What I Did In October

Grandmas Gone Wild 2016

I visited South Padre Island for five days and four nights of making memories with two of my longest and dearest friends.  Not our usual trip but one of us had never visited South Padre before, so it counts!

View from our balcony

At the pool

This is where we spent most of our time!

The Sapphire from the pool

The best place for a morning cuppa is looking out over the water.

CCA Awards

Attended the CCA Awards where one of Jim's fishing buddies won a new boat and trailer for the largest recorded Speckled Trout during the 2016 STAR Tournament.

CCA = Coastal Conservation Association; STAR Tournament =State of Texas Angler's Rodeo

Thad with his plaque.  The boat and trailer were in the parking lot.

Sargent Weekend

Pappaw and Sweet Bailey Rae

Blanket time in the front yard with Bailey and Carter (and Jennifer, too)

This should just say:

"My Happy Place"

Added a little décor to the porch to make it ours.

"The Strategy of Pairing" (as Gretchen Rubin would say)

Took care of my annual check-up and rewarded myself with dinner and a movie (Storks) with the Ham & Rodgers families.  I did not take a single picture, but we had a blast hanging out at the arcade and then we had the WHOLE THEATRE to ourselves.  We could pick out seats and run around during the movie without bothering a soul.  A good thing since this was Dayton's first trip to a movie theater. 

Abundance: Frisco

This year was Conference Year for our ladies retreat and we decided on a trip to Lifeway's Abundance with speakers like: Angela Thomas-Pharr, Curtis Jones, Lisa Harper, and Lysa Terkeurst.  It is a rather new addition to their conferences and was given a thumbs up by all ten of us!  There was a long road trip, shared cheesecake, honest conversations and ice cream surprises to mix with all the laughter.

Fellowship at Field Store Ladies Retreat 2016

My girl and I

Loved our t-shirts this year!

Thanks for the great design, Peyton!

Teaching a much younger woman (and friend) the glories of Snapchat!

I felt so hip!

Vintage Market

Met up with Robin and Stacy for a fun day at the Market. This was my first visit to the one at the Waller County Fairgrounds.  I feel like Goldilocks in that it wasn't too big or too small, it was just right!  Got some great finds but didn't take pics our adventure. We shopped and shopped, then we drove in to Chappell Hill for lunch at Bevers Kitchen. Yum!

My Vintage Market find of the day:

A box springs tree for the seasons

Brooke's 9th Birthday Brunch: Unicorns

A donut cake for our 9 year old granddaughter

Bailey's 1st Birthday Party: Boho

Bailey and her smash cake

Halloween After Party

They all gathered to go trick or treating about 20 minutes from the house.  Afterwards they came out for dinner, a hay ride through the woods, Halloween Bingo, Pumpkin decorating and Hocus Pocus.

From the back: Kelli (Scarecrow), Bri and Bailey (Twin Pin Up Girls), Meagan (Sugar Skull), Dayton (Half Beard Pirate)

Middle Row: Maddux (Storm Trooper), Brooke (Cleopatra), Davin (Storm Trooper)

Front Row: Ellie (Spider Girl), Delayne (Mermaid) and Weston (Captain America)

AND Lots of Razorback Football: For Better or Worse!

Alcorn State - W

Alabama - L

Ole Miss - W

Auburn - L --- with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an L on her forehead!

The older grands built a fort during one of our football gatherings...complete with fire pit!

My Friday Lunch Dates

Last Friday, I was called to 'Nonna duty'.  Kelli had a doctor's appointment and Matt had to work, so I was asked to go spend time with three of my favorite grandchildren.  (Because they are all my favorites, you know.)

We began our visit with lunch from McDonalds with our Happy Meal Minions.

This sweet thing was asleep when I arrived, but she awoke before we could even start lunch.  She was a little thrown off when Nonna went in to get her out of her crib with no Mommy in sight.

But then I gave her yogurt and cookies and french fries and chicken nuggets...so we were all good from there.

After a quick tour from Brooke of the new schoolroom Kelli has been working on, we sat down to play.  Books, video games and, of course, our Happy Meal Minions.

Kelli came in soon after but was looking absolutely exhausted.  Matt had been suffering all week, first needing a root canal on one side of his mouth; followed the next day with a wisdom tooth pulled from the other side.  Needless to say, Kelli had not had a lot of sleep.  Since it was time for Elliot to go back down for a nap, I decided that Brooke, Maddux and I would have a movie date while Mommy got some sleep.

