tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16624359233023975922024-03-12T04:10:27.476-05:00Flamingos and FunStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.comBlogger512125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-3242750102586087332017-11-20T16:24:00.000-06:002017-11-20T16:24:01.736-06:00Retirement PartyOn Saturday we celebrated my dad's retirement after 31 years of working on law enforcement. I was about 9 when my parents got married and Keith was already a police officer in the narcotics sector (we even had two trained black labs that were our dogs) and worked his way up through the years to be on a special task force. <br />
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(Side note: When I talk about my parents, it is my mom and Keith. I talk about my <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/2017/08/one-life.html" target="_blank">real dad</a> separately).<br />
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Anyway, Keith retired at the end of September and had a party at his office but he wanted to invite more people who he had known since he began working. My mom decided on a fall theme (that will double as Thanksgiving decor) with a table full of cop stuff to showcase some of his career. <br />
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We made an "Evidence" wall with pictures from his career. I don't want to show actual pictures of it because of privacy, but it was super cute. We got a huge foam board from Home Depot (like in the insulation section) and cut it to the size of the hutch that is right inside the door when you come in. I printed out an "evidence" clipart image and added it to the top of the board. We also used those brass type push pins for a real evidence wall effect. I wanted to add string to/from a few pictures, but they said it looked too junky. I also printed out some fake headlines that you can customize like CNN or newspapers with Keith's picture.<br />
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My sisters friend has a bakery where our family gets all of our cakes (she made <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/2012/07/rockin-out-80s.html" target="_blank">my 30th birthday cake</a> that was 80's themed), called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Lollydoozers-130414816979933/" target="_blank">Lollydoozer's Bakery</a>. <br />
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My sisters other friend makes THE BEST cookies ever as party favors I would love to have this skill!! Anyway, there were 11 different designs and they were all so cute. There was a police man, gun, police car, bullet proof vest, crime scene tape, handcuffs, police hat, a badge, etc.<br />
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My mom got some stickers to put on the bottom of some Hershey Kisses and my sister heat pressed a few designs on some bags.<br />
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We had a ton of food!! My mom also made other food that isn't pictured and we have been eating all of it for days!!<br />
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And put up a tent in the back yard for people to sit at plus lit the firepit in the backyard that people sat around since that was the night the cold front came in.<br />
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We set up the mixed drinks in the office and the beer/wine in the backyard with bartenders. I got to meet a lot of my parents friends that I have heard about, but never actually met. It was a fun party!!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-61100417464560757202017-11-15T16:21:00.001-06:002017-11-15T16:48:00.480-06:00Edible Plants Class<div class="MsoNormal">
On Saturday, I took an edible plants class in Montgomery, TX
at <a href="http://deerlakelodge.com/" target="_blank">Deer Lake Lodge and Spa</a> with <a href="http://www.foragingtexas.com/" target="_blank">Foraging Texas</a>. First, I had no idea that there was a fancy
spa in Montgomery. It was a beautiful
location with lots of nice buildings to relax in. (Deer Lake, if you see this, please consider bringing me to the spa and I will feature you on my blog as part of my bucket list)<br />
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I have wanted to take an edible plants class because one day there might be zombies walking around and we can't get food. I will be able to live off the land but y'all will be sad. :) <o:p></o:p></div>
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The class was from 9AM to 1PM so there was a bit of a chill
in the air at the beginning. We started
in a building close to the pool and learned the basics of foraging. He also showed us several books that he
recommends if we want to get serious about foraging. I have his book, the
Idiot’s Guide to Foraging but haven’t gotten a chance to read it as much as I
wanted to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the one I want next!</td></tr>
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Mark taught us four rules of foraging:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<ul>
<li>Respect the law-Did you know it is illegal to take anything
out of local or state parks? There is a
fine of $500 EACH ITEM you take. So say
you took pecans from a state park, if you get caught you can be fined for each
pecan, and that could be hundreds!</li>
<li>Respect the land-leave it better than you find it. If you dig a hole, make sure to fill it
before you leave. Take any trash too.</li>
<li>Respect the plant-Bring sharp tools to remove the section of
plant. If you cut a small section, the
plant heals faster than if you tear it going all the way down. There is lots of fungi just waiting to get
into the plants and if there is a big tear, the plant can’t heal as quickly and
is more susceptible to disease.</li>
<li>Respect yourself-Make sure you verify the plant is edible
before you eat something. Look for 5
things that match up to be sure you have identified it correctly. On mushrooms,
be sure to identify about 8-10 things to be sure.</li>
</ul>
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We started with the plants along the pathways near the pool
and then worked our way to the woods. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At one point, my A.D.D. got the better of me and I walked
away from the group to look at the pond.
I saw some fish while I was close to the pond, but then walked
back. A few minutes later, I went back
and noticed a white rock close to the edge. After inspecting it a little closer,
it turns out it was an alligator!!! Oh
my. I ran back to the group and
suggested we move. Everyone was
apparently fascinated though and went to take a look. We think the alligator was either being super
still or in a mini hibernation since it was not fully covered with mud and
muck.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<ul>
<li>We learned that the Crepe Myrtles are like cinnamon in
controlling blood sugar levels.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Turks Cap leaves can be cooked and they taste like spinach.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Reishi Mushrooms are the best medicinal mushroom and 2 commercial
cancer medications use reishi mushrooms in the ingredients. </li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Pine tree leaves (which are everywhere here!) have a ton of
Vitamin C and pound for pound they have as much as lemons and oranges. Vitamin C is essential for the body but the
body doesn’t hold on to it so you need a source every day.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMi2Ssm9lGkPUKoVHMksAIkiB34pJ18_OodWndey0gu_2kgshcX08DFyNcVgdcAPyLm_JVq_YU9szOGoZ2TXmvyio5ZwTzFgM12bZN-6kGi8P6QXUo8BKBF7Tke5fRQXAyKT2PY04rZAc/s1600/IMG_20171111_111142395-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMi2Ssm9lGkPUKoVHMksAIkiB34pJ18_OodWndey0gu_2kgshcX08DFyNcVgdcAPyLm_JVq_YU9szOGoZ2TXmvyio5ZwTzFgM12bZN-6kGi8P6QXUo8BKBF7Tke5fRQXAyKT2PY04rZAc/s320/IMG_20171111_111142395-L.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<ul>
<li>Magnolia tree leaves are made into a tea in China that has cancer
fighting properties. The tea tastes
similar to ginseng.</li>
</ul>
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He also talked about Lions Mane Mushroom and Hericium Mushrooms that taste like lobster and help with dementia. We didn’t see that mushroom, he only told us
about it along with a semi-local mushroom farm called Indian Creek Mushroom
Farm.</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-16258774140491350052017-11-09T15:00:00.000-06:002017-11-09T15:00:02.858-06:00NumbersI was browsing Reddit the other day and found a link to <a href="https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/12/the-tail-end.html" target="_blank">this article</a>, from Wait but Why. It talked about how long you have left to live (average person) vs. what you can do in that time based on what you do on average.<br />
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Say that the average death year is 80 years old (I'm too lazy to google the actual number) and you are 35 right now. How many times do you have to do your favorite things?<br />
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This can be sort of a morbid way to look at things or it can motivate you to DO MORE with your life. We aren't guaranteed to make it to 80, so this list can be even shorter! What if I'm 40 or 50 or 60 or somewhere in between when I go? This list would be cut drastically. <br />
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For example, my favorite place in the entire world is Garner State Park. I love the trees, the river, the hills, everything. I go on average about every other year. So, in theory I only have 22.5 more times to go. And that is only if I live until that long or don't more too far away to drive up there all the time.<br />
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I do an average of 12 <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/p/bucket-list.html" target="_blank">bucket list</a> items a year. (Sometimes more, but I shoot for at least 12) That means I only have time to do <b>540 more</b> if I do an average of 12 a year. So, I can either pick 540 to do or get busy and do MORE!!! I'm going to choose to get busy. I have one this weekend and I <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/2017/11/shiner-beer-tour-in-shiner-tx.html" target="_blank">did one</a> on Monday! If for some reason I can't hike the Grand Canyon or Machu Picchu one day, I need to prioritize to do that when my knees don't hurt. Or if it is to go to a certain event or meet a certain celebrity, I need to make sure I do that early on because it could be an instance like meeting Richard Simmons. I am so glad <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/2013/10/sweatin-with-richard-simmons.html" target="_blank">I did that </a>before he closed his studio and retired.<br />
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My goal is to travel to one new city and one new country each year. I didn't go to a new country this year, but I did go to a few new cities, including <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/2017/07/washington-dc-day-2.html" target="_blank">Washington DC</a>. So, if I continue this way I can only see <b>45 more of each</b> OR try and double up on my trips. So, out of all the cities in the USA and all the countries in the World, I only get to go to 45 more. My personal rule is that if I'm paying for it, I am only going to new places. My family goes to Honduras a lot, but I have been there so many times. Don't get me wrong, it's paradise and I love it, but if I have limited time and money, it makes more sense for me to go to new places. <br />
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There is a spot in Nacogdoches that as soon as I get there, my body feels "home". Literally every time I pass it my heart says "I'm home". It is such a great feeling. I don't get to Nac as often as I used to now that I don't know too many people there. I still go back often for <a href="http://www.drivingjacks.org/" target="_blank">Driving Jacks</a> events, but not for <a href="http://www.sfasu.edu/" target="_blank">SFA</a> events. I need to make that more of a priority. So if I go back once every other year (not including Driving Jacks events), I have <b>22.5</b> more times to be "home". Dude, I got tears when I saw that number.<br />
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I read about a book a year, but I honestly want to change that. Maybe one of my 2017 resolutions will read 1 book a year, but I will be conservative and say 6 books a year (one every other month). That is<b> 270</b> books that I can read. Since I love books (even though I haven't read as many as I could) I need to make a list of the top books I want to read instead of just reading some to read some. <br />
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You know, sometimes God grants you things in your heart, sometimes he gives you even more blessings than you can imagine. I always thought I would be a mom, but now I have decided to stop focusing on the things I can't change and become the World's Best Aunt. Yep, I am going to spend the rest of my life striving for that trophy because I am a pretty cool aunt. :) I may or may not be a mom one day, but I have honestly stopped desiring to be one. If it happens, it happens but I know that I'm running short on time. So I have <b>45</b> more years to get that trophy. I am going to spend time on the floor playing dolls, hang out in the woods and watch my nephew play in the mud, and be with my nephew while he plays video games (still can't play because I get motion sick). I want to do things that they want to do, even if I don't feel like it because I won't always be able to do that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dad-Keith, sister-Tori, nephew-Cole, niece-Kali. My other nephew, Hunter, is not pictured. This picture is from their school's fall festival day.</td></tr>
