Sarah's Wedding

On Saturday my friend from high school Sarah got married and I had the opportunity to go to her wedding.  You might remember Sarah from her Bachelorette Party and also our painting party.

Sarah had her wedding at a Plantation house in Hockley, TX.  Sarah was a beautiful bride and I am so happy for her and Jeremy!   Here are some pics of their big day!  For more pictures go here.

CAKE!!  I love me some cake.  

Do you see those yummy delicious marshmallows in the far right corner?  Yep, I had about 20!  I <3 marshmallows!!!!

Look at their cute favors!!  

What kind of wedding would it be without a photo booth?  Holla!

Me and the beautiful bride!  

Hot lunch date

Today, I had the pleasure of having lunch with my super cute nephew, Cole!  He had a doctors appointment this morning on this side of town, so I went to have lunch with Cole and my sister Laura at Jason's Deli.

Does anyone else like 'See-food?"

That's his new trick!  Aren't boys fun?  SMH. :)

Time is Money

I saw this on FB while scrolling through my newsfeed, so I cannot give them credit, but this is wonderful!  Read on my friends.  This doesn't just apply to kids, it can apply to girlfriends/boyfriends, wives/husbands, family members, or friends.

Time is Money

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?"
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?"
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make $100 an hour."
SON: "Oh! (With his head down).
SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow $50?"
The father was furious.
DAD: "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $ 50 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

DAD: "Are you asleep, son?"

SON: "No daddy, I'm awake".
DAD: "I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $50 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, smiling.
SON: "Oh, thank you daddy!"
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

DAD: "Why do you want more money if you already have some?"

SON: "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do.

"Daddy, I have $100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness. It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $100 worth of your time with someone you love? If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.





___________________

This story makes me cry each time I re-read through it.  No matter how fancy your job is, you should always have time for your children.  Facetime while traveling the country is not going to cut it. You might mean well, and 'once your job slows down a bit' or 'once this project is complete' you will stop and take a time out for your children.  Take time TODAY!  Children aren't children forever.

I always see posts and articles on the internet about women who 'have it all', but what is having it all?  Is missing your child's soccer game worth it?  Buying them things when you are with them does not make up for the time you are gone.  Spend time with your kids!  The kids didn't ask to be born, you did have a decision to have them or not, time is much more valuable than 'things'.



I have a ton more to say, but I am not going to say it because I will just ramble.  This topic drives me crazy because people are special and their time, much like your own, is special too.  They are choosing to try and spend their time with you.  The work will be there tomorrow, but your loved ones might not be.

Jail Break Half Marathon Recap

This weekend I completed my 5^th half marathon, the Jail Break Half Marathon Run in Baytown, TX.  While I didn’t get a new PR, I still had a blast running this weekend!  The Jail Break Half Marathon and 5K proceeds go towards police officers that are sick or injured.  As some of you know, my stepdad Keith is a police officer, so I like to support causes that help police officers.

In Jail Break Run has three events, a half marathon, a 5K, and handcuff 5K.  I of course did the half, but maybe next year I will do the Handcuff 5K because how fun would it be to be handcuffed to someone during a 5K?  Super fun!  I told my mom about it, and she was interested in doing the 5K, but I forgot to remind her so she didn’t end up signing up.  Maybe next year!  My friend Aly wanted to run the half marathon also so we rode together.

The race started at 7am so Aly and I had to leave my house at 5 am for us to have time to park, pick up our packets, and stretch.  It was so cold that morning and luckily they had a few space heaters that we could all hover by until the race started.  Walkers were able to start 30 minute earlier than the rest of us, and promptly at 7 am we started the race.  While we were waiting we took pictures of the starting line that looked like a jail!  Super fun.

