garden when we looked away for 2 seconds and eating whatever grass looked appealing to him. Basically he was having a fabulous time! If you don't have a tortoise you probably don't know how incredibly stubborn they are but let me tell you, once they know what they want- their minds are made up! Bertie kept trying to walk in dangerous places in our side yard and despite us yelling at him to stop, he kept going strong. To keep him from getting lodged between a tree and our fence, me and Crys stood side by side and blocked his way. We couldn't possibly have made a lesser impact on him if we tried! He grunted, and charged his way through. We had to move out of his way so that we wouldn't get pushed over and then pick him up and move him to a safer place. This was no easy task- he weighs about 90 pounds now and he's fast so the second I'd put him down, he'd go right back to where we took him from. He's also incredibly strong and he bruised my side because I wasn't putting him down fast enough and he wanted to be by the tree! It was incredibly painful as he was clawing at me but I am so grateful he didn't break the skin!

As I was pointlessly trying to block Bert's way for the upteenth time and hoping he would break this cycle on his own it dawned on me- we all need to be more like tortoises. So many times I might want something but a little obstacle pops up and I immediately make a new plan. I decide that it wasn't meant to be or I come up with some equally lame rationalization but the truth is, maybe I should have tried harder. I need to charge through with the fierce and relentless passion that comes naturally to my tortoises. Can you even imagine what a different life we would lead if we truly didn't let anything deter us from what we want? It's absolutley amazing the life lessons we learn from our pets.

This is NOT Bert but me and Ernie took this last week and so I had to share :)

Christmas in Cowtown

2010-09-15T19:48:00.003-05:00

I LOVE being in the Junior League of Fort Worth. It has been such a fabulous experience so far and it has definitely kept me very very busy! One of our big events is in a few weeks so it's time to bust out the cowgirl boots and shop at Christmas in Cowtown! I have a yard sign in front of my house and my parent's house and I figured I should post about it here as well. It will be at Will Rogers from September 30th to October 2nd. I am really looking forward to it! I am planning to go with some friends but I also have to volunteer at least 6 hours there and I'm sure it'll be great fun!

http://www.juniorleaguefw.org/?nd=cowtown

Busy Bee

2010-09-15T19:17:00.004-05:00

Wow. I haven't blogged in FOREVER! Lately my days have been spent running around like an absolute crazy person trying to get everything done. I am drowning in my to do lists. My weekends have been particularly difficult to manage because I over commit myself (typical!) and have literally every hour planned out. Since 90% of my life is in Fort Worth and I live an hour away, I also become a nomad every weekend- sleeping anywhere but home so that I can make the most of my time. Take last weekend for example- starting Friday night it was nonstop until last Sunday evening and it's a miracle I packed enough clothes for every situation since I'm a chronic under packer. If I was on facebook and if I was one of those lame status updaters, mine for last weekend would have read something like this: babysitting/errands with the kids- check, 4 volunteer hours at Double Expoure- check, tailgate- check, TCU vs. Tennessee Tech game- check, church- check, Flower Ministry (delivering flowers to homebound members from my church)- check, wedding dress shopping with Sar- check, family night- check, preparing dad's taxes- check.

On very rare occassions I amaze myself. It takes a lot to impress me and my ability to somehow manage everything that's thrown at me and make sure that all of my household duties are handled (pets/plants/landscape scheduling/cleaning, etc...) has been SO HARD but I have definitely impressed myself with my time management skills and that's not something that happens often! It's only Wednesday but I've been trying to mentally prepare for this upcoming weekend for a few days already. I don't think it will be nearly as extreme but that's what scares me. I just added 6 hours of volunteering to my upcoming to do list for the weekend and I have a feeling a few more things will get added onto my already full plate. Oh well. Such is life. Or at least such is my life these days...

Like a Melody in my Head

2010-08-14T01:04:00.007-05:00

I've been on mom duty this week. I have missed my two favorite kids this summer A LOT- they've been gone and I've spent almost two months at their house without them so this was a fun reunion! It's amazing how fast I can go into "Mom Mode," especially since I'm not actually a mom. I've put on make up twice this whole week (trust me- this is HUGE for me!), haven't fixed my hair once and don't even pay attention to what I'm wearing at all. I literally grab the clothes closest to me when I need to get dressed to take the kids on their play dates and/or pick them up from their activities. Luckily for me, none of us are morning people so I've been able to sleep in every day- at least until 10. Sleeping in and not worrying about bedtimes has been fabulous!

Wearing (my) big sunglasses and LOTS of singing in the car- there's never a dull car ride for us!

Bells in a carriage. Hahahahaha!!!! She sleeps in the oddest of places!

Main Event and BOTH kids won 1,000 coupons from this machine!

Chef Shany and Chef Rachel :)

Chocolate chip cookies. Yum! We made our own Sweet Sammy's creations :)

Face Masks!!! Rachel had never been to Ulta so we spent our Friday night shopping for girly products. We bought headbands too that we're going to wear to church on Sunday!

My fingers have been worked to the bone the last few days. Me and Rachel are Crafting Queens and I got her hooked on duct tape crafts! We've mastered the art of flower making in a very short period of time and decided to name our flowers Rachelle. We've spent countless hours and many rolls of duct tape this week. I think a trip to Target to raid their duct tape supply is on our agenda for tomorrow, after we have lunch in bed. That's our new favorite thing to do since the 100+ degree temperatures have made outdoor picnics impossible. We love our bednics :)

Cutesie Tootsie :)

2010-08-14T00:58:00.005-05:00

Ernie and Baby Elmer! SOOOOO cute!!!! Please notice Ernie's massive fat leg! OMG- I could squeeze it all day long :)

The Journey is the Reward

2010-08-10T23:37:00.003-05:00

I finally decided on this year's theme for the Ladies Literary League and I am happy to announce that it is JOURNEYS! I looked through a lot of book club websites for suggestions but none of them sounded nearly as intriguing as journeys. I have spent the better part of the day reseraching books and reading countless reviews to incorporate into this year's schedule and it was not an easy task. Not at all. Last year we were an unorganized bunch and short on recommendations so I took it upon myself to plan out our whole year so that we might be more effective. Our "curriculum" is tentative, pending member approvement of course, but it is a pretty solid collection of books and I am quite pleased with the selections. Now that the theme and books have been picked, I have one more project before our meeting this weekend. Since our first year was so successful I have high hopes for this year and want to encourage all of the Leaguers so it's CRAFT TIME!!!!! I love few things more than making crafts and hopefully soon I'll decide exactly what I want to make to keep us all on track for the journey we have all started together :)

PS- Don't let my excitement about my book club fool you. I STILL have not read a book since before my birthday (more than 3.5 months ago) and that includes our August selection, Eat Pray Love. I have 5 days until our meeting and really hope that I'll be able to muster up some motivation to read before then. I absolutely can not start off this new book club year without reading our first book! Pretty sure that's the #1 sin for Book Club Presidents!

Holiday Cheer

2010-08-03T18:40:00.002-05:00

I compulsively buy address books. I have way more than I know what to do with but I just can't seem to help myself! I love sending mail and if I could, I would send mass mailouts at least once a month. I doubt people want to receive cards from my pets that often and postage and customized cards aren't cheap after a while, otherwise I'd totally do it! I think I finally bought my last address book for a while this week. It is a really nice one and I've combined all the addresses from my last books so it's a complete listing of just about everyone I know! I have been thinking about this year's Christmas card for about two weeks now and can't seem to decide what to do. I put A LOT of time and energy into my Christmas cards. At this point in my life, it's simply a logistics issue though. Having such massive pets does not make life any easier when including them in the holiday cheer. Oh, what's a girl to do?!?!? I'm so ready for Christmas. I'm anxious to get my cards done and can't wait to decorate all of my Christmas trees! Only a few months to go... ;)

Sunday Funday

2010-08-01T20:41:00.001-05:00

I think having pets is the greatest adventure! I have met many fascinating people that I probably would have never met if it wasn't for my little babies. Take tonight for example, I went to my local Petco (my favorite store!) to shop around for the turtles and I met a pet photographer. She wants to take pics of all 6 of my torts/turtles!!! When I went to look at the Beta supplies, I found Gable's favorite fish food! I was so excited because they stopped carrying it for months and I went to every store to find it, even complained to a manager, but still had to buy alternative food that both Gable and Kingston didn't like as much. I was discussing it with Donna, the nice store clerk who has been on my entire journey of fish ownership with me. She asked about our fish and told me if they ever run out again to ask for her and she'll special order it for me. How nice!!! I will most certainly be taking her up on that offer. It's so funny that people know/recognize me because of my pets! I'm glad they mean so much to everyone who encounters them because they are pretty incredible :)

I decided to join the Dallas/Fort Worth Herpetological Society!!! I think that will be another fun way to meet fellow Reptile lovers and learn lots more about my torts/turtles. I need to mentally prepare myself- I'm sure once I start learning about other reptiles and amphibians I'll want more. I have a tendency to live in the extreme and when it comes to pets I just can't do that. I don't want to eventually end up on an episode of Animal Hoarding. Eek.

Today is August 1st which means this is the anniversary of when I first starting wearing make up! It's been FIFTEEN YEARS!!! That's more than half of my life. I can't even imagine how much time and money I've spent on make up in 15 years. I'm sure that would be depressing information. I spent a good part of my afternoon at Ulta. That store is so overwhelming. I went in for some conditioner and walked out with lots more. Of course. I looked at a lot of eye creams because sadly, Hydrolyze didn't work for me. ARGH!!! I didn't buy any because I have to do some research first but I think I might just have to come to terms with the fact that there is no help and I will forever have dark circles under my eyes. Yikes! That's not fun to think about at all. I'll post before and after pics later this week but trust me, there's NO difference :(

I Can Change

2010-08-01T20:06:00.005-05:00

The theme on my You Can Heal Your Life calendar for the month of August is "I Can Change." That is so much easier said than done but I think I'm willing to try. There's a lot I need to change and I love that I'll be constantly reminded to do so. I'm all about positive affirmations and that's a simple enough one to remember so I'm sure I'll be saying it to myself A LOT this month! If you haven't read Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life I highly recommend it. Throughout any given day I use her positive affirmations countless times.

In the infinity of life where I am,
All is perfect, whole and complete.
Change is the natural law of my life. I welcome change.
I am willing to change. I choose to change my thinking.
I choose to change the words I use.
I move from the old to the new with ease and with joy.
It is easier for me to forgive than I thought.
Forgiving makes me feel free and light.
It is with joy that I learn to love myself more and more.
The more resentment I release,
The more love I have to express.
Changing my thoughts makes me feel good.
I am learning to choose to make today a pleasure to experience.
All is well in my world.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

2010-07-31T00:38:00.007-05:00

Tonight I joined freecycle.org and I am really excited about it!!! I despise contributing to waste and recycle absolutely everything I possibly can so I think I'll have a lot of fun with freecycle. I strongly encourage everyone to be more environmentally friendly. It's not always easy, especially when carrying around random trash items like water bottles and paper all day to ensure that they're properly disposed of, but it's so worth it! (For the most part, I'd say about 92% of the time, I use refillable water bottles but occassionally I grab a disposable bottle). Despite what my family says, I am not a recycling extremist. I can be a Nazi about it but mainly just with myself (and ANY of the trash that goes in/out of my house). I try not to pass judgement on people who don't recycle and prefer to lead by example so that perhaps others will see the value in it. I'd love to be really hardcore and start composting too! I guess now that I have the baby tortoises I won't have much food to throw out anymore though. They're my little garbage disposals and don't care if fruits/veggies are bruised or slightly old. They'll eat anything! I bet if they were humans they'd be freegans! What can I say? Chez Rey is all about saving the planet :)

Origin of Species

2010-07-30T02:42:00.003-05:00

Last Friday was my parent's 39th Anniversary! I have the best parents in the world and I'm so grateful for them! My mom had jury duty and wouldn't you know, she got emotionally invested in the case she didn't get selected for and is now friends with the mom of the young man who was sentenced to 7 years last Wednesday. I doubt I would have cared as much as my mom did (in fact I KNOW it), but thinking about Eugene's sentence reminded me that I've never visited a jail! I sat in a trial for a BLaw class years ago though and it was really boring but I'm sure a jail visit would be extremely interesting. And scary. I would totally go for a visit if given the chance. I wonder if that'll ever actually happen?!?!?

Facebook sabbatical update: I decided on a day to reactivate my account but it was short lived. Just thinking about going back bores me. I wish there was some sort of guarantee that it'd be interesting again, like in the old days where people didn't post minute to minute updates on their lives, but I think those fun days have long passed. Looks like I'm right back where I started- offline with no return in sight. Oh well. Now that I'm a fish/turtle/tortoise/plant mom I don't really have time for FB. I do feel the world is being deprived of seeing all my babies since I'm quite sure not many of my friends read this blog. What's a girl to do?!?! Risk extreme boredom or allow only a few people the opportunity to see the best pets in the world? Lose-lose. Nobody wins. Ugh.