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There have been 9 US Presidential elections since I have been on this planet and I only have 10 left. <b>10 </b>more times to vote for the future of this Nation! (My math could be wrong on this, FYI. LOL).<br />
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WHAT ABOUT YOU?! WHAT ARE SOME THINGS ON YOUR LIST THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU DO??<br />
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-12096665125095019952017-11-08T14:21:00.001-06:002017-11-08T14:21:49.438-06:00Shiner Beer Tour in Shiner, TX Years ago, when I was running the <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/2013/03/tir-relay-recap.html" target="_blank">Texas Independence Relay</a> a few years ago, we passed by the Shiner Brewery in Shiner, TX. I had heard they had a race that they sponsor (5K and Half Marathon) but I just wanted to take a tour of the facility. I had some time off this week so I went to the tour on Monday.<div>
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Shiner, TX is about 2 hours from Houston and the drive was pretty much straight down I-10 until you get to one spot where you turn left. The tour starts and ends in the gift shop on the property where you can buy all sorts of fun Shiner merchandise. </div>
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The tour is free and they give you 4 free drink tokens. They have several varieties of beer you can choose from and even have strawberry lemonade for those who don't drink. The first round I chose a cream beer and the next time I had the lemonade. I gave my one token to someone since I wasn't going to use it and also kept one to make an ornament out of for my Christmas tree.</div>
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We went on a tour the factory and it was so interesting! I believe they said they make 500,000 bottles in ONE DAY!! Crazy. The factory is 24 hours M-F and everyone is off on the weekends. The tour guide said it was a great company to work for and they had hardly any turnover because people like it so much. </div>
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They showed us some cool souvenirs and memorabilia that they have received. This chair was carved from a single tree and given to them as a gift.</div>
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In one section they were working on the "Holiday Cheer" blend. They get orders 1 month in advance and rotate what blends they bottle depending on demand. The tour guide said that sometimes they do a different blend during the day and evening.</div>
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It was a really cool tour and I'm glad I was able to go! I would highly recommend the tour, even if it's just to get your drink on. :)</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-47997731401617509862017-10-19T10:30:00.000-05:002017-10-19T10:30:06.028-05:00Amber's Wedding This weekend was an eventful weekend in Dallas! True story, I hardly took any pictures of this wedding. It's hard when you are wearing a dress and don't have your purse.<br />
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I drove up on Friday afternoon and met everyone (bridal party) at a local restaurant for dinner. We got our bouquets and a cute bridesmaid makeup bag filled with goodies.<br />
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The guys went out for the bachelor party, but we all just went home. I suggested a sleepover, but Amber was too tired and had a lot of wedding stuff to do. Funny story: After she turned down our pre-wedding bridesmaid sleepover, she said "maybe tomorrow night" but we all (including David, the groom) looked at her like she was crazy because that would be her wedding night. She was like "oh yeah". Really? LOL.<br />
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The next morning we were up bright and early. Clarissa was in charge of making the cake and I was to help decorations at the park. Let me back up: So Amber's dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer so they moved the wedding up from December to October (there may be a 2nd wedding that is bigger in December) so her dad could walk her down the aisle. At the time she told us, she wasn't sure where she wanted the wedding to be so I started looking at local parks to suggest because her mind was elsewhere. I found <a href="http://www.dallasparks.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/SamuellEast-Farm-648" target="_blank">Samuell Farm</a> in Forney, TX that is about 10 minutes from her dad's house and it would be an easy drive for him. Amber loved the idea because she used to go there as a kid all the time.<br />
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I got to the park about 8:30 AM and we hunted for the perfect location for the ceremony. She had three locations in mind and she narrowed it down to one under a beautiful tree. The only problem was that she wanted lights wrapped around the tree but there was no power source. We located a power source but it was faaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr from the tree. Long story short, we spent 4 hours wrapping the tree and more time hunting for extension cords to light up the tree. But it was zero hour and we still could not find enough power cords and were about 50 feet short. No lights. Sigh. I mean, I got ant bites from that friggin' tree everywhere for nothing! The picture above was just of the lights but we also added tulle around them so it was a softer look. No pictures though, darn it.<br />
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The wedding turned out awesome, the bride was beautiful and the groom was handsome in his military uniform. The ceremony was short and sweet so we headed to a local mexican restaurant for dinner.<br />
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Clarissa made the cake and the rest of the bridesmaids helped add the flowers. Amber really liked a cake that was similar to this one so Clarissa made it with flowers we could find locally..<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-88330731565288445762017-10-18T10:51:00.000-05:002017-10-18T10:51:00.861-05:00MK Museum TourOn my final day in Dallas I decided to go to the Mary Kay Museum inside the headquarters. I had tried to go when I was in Dallas last time and a few other times before that, but it just never happened or they were closed. This time=Success!<br />
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The museum is open during regular business hours and I heard there was a cafeteria you could eat at, so I decided go right before lunch. You walk in from the visitors parking and you see this graphic on the wall. What a great thing to see first hand!<br />
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The museum is on the first floor and you walk in to a beautiful portrait of Mary Kay and her son, Richard Rogers. <br />
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There are all types of articles in frames, old products on display, even pictures of when records were broken. There is a National Sales Director (highest level) gallery with all of their portraits. Outside there is a "Wall of Leaders" with each sales directors name on a brick that creates a wall. I didn't go out there but I got the general idea from the door. ;)<br />
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I went to lunch in the cafeteria and said bye to two ladies that I had met while in the museum. They said that they were going on a tour of Mary Kay's office and I so wanted to go too. The security guard said I could come along if I wanted to off we went!! <br />
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Mary Kay's office was/is on the 13th floor, her lucky/favorite number. She died in 2001 and they left it exactly like it was when she was last in there. I may or may not have opened a desk drawer and peeked in side. OK, so I did (with permission)! Inside the drawers were her actual things like files, notes from consultants, nick names, etc. In the curio cabinets are tons of porcelain items. The tour guide pointed out that Mary Kay thought one of them was too pale, so she added makeup too it. I didn't get a picture of that though. Next time. :)<br />
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I got to hold her feather pen too!</div>
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She had a round couch and a two way desk so she was always equal to that person, not above them. She wanted everyone to feel included at all times. The chandelier is so pretty in person and the bird was a gift from her husband, Mel Ash.<br />
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They even let us peak in her bathroom. Her old cosmetics were just sitting on the vanity, waiting to be used. They were formulas and bottles from way back before 2001 and the tour guide said they were her actual ones. Pretty cool.<br />
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She left no detail out. Even her bathroom wallpaper had little bees and MK's on it. Sorry for the bad picture! You know you're super fancy when you have custom wallpaper.<br />
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I had to get one last selfie before I left. I'm so glad that I was able to tour the museum and her office.I didn't feel rushed at all and could truly take in all that I was seeing without anyone keeping time. Just seeing all the old memorabilia, I could get a feel of the impact she had on many generations.</div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-79597601601038868182017-10-17T10:14:00.000-05:002017-10-17T10:14:40.510-05:00Texas State FairSince I was already in Dallas for the weekend, I wanted to go to the Texas State Fair! It's a bucket list item of mind and each year I miss it. Clarissa offered to go with me and her boyfriend Michael was also supposed to go, but he had to back out at the last minute.<div>
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We took the train down to the fair and were able to get in immediately since we bought tickets online. We got a package for two tickets plus 100 ride/food coupons but still ended up buying an additional 40 tickets. </div>
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They had this cool map that you could add a dot to show where you were from. Look at all those dots!</div>
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After the shooting in Vegas, I was hesitant to go in a big crowd again, but there was a ton of security presence at the fair. Even on the rooftops!</div>
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We were hungry when we got there and decided to try different things but split them so we could each try more. I got a shrimp on a stick for 14 tickets that was NOT worth it. It was three tiny shrimp covered in a sauce (the sauce was good) but not worth the equivalent of $7. Clarissa got fried waffle covered strawberries that were delicious! It was a strawberry covered in chocolate, dipped in waffle batter and then fried. YUM!</div>
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Next we walked around and I entered a few contests that I hope I win. LOL. Someone's has to win, why can't it be me?!?! We tried Maple Bacon Margaritas that were basically a regular margaritas with bacon bits on top. So far I wasn't too impressed by the eatin' at this fair. </div>
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I even saw Big Tex!</div>
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We went shopping next and then ate some more. I mean, come on, you have to eat at a fair! Our last and final food was a Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burger and Fried Deviled Eggs. Those two were awesome! The deviled eggs fell apart but were still delicious!! They were more of a chicken fried steak type of batter, rather than a funnel cake type batter. The burger was a perfect blend of sweet and salty. Props to <a href="https://bigtex.com/food/newfoods/" target="_blank">the creators </a>of those items.</div>
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We walked around some more and I was honestly looking for one of those throw a ping pong ball into a jar to win a gold fish game, but apparently those aren't a thing anymore. So I had to ride at least one ride so I slide down the giant slide. It was faaaaaar up and I got kind of scared of heights. It was fun though.</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-43069739839797001222017-10-04T16:00:00.000-05:002017-10-04T16:00:01.194-05:00Vegas, Part 2Saturday was like a 10 AM wakeup. We were all exhausted from the night before and we didn't need to be anywhere until 3 PM. Some of us went to get Starbucks and pizza, others stayed sleeping. We are old ladies, people!<br />
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At 2:30 we left to walk to Planet Hollywood for our Stripper 101 class. This class was AWESOME! I loved it. We learned how to do a strip tease/lap dance plus we worked the pole. So fun. Our instructor was an ex-stripper in LA and Vegas and she showed us some moves and even taught us how to hustle for more $$. We were clearly there as a joke class, but she made it interesting and gave us useful tips to do for our man. :) At the end of the class she showed us some upside down acrobatic pole tricks that had us all in shock at how good she was! I didn't realize how athletic strippers need to be.<br />