Off we went to watch 'Despicable Me 2' with lots of candy, popcorn, soda and yes, our Happy Meal Minions.  Cute, cute movie...but by the end, Maddux no longer wanted to hold his Happy Meal Minion (the evil purple one) because he was scared and wanted in Nonna's lap.  Oh, yeah, and we were out of candy.  And soda.  It's a tough life!

After the movie, they wanted their picture made with Turbo.

A quick bite for dinner at the Burger King in the mall and we were headed back home.

As I left Kelli's house headed back to Waller, this was the view from my windshield:

A beautiful ending to a beautiful day!

Goodbye, Nora

I read a blog on Wednesday morning that mentioned the passing of Nora Ephron; author, screenwriter, director, playwright (etc., etc.) and it made me a little sad.

The first thing that came to my mind was the evening Robin, Stacy and I spent in New York City at the play she co-wrote with her sister; Love, Loss and What I Wore.  Remember?  We got to meet the lovely Robin Strasser afterwards.

Next I thought about how much I enjoyed her book I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman which I read back in May of 2010. 

But then, I began seeing people commenting on their favorite Nora Ephron films (whether as screenwriter, producer or director) and I realized just how many of them I have seen.  Twelve of the fifteen as noted on Wikipedia.  From Silkwood to Julie and Julia...I have only missed Cookie, This Is My Life and All I Wanna Do.  (One of those looks awfully familiar, but I am not sure.)  My favorite Nora Ephron film?  Not the usual, When Harry Met Sally.  Nor Sleepless In Seattle.  Not even You've Got Mail.  (Though that may be my second favorite.)  My all time favorite Nora Ephron film is Hanging Up with Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Lisa Kudrow and Walter Matthau.  I wanted to slap some compassion into Georgia, shake self-indulgent Maddy until she could see beyond herself, and hire a therapist for codependant Eve, who set herself up for the responsibility that is now draining her.  I loved, loved, LOVED this movie.  And I still watch it every time I run across it on cable television.  And I still cry!  Every. Single. Time. 

RIP, Nora.  Thanks for the memories that your work has sown into my life. 

The Crazy, Beautiful, Busy Weekend

What a weekend we had!  Sometimes these kind of weekends wear me down a bit.  Other times, like this one, I wake on Monday mornings feeling energized and fulfilled.  I'm most thankful for the latter!

I am not one that you would call a 'people person'.  I'm just not comfortable around strangers and I am certainly not good at instigating conversations.  Yet, in God's sense of humor, He chose to make me highly relational.  And it is when I get the opportunity to invest and share in the lives of those I know and love that I feel most fulfilled.  Hence the energy I sense today rather than feeling spent.

Jim spent the weekend in Arkansas' Delta country attending our nephew's high school graduation.  He, Meagan and Davin left Thursday morning for the West Memphis area.  I mention that fact because if he had been home, my comings and going would have been a lot less.  He is a home body.  Having spent the first seven years of our marriage traveling non-stop for work, he really, REALLY enjoys staying at home with his cows and his pond and his garden -- and his wife.  LOL!

Thursday night after work Will and I had to make a trip into Houston to pick up his tuxedo for Junior Prom.  We have learned the hard way that you never want to put off your tuxedo rental pick up for the last minute.  When you do, you are almost certain to either be missing something or something will not fit.  This time, everything was perfect.  So, off we went to dinner at his choice of restaurants -- Subway.  He certainly is a cheap date!  Since we didn't have to wait for a table at Subway, we finished our meal with plenty of evening ahead of us.  We decided at the last minute to go see a movie -- "Dark Shadows" was the next one available. 

(As a side note, it was nothing like I was expecting from the trailers!  Still a little on the 'campy' side, but all in all, we liked it.)

Friday after work, I stopped by Houston Garden Center for some rose bushes.  It was a spur of the moment decision, but I really, really want a flower bed by the back door.  (A project for this weekend if we don't get it completed before then.) 

After picking Will up from football practice, he wanted to go to a percussion concert at school with some of his friends and Brian was hiding out (ie. watching television) in his room.  Stacy and Albert had asked Jim and I to dinner for Friday night...but with Jim going out of town, we had to decline.  Rather than spend my night at home alone with the flat screen, I decided to take a chance and see if they were still available.  They were, so we met at "Waller Mexican" (our pet name for our favorite local restaurant) and had a really nice and relaxing meal catching up.