In other news, I am very excited about SHARK WEEK!!!!!!!!! I've been waiting patiently all year and it's finally here! Only 2 days to go... And only one week to go until Real Housewives of DC! I am such a reality show junkie. I am still considering a reality TV sabbatical but I just don't know if I can do it. I won't commit unless I know for sure that I will stay the course and I'm still not there yet. Not only is reality TV entertaining but it's educational as well. Take tonight for example- I learned what a push gift is. I've known the concept for a while but didn't know it had an acutal name until Bethenny Getting Married? when Jason and Max were discussing it on the way to the jewelry store. I also watched a documentary on the Galapagos tonight. I'll drop whatever I'm doing to learn about the Galapagos and tonight was no exception! It was fascinating. I learned about Boobie infanticide and it was really sad to watch the oldest chick force the baby out of the nest. Poor baby bird never had a chance. I despise birds but it was still sad watching the helpless baby die. Why can there only be one Brown Booby chick at a time?!?! Argh to survival of the fittest!

Bye Bye Birdie!

I Can't Smile Without You

2010-07-30T00:19:00.005-05:00

I have truly never been happier than these last few weeks with our baby tortoises. I haven't seen them for about 5 days (I'm housesitting and they are staying with my parent's until I return home in a few days) but my pops texts me throughout the day with updates and sends me pictures. There literally aren't enough words to express how much I love them! I was moved to tears when my pops sent me this picture yesterday. It is BY FAR one of my favorite pictures of all time! I have it saved as one of my phone backgrounds and I find myself just staring at it throughout the day.

Elmer and Ernie. Pops thinks Elmer might be Elmeretta. Haha!!! I might have my little girl after all :)

Foil Licker

2010-07-30T00:01:00.003-05:00

My favorite flip flops broke yesterday. I was devastated, truly sick about it! I was taking some little kids to lunch at Chipotle (yum!) and just as we were walking out their front door, my shoe broke. I tend to become very attached to random/seemingly meaningless things and my flips were one of my security blankets so to speak. They've gone on almost every trip with me and have literally walked all over the world and I loved them dearly. Well, besides being sad I had to find a quick fix because my emergency shoes weren't in my car for some reason (a problem which has since been fixed). Luckily, I had my trusty black duct tape with me and it once again saved the day! I really don't know if there has ever been a better invention than duct tape. It can seriously fix any problem! I don't know what I would do without it. The little girl I was with, Samantha, uses duct tape for crafts. I've only used it as a border in my bathroom- a genius idea of mine that saved hours of painting! After seeing some of her crafts I want to try and make stuff too! Here are some flowers Sam made...

Love Every Living Thing

2010-07-16T18:47:00.013-05:00

Sunday night I dreamt I had triplets. Monday I got 3 new babies. My pops called and wanted me to come home because he had a surprise and he guaranteed I'd love it. I'm a sucker for gifts so of course I went. He made me close my eyes and when I opened them I saw 2 AFRICAN SULCATA BABIES!!!!!! I was hysterical! A little boy who is all grown up now and in the Army met my pops and our 12 year old Sulcatas many years ago. He always wanted tortoises and finally bought some for himself but couldn't take care of them. He wanted to give them to my pops but didn't know how to find him. Luckily, his neighbor knew my dad (almost everyone in Keller knows each other) so she called my pops to see if he wanted them. Of course he wanted them- taking in turtles or tortoises is NEVER a question for us! My pops also had a Red Eared Slider for me since Cupcake vanished into thin air 2 months ago. Judging by his shell size, I'd say Carter is about 1 year old and he's a precious fella.

I've kind of decided that since our Sulcatas, Bert and Ernie, live with my parents the new babies should live at Chez Rey with me and Crys :) Well, until they're too big for me to properly take care of (about 5 more years) so they've been living in between my bathroom and the backyard. My bathroom is now the most active room in the house. Gable insists on being fed every time I walk into the room (apparently fish can be demanding), the babies take at least 3 baths a day and I have to bleach everything down several times too not to mention all the plants in my bathroom- a cactus, bromeliad and orchid. As time consuming as it is having 2 fish, 2 turtles, 2 tortoises and LOTS of plants, I wouldn't have it any other way! It's so much more fun coming home to pets and plants than coming home to nothing, something I absolutely despised!

It took us 3 days to decide on names for the babies because all 6 of us had to agree but I'm happy to announce Elmer and Sylvester...

Elmer! He's a fighter, not a lover. Well, he loves to cuddle with me but he is aggressive with Sylvester, even though Sylv is about twice as big. I am REALLY hoping Elmer is a girl (or Sylv) so we can eventually breed them! We won't know for a few years but Bert and Ernie are both boys and I'd love it if we had at least one girl!

Sylvester! What a stud :)

I really don't believe there is anything better than a tortoise. They are BY FAR the coolest creatures. I'm fascinated by them daily and wish I could spend all day every day with them!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! They like to sleep on me and there haven't been any accidents yet! Not that I'd really care- Bert and Ernie ruined LOTS of my clothes when they were babies and I realized it just doesn't matter. Soon enough they'll be too big to pick up so I have to cherish every minute that they're little, even if they poo on me :)

Cutest legs EVER!!!!! I constantly grab them. Elmer doesn't mind- he's too little but Sylv hates it.

Carter!

He's still pretty shy. I haven't put Carter and Carusoe together yet.

Carusoe and Sylvester

Of course Carsoe would pose for me! He's used to Mama Shan's incessant picture taking!!!

Movie Night! We watched Shutter Island. Carusoe was so excited to have new friends that he was a crazy man, crawling all over me and Sylv! He finally passed out on the couch with us.

Camera shy Sylv and my Car Car.

My family is so blessed with the second chance the babies have brought us. I couldn't wait for Bert and Ernie to grow up so we could keep them outside instead of my room and I wouldn't have to spend several hours every week cutting up their food into tiny bites for them. Well, they've been outside for about 9 years now and we give them at least 3 heads of lettuce at a time- EACH! I love them more than words but I'm sad they're so big that I can't really enjoy them anymore. They used to love sleeping on my shoulders and roaming around my room- oh the places they would get stuck in! They will probably never see my room again because they are too heavy to carry upstairs. They had so much personality and were constantly making me laugh, just like the babies! Well, they still have personality but it's harder for me to appreciate it because they live outside. Time flies and before Elmer and Sylvester are too big, I am going to consider every moment we're together a beautiful blessing!

Fatties

2010-07-16T18:32:00.004-05:00

I have the FATTEST cats and I don't know that anyone loves me more than those two goofs. I bought the Furminator for them yesterday and I highly recommend it to anyone with a pet! I used it on Fat Broth for almost 2 hours. He was in desperate need of help with his fur coat and now he looks more handsome than ever before! Even for a fattie! My pops bought them a stuffed animal the other day and they were terrified at first but now they love him. Fat Broth doesn't mind when I put the cat on his back. Maybe he's just so fat he doesn't notice the extra weight or maybe he loves his new little fake friend.

Such a little lady :)

Fat Broth and Fake Friend

I love how terrified Fat Broth looks! He constantly makes me laugh!!!!!!

What's Up Cupcake?

2010-07-09T18:52:00.004-05:00

I grew up in the little town of Keller, Texas. It is nowhere near a little town anymore and I haven't lived there for a few years now but my parents are still there and no matter where I live, Ktown will always be my home. I don't particularly care for what Keller has become, a slightly less pretentious town than our rich neighbor to the East- Southlake, but I can't help but love it. Since I spend so much of my time in Keller I try to stay up to date on all the happenings. I was even a member of the Greater Keller Women's Club so it's very important for me to know what's going on back home.

A few streets down from my parent's house is a new cupcake shop, What's Up Cupcake? and I am happy to say- it is adorable!!! The store is the former home of OTC House (Old Town Coffee House) and it was devastating when they closed shop. Us Old Town Kellerites are quite proud of our little part of town and I personally try very hard to help promote/support any Old Town Keller business I can. There is a certain sense of comraderie in Old Town that I haven't found in any other part of Keller and I think it's great! If you happen to be in Keller, please stop by and meet my new friends, the Nichols family, and buy a few cupcakes. They are delish!!! Well, I've only tried the red velvet but it is divine and I highly recommend :)

"I am a better person when I have less on my plate"

2010-07-07T18:35:00.005-05:00

I am almost ALWAYS in the mood to read. Truly, that is usually all I want to do every waking moment and I pull many all nighters reading because I just can't put a good book down until I've read every last word. Lately, I have not wanted to read at all. I actually haven't read a book in just over 2 months and it makes me really sad because I love it so much. I have a huge stack of books by my bed and my goal is 100 again for this year (birth year, not calendar year) and I have yet to read even one. This is beyond frustrating for a bibliophile like me and I don't know how to get out of my literary funk :( My book club, the Ladies Literary League, is taking a break for the summer. I am the President of our club and I should have announced it a month and a half ago when I decided but I just sent out the email announcing our break about 10 minutes ago. Oopsie! We are going to read Eat, Pray, Love and then see the movie on August 13th. I am hoping now that I have set a plan in motion I will read our next book and then be motivated enough to tackle the stack by my bed. I cherish few things as much as the written word and I desperately want to read again. Here's hoping...

No matter how busy you may think you are,
you must find time for reading,
or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.
{Atwood H. Townsend}

Hiram Farm

2010-07-07T18:14:00.004-05:00

Voting for Hiram Farm has been extended to the end of July. I've been voting every day but today noticed that it's down 2 spots. They're now ranked #19 but need to be in the Top 10 to receive $50,000. PLEASE go to www.refresheverything.com/hiramfarm to vote!

Infomercial Queen

2010-07-07T17:46:00.006-05:00

I LOVE informercials. I enjoy learning about products I never knew I needed and waiting impatiently for them to arrive once I'm entirely convinced I can't live another day without them! Perhaps I'm an easy customer- it doesn't take much to sell me on anything- but I have found that once I receive my new products, they (almost always) work wonders! Over the last 12 years I have tried countless eye creams and have never found one that works. The other night I watched an infomercial for Hydrolyze and after about 2 minutes I knew I had to try it! My 2 month supply was delivered this past weekend and I must admit, I already see a difference in my eyes! True, it may be entirely psychological, but perhaps it's not. I'll take pictures to document my experience but as of right now I am extremely hopeful that my wrinkles/dark circles will disappear! Younger looking skin, here I come...

Alone but never lonely

2010-07-06T17:38:00.006-05:00

I've always been a hermit. I LOVE staying home (especially by myself) and prefer it to almost any activity. I don't allow myself to fully embrace my inner hermit very often. As much as I like staying home, it's REALLY hard for me to say no to friends when I'm invited to hang out so I almost always go and I most definitely always have a good time :) I have fabulous friends but here lately it's been harder for me to be social. I want to be by myself more and more every day. I've found the only thing I don't really enjoy doing alone is going to church. No matter how many times I've done it, it's still very strange sitting in a pew all by my lonesome. I grew up going to church with family and friends and going to lunch with lots of people after. It's hard to now go alone, sit alone and later eat alone at whatever fast food restaurant tickles my fancy. Although it's slightly awkward, it's not uncomfortable enough for me to attend my parent's church. I'm nowhere near that desperate!

This past weekend I celebrated my first holiday by myself. It was slightly strange to not be with family for America's Birthday but it was nice going to watch fireworks alone. I got to do exactly what I wanted and couldn't have asked for anything more. Today I decided to go to the movies all by myself. I've been wanting to do it for a long time now and today was the day I finally bit the bullet! I must say, it was a completely enjoyable experience! I saw Eclipse (I LOVE my vampires. Team Edward all the way!!!) and it was not nearly as awkward as I thought it would be. It was actually quite relaxing. The one thing I have not yet mastered is dining alone in a restaurant. The closest I've gone to that one is eating at Chipotle a couple times a few years ago; I've never tried a real restaurant. I'm thinking I'm still not ready for that one but I'm learning that being alone is very peaceful. I probably sound like the most boring person ever for wanting to be by myself but I don't think it's easy for everyone to spend time alone and enjoy it. This is actually one thing about myself that I like! I don't need a lot of people around me to be happy. I am perfectly content just spending time with me and I think that's great :)

"We cannot have peace among men whose hearts find delight in killing any living creature"

2010-06-28T18:30:00.003-05:00

I just watched the most horrific video. I was on PETA's website earlier, looking at their campaigns since I hadn't been on there in a while, and was horrified when I came across www.jlodown.com. It's a website dedicated to getting Jennifer Lopez to stop wearing/making fur coats. I debated whether I should watch one of the videos or not but decided to at least try. I was sobbing uncontrollably within seconds and only made it through about a minute of the video before I had to throw up. I have never been so affected by anything I've seen in my entire life! A close second was when I visited Hiroshima and became violently ill at one of the museums. Unlike today, that experience was an all day event- it took me a good few hours before I got sick. I guess I have a physical reaction to cruelty in any form.