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We could all take pictures at the end, just not during class for privacy of everyone.<br />
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We even each got our own Stripper license. :) My stage name is Ruby, by the way. We could choose whatever stage name we wanted and if we needed help, there was a list to choose from.<br />
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After the class we went back to the hotel to change for dinner, zip-lining and Chippendale's. Saturday was a packed day! We got dressed (we wore the shirts my sister made) and I even wore false eyelashes for the first time ever!!!!! I really look like my mom in this picture.<br />
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We decided to go to Downtown Vegas' Container Park area for dinner. Container Park is an area that is made up entirely of shipping containers as the buildings. It has restaurants and shops that you can visit and even has a huge playground for the kiddos. We all went down the slides at the park after dinner. It is only about a 3-5 minute walk from Container Park to the entrance to Downtown Vegas' Freemont Street.<br />
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The zipline we did was called, Slotzilla. You can go during the day or the evening, but we chose the evening to zip past all the lights that are blinking everywhere! We got our ziplining wristbands and went up the steps at our designated time. We got fitted for harnesses and walked a zillion stairs to the platform. There was a huge crowd there and it turns out it was for a Chevelle concert. I didn't know who they were, but apparently they were a big deal.<br />
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They hooked us up to the wire and had us walk down some stairs and sit back into the harness. They said, "Have fun" and let us go. We made it to the concert and the crowd cheered for us as we zipped by. So cool. Only 6 of us (out of 7) did the zipline, the 7th person took pictures (she's afraid of heights).<br />
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After ziplining we had to book it to the Rio for the Chippendale's performance. We made it on time and were seated in the back (the balcony-which isn't really a balcony, it's just the back row). We had free tickets so we couldn't really complain where we were seated. The seats were still good and we could see everything. I think we were loud enough and clapping a lot so we got moved up to the front of the room to some vacant seats!!!<br />
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Amber got to go onstage (not saying what she did *wink) and we all cheered for her.<br />
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I love Chippendale's because it was more of a show vs just strippers. I mean, I feel so dirty holding dollar bills making them work for it. Having tickets and dance routines classed it up a little bit.<br />
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At the end they told us to take a selfie and post it with #Chippendales and one of us would be chosen as the winner. Can anyone guess who was the winner....ME!!!!! I won a poster, a blinky light up necklace thing, a compact (I think, I haven't opened it yet), and lanyard. I gave the poster back to the gift shop because, honestly, what am I going to do with a Chippendale's poster? Calendar, maybe, but not a poster. Sorry guys.<br />
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We wanted to take the shuttle to the Flamingo from the Rio but the shuttle driver was rude so we took a Lyft. They had given us a $10 play match (play $10 and get $10) so three of us played my $10 and agreed to split whatever we won. Clarissa suggested we play the $20 on "ODD" since there were an odd number of us. We doubled our $$ so we came out with $40. I took my original $10 back, we used $10 for the Lyft ride, and we split the other $20. Easy $30!!<br />
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Ever since seeing that movie, Big, I wanted to get my fortune out of one of those Zoltar "fortune telling" machines. We saw one at The Rio on the same floor as Chippendale's and three of us got our "fortune". Mine was all about travel. Hmm. I love travel!!<br />
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After the show we went back and did some other "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" stuff. Sunday was spent cleaning up all the crepe paper, popping balloons, and eating the last of the jell-o shots.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Sunday</u></b></span><br />
Four of them left at 9:30 AM and three of us stayed behind until our flights. I was the only one that was leaving that evening, the other two girls were staying an additional night. I just walked the strip and hung out the next day until my flight time. Before I left the Flamingo, I put $10 in a slot machine and I lost money down to $4 but I did it one more time and won $17 something. I tried one more time and lost down to $16.05 and then cashed out. I figured $6 in winnings was better than none. I knew I wanted to play Roulette so I found a table and played a few times. I won all the way up to $27 and used that money to have lunch at the Flamingo Hotel buffet (not worth it).<br />
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My flight left at 7:55 PM and I got home right as the shootings (or just after) were happening. That is the closest I have ever been (or ever hope to be) to a terrorist event. The other girls in our group that stayed behind were in the hotel before the shootings happened and had no idea anything was happening until the next morning when they woke up to our texts.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-88847738029767063882017-10-03T15:35:00.000-05:002017-10-05T08:13:34.517-05:00Vegas, Baby!First, I want to say that I am so sad about the events that happened in Vegas this weekend. It is so sad that there are sickos in the world that hurt innocent people based on their own head issues. I am trying really not let this be the bad experience to my trip, but it made the trip end on a sad note. I received lots of calls and texts from friends and family that knew I was there this weekend and who wanted to make sure I was OK. I flew out at 8 PM, Vegas time, and the events didn't happen til 10:00ish. There were two women in our group (out of 7) who stayed that night and we couldn't get a hold of them, but luckily they were just sleeping and had no idea what had happened.<br />
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This is as close to a national tragedy that I have ever been, or ever hope to be. I can't keep from watching all the news broadcasts and internet stories because I was almost in the general area. I know if I would have stayed another night there (like two girls from our group did), I would have made my way to the Mirage Casino to watch the volcano explode, then head to the Bellagio to watch the fountains and go further down the strip towards that direction. I know this because I was thinking that on Sunday afternoon when I was getting ready to leave the strip to head to the airport. It was, "If my plane wasn't leaving until late I would..." sort of thoughts and I know I would have been in the general area, not necessarily at the concert though. I don't know, but this has really gotten into my brain and makes me not want to go anywhere in large crowds or take my niece/nephews there either. I know that is letting the enemy win, but I can't help it.<br />
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On Friday I woke up bright and early to get dressed and head to the Hobby Airport for my Southwest Airlines flight (I love Southwest!). I made it to Vegas about 9:30 AM and met Clarissa in baggage claim. We couldn't check in until 1 PM so we dropped off our bag, ate a nice Brunch at Hexx and walked the Strip.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was basically Clarissa to get us free Chippendale's tickets. LMAO.</td></tr>
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We checked in and were walking to the elevators and a guy at a desk stopped us what we were there for and we told him a bachelorette party. He asked if we wanted free show tickets and my mind instantly flew to timeshares. Yep, it was a timeshare presentation but there were free Chippendale's tickets on the line...we quickly signed up! Haha. Actually Clarissa is the only one who went because we were running out of time and had to get the room decorated. She didn't want to go by herself but since it was a 2 hour presentation, we didn't have time for us both to go. I just told her what the standard procedure was and how to say no. If you can stay strong and keep repeating the no, you will get your "reward" of whatever you choose. It turns out the presentation lasted about 3 hours and she got there about 30 minutes before everyone else did. If you ask Clarissa, she will tell you that three hours was worth it!<br />
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Meanwhile, I decorated the room with all the crafts that we made. I waited to do the streamers because Clarissa wanted to help decorate too. I blew up balloons, set out the shirts and the rest of hte crafts for each person in their own pile. It turned out super cute!!<br />
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Amber had her own little chair for her stuff.<br />
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I made a door sign for both doors and throughout the weekend you could hear people talking about our sign and our bachelorette party. One day we were all in the hallway when another group came by and said, "Hey it's Amber's bachelorette party crew. Which one of you is Amber?" haha. I'm glad the whole floor new us. :)<br />
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That night one of the girls in our group was able to get us free club entrance with a table and bottle service. Now, I had NO IDEA how expensive that was but let me tell you, WOW! To get it in was about $50-$100 each person and the table itself was $5,000. Yes, you read the number of zeros correctly. The club was a beautiful spot on the rooftop of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Casino. You had to go up stairs through a big room and up an elevator to get to the nightclub. It was so pretty being that high up and seeing all the Strip lights.<br />
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The table came with a free bottle of Vodka + mixers so we all had a few drinks. We inquired how much another bottle was, but it turns out bottle service is VERY pricey. I'm talking about $495 for a bottle of Tito's Vodka. I couldn't believe it and wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen the menu. Here's a pic if you don't believe me. WTF?!?!?!?!<br />
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We danced for a while and then left to go back to the hotel to change shoes. Some people went back out and others (like me!) fell asleep. I figured I made my appearance (and even danced) at a club so I did my bachelorette party duties.<br />
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Part Two is coming up including all of the Saturday festivities! Saturday was SO FUN!!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-71239879440840868142017-09-27T11:35:00.000-05:002017-09-27T11:35:02.975-05:00Four Friends Tea Room PearlandI went to lunch with my friend Tracey a few weeks ago and we went to the cutest tea room in Pearland, <a href="http://www.fourfriendstearoom.com/" target="_blank">Four Friends Tea Room.</a> The menu selection was excellent and I have been wanting to go back there every since!<div>
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Tracy is actually hosting her daughters baby shower there and I thought that is a perfect location!</div>
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The restaurant is in what looks like an old home and converted into a restaurant. You walk in and there is a little waiting area and also a small gift shop to purchase gifts or your favorite teas.</div>
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There is even a doll high chair and doll outfits! Too cute.</div>
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I had the sampler platter that included sandwiches,pasta salad and the most amazing bread pudding EVER!! OMG, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I don't like hot drinks in general so I just got some iced tea that was delicious. </div>
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Seriously, go there if you can! The hours are on the website and I would for sure recommend going. Try and get there early because it gets pretty busy and the parking lot (which is super small) fills up quickly.</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-68802339496884083212017-09-26T11:06:00.000-05:002017-09-26T11:06:28.289-05:00Bachelorette Weekend CraftsGuess where I'm going this weekend?!?!?!?! VEGAS, BABY!! So my friend from college, Amber, asked me to be a bridesmaid for her December wedding. When I went to her engagment party in February, we discussed going to Vegas for the party but that seemed SO FAR away. Well, the time has come and I'm heading out on Friday morning. Whoo hooo.<br />
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We made shirts, a pink cup, and a bachelorette sash for Amber to wear. Even though what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, I will at least post pics of everyone using these fun items! :)<br />