 (This is Aly wanting OUT of jail) :)

Not even a mile into the race my friend and former co-worker Kevin caught up to me and we said hello.  I knew he was running the race (per FB), but I didn’t see him at the start line.  By mile 3 of the race I knew that this was going to be a tough race for me.    A muscle in my inner thigh was hurting pretty bad, and my feet were going numb.  I had the strength to run endurance wise, but injury wise I wasn’t doing too hot.  I stopped at mile 4.5 to readjust my shoe laces that felt too tight and Aly went on without me, I had told her I would catch back up with her on the bridge.   Right before the bridge there was a random dog on the course by someone’s house that was loose and barking at the runners.  I am terrified of scary dogs so I stayed on the far side of the street, but the guy in front of me almost got bit!  The course went to the top of the Fred Hartman Bridge and back down instead of over completely and back down in the LaPorte by the Bay Half Marathon.  I did a walk/run combo up the bridge and flew down it signing R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” in my head.

My feet were still hurting and so was my inner thigh, so I stopped around mile 9 to do some down ward dogs (super helpful for tight legs), then kept going.  At around mile 10 I noticed Aly wasn’t too far behind me so I stopped to wait for her and then we ran the rest of the way together.    We were both hurting at this point; her leg was hurting too so we did a walk/run combo for the last three miles.  We finished at 2:40.35, way off my PR of 2:25, but honestly with my injuries and also the bridge I am not disappointed.  I worked for that medal.  BTW, I LOVE the handcuff medals!!!  Nice job Jail Break.

The food at the finish line was awesome!  They had Chick-fil-A there (with their dancing cow), Buffalo Wild Wings, What-a-burger, 5 Hour Energy (not a fan of that sort of stuff), plus other snacks and fruit/veggies.  After the race we went to Waffle House for breakfast (I saved all my food for later) and I got to eat grits and chocolate chip waffles!  Whoo hoo! 

I would highly recommend the Jail Break Half Marathon to anyone who is looking for a half marathon to run in the Houston area.  The race was very well organized, the course took you all over the place (including a awesome view at the top of the bridge), had tons of water stops, tons of finish line food, and the medals were awesome!!!

All the Single Ladies

In Houston, we have a morning radio show called The Rod RyanShow on the 94.5 the Buzz.  Each year the morning show hosts a single’s event on Valentine’s Day called Mile of Meat.  I have always heard about it each year, but never had the nerves to actually drive down to where they were.  Since I have turned 30, I have decided that I am having new experiences and this year I was going to this party!  I am did it more for fun than anything.  I mean really, does anyone expect to meet their dream guy at a party called Mile of Meat? Haha.

Here’s how it works:  Single guys submit an application with a picture to the show, 25 guys get picked to be the “Meat”.  On Valentine’s Day morning (7am-10am) the guys line up on Westheimer (near Gessner by Easy Tan) and single women drive by and ‘pick out’ a guy.  The guys are wearing shirts that are numbered 1-25 and the women call into the station to see if Rod accepts them as an applicant.  Rod asked the women random questions to learn more about them.  Later that night all 25 women and men have a meet and greet at Big Woodrow’s off Chimney Rock.

 (photo courtesy of the Rod Ryan Show website)

You all know how I love to do fun things, and now that I live on the west side of Houston, of course I drove by!! :)  I had told my boss that I would be a bit late that morning and told him why, he just laughed at me and told me to have fun.   I got up early, got dressed, and headed down Westheimer to where they were standing.  I thought it would be on the left, but literally as soon as I switched lanes I saw them on the right!  Darn it!  I made a u-turn and got in the right lane.  I drove by too fast this time so I turned around again (I know!).   Let me tell you, the sun was blinding, I couldn’t see a thing. Or maybe it was LOVE that was blinding?  Hahahahaha.  Kidding. ;)  Seriously though, I honestly could not see very well because the glare from the windshield (they really should be on the opposite side of the road because of the sun, but I digress).  I didn’t want to drive by again for a 4^th time, so I just picked the first cute guy I saw.  #25 was my man.