It took me several minutes to gain composure- my hands wouldn't stop shaking and I couldn't stop crying either. The torture some people can inflict on helpless animals astounds me. It makes me mad but even more than that, it devastates me. I truly feel like my heart has been broken in half and stomped on right now. I thought about posting the video on here but I just can't do it. I can't even post a picture because I would have a meldown every time I looked at my blog so I'm going to encourage whoever reads this to spend a few minutes on PETA's website. There is just no excuse for cruelty, to any living creature.

Get Low

2010-06-28T00:34:00.002-05:00

I've been home pretty much all weekend. I haven't felt very good so I've watched a lot of movies. The Proposal has been on about 5 times a day and I always watch this scene. It cracks me up!!! Sandra Bullock is just the cutest! I think we could be real life friends :) And I love Betty White too. She is precious!

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?

2010-06-28T00:09:00.004-05:00

Tonight I watched The Wedding Singer for the first time in a LOOOOOONG time. It was even more fabulous than I remember! Gosh, I totally forgot how much I loved it!!! I was amazed that I could sing along with all of the songs. Memory always fascinates me- years have passed since I've seen it last but I still remember every word. Here are two of my favorite songs...

Help Hiram Farm

2010-06-26T18:19:00.004-05:00

Hiram Farm (http://www.hiramfarm.org/) is a community project born out of the desire to provide inspiration and meaningful work for the individual growth of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This unique ministry was initiated by the Hiram Christian Church in Hiram, Ohio. Hiram Farm was presented a proposal to Pepsi. Out of several thousand proposals Hiram Farm stands 21 today. If they make their way to the Top Ten list, Pepsi will give Hiram Farm $50,000. PLEASE go to https://www.refresheverything.com/hiramfarm and vote until June 30th. Only a few days left...

Shan's Best Friend :)

2010-06-25T23:02:00.006-05:00

I LOOOOOVE animals!!!! I have always been one to roll around on the ground and play with them. My mother has never understood and always gets a little annoyed because I get covered in cat hair but I absolutely love it and don't mind one little bit. This whole month I have been house/petsitting 2 dogs, 1 cat and 2 hermit crabs. Honestly, the hermit crabs don't interest me much (I play with them a little bit even though I don't think they like me) but I have been in HEAVEN with the dogs and cat! Lucky, Buck and Bells are fabulous pets and I've known them for years but this month we really became best friends :)

Lucky is a gentle lady and I cherish every moment we're together. I've known her the longest- about 6 years- and she is just the sweetest thing! It's hard for her to move around but she does a little jumpy dance when she sees me and it always makes me smile :) She loves her treats and it's so hard for me to not give her one every time she wants one. I'm such a pushover! Buck is rather hyper at times and gets so excited when I come home that he almost knocks me over every time! He follows me around the house and even if he is sound asleep but I get up, he jumps up and walks right beside me. He is very protective and I sleep soundly knowing he is guarding me and the house. What a gentelman! Bells is the sweetest cat and she is such a cuddle bug! She's always loved me but when she got hurt a few months back (broken paw and infection), I rushed her to the emergency vet and helped take care of her so since then she's loved me even more! Oddly enough, Bellsy is a boy but EVERYONE calls her a girl because she is so gentle and loving. I took some pics of the dogs tonight but Bells was playing outside. He has lots of girlfriends in the neighborhood and lots of birds to eat so he stays busy (that's probably the first time I've called Bells a 'he')...

My Lucky Duck!

She's like a mama bear :)

A feather on her paw. Haha!

Gal Pals!

Buckner likes to shake! And yes- I look homeless. It was a rainy day so I had crazy hair!

He's so handsome!

A Boil on the Butt of Humanity

2010-06-23T23:40:00.001-05:00

I absolutely LOVE Steel Magnolias! It is one of my Top 10 favorites of all time!!! Every time it's on TV (which is all the time) I stop whatever I'm doing and watch it. I cry every single time. With the exception of Julia Roberts' annoying Southern accent, the movie is fabulous!!! I especially love Dolly Parton. Ever since I was little I've been fascinated with Dolly. If I got to meet one famous person, it would be her- without a doubt! And then Sylvester Stallone :)

Do ALL of us Southerners shoot at helpless creatures on a regular basis?!?!?! This is almost a daily occurrence at my house and I laugh hysterically when I see it in movies :)

Green Eggs & Ham, with Sam, I Am

2010-06-23T02:13:00.002-05:00

I do not like this Uncle Sam,
I do not like his health care scam.
I do not like these dirty crooks,
or how they lie and cook the books.

I do not like when Congress steals,
I do not like their secret deals.
I do not like this speaker, Nan,
I do not like this 'YES WE CAN.'

I do not like this spending spree,
I'm smart, I know that nothing's free.
I do not like your smug replies,
when I complain about your lies.

I do not like this kind of hope.
I do not like it, nope, nope, nope!

PostSecret (again!)

2010-06-23T00:04:00.003-05:00

I've blogged about PostSecret.com before but this week's entries are worth writing about again. There's usually at least one or two PostSecrets that make me tear up a bit but I found myself on the verge of a weepfest a few minutes ago when I looked at Sunday's update. It was a contribution to fathers and they were very touching.

If you haven't looked at fmylife.com or perfectlytimedphotos.com yet- DO IT NOW!!!!! Along with PostSecret those are some of my favorites!

Going Green!

2010-06-21T22:13:00.003-05:00

Last week was Vacation Bible School at my church. I decided to volunteer but wasn't sure if I was helping or not until the afternoon before it started! I taught the 4's and they were all so cute!!! I had never volunteered at VBS at my church before and it is most certainly something I will (hopefully) be doing every year from now on. I've also decided it's time to start teaching Sunday School again!!! I haven't taught for 3 years but having my own class last week reminded me how much fun I have with kids! I'm not sure what age I want to teach- I'm thinking 3's but perhaps I'll let the church just put me in whatever class they want. I'm sure I'd have a good time with any preschool age :)

Anyways, I had a wonderful time last week! My kids were precious :) Our VBS theme was Going Green and my kids really put what they learned to practice. By the end of the week they had morphed into the Trash Police. On the first day of VBS we were at the Bikes playground and all of a sudden several of the kids were huddled around each other screaming. I quickly made my way over to them, thinking someone was hurt, but nope- they were all pointing and screaming, "LITTER LITTER!!!" at one little paper cup on the ground. HILARIOUS!!!!! For the rest of the week anytime they saw trash on the ground, even a tiny piece of paper, they screamed to let me know and then brought it to me to save for the recycle bin in our room. I'm glad they learned how important taking care of our environment is and hopefully they will remain concerned about the world around them.

I had the Purple Frogs, of course! And a TCU group we were- almost all the kids had at least one Horned Frog parent :)

All the boys- building yet another tower!

My little group! And William, my fabulous helper! He's all grown up now- I've known him since he was a little fella.

Happy Birthday 2 You!

2010-06-21T21:26:00.005-05:00

It seems like just yesterday my little cousin, Austin, was born. He turned TWO this month and I can't believe it!!! He looks like a big boy now, no more baby :( But he is still super cute! Here are some pics from his party at Chuck E Cheese...

Austin's cousin, Ariel- I wanted to take her home!!!!! PS- she was teething and chewing on Cryssy's Juicy Tube was the only way she wouldn't cry while I held her :)

Mama and CryssyRey

Cousins Tara, Brianna (Brian) and Austin

Birthday Boy!

Crys with Austin's hat :)

Such a little man!

He was exhausted! Mama looks so cute in the background :)

Fatty McLoser Face

2010-06-21T21:10:00.003-05:00

Broth the Sloth is out of control! He is so fat and lazy!!! Nobody makes me laugh as much as my fatties- almost every move they make I find absolutely hysterical. I walked into the kitchen the other day and saw Fat Broth sleeping on a chair and couldn't help but laugh, make my parents come look at him and then grab my camera to capture his insane fatness :) I love my cats sooooo much- they are truly the little lights of my life!!!

No Neck Broth :)

Reality Check

2010-06-16T19:52:00.004-05:00

I may need an intervention. I have always had a tendency to obsess over things I like- let's just say I have addiction issues- and right now one of my obsessions is reality TV. Almost every show I watch is reality (except for Parenthood, Golden Girls, and my crime shows). I live a simple/relatively boring life and I treasure that very much! I absolutely refuse to allow drama in my life, however, I enjoy watching drama unfold in other people's lives. It totally fascinates me how people behave. Recently I've noticed that my reality obsession is getting a little too time consuming. It's actually so far out of control that I'm constantly thinking about what day it is and what show is on that night. I have found that the only way for me to successfully stop obsessing over something is to force myself to quit cold turkey. Baby steps don't work for me. Oh goodness, even writing about no more TV makes me sad. What a massive challenge it would be! I must say though, every time I stop doing something that I'm addicted to, I always feel better and when I decide to allow myself to engage in the activity again, I'm never as into it as I once was. Maybe if/when I decide to not watch TV, it'll forever change my view on what I watch and how much time I spend in front of the TV. Here's a brief breakdown of my shows (these are ONLY reality)...

Monday
Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood
Jerseylicious
Real Housewives of New Jersey
Kell on Earth

Tuesday
Biggest Loser
Miami Social
Jersey Couture
Double Exposure
Kathy Griffin My Life on the D List

Wednesday
Top Chef

Thursday
Real Housewives of New York City/Atlanta/Orange County
Bethenney Getting Married?
Watch What Happens Live (NOT a reality show but Andy Cohen always has a Housewife on so I watch :) Moving to Monday nights next week...)

Friday
Whale Wars

Sunday
Undercover Boss
Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
Holly's World

**Please note that these aren't all on at the same time- luckily for me I only have to manage about half of these each season ;) **

Is it just me or is Bravo the BEST channel out there?!?!?! I LOOOOOOVE Bravo!

Since I'm talking about putting a stop to my obsessions cold turkey, I'd like to give an update on my facebook sabbatical. I am LOVING every second that I'm not on FB. I had no idea that deactivating my account would be so incredibly liberating! I've had my account for 5 years and so I don't really remember what life was like before I was updated on my friend's every move/errand of every day but I must say, I love being in the dark about such trivial updates! I am not as accessible to hundreds of people so I feel a lot less stress about constantly responding to people's emails, wall and status comments. One of my main goals in life is peace and I truly feel that my life is much more peaceful without facebook. I didn't give myself a time frame for my sabbatical because I don't really like to limit myself but I honestly don't see why I would activate my account anytime soon.

Reno 911!

2010-06-13T23:46:00.001-05:00

I just can't get enough of Reno 911! It always makes me laugh and I love all of the characters so much but I think Deputy Trudy just might be my favorite!!!

Virtual Memory Lane

2010-06-13T19:33:00.004-05:00

Tonight I took an online walk through my past. For a few days I had been trying to remember my AOL screen name so I could log on and try to find a friend's contact info I saved years ago. While I was at TCU (the first time), Instant Messenger was all the rage. Everyone had IM and we were always chatting with each other, even if we were in the same building/room. It took me forever to remember the correct login information (thanks to my WONDERFUL friend, Josiah, for helping with the screen name). The moment I logged on, it was like being being back in my adorable dorm room at TCU! Tons of college contacts emerged, some I still keep in touch with and some I couldn't remember. I wasn't expecting something as simple as logging onto an old account to bring back such wonderful memories of my college years!

I'd like to say a BIG CONGRATS to the TCU Baseball team for beating UT!!!!! Omaha here we come! GO FROGS!!!!!!!!!

Scruffy!

2010-06-13T17:49:00.003-05:00

I am housesitting this month for one of my favorite families while they are on vacation. I am responsible for 2 dogs, 1 cat and 2 hermit crabs. This is the first time I have ever lived alone, even if it is only for a month. I must say, I LOOOOOVE living by myself! What a wonderful experience! It is also great having the animals around to keep me company. I have been researching dogs, ya know- just in case I come across one that I can't live without! If it was completely up to me, I'd probably get a Bull Mastiff or an equally massive dog. However, it's not completely up to me so if I was lucky enough to get a dog, it would have to be a little fella. I'd want one with crazy fur and a great personality! I found this picture the other day and desperately want a dog just like him! He's so incredibly cute!!!