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Also, these items ARE available for purchase if you want us (me and my sis) to make one for you or someone you know. We don't have an Etsy store (yet), but we can at least accept PayPal.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Sash</span></u></b><br />
Have you ever seen the fugly bachelorette party sashes at the party store? They are all of fringe and scratchy fabric! I looked on Etsy but they are are all $20+ (for the cute ones), so we just decided to make them ourselves. I bought ribbon from Hobby Lobby for $3.99 and used my sisters Silhouette to make the "Bride to Be" and diamond cutouts. Easy peasy. We chose white lace ribbon so that she can also wear it at her bridal shower. Also, there weren't too many options of lace ribbon that are wide enough to be used for a sash, at Hobby Lobby that is. If I had had more time to order the lace ribbon online, I'm sure I could have found other colors.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The letters look red, but they are actually hot pink and glitter. </td></tr>
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I didn't want to lug my sewing machine out just to stitch three inches of fabric, so I just got a big safety pin and added these cute rhinestone letters to it that I also found at Hobby Lobby. I pushed the safety pin in, added a letter, re-pushed the safety pin and added the other two letters so they would be two separate words. Simple!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>The Shirts</u></b></span><br />
We voted on some shirts that we liked via ideas on Pinterest and other sources and chose "I got the Hubby" for Amber and "We got the bubbly" for everyone else. The shirts online didn't use glitter vinyl, but, it's Vegas, so we had to go all out with the glitter.<br />
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My sister designed the shirts and did awesome on them! I love the cursive font that she used. Super cute. Laura has a really good eye for design and I'm so glad she is able to help me so I can make cute things on a budget.<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Cups</span></b></u><br />
The cups were just a fun extra that we made for everyone. I found these cute pink cups at the Dollar Tree that were there for pink cancer awareness. They had the toughest sticker on them that I had to use goo gone to actually get it off the cup.<br />
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I had originally wanted everyone's monogram, but honestly monograms are a pain in the rear to make! I made an executive decision to just have the first initial instead. There are two "S" people in the group so I just made two different "S" font shapes and the other S can choose which one she wants. I like both so it doesn't matter to me which cup I get.<br />
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I liked the pink but didn't want the cup just to be used for the weekend, I wanted it to be used all the time, so I made it with floral paper. I added the leftover lace fabric for an extra touch, even though that won't stay on all weekend. The cups aren't super fancy cups (since they came from the Dollar store), but I figured they are a cute touch that we can use to pre-game before we go out on the town.<br />
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I know that we will be short on time so I tried to get everything done before we go! Clarissa and I get there at 10 AM on Friday and everyone else gets there between 5-9 PM. We can't get into the hotel rooms until 1 PM, so we only have a few hours to get everything decorated before she gets there.<br />
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Another craft that we will have to see if it works: HOTEL ROOM JELL-O SHOTS. haha. I will let you know if that works out. :)Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-15141233253117010192017-09-05T16:24:00.001-05:002017-09-05T16:24:23.271-05:00The Great Flood by HarveyYou might have heard that we had a little storm here called, Hurricane Harvey. We dodged the actual hurricane winds, but we got the rain from it. In fact, we got 6 months of rain in 4 days. The Bayou City (Houston's nickname) was flooded.<br />
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Houston is designed to flood because we aren't too far above sea level. We have a series of bayous and canals to help drain water, but when you get that much rain (some areas 50+ inches) in so little time, we are destined to flood.<br />
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My friend said that everyone should just move from there since we are prone to flooding, but I disagree. In any area of the country you are destined to have some sort of weather or natural disaster. Earthquakes, hurricanes, blizzards, sand storms, hail, tornadoes, volcanoes, tsunamis, etc plaque the Earth in all areas. Each region does what it can to minimize the damage of Mother Nature in its area. This was a once in 800 years flood, should someone not live here because it floods this bad (percentage wise) in 800 years?<br />
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Now, part of Houston's problem is that we are growing so quickly and we are taking out trees to add concrete in its place. The buildings and new developments are supposed to add retention ponds/drainage but it has not been enough. Couple that with 50+ inches of rain in all areas of the city, you will get a lot of damage. <br />
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So, now that I explained my wonderful city (I really do love my hometown), let me tell you my experiences during the storm.<br />
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I heard the news reports of the storm but I thought it was going to be over and done with super quickly like the other storms we have had. I don't think anyone was prepared for the amount of devastation we had. If we had not had the wonderful volunteers in their fishing boats come to save people, we would have had a ton more fatalities. <br />
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I headed to work like I normally do on Friday morning and had just got there. I got a call saying that we were closed for the day, so I headed to my parents house to wait out the storm because my area tends to flood a little and I didn't want my car to be in danger. My dad got groceries and we were just watching the news freak out. They really had no clue either though.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We brought the pool things inside so they wouldn't blow away. Naturally we ate donuts with our babies and stuffed animals in it while having a picnic.</td></tr>
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Then it kept raining and kept raining and kept raining. My parents live in the Spring, TX area and we (they) are on the highest part of the subdivision on a "lake" (retention pond) so they weren't in danger. The back of the neighborhood did flood though and it was actually the retention pond that overflowed into the neighborhood. We couldn't get out of the neighborhood because all of the entrances were flooded. Well, I couldn't with my tiny car but my dad could with his truck if we needed to get out. <br />
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Kali and I would take walks in our rain boots and with our umbrellas just to get out of the house. We all were going stir crazy. My dad is a police officer and was required to work 12 hour shifts during an emergency like this. He would give reports as to what was happening and get supplies when we needed them (like wine! haha). His work friend lives in the subdivision that was evacuated because of the levee and she stayed with us from Sunday through Thursday in fear of the levee breaking and she not being able to evacuate safely/quickly with her two animals.<br />
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What I learned this week: 1. <a href="http://www.heb.com/" target="_blank">HEB</a> is an AWESOME company that does great things. I already knew this but now I am even more sure. 2. <a href="http://www.galleryfurniture.com/" target="_blank">Gallery Furniture </a>is very giving and I have found a store where I will forever buy furniture. 3. The USA (or at least Texas) is not as divided and hateful as the media portrays/wants us to be. We came together to save people because they are people, not because of their political party or skin color.<br />
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Eventually we turned off the news because the devastation and desperation was just too much. Imagine being stuck inside your house with your air conditioner, power, warm/dry bed and seeing your fellow Houstonians (and neighbors) going through devastation for four days straight. Seeing little children and animals being rescued off house and car roofs will get to you. And it wasn't just one set of people, it was THOUSANDS that had to be rescued via boat. Imagine seeing a group of elderly women at a nursing home, just sitting in waist deep flood water, waiting on someone to save them-one lady looked like she was knitting. It reminded me of the scene in the Titantic where the people who were trapped below were just riding on exercise bikes waiting for the waters to get there. Awful! Luckily, once the picture was shared, they were rescued very quickly.<br />
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Finally, on Wednesday, I was able to get out of the neighborhood and went to Target. I walked in and the smell of coffee wafted my direction. I bolted to Starbucks and treated myself to a Venti Latte instead of my normal Grande. While ordering I said to the cashier, "this feels so normal but weird at the same time." I was walking around Target for over an hour just doing "normal" things that I do every day. Then just as you focus on towels or bedding, you hear a helicopter flying overhead going to rescue someone. I could push out all the negative thoughts out of my head for a little while and focus on something other than flood water but then something would remind me that things weren't normal. I felt like in the movies when there is aliens around and only certain people know it or when the FBI is doing surveillance (in the movies) and they are pretending to be street sweepers or something, but all the while they have an ear piece in listening. I felt that way in Target like something wasn't right. <br />
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It sounds so trivial, I get it, but it's true. I think some call it survivors guilt. Like, why were we not flooded? What does God want us to do to help since we weren't flooded? We were blessed for sure. A lot of people I know were flooded and at least three of my extended family members got water in their house. This storm did not discriminate against the rich or poor, it hit everyone.<br />
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Houston saved each other. There are only so many First Responders in the area and it was so flooded that the National Guard was having a hard time getting to us. Luckily there are wonderful and brave people in Houston that came to each others rescue with their fishing boats. It would have been a mess with, unfortunately, a lot more casualties if these volunteers wouldn't have stepped up. Houston will have to do something very soon to help lesson this problem in the future. We are growing too quickly and adding too much concrete for the city to sustain itself and not flood again.<br />
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On Joel Osteen-I am not a fan of him, but I will give the guy (and his team) a break on this one. It's hard to set up an emergency shelter at the snap of your fingers. You have to have a plan in place, you can't just have people walking in willy nilly. Some people just want to blame others and hate on Christians. He DID open his doors, maybe just not on "someone" else's timeline. Check yourself, what are YOU doing for the victims of the flood? If we all do the good works (even if they are small) they will add up to big works and help the city. It's not only up to one church to fulfill the burden just because "you" say so.<br />
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That's all for now. I just needed to get my thoughts out. If you made it this far, congrats, this post was long! :) I hope you or anyone you love affected by Harvey. Let's all work together to rebuild.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-74458345937823684652017-09-04T10:00:00.000-05:002017-09-04T10:00:21.145-05:00Garden UpdateSo, I had to kill my garden yesterday. Well, my garden technically was dead but I buried the remainder in a trash can. I don't know if it was the flood, bugs/snails or something else, but it wasn't looking too hot.<br />
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I had been out of town at my parents house during the flood and came back to a mess. My garden looked like it had been eaten by something but then again it hadn't. I don't know.<br />
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The carrot leaves used to stand straight up and be really bushy, but then they started to droop and get brown. I pulled one up and it was mushy. It might have been eaten or it might have just gotten too soggy in all the rain we have gotten but it was gross. I pulled a few more up and they were all the same. Bye, bye, carrots. <br />
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The broccoli was barren of leaves so I pulled it up and it came out of the ground super easy, like the roots weren't alive anymore. Bye, bye broccoli.<br />
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Radishes and beets were long gone but the few remaining ones looked not edible. Bye.<br />