Saturday morning I was scheduled to meet Kelli in Bellaire to tour the Southern Living Showcase House.  It was the last weekend of tours and I love Southern Living Homes.  Kelli is always up for a house tour.  It feeds her designer's heart to get new ideas.  Plus, I needed a little time with my girl. 

We walked the house in a little under an hour.  We were taking it all in as slowly as we could with fifty to a hundred people milling about.  I love a new house that feels like an old house.  This one certainly fit the bill.  The architectural details made it feel like a home that you might tour on The Strand in Galveston.  It is not my dream home (it is two story)...but it is beautiful.

After soaking in all the beauty and discussing what we liked, what we didn't like and what we would tweak a bit...we headed over to La Madeleine's for brunch.  We talked houses and decorating and kids and life and dreams.  It was a great day!   And then it was time for me to head home and begin getting Will ready for his Junior Prom.

He had called me while Kelli and I were at brunch to ask if I would be willing to ride with one of the other moms who was chaperoning their group.  It seems someone else couldn't make it at the last minute and she didn't want to be by herself driving these really loud and slightly crazy teenagers to dinner and then the dance. 

Off we went, first to take pictures at the country club then we dropped the kids off for dinner and went to a place next door to eat ourselves.  We dropped the kids off at Prom and went to see a movie.  We were a little late getting in to the theatre, but still enjoyed "What To Expect When You're Expecting". 

We arrived back at the Prom just before it was over.  Picked up the kids when they came out and headed home.  Oh, was the ride home so much quieter than the ride there.  They were tired!  Still excited, but tired!  When we got home, Will and Cali changed clothes and headed out to an after party.  I loaded a few pictures to Facebook so that Jim would be able to see them the next morning and fell into bed exhausted.

Saturday night, Bri had come over to see Will off to prom.  She was so disappointed when she found out I was going with them.  It seems my sweet baby girl had come over to take me out to dinner and a movie so that I wouldn't be home alone.  (Brian was having a date night with Jasmine.)  She suggested we do Sunday lunch after church instead.

Well, let's be honest here, I didn't go to church on Sunday morning.  I slept until a few minutes before church services began.  Not Sunday School, mind you...Sunday Morning Worship!  We met at Mc Alister's Deli just after noon and had a wonderful meal and catch up time.  I miss her.  I really do.  I know she is where she is supposed to be...but I miss hearing about her day and what is going on at work.  (A recent promotion!  Woo Hoo!  You go, girl!)

After a nice relaxing lunch, we headed over to the movie theatre and saw "What To Expect When You're Expecting".  LOL!  That was really okay with me.  Especially since I had missed the first part the night before.  I could understand the interconnections a little better.  The movie is funny and touching and a little bit sad at a few points.  But then again, our hearts are very tender about some of the subject matter.  We laughed, we cried, we tried to hide wiping our eyes from the theatre full of viewers...and then we headed home.

Well, she headed home while I went to return Will's tuxedo and avoid the $20 late fee I would have incurred if I had waited until today.  I fully intended to just pay it instead of making the 45 minute drive into Houston...but since I was already going to be in Cypress I figured why not drive fifteen more minutes and get it over with.  Then I stopped in at Home Goods just to browse about and take in all the beautiful things.  I picked up a few storage boxes that were on clearance for our home office and headed home.

And that's were I stayed as I counted down the hours until My Hero would arrive.  I ran out to meet him in the driveway, helped him unload and then we started feeding the cows, and picking the garden, and feeding the fish, and fixing the fence, and moving the cows...and catching up on our Crazy, Beautiful, Busy Weekend!

What Are Friends For?

On November 16, 2001, Brian and I went to see a new movie with Stacy and Tim.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was the name of that film.  Brian had read the book (and since back then, I read what they did, so had I) and enjoyed it.  I think Tim had as well...and so, as Stacy and I were talking one day we decided to invite our boys on a double date with their moms. 

We had a great time that evening.  We laughed as we stood in line with adults dressed in character for the afternoon viewing.  Afterwards, we discussed the things that had been left out of the movie and whether or not we thought it affected the story line.  Stacy thought it was a great movie without reading the books, so we reasoned that in the end it didn't make a huge difference.

Fast forward to November 2002 and the premiere of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I don't think we were able to make it opening night due to scheduling conflicts, but the four of us met up at the theatre once again for a Mom and Son double date night on opening weekend.  We had a great time and deemed that this would be our tradition for the remaining movies.