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

2010-06-08T00:04:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I amaze myself, both positively and negatively. I don't care to dwell on the negative so I will just discuss the positive, for now ;) I used to go to Target almost daily and would buy the same products almost every time, ya know- to prevent ever actually needing to go to the store. I don't go to Target nearly as often anymore but when I do, I still stock up and buy multiples of things so that I will never run out. I have three emergency stashes of just about everything I use, one that stays at my house, one in my travel bag and one at my parent's house since I spend half of every week there. The other day I was a little annoyed because I had used my last 2 emergency mascaras and I thought I was out and didn't have time to go buy more. It was then that I looked in my travel stash and found a few more brand new tubes of mascara! It was kind of like finding treasure with all of the goodies I had packed away. You just never know when there will be an eyelash emergency and as the Boy Scouts say, BE PREPARED!!!!! So in case you're reading this and you don't plan ahead for such situations, you should start! Sure it seems a little ridiculous to buy 4 tubes of toothpaste, especially if you're the only one using it, but it sure comes in handy on days when you run out and don't want to go to the store!

I also strongly recommend carrying around either emergency crackers or an emergency apple. I can't tell you how many times I've escaped massive hunger-induced headaches just by planning for the worst and keeping food with me!

Bye Bye Blanche

2010-06-04T19:47:00.006-05:00

I was saddened to learn of Rue McClanahan's death yesterday. I watch Golden Girls almost daily and even though Rose is my favorite character, I loved everyone on the
show.

FBB

2010-06-02T21:24:00.004-05:00

I have officially reached facebook boredom. I am sooooo over facebook right now. I deactivated my account for the first time ever last night and I must admit, it was strangely liberating! I'm not gone forever but I was in serious need of a break. The main reason I decided to take a break was because I'm bored with people's lives. It takes all of my energy to keep track of myself and the millions of things I have to do on a daily basis and reading about everyone's to do lists was just plain boring. I don't care if you got your hair done or how many errands you went on or how many loads of laundry you did or how many lunch/dinner dates you have each day. What do people want? An award for being productive and/or popular? That information doesn't interest me in the slightest and I couldn't bear one more minute of reading about someone else's boring life. My life is interesting to me but that's because it keeps me busy. I know for a fact that nobody cares about my daily to do lists because to an outsider it would be just as lame as reading about other's are to me. I prefer to keep my status updates limited to random thoughts/opinions that pop into my head. If you don't know it by now, here is a little fact about me: I am extremely random! I'd be much more interested in people if they were just as random as me. That would keep me on my toes and I'd love that! Make me think or teach me something new and I'll love you forever. Tell me about your lame day and I'll hide you and never look at your page again.

Another reason for my cyberspace sabbatical was I need my personal space. I feel way too accessible to everyone and it started to freak me out a little bit. I am a people person but I require alone time. It is absolutely essential to my mental well being and that apparently extends to virtual alone time. So there you have it. People bore me and I want to be alone. Here's to being invisible for the next few days/weeks/months... ;)

PS- I'm still emailing and obviously blogging. If you know my email, please write me!

28 is Great!

2010-06-02T20:30:00.009-05:00

Last week was my birthday. It was the first birthday that I can recall dreading. I was NOT looking forward to it at all. I had a pretty great time celebrating so I am fine with my new age now I suppose ;) 27 was a pretty stressful year at times but I was still able to accomplish a few of the things I wanted. I didn't read 100 books but I read about 75 (give or take 2- I can't find my official list). I have decided to keep this goal for this year. I haven't read a book yet but my first one will be Eat, Pray, Love. Perhaps I'll start tonight! I also joined Junior League and most importantly, I finally joined my church! This was by far the most grown up decision I've ever made and not one that I took lightly. I've attended my church for years (even taught Sunday School for 4!) but couldn't ever make myself commit. Pentecost Sunday was the last Sunday of my 27th year and since it had been weighing heavily on my mind to join, I did. I wasn't expecting to feel differently toward my church but I do. I feel like it is my church now but oddly enough, I never felt it wasn't mine before I joined. I am looking forward to volunteering in the Flower Ministry and Children's Ministry in the upcoming months! I can't really think of any other important accomplishments from my Golden year right now. Hmmm...

I had a few celebrations this year. 2 family dinners, a Girl's Night and a joint party with my friend, Jacob. Here are some pictures from my weekend...

My friend, Katie, sent this little turtle from California! And some turtle jewelry! Carusoe is in love. He probably thinks it's Cupcake.

Red Velvet Bundt Cake. MY FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!!!

So delish :)

I look really confused and I laugh every time I look at this one! Haha :) Nobody remembered to buy candles so Crys found 3 and that's what we used!

My pops had this made for me and I love it! He wrapped it in a few towels (considerably better wrapping than his usual toilet paper!)

Pops wore his Les Paul shirt just for me! I love Les!!!

Me and my baby!

Ummm, aren't I always?!?!?! ;)

Girl's Night! Cheesecake Factory. Yum!

Sar came in from Austin just to see SATC 2 with me for my birthday! Well, maybe not ;) We graduated exactly 10 years ago on this day!

JGB/JSR Birthday Bash! More red velvet- yesssssss!!!

My Ryan :)

Jacob!

Stephie and Jess

I despise the sun and took my hat along for the pool party. It was a huge hit and everyone wanted to wear it...

Sparks

Moi

Jess

Stephie

Sparkle and Sparky with his doggy bag. He hit me in the eye with it seconds before we took this.

Birthday kids- JGB and JSR! Initials for nicknames. Works for us!!!

Class of 2000!

2010-06-02T20:17:00.004-05:00

I graduated from high school TEN YEARS AGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it's been that long! For various reasons I decided not to attend my Reunion (I will be at our 20th) but I met up with my fabulous high school friends after the Reunion funtivities were over. Some things never change and I absolutely LOVE that!!! It doesn't matter if I saw my childhood friends every day or every few years, when we are together it as if the clock stood still for us. They are truly some of the greatest people I know and I am overjoyed when we are together!

Sar and Shany! Friends for 22 YEARS!!!

Iansy and Matty Matt Matt Matt

Matty, Shaneil, Sar, Joshy and Iansy

Trailblazers. Haha :)

Brace yourself...

2010-06-02T20:04:00.005-05:00

for the worst news EVERRRRRR. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I tell you of a recent loss in my family. On May 22nd I took Cupcake and Carusoe outside to play while Crys swam. I placed Cupcake in the little playpen I made but Carusoe kept climbing out (he's a total crazy man!) so I let him play freely in the grass and kept a close eye on Cupcake. One minute I was watching Cupcake walk alongside the bricks of his playpen and the very next he was gone. Vanished into thin air. I looked for him for hours and he did not resurface. I am guessing he climbed out of his enclosure and got lost in our backyard. I have spent countless hours outside over the last week and a half but so far it's been in vain. Our little Cupcake is gone. I am absolutely devastated beyond words and have completely lost control of my emotions on more than one occassion. I pray constantly that he finds his way back to us. I have a feeling that no matter how much time passes, I will never stop looking for him. He brought so much joy to our family in the short month and a half that he lived with us and I will not give up hope.

Taken literally 5 minutes before he disappeared. Such a CUTIE!!!!!

Star Telegram

2010-04-27T17:18:00.004-05:00

This year me and Crys made it in the Fort Worth Star Telegram!!! When the photographer took our picture at the Race I was positive we wouldn't make it into the newspaper but I was wrong. Of thousands of people and hundreds of pictures, we were the only one (besides the cover page picture) in the Telegram. Sunday morning my aunt called to tell me we were in the paper so I called my mom and she bought a few copies. Here is the picture...

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T17:21:00.004-05:00

Today is EARTH DAY!!!!!!!!!!! I love this day because it reminds me how precious our earth is. I try so hard to be earth friendly (I fail miserably all the time) but I do what I can and try and conserve...

Reyes Rhapsody

2010-04-22T15:55:00.004-05:00

I recently decided to STOP listening to folk music for a little while and give another music genre a try. I'm on Day 3 and it's been very difficult for me! I LOOOOVE folk more than words can possibly express but I need to be more well rounded. I decided to listen to classical for the next few weeks/months and then try jazz, bluegrass and possibly even country. Eek! Not sure how far I'll make it with country- I've never been a fan but I am all about broadening my horizons so I just might love it!

If I was gifted enough to compose a classical tune, I would call it Reyes Rhapsody. That has such a nice ring to it, doesn't it? I like alliteration :) I have a feeling this music appreciation journey of mine will be a very interesting one. I already feel more mature for listening to classical (mature being my nice way of saying old!). In the past, I only really listened to classical while studying because it was supposed to help retain information but now I am genuinely trying to love it. At times I feel it's a bit too slow for me and kind of makes me want to take a nap but it is so beautiful and I am amazed at the musical genius that could create such masterpieces. Music in general fascinates me more than anything. I am both appreciative and envious of people who can create/play songs. What a wonderful gift to possess!

"Music is all around us, all you have to do is listen." (August Rush)

Yam's milk on the twins...

2010-04-20T17:07:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I did something completely and totally out of character. I am actually shocked that I did it. I attended a women's conference at my mom's church. If you know me at all then you know I do NOT enjoy non-denominational churches. I made a promise to myself to never attend one again in any capacity. Well, because I love my mom and our friends so much, I decided to go. I was upset with myself for a little while- I do not break promises, especially to myself, so this was my Everest! It was truly one of the hardest things I've ever done. I did not necessarily enjoy the conference but I loved spending time with my mom and some of our close friends. I am so blessed to have the amazing friends I have- I am very thankful for them and if nothing else, felt even more grateful to have them in my life.

Kristy!

The moms with Priscilla- one of the speakers

My mom is TOOOOO cute!!!!!

Amber, Joanie and Justin with Christine Caine, another speaker

Typical...

Me and Kristy in 25ish years!

Me and mama!

Lunch at Brio. Mama loves her Amethyst!

Jour Sevn

2010-04-20T15:56:00.005-05:00

Carusoe's ONE WEEK BIRTHDAY was this past weekend! I can't believe I've already had him for a week! I fall a little more in love with him as each day passes. He is such a sweet turtle! And he has quite a little personality too :) We still haven't made homes for him and Cupcake. I have searched several stores and can't seem to find exactly what I want and what he needs. Ugh. Hopefully very soon I will be able to find the perfect home for him. I took both Carusoe and Cupcake to meet my favorite kids the other day and they instantly fell in love with them! We played outside, the turtles first time, and they seemed to really enjoy it.

If he wasn't having so much fun in the grass I would have thought he was trying to tell me, "Hurry up, mom! Let's leave..."

My Stud Muf made a race track for the babies. They refused to cooperate!

Robert watching Cupcake and Carusoe play in the grass for the FIRST TIME!!!

We camped out on the sidewalk for half an hour. We looked homeless!

My Miss Pris! CUTEST little girl of all time!!!! LOVE HER!

Carusoe made a home!

Climbing on Rachel. Please note- she is wearing 2 watches! She always puts mine on :)

One Week Birthday!

Me and Carusoe!

Curious Carusoe!

2010-04-13T23:47:00.006-05:00

I have the most spirited turtle EVER!!!!! Carusoe is such an inquisitive little guy- I am constantly laughing at him! I think we have really bonded in the last 3 days. I've noticed a little spring in his step when he sees me ;) It's really hard for me to keep my hands off him! I worked from home today and since we haven't made their permanent homes yet, Carusoe and Cupcake are sharing a plastic container the breeder gave us in our living room. If you know us at all then you know me and Crystal could live in our living room alone! Randomly throughout the day I would pick him up and let him crawl on me. He loves doing that! He enjoyed climbing the couch and inspecting the stuff on our coffee table. I put him on the floor for a bit and I lost him for a few minutes! I was pretty panicked and had to watch my steps very closely so I wouldn't accidentally step on him. He somehow got into a lot of fuzz so I had to go give him a bath once I found him. I don't think he cared for that at all! Anyways, here are some pics from our day together...

Lynne and Caruose :)

He loves relaxing by books. We're kindred spirits!

My little bookworm!

I went shopping and bought Carusoe's 'C' to go by his house (once I find a bowl big enough for him)

Looking at himself on my blog! Haha :)

We tried to make this bowl work but it totally didn't. And he fell over backwards and couldn't turn over. I freaked!

Climbing the couch...

The newest Mr. Reyes. I really like monograms ;)

Practically walking on air!

Carusoe

2010-04-13T01:51:00.007-05:00

Sunday afternoon, after a fabulous nap with the Fatties when I got home from church, Crys and I went to the Main Street Arts Festival. A few miles from our parent's house we saw a truck on the side of the road with a huge sign that read, "BABY TURTLES!" I started screaming hysterically for Crys to turn around (oddly enough, I was a passenger for the day!) and so she made a quick u-turn. I practically ran to the man's truck to inspect the turtles. I knew immediately that they were Red Eared Sliders and it was all I could do to contain myself from picking them all up! I calmly asked if I could hold one and was pleasantly surprised when the man said I could. I had been eyeing one turtle in particular (there were about 30 turtles total) and the second I picked him up, I just had to have him! Crys was a little hesitant because she gets really worried when any of our animals are sick or act even a little bit strange. It didn't take long to convince her though. She's the only person I've ever known (besides my pops) to love turtles/tortoises as much as me! We are constantly fascinated by them and consider them to be the most amazing creatures alive today!