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The green onions were alive and kicking, but they needed to be picked anyway. They were promptly added to salads.<br />
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The tomatoes were originally in pots but they looked sickly and yellow, so in early May I added them to the ground where they died. (Sad face!)<br />
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There was a cucumber plant that magically appeared on the outside of the garden. I'm not sure where it came from because I didn't have any of those seeds. It was probably left over from the year before or something. Back in late June it was eaten by a bug (I don't use pesticides) and died.<br />
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Back in June I added a black netting above the garden to help with the heat, but I guess it didn't work or maybe it worked too well? I do't know. I need to take a gardening class pronto.<br />
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So, that's the story of my 2017 garden. It's sad but this wasn't a successful year for my gardening thumb.<br />
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Tomatoes: 6<br />
Radishes: 36<br />
Carrots: 1<br />
Beets: 2<br />
Green Onions: 10 (all <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=17&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjl_7uz5YvWAhVQ6mMKHfqtAHgQtwIIfTAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJOgN9uLF2ZU&usg=AFQjCNHcwQwywkhPcQLfPzXUsDqoCGdL_Q" target="_blank">regrowth</a> from ones we had already used)<br />
Broccoli: 0<br />
Cucumber: 1Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-38043195377336213242017-08-24T10:43:00.002-05:002017-08-24T10:43:57.248-05:00Spilling Coffee<span style="font-size: large;">I read this on a blog and I wanted to share the story because it is an awesome life lesson that we can all learn from.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Credit: <a href="http://www.jamievtaylor.com/">Jamie Taylor</a> </span><i>from the blog post, "When Life Shakes You".</i><br />
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My mom was always there to lovingly show me that my behavior was a mirror image of what was going on in my heart. It didn’t matter how sweet I was a school or around my friends… my family was there enough to see the ugliness bubble up. I wasn’t very cute when things didn’t go according to my perfectly laid out plans.</div>
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She shared this analogy with me and I’ll never forget it:</div>
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You are holding a cup of coffee and someone comes along and shoves you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee?</div>
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"Well because someone shook me, of course!" While that would be the initial response for most of us, it’s the wrong answer.</div>
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You spilled the coffee because coffee was in the cup. If tea had been in it, you would have spilled tea. Whatever was inside the cup is what will come out.</div>
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Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you, whatever is inside of your heart will come out of you in that moment and show your true colors. It's easy to fake it until you get rattled. And let’s be clear, we will get definitely get shaken.</div>
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So we have to ask ourselves.... what's in my cup? When life gets tough, what spills over? Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility? Or anger, bitterness, harsh words and actions?</div>
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Whatever the heck is in there will come out. Some way or another, life will shake us up bad enough to let that ugliness slosh out of our coffee cups and leave stains all over the perfect image we try to create.</div>
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During these adolescent years I also watched my mom. You see life wasn’t perfect at home. We can dive into that later because that’s another blog post for another day. LOL. All I gotta say is that I watched my mom as things SERIOUSLY didn’t go according to plan. I’m talking life-altering, cry-in-the-closet-so-the-kids-don’t-hear-you, get-on-your-knees-and-pray-every-morning kind of pain. But I've watched her through all the wreckage and I saw what spilled out. Love, gratitude, worship, humility, grace, trust, hope, faith.</div>
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I want that kind of coffee in my cup. </div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-82258103551947500402017-08-21T10:22:00.000-05:002017-08-21T10:22:11.170-05:00Dream Dinners PearlandMy friend Tracie won a girls night out raffle to <a href="https://dreamdinners.com/main.php?page=store&id=215">Dream Dinners Pearland</a> and she was able to invite 9 of her friends to come along. We each got to make one free meal and they even made appetizers for us! We were offered a special when we got there to make an additional 3 meals (9 servings) for $34.99. I was hesitant since they don't have vegetarian/vegan options, but who am I kidding, I haven't been strict on my diet since my cruise. LOL. <br />
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The event started at 6 PM and I rushed over there from work and made it just in time. They had little cubbies for everyone to put there stuff in, so it's not just sitting on the table or floor. They also provided aprons for us so we wouldn't get our clothes dirty. They really have thought of everything!<br />
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I loved the entire concept. I love doing my weekly meal planning and prep to have food during the week, but the cleanup isn't always fun, but at Dream Dinners, they lay everything out for you and clean it up too. All you have to do is put things in bags and go. You freeze it when you get home and thaw it out the morning you want to use it.<br />
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If you choose to utilize their service, you get 36 servings of food each month. You can choose the 3 servings option, or the 6 servings (12 meals or 6 meals), depending on which works for your family. You can also choose 12 (or 6) different meals, or a few of this one, a few of that one. I love that you get the choice because you know your family likes this ingredient but won't touch this other one. It's flexible!<br />
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Like I mentioned, we got one free meal and could buy the 3 additional meals if we chose to. I bought the package and made 4 meals (12 servings): Canadian Bacon Stuffed French Bread, Southwest Pork Carnita Wraps, Orange Asian Chicken, and Limoncello Shrimp with Coconut Rice.<br />
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Each station has a recipe with the ingredients and directions laid out for you as to what you put in the bag. They also give you an actual recipe card that you attach to the bag or put inside the bag so you will know what to do when you get home. Even the scoops they use are the correct measurements, so you don't have to do much guess work. The process was soooooooo simple and fun.<br />
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After you get done with each meal, you put your food in the freezer cubbie that has your name on it, so you know what food is yours and there is no mix-up and your food isn't just sitting out until you are ready to go. Genius!<br />
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The price is for main dishes only, so you have to make the sides OR you can buy something out of the freezer section to make it that much easier.<br />
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I only wish that they had vegetarian/vegan options and options for us single folks. 36 meals is a lot for one person, even if you can choose multiple meals. They did say that there is not contract so I can come every other month or however often I feel like coming. I feel that even if they did have meat free options, there would only be one or two options, making me eat the same things for 36 meals. I'm not really into that, so I didn't sign up for more.<br />
<br />
I really think it's a great option for people who are busy, but for me, it was way too much food and I couldn't justify the expense when I don't eat those meals that often.<br />
<br />
We were at the Pearland location, but there is one in Bellaire and also Missouri City. Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-65778719319124631882017-08-19T14:31:00.000-05:002017-08-19T14:31:09.153-05:00I Want To Buy A RV<div class="MsoNormal">
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I have wanted to buy a RV for about 3 years now but I could
never hit the go button and spend a big chunk of my savings. I recently decided that I should save just
for that and I’m trying to go hardcore on my savings for it. So look for me to buy one soon!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Everyone thinks I’m crazy to buy a RV, but I don’t
care! I don’t want a white trash
trailer, I want a nice RV. My long term
goal is to live in it for a few years and save up cash for a piece of
property. Eventually I would either sell
the property or keep it and build a house, all the while living in my RV. I also want to travel around the country on
road trips, and a RV will be perfect. I
have researched RV parks and just renting people’s land to park on, and it’s
about $400-600 a month. The RV will be
MINE to decorate how I want and I can sell it later. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuEVFLeekmMZIQWFMSHYbuj_pwunq25oGUQ0AQZHSyKrk3o4lKiR83_I3kGgWRv3GTFa18RFwov3pz-NNx72_0VcQF2BkWkTqoAba8r8NX8buk_xk2vRRxX5lydyvKsvnfrnhYFwaMjA/s1600/rv.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="673" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYuEVFLeekmMZIQWFMSHYbuj_pwunq25oGUQ0AQZHSyKrk3o4lKiR83_I3kGgWRv3GTFa18RFwov3pz-NNx72_0VcQF2BkWkTqoAba8r8NX8buk_xk2vRRxX5lydyvKsvnfrnhYFwaMjA/s320/rv.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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No, I don’t have a way to pull it at the moment, but you can
pay people to do that or my family has trucks!
I can get an apartment but I can’t paint or do much to make it
mine. I also can’t sell it later. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I understand it is a depreciating asset, but this is my
plan! My friend Spencer lives in a
refurbished AirStream and loves it.
AirStreams are super expensive so I am not sure about those! We’ll see what God brings me. :)<o:p></o:p></div>
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I know I am the LAST person that you would think that would
buy a RV, but I am excited. This is
something I’ve been dreaming about for a while now, so it’s not a new thought. Sometimes when people don't have the same dreams as you, they try and squash your dreams. My dreams and MY dreams, and it's OK if they aren't yours. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wish me luck on my hustling skills while I finish up my
savings!!! I want to pay cash for it so
I won’t incur any debt. I hate debt!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here are some of my ideas from my Pinterest board that I
have been pinning. I think I want a
pink, purple and grey theme in my living room.
I’m debating on the other areas. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-36185361396159730222017-08-18T14:33:00.000-05:002017-08-23T16:21:44.783-05:00Kali’s 4th Birthday<div class="MsoNormal">
The Saturday after #KaliandStephsWeekofFun, Kali turned
4!! I told my sister that I would buy
the cake for the party because she was just going to bake one herself. There is nothing wrong with homemade cakes,
but Kali hadn’t had a birthday party in the last two years (long story) AND
Tori can’t bake. LOL.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I searched the local grocery stores for a PJ Masks themed
cake, but my search was in vain.
Apparently PJ Mask hasn’t hit it “big” yet in terms of mass cake themes
so I decided to decorate it myself.
First stop was Wal-Mart to buy the actual cake. I ordered a half sheet cake with royal blue
icing and red, green, and blue sprinkles all over the cake. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Etsy had a few options like a flat cake with the edible
paper print out-BORING! There were some
others that weren’t too impressive. I
found one that I liked but it was $30 JUST for the print out (paper hot glued
to sticks), not the actual cake (so $25+$30).
I decided just to buy some little figures from the store and make a
Happy Birthday banner + city scape and print them on card stock. At the last minute I made a moon too. I hot glued them to sticks myself and saved
$30. Take that Etsy overpriced stuff. Haha. I also found a complete set of PJ Masks
figurines in Kali’s toy chest and used those instead (sanitized of course!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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The party went well and everyone loved the cake. We had a pool party but it started raining so
we went inside for the cake and present portion. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Happy birthday Kali!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-80657292301663029282017-08-17T14:27:00.000-05:002017-08-17T14:27:00.142-05:00LumiSnow, Dallas<div class="MsoNormal">
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I follow a lady on Instagram whose husband opened a dessert
restaurant in Dallas called, <a href="http://www.lumisnow.com/">LumiSnow</a>.