I called into the show and they asked me a few questions like my age, name, and what celebrity I looked like.  They asked if I could for sure be at Big Woodrow’s at 5:30 and I said yes.  They told me that I needed the radio to be on silent, and to have my windows rolled up completely when I talked to Rod.  I was on hold for about 5 minutes when Rod came on the line, and we were live on the air.  I had texted my sister and told her to listen to the show and she texted me to tell me she was listening.  I was the third girl to call in so I got the guy I wanted (i.e. the only cute guy that I could see with the sun blaring in my eyes).  Rod asked me my age (30) and told me my guys name was Taylor and that he was 24, then he proceeded to call me a cougar!  Haha.  Then he asked what I did for fun because Taylor is really athletic and they need to hook me up with someone who is, when I told him I ran the Houston marathon last month is when I think it was a no brainer that I would be ‘accepted’.  I honestly think that if you have the balls to actually drive by, then you are automatically picked they just need something to say on the radio.  He asked me more questions like my bra size (what?!), what I did for a living, and if I had a tattoo. I told him yes, I did have a tattoo, but my parents didn’t know so I hope they weren’t listening. LOL.  They said he looked like a guy that would be on the cast of Save by the Bell and also Steven Lynch.  Haha.  After we talked I was put back on hold and they told me to show up at 5:30 at Big Woodrow’s for the party that night.

When I got off the phone I called my sister to ask if I sounded like an idiot, she said I did not and was excited for me.  We talked for a bit more, but I kept getting text messages from friends who asked if that was me on the radio just then, and then some of my FB friends also heard me.  Then I got to work and one of our IT guys had heard me and asked me when I was going to tell my parents I had a tattoo.  Wow!  I didn’t think people at work had heard me, that is embarrassing! Oh well!

 

Night event:  I got to Big Woodrow’s right at 5:30 pm and headed inside.  When I walked in all the guys were on the right just dying to see who the girls were that were coming in and to see if that was ‘their girl’. Haha.  I gave them no indication which one I was though. ;)  I checked in and they sent us all upstairs so we would be separated until the event started.  They bought us drinks (woo hoo) and all the girls just chatted away until it was time.  The event was supposed to start right at 6 pm, but since the traffic was so bad (construction plus the All Star game) we didn’t start until closer to 7 pm.  

We headed downstairs to meet our guy one by one when we were called on stage, of course I had to pick #25 and was the last one to go on stage.  I walked onstage and Tyler handed me a rose, a bear, and a beer.  <- My kind of guy.  ;) haha.  We walked off stage and were free to mingle with each other and the other 24 couples.  Taylor was so sweet!  I told him I didn’t realize how young he was (I blame the sun!) and I am sure he didn’t want someone who was so much older than him, so he was free to talk to whoever.  He stuck by my side the entire night though and I met two of his friends (who were super sweet also).  Taylor told me that he didn’t even sign up, one of his friends did it but he decided to be a good sport and play along. 

My friend Leslie stuck by us the entire night, holding my purse, taking pictures, and just being an awesome friend.  After a while they had 5 couples at a time play a game (Toilet paper, Beer Head, Plunger Sandpaper, Apple Eating, Banana and Whipped Cream), and we got the Beer Head game which I will not explain for this is not a 50 Shades of Grey blog. ;)  I will however tell you that since I am super competitive, you all can be rest assured that my team won and that we got a super prize pack that I split with Taylor.  The prize package was from Zone Da Erotica, so use your imagination as to what we won.

After our game we mingled with everyone until I left around 9:30/9:45 pm.  I had to get home so I could function in the morning; I knew I would have a wicked hangover in the morning. 

The day after:  I woke up this morning with a stomachache and a headache…hangover. :/  That’s ok because I had so much fun last night that I couldn’t keep smiling!  I stopped at Starbucks (2 points away from being a Gold Card member..oh yeah!) to get some much needed coffee and headed into work.  My sister called me on the way to tell me that Taylor was caught on camera kissing another girl!  OMG, oh no he didn’t just cheat on me! WTH? Haha.  I always pick the bad boys.  SMH.  I will spare you all of the HEARTBREAKING photo of him cheating on me though. :) Just for fun I emailed the radio station with the email title being “Mile of Meat Cheater”.  This is what I wrote:

“Apparently after I left #25 decided to cheat on me! You would think it would be true love since we won our couples game (beer head), but I guess not.  Hmmmm, someone needs to call him out on the radio.  Maybe you should have both of us on the line at the same time. :)  I'm just kidding, he was really sweet but way too young for me, I am glad he found someone else.