After hours of deliberation, a facebook poll and a few emails, I decided to name my little baby Carusoe. I've liked the name ever since I saw The Water Horse, even though technically his name was Crusoe. Another option was Rocky and I even thought of naming them after Rocky's turtles, Cuff and Link, but Crys didn't like either of those names for her turtle. Because Crystal's has a perfectly round shell, she named her Cupcake but I think I'll be calling her CiCi. For the record, we don't know the gender of our turtles and we won't for a few years. We just have very strong feelings, call it a turtle mom's intuition, that mine is a boy and Crystal's is a girl. Here are a few pictures from Carusoe's first day as a Reyes...

Have you EVER seen a cuter face?!?!? No, you have not!

He thinks I'm a jungle gym! Haha :)

Turtle shells are AMAZING to look at!!!!!

He was practically begging me to take a picture of his profile!

My FAVORITE!!!!! My watch makes a good play pen for Baby Carusoe :)

Carusoe and Cupcake! Please note- my little man totally posed for this picture!

I LOVE being a turtle mom! I finally have tortoises AND turtles! My life is complete :)

Age Before Beauty

2010-04-13T01:10:00.008-05:00

Main Street Arts Festival is by far my favorite Fort Worth event!!! I look forward to it every year and love it a little more each time I go :) This year was by far the biggest crowd I'd ever seen and it was awesome!!!

TCU Girls! And Evan and Mitchell :)

The Murphree's- they are so cute!!!

My least favorite piece

Jess and Court decided to dance for money and Stephie decided to be the hat. Our plan didn't work ;)

We sat and watched this guy paint for a while- 5 hours of walking was too much...

My girls!

I don't listen to The Ranch- I just like the lights in this one :)

Fort Worth is the BEST city ever!!!!!!

MSAF Day 2. Yes, this man is playing the saw!

BANJOS!!!!!! I was in heaven watching these guys!

This man was equally fascinating to watch!

CryssyRey

Coolest guitar ever! And my favorite piece from the festival!

Dinner on Mi Cocina's patio- not the best experience

Cryssy's note to our waiter. Haha!

We bought 2 turtles on our way to the Festival so of course we had to buy this! Not to mention, cheesecake is my absolute FAVORITE dessert!!!!!

Sisters :)

Little Lion Man

2010-04-13T01:08:00.004-05:00

My friend, Jacob, knows how obsessed I am with the banjo these days so he posted this music video to my facebook. I am very glad that he did! Mumford & Sons is so my new favorite band!!! Take a listen and notice how much better the song is because of the banjo ;)

For Aimen...

2010-04-09T23:26:00.003-05:00

Look at these chairs! Aren't they the coolest EVER????? It's amazing what a little duct tape can do ;) I'm so wanting to make some for myself now...

PoPo

2010-04-08T00:09:00.005-05:00

I've NEVER been a fan of cops. Here's one reason why...

They shoot innocent animals in front of children. There is absolutely NO excuse!

This happened to my friend's family. Here is an update- DOG’S CONDITION: He is stable at this time. He made it through surgery from removing a bullet close to his heart and got his left arm/leg amputated because it was shattered and could not be saved. Poppi needs to get his strength back to correct the other gunshot wound. The Vet. Surgeon said, “She can’t believe how he survived through surgery because the bullet was right close to his heart. The owner who is a working single parent with 6 children gave her last savings she had to save her dog. This dog is fighting for his life and hanging in there because he wants to live, he’s a soldier and wants to come back home. Attention all People in the Texas Community/other: If you want to help Poppi’s and his owner, Melissa, here is what you can do to help: If you want to donate money - deliver to 2001 Kearney Avenue, Ft. Worth, TX 76106 (home). You can come and purchase items from the Garage sale she will be having at her home 4-9-2010 starting at 8:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. (Poppi’s owner is selling everything she has). You can pass this flyer around your community (stores, churches, etc.) Poppi’s owner is trying to raise enough money to pay for “Poppi” expenses that are accumulating while he’s in Vet hospital. The address is 2001 Kearney Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76106, in the northside area of Fort Worth. We greatly appreciate your help, any donation counts. Thanks!.

Spring is in the Air!

2010-04-07T19:59:00.006-05:00

I am SOOOO happy it's Spring! My weekends are completely packed with nonstop activities and I love it! I am a little bit concerned that I won't get to do everything I have planned, but I'll just have to see how it goes. My #1 FAVORITE thing to do in Fort Worth is the Main Street Arts Festival. I look forward to it every year and it's THIS weekend!!!!! I used to always buy a little something at the Festival but haven't done so for the last 2 years. Maybe this year I'll see something fabulous I just can't live without :) I am hoping to spend pretty much my entire weekend at the Festival! YEAH!!!!!

In case you're looking for things to do in the coming weeks, here's where I'll be (in between baby showers and weddings of course)...

http://www.mainstreetartsfest.org/

http://www.artinthesquare.com/

http://www.komentarrant.org/

http://www.joeysdreambuilders.com/

http://www.mayfest.org/

World Without End

2010-04-05T02:11:00.006-05:00

Easter 2010 was a HUGE success!!!!! It was a long but fabulous day! I went to church (all by my lonesome- nobody wanted to go with me. I know, WAY LAME) then met my parents for lunch at our favorite restaurant, Mercado Juarez. I decided that I just HAD to see my fatties on Easter so I went to my parent's house and took a nap with them :)

For the 2nd year in a row, we had Easter at Chez Rey. Since we do our egg hunts in the dark we had lots of time to kill. Luckily for me, I had a few things for my pops to do around the house so we got to work pruning the palm trees, cleaning the pool and fixing my garage door. I took LOTS of pictures of my plants and I am so happy that my little plant collection is growing rapidly! I also took Lynne on a field trip outside to sit by the pool since it was a cloudy day and I didn't have to worry about the harsh sun burning her. She gave me quite the scare this weekend! Yesterday we had the pest control guy come out to spray so I moved Lynne to the countertop so she wouldn't be exposed to the chemicals on the gound and I noticed A LOT of her leaves were dark brown/black. I franctically called Calloway's Nursery and talked to them about it and almost took her up there so they could see the problem firsthand but decided against it. It took me an hour and a half to prune her and if the problem persists I'll take her in but I'm pretty sure she'll be fine. Between me and Crystal she's just getting fed too often so she's back on a strict watering schedule!

My older sister and brother-in-law didn't come to town this year. It was the very first Easter we did not spend as a family and honestly, I was really upset about it but it was still an incredible day! How could it not be, it's Easter!!! Rob came over for dinner (Dickey's BBQ- yum!) and helped my parents hide the eggs again. Him and my pops are ruthless when it comes to hiding and they get worse every year! Crys claimed to have a hurt ankle so I decided to go easy on her and she still beat me! Unbelievable.

Ernie! For the first time in his little life he did NOT let me put bunny ears on him! Stinker.

Fat Broth looks JUST like my Pops here!

Tallulah :)

Buddy- one of our outside cats. He wears a bright pink collar and I laugh a little every time I see him! He has the saddest meow of all time. It breaks my heart to hear him cry :(

Saturday morning's plant project! I wanted to make some terrariums and this plant was intended for a different container but it didn't work. I'll make terrariums later this week...

Gable Rey!

Lynney Lou with her little friends, Lolly and Molly. If you recall, we received Lolly from a friend and when I took her out of her little basket on Saturday, I found that there were TWO plants, not just one! YEAH!!!!

Field Trip with Lynne by the pool! Gosh I love her :)

Somehow I always end up laying on the ground

Cryssy!

Rob put his hat on my head when he came outside! Oh Rob...

Cryssy was sad that her roses died :( This is exactly why I prefer plants.

My first non-water drink since February 16th! Dickey's sweet tea!!!

For Easter I painted my nails a color other than black and I seriously don't recognize my own hands and feet!

Waiting for our egg hunt to begin!

ShanyRey and CryssyRey :)

These two are nothing but TROUBLE! They are expert egg hiders :)

Going through my goodies...

Crys beat me! Again! I don't believe I have EVER won an egg hunt. ARGH!!! But I did find more money than she did :)

Mama and Crys

Godspeed your love to me

2010-04-01T01:03:00.008-05:00

Saturday night was one I've been waiting for for MONTHS AND MONTHS! My dear friend, Amber, got married!!! Kristy is a friend of mine from 2nd grade and Amber is her older sister. That's right folks, we've been friends for 20 years! I practically lived with Kristy on the weekends when I was little and many of my favorite childhood memories are with the Benton family. Because of me and Kristy, our entire families are friends! They truly are some of the greatest people I have ever known and I am so beyond blessed to know each and every one of them :)

Amber's wedding was AMAZING! I've never been a fan of weddings (until two weeks ago) but I knew this one would be fabulous and it seriously was! It was like a reunion; I got to see so many people I knew when I was little! I couldn't be happier for Amber. She is one of the sweetest people and I'm so happy that she is happy :) It was a beautiful evening...

Cocktail Reception before dinner

GORGEOUS! And we got to bring TWO of them home!

I was practically giddy when I saw the flower packets at our table! I can't wait to plant them!!!

Mr.and Mrs. Saito :)

Mashed potato bar- my favey ;)

I don't eat Tabasco but I had to take one of these little cuties

My shrimp scampi/bacon/cheese mashed potatoes! YUM!!!

Incredible cake!!!

Hawaii

One of the most delicious cakes I've ever had!

Kristy made me cry. I never cry at weddings!

And then Terry made me cry! Why was I such an emotional wreck?!?!?

Kristy!

My parents DANCED! I've seen this probably one other time in my life! It was shocking so I had to capture for all of time ;)

Reyes Family! Liv flew in for the wedding but Bubba Sven couldn't make it :(

Omisha and Liv. A special thanks to Mish for being pregnant and giving us all something to look forward to now that the wedding is over!

Photo Booth Fun! These aren't even all of them...

The Babies! Aren't they the cutest?!?!

I was at the hospital the day this little one was born and now she's as tall as me! Love me some Amethyst :)

Crys and Ali! She flew in for the wedding and it had been years since we'd seen her (watch out Kelly Cutrone, here comes Ali...)

Amber Saito!

Our moms! They're church buddies :) LOVE THEM TO PIECES!!!!!!

Benton/Nichols/Reyes Sisters :)

Affection

2010-03-31T23:45:00.004-05:00

So the other day I was watching Millionaire Matchmaker and one of the millionaires was talking about her number. I've always been curious as to what my number is and what it means. I totally don't believe in numerology, I just wanted to see what it would say for fun! I found a website that confirmed my number is 7 and gave me a little description. Here it is...

Life Path:
A Life Path 7 person is a peaceful and affectionate soul, and by nature rather reserved and analytical. The overwhelming strength of the number 7 is reflected in the depth of thinking that is shown. Intellectual, scientific and studious, you don't accept a premise until you have dissected the subject and arrived at you own independent conclusion. This is a very spiritual number and it often denotes a sort of spiritual wisdom that becomes apparent at a fairly early age.

Positive traits:
You are very thorough and complete in your work, the perfectionist who expects everyone else to be a meet a high standard of performance, too. You evaluate situations very quickly and with amazing accuracy. . You aren't one to have a wide circle of friends, but once you accept someone as a friend, it's for life. You really aren't a very social person, and your reserve is often taken to be aloofness. Actually, it's not that at all, but merely a cover up for your basic feeling of insecurity. You actually like being alone, away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

Negative traits:
In the most negative use of the 7 energies, you can become very pessimistic, lackadaisical, quarrelsome, and secretive. A Life Path 7 individual who is not living life fully and gaining through experiences, is a hard person to live with because of a serious lack of consideration and because there is such a negative attitude. The negative 7 is very selfish and spoiled. If you have any of the negative traits they are very difficult to get rid of because you tend to feel that the world really does owe you a living or in some way is not being fairly treated. Fortunately, the negative 7 is not the typical 7, at least not without some mitigating positive traits. This number is one that seems to have some major shifts from highs to lows. Stability in feelings may be elusive for you.