It is a shaved ice cream dessert restaurant, kind of like shaved ice,
but with ice cream and crazy toppings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After my conference I went to dinner with my friends
Clarissa and Chelsea. I haven’t seen Chelsea since New Year’s a few years ago
so I wanted to catch up with her about her new baby!!! We stopped for pizza first and then Clarissa
and I went for ice cream.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I mean, look at these flavors! I got s’mores and Clarissa got Circus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I didn’t know what to expect, but it was delicious. The place was packed but it did take a while
to have the desserts come out. I guess
it’s a lengthy process, but we seriously waited for 40 minutes. So be prepared to spend some time there.<o:p></o:p></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-76001246784954277842017-08-16T14:25:00.000-05:002017-08-23T16:25:20.625-05:00 Kali and Steph’s Week of Fun<div class="MsoNormal">
My parents went to Cabo for a vacation with friends and
asked me to watch my niece Kali while they were away all week. I went out of town the Friday before to
Dallas for Mary Kay’s seminar and wouldn’t be back until Monday afternoon/evening
so my older sister, Laura, watched her while I was gone. <o:p></o:p></div>
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They wore her out playing so hard while she was there and
she didn’t wake up the next day until about 10:30. It. Was. Awesome. I could sleep in to because I hadn’t gotten
much sleep while I was out of town either.
<o:p></o:p><br />
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We had a jam packed week ahead of us and something to do
every day so we wouldn’t get bored. I
didn’t want to play kitchen and watch PJ Mask all week, so I scheduled other
activities. I nicknamed this week as
#KaliandStephsWeekOfFun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday we went to the local library for pre-school story
time. I don’t think Kali had ever been
to the library because she was in awe of all the books (she loves books). Story time featured a few books read to us,
songs sang, and two crafts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After story time was over we went across the street to a
bunny event. They had a group seminar
where you could pet a real bunny! First
you had to listen to a speaker talk about bunny care. Did you know that carrots are like candy bars
for bunnies?!?! I had no idea. They gave each child a bunny figure to put on
their shoulder. <o:p></o:p><br />
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It is hard for a bunch of kids to sit through a presentation
about bunnies, but Kali did not want to leave until she petted a bunny. She got to pet two of them and then she was
ready to leave. She was so determined to
pet that bunny. Afterwards we went to
Wal-Mart to order her birthday cake (more later) and get our nails done.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve taken Kali to get her nails done twice before, so I
knew she would like it. She chose pink glitter for her nails since pink is her
favorite color. I got a candy apple
color. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday was the jumpy place and the pool. My sister and nephew met us at a local jumpy
place so the kids could play. I thought
it was a trampoline park but it was an inflatable one instead. Later that night we went swimming in my parent’s
pool. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday was spent at the Kemah Lighthouse Maze <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/2017/08/kemah-lighthouse-maze_15.html">(see thispost)</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday was just a day hanging out at home making cookies.<br />
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<br />
I had bought some PJ Masks cookie cutters off
Etsy, but they didn’t work out very well.
We just made them into blobs instead.
My parents got home around 6 PM and were greeted at the door with a 4
year old, a bratty dog, and a upside down welcome sign that Kali drew (I wrote
the words). They were all excited to see
each other. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-42349304702242769392017-08-15T16:53:00.000-05:002017-08-15T16:53:02.690-05:00Kemah Lighthouse Maze<div class="MsoNormal">
I have wanted to go to the Kemah Lighthouse Maze ever since
I did the Toughest 10K Kemah run last year.
Several people wanted to go, but our schedules just couldn’t match up
and time went on. I had mentioned it to
my church small group as an activity too, and they planned it as a teen outing
instead and asked me to be a chaperone.
Yay!! I finally get to go to this thing!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had my niece that week so she was able to go too. She wanted to “beat everyone” because she is “so
fast”. LOL. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I wasn’t sure how long an almost 4 year old would last
at a maze plus concert afterward (every Thursday during the summer the Kemah
Boardwalk has a concert), I decided that I would drive separately and meet them
there. We left around 2 PM to beat the
traffic but stopped at a special place first.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
My sister had told me about this place called Brain Freeze
in Pasadena off of Preston that had amazing frozen treats. I showed the FB page to Kali and she of
course wanted to go there. We got there and I wanted to get a smaller version
of the drink but Kali wanted to “beautiful one like the picture” from
earlier. OK then. I can’t say no to that little face. LOL. I’m
a push over.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brain Freeze only takes cash so be aware of that. We waited around for about 30+ minutes before
it was ready and there was no one else in line.
I mean, the creations are HUGE and take a little while to make, but the
wait time is looooooooong. It seems even
longer with a four year old. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When this came out Kali’s face was like “whoa!” Kali is allergic to strawberry (artificial or
natural) so they had to alter it a bit.
Normally this one is full of strawberry candy and is even more colorful,
but they were able to work around her allergy.
Just ask them! They are super accommodating. We ate a little bit, but there is only so
much you can eat before you had to stop.
Luckily they have some to-go containers where I was able to take some of
the candy home. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We headed to Kemah afterwards to meet up with the group.
They split us up into two teams and everyone got their own punch card to go
through the maze. I thought it was just
a maze but it turns out that you have to find five letters throughout the maze
and get your card punched. Kali was so
cute running through the maze like a mad woman looking for the blocks. She was SO excited when we found a
letter. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The last letter was difficult to find but we finally made it
out of there. We got a small toy when we
finished for “beating” everyone. We were
actually about 5 minutes slower than the fastest team, but she doesn’t know
that. LOL. We were waiting for the rest
of the group when she asked to do it again.
I asked if we can just walk through again and they said sure. I just
pretended to punch a card since it was mainly to keep her busy while
waiting. The rest of the week she kept
asking to go back there. I think she
liked it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the maze we went to the concert area (the Boardwalk)
and walked around. 4 year olds don’t
really like to sit still and watch concerts so we walked around and found the
train. We waved to everyone like we were
princesses. :) <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
She promptly fell asleep on the way home. <o:p></o:p></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-19467611661982202992017-08-14T15:53:00.001-05:002017-08-18T15:24:48.165-05:00One Life<div class="MsoNormal">
There are two parts to this blog post. One is a lot heavier than the other. It’s your choice if you don’t want to read
the other half. I just had to get it
off my chest because it hurts and I’m tired.
I have a few more blog posts coming up that are MUCH lighter in the next
few days, so I will return to writing about my ONE LIFE tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">One Life-Part one</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe we all get one shot at this thing called
Life. That’s it. One. I
believe that once we are done there is one of two places that we go and we don’t
get a 2<sup>nd</sup> chance. So why aren’t
we running at the things we dream of? Doing
the things we dream of seeing? Loving
the people we dream of loving? Eating
what we wish to eat? Taking risks and chances?
Chasing dreams? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I always try to write about my <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/p/bucket-list.html">bucket list</a> experiences that
I complete, big or small. (I will admit
some do take a while to be written. Haha #badblogger) It always makes me so sad
to hear of a young person who died or even someone in their 50’s who died. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZuM5RePDo194JLKvgNCmZWhnHJMoCZfNK2SMeZN4jOBzYlt7zpFo5vNoFi2O7LCeR9DThhPzqHfUnMURaXqd1u2eEYDgKUHnqy3F6y1HP-OZdv3RXBMqJe8laE52wS8XoW034U-GtfQ/s1600/oa2m4jnr5554b21dec89d363900755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="500" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZuM5RePDo194JLKvgNCmZWhnHJMoCZfNK2SMeZN4jOBzYlt7zpFo5vNoFi2O7LCeR9DThhPzqHfUnMURaXqd1u2eEYDgKUHnqy3F6y1HP-OZdv3RXBMqJe8laE52wS8XoW034U-GtfQ/s320/oa2m4jnr5554b21dec89d363900755.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chances are the old person is waiting on retirement, but
what happens if you get to retirement and your knees won’t get you to the top of
that mountain you have dreamed of climbing?
What happens if your finances are wiped out? What happens if the person you want to retire
with isn’t around? What happens if you
aren’t around?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chances are they didn’t do everything on their bucket list,
or chances are greater that they didn’t have a list at all, just a couple of
sentences that were spoken of “one day”.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One day is TODAY!!
Don’t wait until you are retired to go anywhere. Plan them for THIS YEAR. Big or small, something that you have wanted
to do is not too expensive that you can do this month (or sooner!).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Yeah, yeah, but….I’ve
got bills…Work is too busy…My kids are too young…My kids need me…My work needs
me…I don’t have anyone to go with…It’s too expensive…I’m too old…I’m too young…My
husband/wife doesn’t want to go….<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NO! No buts. Do something that you will remember years
from now. Life is way too short to wait. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I turned 29 I realized that I was full of a lot of “buts”. I hadn’t really done much in my life. I made my <a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/p/30-under-30.html">30 under 30 list</a> and did them! And
then I made a<a href="http://steph53282.blogspot.com/p/bucket-list.html"> bucket list</a> afterwards. I
am slowly but surely checking them off, one by one. I hope to finish all of them, but only God knows
which ones I will complete before I am taken to Heaven. As I get older, I am holding mortality in a
much higher regard. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you need help with your list, look at mine. I would LOVE to help you do some of them! :)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac8NRPHc0PSkk-tO2KxKC7xM-c_MV37yAusJMCpXR15kUwMSQHJmfsiO_JoZqoUs6Xs4iDTe-AtvXY0Gjep5mQz4TuANe56Z0r5wbwnNqIztX1z2CIccHhWWLAm6eZxTCFMly3iEVir8/s1600/f6b1c313656ec4e5f8b930f8ff86d25b--summer-goals-quotes-summer-adventure-quotes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac8NRPHc0PSkk-tO2KxKC7xM-c_MV37yAusJMCpXR15kUwMSQHJmfsiO_JoZqoUs6Xs4iDTe-AtvXY0Gjep5mQz4TuANe56Z0r5wbwnNqIztX1z2CIccHhWWLAm6eZxTCFMly3iEVir8/s320/f6b1c313656ec4e5f8b930f8ff86d25b--summer-goals-quotes-summer-adventure-quotes.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*Note, I’m not encouraging going into tons of debt to pay for
that dream vacation! I’m just saying to
chase your dreams.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">On Addictions-Part Two</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t talk about this situation much because it makes me so sad. My real dad is an addict and has relapsed
once again. I have been dealing with it the
past 35 years and I’m tired. For 35
years I have had to watch him struggle to get his demons in control, and watch
him hurt the people I love. Don’t get me
wrong, his demons are very real and they are painful. He had a very rough
childhood. I only know a short number of
his memories and I can see why they are real and painful. I
know he is the hardest on himself though.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Any day now I wouldn’t be surprised to hear my dad had a
heart attack due to his meth use (oh wait, he already did that) or hurt someone
(did that many times), went off on someone (ditto), over dosed (thankfully, not
yet), etc. He was recently in an
accident while on meth and broke both of his feet, and shattered one of
them. When you deal with someone you
love having a major addiction for 35 years, you become numb to hearing it
all. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can cry and stress about it, but until he controls it for himself,
it won’t do you any good to try to help. HE has to make the decision to change.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You also have to realize that you aren’t just hurting
yourself, you are hurting the ones you love.