Unfortunately, by the time that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in June of 2004, the boys had lives of their own and no longer needed to attend movies with their Mothers.  They preferred to go with their friends instead.  So, being creative mothers...we took our youngest children, William and Tressa instead!  It wasn't opening weekend, it took us a little longer to get a date on the calendar...but we went none the less.

Busy lives took their toll after that and we were unable to make another movie together.  I went with Will, Brian and Brianne to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in November, 2005...but after that, they went without me.  Preferring to go with friends or together at times that didn't work for me.

I watched The Order of the Phoenix, The Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 either on DVD or on pay per view at home.

I was determined that I was going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in the theatre on opening weekend.  Jim was going out of town for a golf tournament, so there was nothing to distract me from attending.  (He isn't a 'go to the theatre' type and could not care less about Harry Potter if he did go!) 

I said something to the boys on Tuesday night about going only to find out that they already had plans to go with friends to the very first midnight showing.  So, I determined to go -- alone, if need be. 

Instead, I called Stacy to see if she wanted to go with me.  She hadn't seen any of the last three movies, so I wasn't sure she would.  But she took pity on me...and so we closed out the series just as we had started it all those years ago...together!

Thanks, Stacy! 

A true friend will accompany you to a movie...even when your children desert you!

A Spontaneous Evening

I like to plan...or at least, in my mind I think I like to plan. In reality, I rarely get the time to plan. I find that when I plan, something tends to come up to complicate my plans.

So, spontaneity works out better for me most of the time.

Today I read some fabulous reviews of the new movie, Hop. This made me want to make a date with my grandchildren to see a movie this weekend.

But the more I thought about it, the weekend wasn't going to work out very well for me.

First of all, on the weekends you have to fight the crowds. And with three children under four, who wants to fight crowds?

Secondly, Jim is away on a turkey hunt and will be home on Friday. The last thing I want to do is leave him home alone for the afternoon when I haven't seen him in a week. (And he doesn't do movies!)

By the time I picked Will up from track practice at 5, I had decided that tonight would be the perfect time. The movie was scheduled to start at 6:30, but we made quick calls to Meagan, Kelli and Brianne who were all free to join us for a night at the movies.

The movie was cute! But for me the best part was watching my grandchildren. They clapped, they twitched around in their seats and by the end of the movie they were dancing in front of their seats.

I tried to snap a picture with my iPhone...but it was too dark in the theatre.

In fact, they were so wound up by the time the credits were rolling that we had to take them over to McDonald's for dinner. They needed a place to run wild. They would never have made it at a sit down restaurant.

If you get a chance to see the movie, it is quite entertaining. Just be ready to have the music move you a little! The grandchildren ran around singing "I Want Candy" for the rest of the night.

Kicking Back On A Saturday Night, Old School

If you have heard any entertainment news from this weekend, you probably already know that "The Fast & The Furious" movie raked in a whopping $72.5 million dollars this weekend. Our group contributed $50 of that money ourselves.

Casy was wanting to see it and since he was feeling up to being out and about Saturday, we decided to head out to the movies. But, unlike other movie trips, we decided to head just down the road a little piece and watch it at the drive-in!

The ten of us loaded up in three cars and headed out. The gates opened at 6:30, but when we arrived around 7, the line was long and the lot looked pretty full. I guess everyone in the country had the same idea. Or else, everyone wanted a double feature for $5 a head! You can't beat that price.

We all finally made it in and found a place to park the three cars together. We pulled out the lawn chairs and headed to the concession stand to grab a bite to eat before the movie started. The place was packed!
This was Casy and Samm's first drive-in experience. It was also the first trip for Jim and I in over two decades...about the same for Glen and Debbie!
My kids have been several times since we moved out to the country. Here is Brian and Jessica pulling in between the two trucks in her little bug. It made a perfect place for the lawn chairs. Debbie snapped this picture of the kids while they were waiting on our food to make it out of the kitchen. (For some reason, Will got squeezed out of the picture and all you can see is his Slushee and bag of cotton candy.) The movie finally started around 8:30. Although we weren't thrilled with the plot line, it was fun to watch the action in such a comfortable environment with people you enjoy. (No need to squeeze past strangers to make a popcorn run!) The younger crew piled up in the back of one of the pick-ups while us 'older crew' staked out the lawn chairs. They also stayed for the second feature, "Madea Goes To Jail"...we made it through the first part of the movie, but around midnight, decided to head on home.
We had a blast! Hope you enjoyed your weekend.