Flower Fridays

2010-03-31T23:00:00.004-05:00

I am a facebook fan of Calloway's Nursery (one of my FAVORITE stores!) and late last week I got a notification that they were having a 50% off coupon for this past weekend. I printed off 5 with every intention of hitting up multiple stores but in the end, I only went to the one across the street from my house. I had planned on buying at least one large houseplant, ya know- to take full advantage of my coupons, but I did no such thing. I've realized that I prefer to buy baby plants and watch them grow. I've been wanting a Bromeliad for some time now and settled on a red one. I named her Scarlett :) She was $8 without the coupon and even though that's incredibly cheap, I only paid $4! I REALLY wish I would have made it back to Calloway's but last weekend was a pretty insane one- I just didn't have the time! Since I always seem to buy plants/flowers on Fridays, I have decided to call them Flower Fridays. This is my own twist on Music Mondays :) On the agenda for the next few weeks... planting Bluebonnets, our beautiful State flower!

Welcome to Chez Rey, Scar ;)

SWAP!

2010-03-31T21:26:00.005-05:00

This month's Ladies Literary League meeting consisted of a SWAP PARTY!!!!! Truth be told, we forgot to discuss the book The Power of Half (mainly because none of us read the whole book) and we didn't pick a book for next month either! OOPSIE! I went to my first Provisional Meeting for Junior League on Monday night (which by the way was lots of fun!) and one of my new friends told me her Book Club read The Help. I was reading a newsletter later that night and their Book Club book also read The Help. I took it as a sign and made the executive decision that that would be our next book. I am REALLY excited to read it!

Anyways, our Swap Party was hours of nostop fun! Everyone brought things they didn't want anymore (clothes, jewelry, household goods, etc...) and each person auctioned off the items they brought. Bids started at $1 (we used fake money, of course!) and it got very competitive at times! Things I didn't expect to sell at all went for hundreds of dollars. The inside of my house looked like a giant garage sale! It took us about 4 hours to auction everything off and believe it or not, I only had a small pile of leftover goods to donate to the shelter! What a wonderful time ;) I can't wait until our Fall Swap Party!

Me and Crys brought in furniture from the garage and it's a good thing we did or we wouldn't have had anywhere to put all of this stuff!

Cryssy with our "bank." We each started with $1,000.

We didn't have enough chairs for 13 people so Shea and Cal brought in lawn chairs :) They bought LOTS of stuff!

Sally's Book Club! And my new friends :)

April's Book!

Buddha Belly

2010-03-30T16:04:00.003-05:00

This is one of my very most favorite pics of my Fatties. They truly are the cutest cats of all time! I can't look at a picture of them without smiling! I love them sooooo much :)

Motorcyle Rally

2010-03-30T14:33:00.003-05:00

I recently got involved with Joey's Dream Builders, a wonderful organization that provides scholarships to children who have lost a parent in the construction industry. They are hosting their 1st Annual Motorcycle Rally and I am helping recruit volunteers. So if anyone happens to be free on May 1st and wants to volunteer, PLEASE let me know! It's a wonderful cause and hopefully it will be a HUGE success and raise a lot of money!

Dix

2010-03-22T15:25:00.005-05:00

It has been TEN DAYS since I last blogged! I don't feel like a whole lot has happened but that's really not the case. Take yesterday for example... I went to church for the 6th week in a row, saw a grad school professor of mine there (he's a total woman-hater so I didn't talk to him but did notice him wearing painfully saggy jeans... ewwww), witnessed a horrible car crash in front of me on I-35 (yes, I was a good citizen and pulled over and gave my cel number for the insurance companies to contact me) and the House passed the Healthcare Bill. Of those 4 major events, only one of them is even remotely good. I am quite proud of myself for going to church for 6 weeks straight! That is certainly a first for me, in my adulthood at least.

So let's see, what else has happened recently? Hmmm... Peter Graves and Fess Parker have died. They always go in 3's :( My fat brother cat is IN LOVE with me like never before! Well, really he's in love with my bed at my parent's house and has slept with me the last few times I've spent the night there. He's so my favorite napping buddy :) LT is now a New York Jet! I'm happy to have a team to support next season since I am so anti-Cowboys. I helped shoot a wedding for the first time ever on Saturday night. I'm practically a professional wedding photographer now ;) I've hated weddings my entire life and have attended way more than my fair share but I must admit, I think I finally like them now! They wore me down- I drank the nuptial kool-aid so to speak. Oh, I had my taxes done today. I was REALLY stressed about it and although I did not get a refund (wasn't expecting one but it would have been a nice surprise), I don't owe very much at all. YEAH!!!

The most wonderful happening was my renewed love for Keller, the town where I grew up and still live half of the time. There's just something about Spring that makes me miss old Keller (NOT the new mini-manisions and shopping centers but the old country homes/farms) and being little. I drove around for quite a while last week and for the first time in a long time, missed living there. I'm sure now that Spring Break is over and people's schedules are back to normal, the traffic will change my mind again ;)

Yes, Fat Broth the Sloth is sleeping on my pillow and yes, he is under my blankets! How is it possible to be this cute?!?!?! NOT FAIR!

Remember Me

2010-03-12T14:10:00.008-06:00

Merlin Olsen died yesterday. My heart literally broke when I heard the news. Jonathan Garvey was one of my FAVORITE Little House on the Prairie characters and I always wanted to meet him because it looked like he would give the BEST hugs!!! I'm devastated that I never got the chance to test my Hug Theory. I know the Remember Me poem wasn't written by/for Jonathan but it was a very good episode and it was one of the first things I thought of when I heard he passed away.

Remember me with smiles and laughter,
For that is how I will remember you all.
If you can only remember with tears,
Then don't remember me at all.

My mom was also saddened by the news but was glad that Charles (Michael Landon) would have a friend in Heaven!

Ding Ding!

2010-03-10T21:16:00.002-06:00

Today my brother in law got to help ring the Closing Bell at NASDAQ! My mom rushed over to my office so we could watch it together and I had my entire office in the front lobby watching! It was fun!!! I took this picture with my phone so it's not the best but it works...

In other news, my friend/coworker, Tiffany, found out she is having a BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!! She's gonna be a Girl Mom! YEAH!!! Everyone in our office is very excited at the wonderful news and can't wait for Brantley's arrival on August 11th :)

Fish Mom

2010-03-08T16:24:00.004-06:00

Gable is one year old today! Well, I guess technically he's older than that but I bought him exactly one year ago. My little baby is so grown up! I can't believe I've been a fish mom for 12 months. It has been a pretty interesting experience. I never had a fish before Gable and it's a lot more work than I thought it would be. We have finally controlled his constipation (I still give him regular salt baths just to be sure) and my current battle is his food. I don't think he likes it and I know I don't- it smells really bad and clouds his water a lot faster than the old one which means I have to change his bowl more often. Petco doesn't sell the other brand anymore but I still ask if it's been reordered every time I go in! I've gone to about 6 pet stores searching for it and still no luck :( Boo.

I am sad to say that Gable's miniature cactus may be dying. I thought it would be fun for him to have his own plant and it surely is a cute one! Unfortunately, the cactus doesn't seem to be thriving anymore- it looked great for months but not so much anymore. How long is a cactus supposed to live? It's only been 10 months. Perhaps I'll make a stop at Calloway's this week and buy Gable another plant!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Winter Kate

2010-03-06T13:19:00.003-06:00

Thursday was a FABULOUS day!!!!! First, it was Customer Appreciation Day at Jimmy John's so all sandwiches were $1! The line was incredibly long but Jack FM was there to keep us company and the time flew by. We considered going elsewhere for lunch but realized it wasn't worth it. Ya just can't beat $1, even if it required waiting in line for 20 minutes. Besides a wonderfully inexpensive and delicious lunch, I also issued a few life insurance policies to some very nice people. I seriously have the BEST clients! They're some of the greatest people and I love that I get to help them plan for the future.

My friend Kristy LOOOOOVES Nicole Richie! I dare say she is her #1 fan! Wednesday night she texted me and told me that Nicole was going to be in Dallas on Thursday for a Meet and Greet at Neiman's to launch her new line, Winter Kate. I had tentative plans with the kids on Thursday so I wasn't sure I'd be able to go but as my luck would have it, my original plans were cancelled! I was soooo excited! Kristy is so much fun and we LOVE our celebrities! Kristy got to Neiman's 4 hours early and secured the 2nd and 3rd places in line for us because I only got there 2 hours before Nicole's arrival. Kristy's mom and nieces joined us and we all had a wonderful evening!

Kristy and Kirsi completed the Nicole puzzle and she had it framed. It's REALLY cool! We had an insane amount of bags with us! Bag Ladies to the core :)

Nicole and Kristy. This is the only picture I got of them because the security people were VERY rude and made me leave. Ugh.

Joanie bought me the puzzle and Nicole signed my box upside down!

She is SOOOO precious!

The girls with their Nicole autographs :) CUTE!!!

Celebrate Texas and VOTE!!!!!

2010-03-02T13:19:00.003-06:00

Today is Texas Independence Day! YEAH!!!!!!!!!! This is truly the best state and I love it A LOT! Let's all celebrate by VOTING! I voted this morning before coming into the office and highly recommend everyone stopping by the polls on the way home from work today :)

Spots

2010-03-01T23:02:00.010-06:00

I love documentaries. I will watch one on just about any topic but I especially love documentaries about animals. Tonight I watched one on skunks with my pops and it made me REALLY want one!!!!! I have never even considered having one as a pet but they look like precious little fellas, especially Spotted Skunks! Skunk Haven was featured on the show and they had 18 living in one room- they take in all the skunks whose owners no longer want them. There weren't many black and white skunks there. They had white, lavendar and champagne ones- it was strange to see! The white skunks looked like huge rats. I wouldn't want one of those.

I came home and did some research on skunkhaven.net and I WILL NOT be getting a pet skunk now or ever! Their website aims to explain both the positives and negatives of owning a skunk and let me tell you, the negatives far outweigh the positives! I had never heard of rectal prolapse before tonight and I could have lived the rest of my life not knowing about it. The pictures were disgusting. And so were the treatments, the first one being massaging/shoving the intestines back into the skunk's body. EWWWWW! There were also pictures of parasites and I just couldn't deal with that at all. This was certainly a short lived dream. But I'm glad I learned about skunks- I've never really been a fan because of the smell and never paid attention to how cute they are! PBS did it again! They have such wonderfully educational shows :) They truly do make learning fun!

CUTEST thing!!!!! I wish I could give it a little hug :)

They walk on their little hands. How cool is that?!?!?!

The Power of Half

2010-02-28T23:43:00.004-06:00

Tonight's meeting of the Ladies Literary League was another success! We had wonderful food, fabulous conversations, interesting white elephant gifts and shared many laughs :) We decided on March's book... The Power of Half. I am soooo excited to read it and I already know I will be looking for ways to cut back the things I don't really need. We haven't been very good about planning an activity outside of book club so next month we're doing them together! In an effort to cut back unnecessary items, we'll be having a Swap Party/Book Club Meeting! Everyone will bring over anything they don't want/need anymore (clothes, jewelry, household items, etc.) and we'll auction off the items using Monopoly money! I missed the last Swap Party my friends hosted and was really sad about it- they got some good stuff so I'm really happy I'll be able to participate in this one! I know it'll be a good time and I'm really looking forward to getting new stuff and getting rid of old stuff ;)

Cowtown Marathon

2010-02-28T22:43:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was the Cowtown Marathon. My friend, Paul, decided to run the 10K for his Dad who was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia last summer. Paul (aka Sparky) raised money to donate for FTD Research/Awareness. Sparky's wife, my dear college friend, Jessica, and I wanted to help support him so we made posters and were his cheerleaders at the race! I spent the night at their house Friday night and we left at 6:30AM. Yes, I was awake before the sun. I'm so NOT a morning person but it was totally worth it! I wouldn't have missed Sparky's race for anything! Jess and I used to be Purple Hearts at TCU and would make posters for the football players before games. Friday night was a wonderful flashback to Junior year! We were hardcore poster makers back in the day- if there would have been competitions, we would have won every single week ;)

I looked like I lived on the streets of Fort Worth! Hahahahaha :) We were crazy bundled up- it was REALLY cold! The front of my sign said, "Light up the track Sparky." I don't remember what the back said.

The Higgins'! 2 of the greatest people EVER!!!!!

Some teachers/coaches from Paulie's school ran with him! Way to go FRMS! There's no better way to celebrate than brunch at Fuzzy's Tacos followed by a 4 hour nap!!!

Yabba Dabba Do!

2010-02-25T19:29:00.006-06:00

The other day I remembered that I am anemic. I somehow forgot that because I don't eat beef, I have really low iron. When it gets really bad, I lose all coloring in my palms, lips, gums, etc. but this time was a little different. It wasn't until I could barely keep my eyes open on my drive home the other afternoon that I realized the reason for my extreme fatigue. Well, as simple a problem as this should be to fix, I DESPISE relying on pills so I have never been good at taking iron supplements and consuming beef is not an option. I gave this situation some serious consideration and decided that I should just saddle up and take pills. I was a little apprehensive about the pills so I figured the best option would be to start taking Flinstones vitamins! As long as my body requires more iron, I might as well make sure it's something I enjoy doing, right?!?! They taste good and it's fun guessing which character I'll get! I'm 5 days in and can already tell I have LOTS more energy and I'm not dreading my vitamin regimen every day. Yeah... SUCCESS!!!!!