My earliest memory is being pushed against a wall and being screamed at
because I did something (don’t remember what).
I rolled my head to the side to look at my mom and sister, just holding
hands because they couldn’t do anything.
That is my very first memory. No
child should have to deal with that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
My pretend used to be cutting lines of cocaine and snorting them. True story.
I was less than 4. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all have our demons and addictions. I am clearly addicted to food. It is something I can control. Being a child of an addict, you don’t have
much control (actually, being a child, you don’t have much control). Luckily, I had my awesome mother to snap out
of it and get us out. I have to make the decision to change myself. My life is my life. I am in control of my
decisions and heart breaks. You have to
want to take control, you kids for darn sure can’t make you want to change. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
God has blessed you with kids or other people in your life,
don’t you want to change to see them hit their dreams and goals? If you are an addict (whatever addiction),
would you want your kids to have the same addiction as you? Probably not, so why do it to yourself? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The thing is, my dad is the coolest person. Everyone LOVES him the second you meet him...that is when he's not on Meth. He's an angry, controlling, paranoid person when he does drugs. I only bring people around when he's not using because no one should be exposed to that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was in college I hardly partied, ever. I realized a few years ago that it was
because I like being in control. I don’t
want to get messed up and not remember what I did. That makes me so scared and doesn’t sound fun
at all. Even to this day I hardly drink
and haven’t touched drugs. I know I have
an addictive personality that could easily spiral out of control if I go down that road. People still ask me why I don’t drink, but I
rarely say why.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take control of YOUR life today. Get a handle on those addictions like
smoking, drinking, drugs, sex, porn, gambling, Pokemon (IDK), or other addictions
that are holding you back. It’s not
easy. I get it, but you don’t want to be
dying from a meth overdose and look back at your life you messed up because of
your addictions. People are counting on
you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">You get ONE
LIFE. Just one. Don’t waste it on "some day's" and
addictions. I am begging you.</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-87290695499526640182017-07-27T16:23:00.002-05:002017-07-27T16:26:26.381-05:00Mom's Birthday-Hello Fresh DeliverySo, my Mom's birthday is in September and she mentioned she wanted to try a service like Blue Apron one day. I made a mental note and moved on. My friend on Facebook is working with a marketing company to promote <a href="http://www.hellofresh.com/">Hello Fresh</a> and had a 50% off coupon. She was in a contest to win a trip to NYC if she sold three within a few hours so I talked to her and said that I wanted to wait until September because of my mom's birthday, but if I can buy it now and save it until September, I would do that. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAZbusML4872eC85VWyXJvl0X2Qn2acvAMUrP3YHXINLIIbuea-CiIw53vZyjatUIxNEqNUSJMy-86vUy_Qq3Ew9gkO7pCiwQvnlotq2MHzZrxHJdnR6xvFhFCrP8BAl9HNveKx36R2c/s1600/IMG_20170721_132844018-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAZbusML4872eC85VWyXJvl0X2Qn2acvAMUrP3YHXINLIIbuea-CiIw53vZyjatUIxNEqNUSJMy-86vUy_Qq3Ew9gkO7pCiwQvnlotq2MHzZrxHJdnR6xvFhFCrP8BAl9HNveKx36R2c/s320/IMG_20170721_132844018-XL.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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She said it was no problem and that she would set a reminder to push it back to September so it wouldn't come early. Well, last Thursday I got an email saying that the box was on it's way and would be delivered tomorrow. Wait, what?! I messaged my friend and she said she would take care of it but I never heard from her again that day, even after me asking for an update several times. I called Hello Fresh myself to see if it can be stopped but they said it couldn't be stopped because it was already out for delivery.<br />
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Luckily, I explained the situation to a manager as to why I didn't want the box now and how I didn't even get a chance to pick out the food! He said he could not cancel the delivery but could refund my money and cancel my subscription. I had planned on having a 2nd delivery but I was so aggravated that I cancelled it. <br />
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That night when I got to my parents house (I had to house sit the next day so I came the night before) on Thursday I told my mom that her birthday present would be delivered the next day and I didn't get to pick it out. I wasn't going to tell her what it was at first but she wanted to know why I didn't pick it out. I just told her because I couldn't keep it a secret any longer. (Any longer as in the few days I had had this set up. LOL). She was excited but wish she could have chosen the meals. I agreed but I didn't have any choice.<br />
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So on Friday a box was delivered to the front door for free that had three meals in with enough servings for 6 people. The selections were: Sizzling Southwestern Chicken, Italian Meatloaf, and Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-KQuZTmTrLCXsOzDF9WboDlWD1jv62u6UKFzbeK71LsVeoUg6jO5JZzCCHI7w1MQsfcSt51pOzzSQoBJNljqIsWLiz0z8BMZHZNuatXJaJWeN8y9J-WiAYx0SLcxDz-v-0ItC4-AcPY/s1600/IMG_20170721_133042316-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-KQuZTmTrLCXsOzDF9WboDlWD1jv62u6UKFzbeK71LsVeoUg6jO5JZzCCHI7w1MQsfcSt51pOzzSQoBJNljqIsWLiz0z8BMZHZNuatXJaJWeN8y9J-WiAYx0SLcxDz-v-0ItC4-AcPY/s320/IMG_20170721_133042316-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We decided to have two that night for dinner (I ate the veggies), the chicken and the pork chops. We had a helper helping us.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pDzmbTGi0nWRVa5OuYAwROAdUwj6yanqDCpnR9e3nGmiBAbpCu2Y95EHGbKjzOn8Zqm_SyxBphXRSH_QJnoLAVuEJm8Untv1cQ8A1dgGb2IamOdo06frBbmLyZwI-gQmqsx0DwV9dh0/s1600/IMG_20170721_160253579-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pDzmbTGi0nWRVa5OuYAwROAdUwj6yanqDCpnR9e3nGmiBAbpCu2Y95EHGbKjzOn8Zqm_SyxBphXRSH_QJnoLAVuEJm8Untv1cQ8A1dgGb2IamOdo06frBbmLyZwI-gQmqsx0DwV9dh0/s320/IMG_20170721_160253579-XL.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super cute helper, Kali Claire</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The meals come with simple instructions on how to create each meal. There is usually a meat and a side dish, all in perfectly portioned sizes. I don't have a final product picture, but this is what it looked like.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsDqASW1Mb1Kbqi7i-KGl8bNoReew9xxln_DfrgkwHeAUBPXnfwYhTeuvXqBNP4i3B5yTSF_kLXbPn83CQGNii3IkmaefyiBCoJmtydcmuz2Y4ORGNiHwxjXKwTwUIuikmCA25hvzW3k/s1600/IMG_20170721_160251086-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsDqASW1Mb1Kbqi7i-KGl8bNoReew9xxln_DfrgkwHeAUBPXnfwYhTeuvXqBNP4i3B5yTSF_kLXbPn83CQGNii3IkmaefyiBCoJmtydcmuz2Y4ORGNiHwxjXKwTwUIuikmCA25hvzW3k/s320/IMG_20170721_160251086-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The meals were fantastic and super simple to prepare. I loved how just enough of everything you needed was included (besides things like S&P, olive oil, etc), they even sent little things of balsamic and cherry jelly (see above pic for the tiny sizes!).<br />
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My parents had been wanting to try it but were afraid that the meals wouldn't be good. Trying this out (for free! haha) really made them interested and they might sign up soon.<br />
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Try it (or one of the competitors)! I don't have any coupon codes or anything to give you, but there might be some online. Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-45425187002334540802017-07-27T16:02:00.000-05:002017-07-27T16:02:46.618-05:00Make Origami AnimalsI have wanted to learn Origami for awhile now so I decided to look for a class. I found one at The Path of Tea every Thursday at 2 PM for only $10. I have been trying to go for a few weeks now, but things kept coming up and I couldn't make it. My schedule is flexible so I can go during the day.<br />
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I got there and ordered some strawberry green tea. 'Twas delicious! I don't really like hot drinks but they were able to brew it hot and then put it over ice. <br />
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We started simply with plain origami paper. I had no idea there was even such thing as origami paper, but apparently there's a lot of options. Deborah (the teacher) said sometimes it's hard to find your folds on the fancier papers, so you need to start with simple, plain paper while you learn.<br />
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There were some great mobiles all over the tea room and I wanted one! I almost got one in Africa a few years ago, but I didn't have much space in my luggage. There is a world-wide mercantile place in Galveston on the Strand that I saw them at, but I did not buy it. So, I've been looking for it for awhile now. I will just have to make one now that I'm an "expert" at origami. Ha!<br />
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We ended up folding a bird two different ways. It was basically the same except the way the tail went.<br />
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Let me tell you, it's not as easy as folding paper. I mean, I guess it is that simple, but it is NOT EASY! There were flips and turns and oh my. My brain had a hard time, but at least I can say I did a bucket list item and tried it!<br />
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We also folded a dollar bill into a heart! Wouldn't it be cool to have a dollar bill mobile? Or $100 bill mobile! Haha. Maybe....<br />
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Will I go again. Maybe but probably not, I wasn't that interested. I do want a mobile though!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-32756318654121000642017-07-04T11:00:00.000-05:002017-07-04T11:00:32.412-05:00Washington DC Day 2Here's another recap of D.C. It was another loooooooong day. :)<br />
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We were up and about early on Wednesday to finish our to-do list. Our feet were aching but we had to make the best of our time in the city since we only had two short days there. We were dropped off at the train station again and were in DC at about 9 AM.<br />
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Our first stop was the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bepa/index.htm" target="_blank">Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument</a> and were one of the first to enter the doors. One of my favorite movies is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Jawed_Angels" target="_blank">Iron Jawed Angels</a> and it is based on the Women's Suffrage Movement and tells about Alice Paul and other women who helped earn the vote for women. Since it is one of my favorite movies, naturally I wanted to see the museum. It turns out that the museum was an old house that they used during the "fight" for the Equal Rights Amendment. How cool is that?! Alice Paul actually lived there at one time!<br />
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I loved this museum and wish I had more time to spend there. There were old artifacts, newspaper cartoons, old furniture (even an old desk that I think was Alice Paul's and Susan B. Anthony's!!!), quotes, old banners, etc. that were used during that time. I liked that it wasn't all Suffrage stuff (even though I loved that), it had Equal Rights Amendment era stuff too. Please go there when you visit the DC area. This place was a highlight of my trip.<br />