Thank you for hosting the event, I had tons of fun.”

Rod and the gang all made a big deal of it and only read the part on air about  me being upset that he made out with another girl. Oh drama, where would this world be without you?  I couldn’t listen while at work, but I kept getting calls/texts/emails about how we were mentioned on the air several times about it.  Another girl called in and said that I had given him permission (which is true) to talk to whoever. LOL.  Hopefully people realized that I was totally kidding when I sent the email in.  Taylor and I are now friends on FB and he messaged me about it saying he was cracking up in his car and that he knew I was kidding. 

So ladies, Taylor is still a super cute single 24 year old Stud Muffin that is just waiting to be snatched up.  I got the hook up on how to contact him so if you are interested let me know.  :)

I got my hair did

(Side note:  I know the correct grammar is "I had my hair done"...but the other way makes for a more fun title!)

On Saturday I went to get my hair done in Baytown at a salon I haven't been to in years!  When I first graduated I lived on the east side of Houston and worked in Baytown.  I found a salon that I loved and a hairstylist that I loved too.  I usually do not have a hair person that I go to constantly, but Melody is such an awesome person and great at doing hair.  Melody and I have been friends on FB for awhile now and she had an opening for Saturday afternoon that I snatched up quick!

I had been wanting to do something different to my hair for awhile now and I felt my hair was just really flat.  Time to make a change!  I knew I didn't want to go back to blonde but wasn't sure exactly what to tell them that I wanted.  Luckily, Melody is a pro at doing color and suggested that I do low lights in a deep brown color.  I didn't want big streaks to where you can really tell I color my hair, I just didn't want it to be flat and mousey brown anymore.

I sat around and talked to Melody catching up on what's been going on with her.  Then it was time for my color and cut (more layers).  You can sort of tell from this photo where the low lights are, but not really.  Don't you just love how people at salons fix you hair so pretty, but then when you try to recreate it when you get it you can't?  Grr!  I wish I was good at doing my hair.

Then on Saturday I went out for a night on the town with some friends at a restaurant called the Union Kitchen to hear a band play.  Super fun!  Can you tell it's a bit darker?  Well, people at work have been noticing so maybe it's more drastic than I thought.

That was pretty much my weekend!  I lost my debit card on Saturday night (boo) and had a relay team meeting for my race in March.  Otherwise it was an uneventful weekend.

What did you do?!

Visiting Jeremiah

My nephew Jeremiah had surgery on Tuesday at Texas Children’s Hospital to remove his G-Button from his stomach.  I couldn’t go on Tuesday night so I went last night to visit them. Two years ago Jeremiah was born with his esophagus not attached to his stomach; he has had several surgeries since that time.  If he is able to eat solid food today and everything is in working order, he will be able to go home today.  Fingers crossed!

I am not a technical person, my sister Bridgette would be the person who would explain all the tell you all that, but I know his G-Button was how he ate food.  He could eat regular food but sometimes he vomits it back up.  Like I said, not technical person! 

Anyway, he has his G-Button removed and I went up to Texas Children’s to visit him after work.  Bridgette and I ate Chiptole (yum!) while the baby played.  After dinner the radio station in the hospital, Radio Lollipop, came in gave us a craft to do.  Apparently each night volunteers come down to each floor and hand out a craft for the kids to do, but since Jeremiah is so young, we did the craft for him.  You can get in the drawing each night if you complete the craft (Bridgette texted me later and said that they won!).

The snake before….

The snake after….isn’t it awesome!

When I left for the night I went up the 16^th floor to see what this Radio Lollipop was all about.  Radio Lollipop plays pop songs all the time and you can call in and request a song to be played.  If you are a superstar (or anyone) you can actually be a guest on the program! :)  When I walked in there were tons of kids in the studio hanging out and in the other room there were more crafts for the kids to do.  It was awesome!  I didn’t  take a tour of the studio, but maybe next time I will.  My old church usually provides dinner in April at Ronald McDonald so when we volunteer again I will go take pictures.