I find I do my best work under extreme terror.

2010-02-23T23:16:00.005-06:00

My FAVORITE non-reality TV show is Criminal Minds. Me and Crys are borderline obsessed with it! It's pretty shocking really, a show we BOTH enjoy! We both love Dr. Spencer Reid's character and Gideon, but he's not on anymore. Spencer is just the cutest little thing! We are always in awe of his abilities (even though they are not real). Tonight a few episodes were on and our whole family was over so we insisted on watching. My rule of the house is that we either all agree on a show or the TV goes off. Well, as great as that rule is in theory, it rarely pans out when my parents are over. My mother LOOOOOVES Lifetime and makes us watch cheesy movies all the time and my pops loves sports. Tonight, however, Criminal Minds won :) As we were watching, I decided to google Spencer (Matthew Gray Gubler) and learn more about him.

Well friends, I am going to insist you look at his website. GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!! He is my new favorite person! His website is by far the coolest I have ever seen- he handwrites/draws everything- notes, pictures, etc. I spent an hour just looking through all of it. It seems that Matthew also has incredible taste- my favorite Edgar Allan Poe poem, Annabel Lee, is on his blog. He recorded it and posted it for his viewers to enjoy. I was so surprised to see it on there- I was thinking of it just today! What an incredible coincidence!

http://www.matthewgraygubler.com/webpage/

Week of Compassion

2010-02-23T15:27:00.004-06:00

This is Week of Compassion!!! I forgot to write about it on Sunday but it's the 21st-28th. I didn't realize it until I was already in church on Sunday so I wasn't able to give very much to help relief efforts around the world. I don't like to carry cash but I miraculously had some with me (NO CLUE where it came from). I also don't like to carry a checkbook so I could only give the cash I found in my wallet. Next week I'll make sure to remember ahead of time! It's so very important that we all help each other out when disasters strike!

Lent

2010-02-22T01:46:00.003-06:00

Today was the first Sunday of Lent and I am VERY happy/proud to say that I made it to church for the 2nd week in a row! GO SHANYREY!!! I realized this week that since I am participating in Lent, I should also attend every service... 1 down, 5 to go! While I was at church today, I saw a few families that I know. I taught Sunday School for 5 years but taught the same class for 4 of those years so the kids from my class I know (and love) very well. I talked with a few moms and saw one of my favorite little girls after church. I was just leaving the service, not paying attention to anyone, when a little girl/young lady grabbed my arm and said, "Jessi's here! I'll go get her for you!" It was Jessica's older sister and I was immediately so excited to see Jessi because I don't get to see her all that often anymore. I followed her around the corner and there was my little Jessi, all grown up! Well, not really- she's only 9 but I've known her since she was 2 so to me she's all grown up. Like usual, when Jessi saw me her entire face lit up and she ran as fast as she could to me and jumped in my arms! She's so tall now that I can't pick her up anymore. That makes me sad. She had a few cookies with her and asked me if I wanted some. How cute! I seriously don't know anyone who makes me feel as loved as her. She is the most precious little girl and I love her sooooo much!!! I know some of the most amazing people EVER!

Klondike.

2010-02-22T00:55:00.012-06:00

It's the age old question- What would you do for a Klondike Bar? My answer to this query... ALMOST ANYTHING! At this point in my life, there's very little I wouldn't do for one of those yummy ice cream desserts. I actually haven't had one in years but when I was younger, they were one of my very favorites! I'm not sure where my craving has come from- there's absolutely no good reason for it, especially since I try and avoid dairy products. I frequent gas stations almost daily (blame it on owning an SUV and living 40 miles from work) and maybe one of these days I'll actually go inside and buy one! That'll be the day- I pretty much always pay at the pump and try my hardest to avoid going inside gas stations. I must say, The Vanishing scarred me for life! There's only one gas station chain that I use and have all the various locations mentally mapped out in my head if ever I run out of gas far from my favorite one. Anyways, if ever I feel like risking kidnapping/being buried alive by a psychopath like Jeff Bridges, I'll be sure to write about it...

HYSTERICAL!!!!!!!

YUMMO! I'd like to try the Reese's one too since that's my favorite chocolate treat :)

Leave it to Google Images to post this picture under "Klondike." It has zero to do with Klondike Bars, unless of course this half furry little kitty is named Klondike. It was just toooo cute to not post! It looks like he/she is wearing UGGs and needs a bra! Haha!!! I wish I could do this to my cats! They'd look even fatter :)

Toxic

2010-02-20T13:37:00.004-06:00

I received an email the other day about lead in lipstick. There's an experiment that can be done to see if lipstick contains lead so of course I did it. I'm all about experiments! This one was pretty simple- put lipstick on the back of your hand and rub it with a gold ring. If the lipstick turns black, then it contains lead. To my shock/horror, my lipstick turned black :( I immediately went to snopes.com and it said that this was "Mostly False." Well, mostly false means partly true.

I don't wear just any lipstick, mine stays on for 15 hours and I have been using the same brand for over 8 years! I tried to go without it the other day but was asked MANY times if I was sick and/or tired. Ugh. My friend, Tiffany, suggested I just get my lips tattooed since I have absolutely no pigment in them but I don't really think I could do that. What if the color I picked looked really bad on me? Or what if it got messed up and tattooed outside of my lips and I looked like a clown? No idea where to go from here...

Before

After :(

Randoms

2010-02-19T13:35:00.004-06:00

I told my good friend of 20 years, Kristy, that I never get fun emails so she decided to start forwarding me all of her forwards. I am so glad she did because I always find them very interesting! Here's the latest one...

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" is the longest word typed with your right hand.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt."

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.

The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE 2 moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Bonus!! All the ants in Africa weigh more than ALL the Elephants!!

New Girl in Town!

2010-02-18T23:32:00.006-06:00

I came home a little while ago and CryssyRey was holding a sad little plant and had a sad expression to match. She said, "Help it!" with such desperation that I immediately went to work and got Lynne's plant food and started feeding our new little girl. A family friend gave it to her tonight because it was dying and she didn't know what to do so Crys suggested she take the little plant so I could fix it (for some reason Crys has always thought I could fix everything). It's only been twenty minutes but already we can see a difference! I am soooo excited we have a new plant! We decided to name her Lolly :) I am not entirely sure how we came up with that one but Crys likes it and since she brought her home, she gets to make the final decision. Looks like I'll be taking Lolly on a field trip to Calloway's Nursery soon so I can get her a new pot- she's in a little basket now but I have a feeling she'll outgrow it very soon!

Poor little baby

We put her by Lynney Lou because she has such positive energy- it's hard to look at her and not smile :)

Reyes

2010-02-18T17:16:00.007-06:00

I did a google search for my last name and found lots of interesting pictures. Here are a few...

Point Reyes- I've never been but really want to go! It looks gorgeous!!!

CUTESIE TOOTSIE!

Who wouldn't want a truck like this?!?!?!

Golden!

2010-02-17T16:22:00.005-06:00

Today my mom turns 55 and she was born in '55- how cool is that?!?!?! She is truly the greatest woman I have ever known and I love her SOOOOOO much!

We kinda look alike but I didn't get the dimples :( UGH!

Waterlogged...

2010-02-17T15:57:00.002-06:00

Today is Ash Wednesday. I have decided to actively participate in Lent for the first time! I know this will be a very challenging time for me but I think it's necessary. I gave it a lot of consideration and decided to forego consuming any beverage besides water. I could live on orange juice, or fruit juice of any kind really, and/or Dr. Pepper so it was only natural that I chose to eliminate them from my daily life. I will admit, it will be nice not freaking out every time I open my fridge and realize I'm down to my last bottle of orange juice and then making a mad dash to the store to stock up so that I will never be without it. I have become borderline obsessed with orange juice in the last few months and I don't like the overwhelming/paralyzing sense of dependency I have developed.

I am EXTREMELY nervous about the next 46 days- I'm 16 hours and 50 ounces in and it has already been quite the experience...

VDay

2010-02-15T19:05:00.006-06:00

I had a great Valentine's Day this year! I bought myself a beautiful orchid (who I've just been calling Nameless since I can't decide on a name)- I already love her but am quite sure I will never love any plant as much as Lynne. She is by far my favorite but Nameless had done a great job of making my room a lovelier/more peaceful place. I also went to church, met Bruce Jenner and went to the movies with my mom to see Valentine's Day. It totally was NOT her kind of movie but she was a good sport about it :) Our friend, John, sent us a dozen really pretty red roses too and they look gorgeous in our living room! I was never a plant/flower person and I don't know why- they bring me such joy!

Disregard my yellow face. Eeek.

Love is in the Air!

2010-02-15T18:36:00.006-06:00

My dear friend, Dawn, got married two days ago. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride! And she had a BEAUTIFUL wedding!!!!! Our friend, Jacob, came in for the big event and we were {almost} all together again. I tried to get out of the Bouquet Toss but once again, Courtney forced me up there! We are the only two left and yet, we let it pass us by every time! HAHA :) All in all, a fabulous evening!

This was the only decent picture I have from the ceremony- Mr. & Mrs. Jarrod Hinton!

Reception at Ridglea Country Club. This cake was beautiful and really delicious!

So was Jarrod's. GO FROGS!!!

CUTE!

First Dance!

JGB and JSR- Stephie made us laugh :)

Stephie! We were each other's dates for the evening since Zachy had to work

Jess

TCU GIRLS!!!!!

Nwad is a married woman!

Sparky, Sparkly and McSparky- 2 of my favorite people!

Hackemack put his wedding koozies to work right away!

This is one of the best pictures from the entire evening! Oh Hack!
And they're off to Acapulco!

Dawn's Divas

2010-02-15T18:14:00.005-06:00

Last week was Dawn's Pretty Panty/Bachelorette Party. I seriously have some of the most fun friends EVER! We had dinner at Cantina Laredo (yum!) then went to Fat Daddy's for a bit. We played lots of games and even made our waiter play along- poor fella, he didn't stand a chance against all of us girls! We all received new names for the evening- I was Saucy Caramel. Nice. Here are some pics from Dawn's last Saturday night as a single girl...

Dawn! Yes, she is the cutest little bride EVER!!!

Our waiter picking out his new name. He was Naughty Velvet and said that all of his other tables were calling him that by the end of the evening! He also wore a few of our accessories. Good sport.

Edible Underwear Hat?!?!?!

Ummmm- GROSSY! They tasted like Vicks VapoRub. Ewwww.

Dawn's cake! YUM!!!

He had edible underwear on too!

I've literally waited my entire life to meet Lacey- my IDENTICAL BIRTHDAY TWIN!!!
She's 22 minutes older than me.

Ellenahs and Nwad :)

My new friend, Delicious Doll! AKA Hailey :)

All of Dawn's Divas!

Fat Daddy's. A very interesting group of people gather there!

Super Bowl XLIV

2010-02-15T17:12:00.005-06:00

This year our Super Bowl party was quite small. My brother in law went to Miami for the game and so my sister flew my mom out to stay with her for a few days. I'm pretty sure even though I had a great time, my pops would have much preferred to have my mom with us. We didn't have any food at my house that we wanted to eat so I made a quick run to Wendy's, which by the way is apparently my new favorite fast food place then me and Crys made our delightful Lumpies punch. We took pics of each other the whole night and laughed at pretty much every picture while my pops watched and occassionally told us what was going on. I was cheering for the Saints, Pops was for the Colts and Crys (once again) was cheering for everyone! What a funny girl!!!

She kept hiding her face because it was all swollen. Ugh sickness.

My FAVORITE purchase of 2010! Even though it is pink ;)

Pops refused to look at the camera for fear of missing an important play. He never cooperates with us!

At least Blue Eyes smiled for the camera :)

Semi-decent!

Slacker.

2010-02-15T16:28:00.004-06:00

I am such a slacker these days. I haven't been very good at updating my blog so I am doing it all right now! I finally changed my background! I like the new one but I kinda miss the old one- I had it since I started blogging last year. Oh well, change is good- right?!?!?! Today is President's Day and there is an I Love Lucy marathon on TV- I am one happy girl!!!

Updates...
I met BRUCE JENNER yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a HUGE fan of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Bruce has always been my favorite (besides Khloe) so when I heard he was going to be making an appearance at Grapevine Mills Mall, I made plans to go meet him after church. Yes, you read that right- I went to church again! It was the last Sunday after Epiphany and it was Valentine's Day so I figured there was no better place to be than church :) Anyways, here are some pictures from yesterday's mini-adventure...

Bruce's Van- him and 4 other celebs are racing across the country. 6,000 miles in 4 days to raise awareness for COPD.

Danica is missing from here but she was on all of the brochures.

Me and Bruce! He is soooo kind! And he was talking to Kris on the phone right before I met him so I basically met her too ;)

In other news, the OLYMPICS have started!!!!! I am sooooo very excited about this! I look forward to the Opening Ceremonies every 2 years- it's truly one of my favorite things in life! I can never quite decide which Olympics I prefer- summer or winter, I love them both! Me and Crys had a little Olympics Party at our house and Shea, Cali and Jacob came to watch with us. We had a BLAST!!! I am sad to say that I generally not a very patriotic person but when it comes to the Olympics, I am a hardcore supporter for Team USA! I also cooked raw meat for the very first time by myself and it was totally and completely disgusting but I did it! And nobody got sick! Hooray for me :)

Crys still had a swollen face from being sickly so she hid from the camera. Stinker!

The ReYa's LOVE our Lumpies!

Cheers to the Olympics!

We reminisced about past Olympics and youtubed the USA/France Relay from 2008. AMAZING!!!

TEAM USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{Let it Snow}

2010-02-11T23:40:00.007-06:00

Today it snowed. A LOT. North Texas broke the 1917 record for most snowfall in one day! We had over 10 inches at my house- INSANE!!! Crys came barging into my room this morning to show me the snow and I must say, that is my new favorite way to wake up! I stayed in bed for an hour and a half watching it fall. Gorgeous! My new least favorite thing is driving in the snow. I had to literally talk myself out of a hardcore panic attack on the way to my office. Even though I was safely in my car, protected by my windshield, I felt like the snow was attacking my face and it kept making my eyes water really bad. I don't like fireworks either because I feel like they're going to fall on me (don't get me wrong- I think they're gorgeous but I can't handle being close to them). It's very easy to look the other way when it's fireworks but when driving in the snow, it's not safe to look the other way.

I've had a horrible cold this week, along with my little sis, and tonight we just could not bring ourselves to make our own dinner so we went to Ihop. Yum! I LOVE breakfast for dinner and was very glad that we agreed on a restaurant so close to home (about a mile away) since the roads were so bad. The manager went to everyone's table and explained that the roads were getting worse but not to rush because they weren't closing early- he just wanted us all to be safe. HOW NICE! When we left, he was outside with almost all of the employees making a giant snowman and scooping up snow for sno cones. We made the drive back to Chez Rey without incident but I could not get Emmy to drive up our driveway. It took about 20 minutes for me to get her from in front of my house to inside of our garage. Crys was trying to direct me while simultaneously shoveling the snow/ice out of my way but she was totally stressing me out! I couldn't control my car at all and she was dangerously close so I kept screaming at her to move but she couldn't hear me. I was SOOO glad when Emmy finally decided to cooperate with me and drove into our garage.

Tree in our front yard

Our palm trees don't look so happy about the snow

I look like the Unabomber!

She looks WAAAAAY better than me all bundled up!

I ALWAYS make snow angels! LOVE THEM!!!

That's a pretty good one if I do say so myself :)

Cryssy doing some yoga

I couldn't handle the snow attacking my face so I took refuge

Chez Rey!

Cryssy threw a snowball at me but I knew we weren't up to a snowball fight so I didn't throw one back. I just took her picture

Me and our mini-snowman, Howard :)

I put him on our mailbox so he could bring joy to all of our neighbors :)

Our only picture together and Crys refused to show her face because it's all swollen from her cold. Eek.

This short distance took us FOREVER to conquer!

Creed

2010-01-28T00:45:00.003-06:00

I did not like today at all. It was a very sad day for me and if I could have stayed in bed all day, I would have. The entire day I just kept thinking about tomorrow because I so desperately wanted to move on. Leave it to Rocky to lift my spirits! Somehow a Rocky movie is always on when I need it to be and tonight I especially needed a pick me up. I have officially decided on my Rocky hierarchy (from most to least favorite)- IV, II, III, I, Rocky Balboa then Rocky V. So glad at least one productive thing came out of my miserable day ;)

We the People

2010-01-22T01:30:00.000-06:00

Stolen from Josiah's FB...

COOKIES!

2010-01-21T17:31:00.005-06:00

It's a wonderful time of year! It's Girl Scout Cookie Season!!! January is one of the best months thanks to those delicious cookies :) It just so happens that my favorite little girl in the entire world is a Girl Scout! I just talked to her on the phone for about 20 minutes, placing yet another order for me and my coworkers and discussing the events of the last few days since Monday was the last time I saw her. A LOT happens in 3 days in the life of a 9 year old :)

Peanut Butter Sandwich! My all time FAV!

February's Book!

2010-01-21T14:24:00.002-06:00

I am really excited about next month's book club selection. We will be reading Little Women! I LOOOOOOVE the movies, the Katherine Hepburn version being my absolute favorite, but have never read the book! Thanks to Jessica for making the suggestion :) Happy reading...

A Place of Yes!

2010-01-19T23:28:00.004-06:00

Last night I went to Dallas for a book signing that wasn't scheduled. Oopsie! I have this problem where I never really pay attention to dates and so I thought the signing was last night but it was actually tonight. Ugh. I had to make the drive back out to Dallas again this evening. I despise Big D and it took me over an hour and a half from my office in Fort Worth. Annoying but worth it because me and my friend, Kristy, met Bethenny Frankel! She is super funny!!! She thought all Texans used Aqua Net and married oil tycoons :) She said we looked like a normal crowd and didn't even notice our accents.

Kristy got to the signing extra early so we got a good ticket! We were like 10th in line to meet Bethenny.

In line...

She is just the cutest!

Kristy explaining about the South.

Michael AKA Dumplin'. Well, really that's just my nickname for him :) He's such a trooper!

Fireflies

2010-01-19T00:47:00.004-06:00

I spent the weekend with 2 of my FAVORITE people- Rachel and Robert, or as I call them- Miss Pris and Stud Muff :) We had a really fun four days! We watched A LOT of movies, went on a picnic (and packed our lunch together, without arguing!), baked a cake, made homemade pizza, went to church and a basketball game. Well, we did quite a bit more than that but those are the highlights.

Poor little homeless child!

Our crazy unhealthy lunch of chips, hot dogs, bagel bites and brownies!

Buckner is very handsome :)

The flower Rachel picked for me!

SOOOOOO cute!!!

This was their own idea! Precious :)

Yes I know, they ARE the cutest!

Note to self: Next time take the tripod!

Exploring the creek. We looked for treasures and/or hobos living under the bridge but found neither.

Me and Rachel wore these in our hair but mine didn't last very long.

CUTEST little baker EVER!!!!!

Rachel and Grace's cake. They insisted I stay out of the kitchen while they decorated. They used LOTS of icing, marshmallows, miniature cookies, sprinkles and gold candles. It took them about 30 minutes and Rachel got a nasty cut on her hand and bled for at least 15! Ouch.

Girl's Night! We had a fabulous slumber party :)

Fiesta Bowl

2010-01-19T00:33:00.004-06:00

I totally forgot about these pictures from the Fiesta Bowl until tonight! Sadly, we did not win :( But I still had a pretty fabulous time with my Ryans! Word to the wise- avoid Boomerjacks for big games. I seriously don't think I'll ever watch a game there again!

The Chesapeake Energy/Pier 1 Building supporting the Frogs! Don't take pictures and drive- not a good idea!

Very disappointing fried pickles :(

My lucky ring didn't work.

Our Frogs died :(

I couldn't pout so I let Ryan have the sad face.

My Ryans!

Codependence

2010-01-14T16:49:00.004-06:00

For the last 3 hours I have not had cel service. I feel SOOOO disconnected from the world! I still have internet on my phone but can't send/receive texts or calls. OMG- I feel like I'm going crazy! This is really just pathetic. I am on my computer at home and IMing a few people yet I still feel disconnected. I like the sense of unity that is taking place on facebook right now- it seems all of us AT&T users are bonding over having no service! Ya know, I despise talking on the phone and avoid it as much as possible but knowing that I can't contact anyone but emergency personnel is almost paralyzing. And of course now I realize that I have quite a few important calls to make!

In other communication news, I am on Yahoo Messenger for the first time in at least 5 years! I was asked repeatedly by the wonderful women in my office and so I finally obliged. I've only been using it for a few days but have already changed my Avatar about five times! 10 points if you can guess my screen name... ;)

Rust in Vrede

2010-01-12T01:18:00.003-06:00

Miep Gies died today. I read The Diary of Anne Frank when I was younger and watched the play again just a few months ago. I am always fascinated by stories of the Jews/Nazis and equally by those who helped them, Miep and Corrie ten Boom being my favorites! It takes a truly spectacular person to risk their lives for others. Miep once said, "Helping people who are in danger is not a matter of courage but from making a decision that every human being has to make in his life when he or she distinguishes between good and bad."

"It surely is a painful experience to be the only survivor of the eight people in hiding and their five helpers, I miss them dearly, because I can no longer exchange memories and no longer enjoy their friendship."

What difference do it make?

2010-01-12T00:08:00.003-06:00

I am sooooo glad I am over my literary funk. I just read What difference do it make? and it is an incredible book! It was full of inspiration and I've already looked into a few of the organizations it mentioned. Unlike hundreds (if not thousands) of readers from the first book, Same Kind of Different as Me (one of my all time favs!), my purpose in life has not been revealed to me. It was fascinating reading how Same Kind changed so many lives. I'm not sure that it necessarily changed mine but it I still love it!

I think my next book will be Eat, Pray, Love. My book club had another White Elephant gift exchange last night and I received it as one of my gifts! I took it as a sign because I've been thinking about reading it for a while and now I have no excuse since I own it :) There's just nothing like having a Reader's High! Perhaps I'll start it tonight...

Attention Span of a Fruit Fly

2010-01-09T23:53:00.002-06:00

My book club meets in about 18 hours and I have STILL not read our book, The Last Lecture. I can not focus to save my life these days! We're more than a week into 2010 and I have yet to read even one book. I am so behind on my reading schedule! I'm in quite the literary funk right now and have no clue how to get out of it! I guess it doesn't help things that a Law & Order SVU marathon is on- I've watched A LOT of episodes today (and yes, I watched the last quarter of the Cowboys playoff game and because all of my friends are happy, I am too).

I realized quite a few random facts about myself that I never knew before this last week and I thought I'd share since reading seems to be completely out of the question for tonight...
*The older I get the more high maintenance I'm becoming. This is SO not okay with me but I can't seem to stop it! It's like my hair/skin/nails require expensive products now. Ugh!
*Spending time with either my friends or my friend's moms sound equally appealing to me :)
*Peep holes in doors are scary. I hope I never have a door that has one.
*I refuse to enter a room without turning on a light or using my cel phone to light my path.
*Grocery stores almost give me panic attacks. I love grocery shopping and organizing food in my fridge/pantry, but actual grocery stores are the devil (tonight was the first time I shopped in one in months, if not years). After my last encounter at Kroger tonight, I may never enter one again! I actually had to walk around the store and put things back earlier just so I could leave. It's Target or Walmart from here on out for this girl!
*I could live on orange juice with extra pulp. In fact, that's the only beverage I've consumed for the last 3 days! I'm not sure when I started loving pulp but I've become mildly obsessed with it- I like it so thick it's as if I stuck a straw in an orange itself! I know it's horrible I haven't had water but I just can't get enough OJ! My immune system must be happy.

On another note, about 1/3 of my Christmas decorations are packed away until November 1, 2010! De-trimming Christmas trees is negative fun, especially when doing it alone. It almost makes me want to never decorate again but I know by November of next year I'll be so ready to transform Chez Rey into a Winter Wonderland again!

Broth the Sloth

2010-01-08T00:49:00.003-06:00

CryssyRey took this video a few weeks ago of Broth the Sloth. He likes to drink water from his wet paws. SOOOOO CUTE!!!!! My favorite part of is his weak meow at the end. What a big fat loser! He totally has me wrapped around his fat, wet paws!

Roll Tide

2010-01-07T22:34:00.009-06:00

I'm sooooo glad Alabama won tonight! I was reluctant to watch the Rose Bowl but finally turned it on in the 2nd half. What a great game! Me and Crys both cheered a lot (her merely for the sake of cheering) and I really thought Texas was going to make a tied game but in the end, it was all Bama! I'm REALLY sad college football season is over :( 8 months to go...

Colt McCoy is AMAZING! It is awful he couldn't play tonight. I'm quite sure it would have been a much closer game if he wouldn't have been hurt so early on. Crys and I totally cried during his final interview. Salt of the earth...