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After the Women's Museum we headed down to the <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/" target="_blank">Smithsonian Zoo.</a> Normally I am not a zoo kind of person, but there are only two places (that I have found at least) that have a flamingo carousel, and one of them is in DC at the zoo so of course I had to go! (The other is in Detroit and I'm never going there if I can possibly help it. LOL). Bucket list, check!<br />
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Apparently there are some "famous" panda bears or something at the zoo but they weren't out when we were there. I wasn't too impressed by this zoo (I might have just gone on a slow day), except for the apes that went above your head on a wire from enclosure to enclosure. One of them even has a blanket (it might be a shirt) that he carries everywhere and had it with him. They said that he likes to show off in front of a crowd and usually only uses the enclosure during busy days.<br />
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After the zoo we headed to <a href="http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/" target="_blank">Arlington National Cemetery </a>via the subway system. We decided just to walk by ourselves everywhere instead of taking a formal tour. I was amazed at how big Arlington National Cemetery is! I had tears in my eyes as I saw row after row of tombs. <br />
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We were there long enough to see the changing of the guard ceremony too. We were inside looking at the museum area when everyone rushed outside. We peaked out and realized what was happening and watched it. I didn't take video of that because I just wanted to focus on it and soak up the moment instead of always paying attention to my phone. I'm working on getting better at being present to the moment.<br />
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We were leaving but we decided to stop by the <a href="https://washington.org/DC-guide-to/marine-corps-war-memorial" target="_blank">Marine Corps Memorial, Ima Jima.</a> Let me tell you, that thing is massive! It was so cool viewing it from all sides. One of my favorite pictures is the fire fighters recreating it on 9/11, so the original memorial was pretty cool to see.<br />
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We saw the Lincoln Memorial and stood in the spot MLK did the famous "I have a dream" speech. This monument was beautiful!<br />
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The Franklin D. Roosevelt monument was probably my favorite. So, a bad sign for my public school education (LOL) was that I had no idea that FDR was elected to four terms! For some reason I didn't know that any president had ever served for more than 2 terms. Duh! I was either out that day or not paying attention in class (you decide which it was). Anyway, it was my favorite because it encompassed things about him but also the era that he was President. Each of the four sections (one for each term) was something new about him or what was going on during the term.<br />
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One of my family members (Mom's side-my grandpa's nephew) died in Vietnam and his name is on the memorial wall. I didn't know you could bring flowers or some token for the section of your loved one, but if/when I go back, I will be sure to bring something. I liked how there is a book (several actually, they look like phone books and are in alphabetical order) that you can look for your loved ones name and find what section they are in, instead of looking at the wall itself. I found him easily and walked over to take a picture. <br />
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The Jefferson Memorial was alllllll the way around the other side of the tidal basin. I decided I really want to ride in a swan boat the next time I'm there because I kept seeing them while walking towards the monument.<br />
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We headed to the White House on the other side this time and it looked just like I was picturing. You could get closer this time but there were still barricades. We took pictures and talked to a really nice Secret Service agent for a few minutes.<br />
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After that we headed back towards the train to go back to the hotel. We crashed early that night because we had a 5 AM flight!<br />
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There were a few things that we didn't get to while we were there. 2 days is NOT enough to see the city. Plan at least 3-4 days to see everything you want to see. Washington is spread out and we were bookin' it to each item. I saw a lot of things but here are some things I still want to see: Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (at the Archives), tour the inside of the White House (since it was a last minute trip we couldn't request to go in), see the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon, ride in a swan boat in the Tidal Basin, see the Cherry Blossoms bloom in the Spring, have a Georgetown Cupcake.<br />
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For more pictures go <a href="http://flamingosandfun.smugmug.com/">HERE</a> and click on the Washington DC Link.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1662435923302397592.post-4371406195251463042017-07-03T10:51:00.000-05:002017-07-10T15:56:50.110-05:00Washington DC Day 1Backstory: So back in January I almost spent $900 on a flight to DC for the inauguration, but I just couldn't pull the trigger. I did end up buying a $200 flight for a few months later but ended up cancelling because I have to go to Vegas for a bachelorette party in September. I was sad but I knew I would get there one day, just not when originally planned.<br />
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My uncle (my aunt's husband) is from England and still has family there. His niece was in town and since my aunt couldn't walk (she had knee surgery), I was asked to show Zoe around Houston. We went to the HMNS and were talking about other places in the USA that she would want to visit and she mentioned San Francisco. We go back and were talking about other places and my uncle goes "I think we can arrange that". Yes!!!! Free trip to San Fran. But alas, no tickets were available for the days we could go so we tried other cities like Seattle and New Orleans. Nope. DC was pretty much the only option that both of us would actually want to go. That's OK though because I was sad that I couldn't make it to DC. Trip booked. We flew into Baltimore, stayed at a hotel near there and road the train each day for $7 each way. Since they were paying for the flight and hotel, all we had to pay for was train rides, food and anything we wanted to do. Good news: almost everything to do in DC (museums/monument wise) is free! I think I spent about $100 for the entire trip. <br />
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We left right after I got off work and got there about midnight. We didn't have much time to sleep though because we only had two full days to sight see an entire city that is jam packed with touristy things. Go!<br />
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We stopped by Congress and got a private tour of the building with an intern from my Congressman's office and then went to his office. Congress was not in session so I wasn't able to meet him, but his staff members were very welcoming to us.<br />
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We stopped by the <a href="https://www.usbg.gov/" target="_blank">United States Botantical Garden</a> and WOW, it was so awesome. It is basically a huge green house (but a really nice one) that has different rooms with different types of plants. There was a fruit tree section, cacti section, Jurassic era plants, roses, etc. It was great! It might sound weird, but it is a cool get away from the sun.<br />
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We took pictures by the reflection pool and then went in search of lunch. We ate at a section with lots of food trucks that is two blocks away from the mall area.<br />
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After that we headed to the Smithsonian to see the Hope Diamond. The Smithsonian is actually several locations so be sure to look online to see which one you would be more interested in. At 45.52 carots, the Hope Diamond is HUGE and I would say that I want it, but I don't want to be cursed and I'm not that fancy to where wearing that makes sense. I don't have anywhere to wear it but I guess if you are rich enough to own that diamond, you are rich enough to attend fancy parties. <br />
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After we saw the Hope Diamond we walked around the rest of the museum, and spent some time in the natural gem area. <br />
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We saw Dorothy's ruby slippers and even Burt and Ernie!</div>
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My favorite item we saw was Alice Paul's women's suffrage 13 state charm bracelet from her personal collection that her estate donated to the museum. Oh, I want one so bad!<br />
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We waited in line to get tickets to the butterfly area where live butterflies are flying all over a room and will even land on you! None of them landed on me, but one did land on Zoe. It was a really cool (and free the day we went) experience. <br />
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We saw a replica of the Statue of Liberty made from Legos!<br />
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My favorite part (I guess I didn't get any pictures) was the first lady part of the museum. (I think we were in the American history museum). It had old gowns that former first ladies wore on inauguration balls and other galas. It had a lot of the fine china that was used to serve guests at private dinners. It was a really cool part of the museum.<br />
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And the Star Spangled Banner-the actual one! I had no idea that it still existed but it is in the Smithsonian (I forget which one) right when you walk in behind this metal wall. You can't take pictures of it and it's behind glass. There is a film you can watch about it and I actually teared up looking at it. Our nation is going through so much right now and I think back on what the pioneers of our country went through. Did they know there would be so much corruption and hate? Anyway, the flag itself is worn and torn but it is AMAZING! I felt so patriotic just looking at it. It is more precious than the Hope Diamond (even though I would totally take the HD if asked)<br />
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We saw the Washington Monument but could not go inside do an earthquake that happened awhile ago and the structure has not been made safe yet....so they say. Where's Nicolas Cage when you need him?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDcUy43BA1cpK_bE50rY4PXBiCUZ9EF_GvIXIR_zmO6OuWmaQEJ-W2pmQSDWlFWrhRwwpubvovKheR-sMUpd4t5OLrl4QoWzc4tygQrorRbYEoHNzFeVnDtX5jo2oeRkPH40iuZNpHSU/s1600/IMG_20170418_172118961_HDR-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDcUy43BA1cpK_bE50rY4PXBiCUZ9EF_GvIXIR_zmO6OuWmaQEJ-W2pmQSDWlFWrhRwwpubvovKheR-sMUpd4t5OLrl4QoWzc4tygQrorRbYEoHNzFeVnDtX5jo2oeRkPH40iuZNpHSU/s320/IMG_20170418_172118961_HDR-L.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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We headed to the White House since it was getting late. I wasn't able to take a tour because it was a last minute trip, but when I had originally requested a tour but cancelled the request when I cancelled my trip. We got to it and were hanging out just looking at it. There were barricades and it was so far from from the gate and us. I recognized it but I thought it looked different. Turns out, it was the back! I didn't realize it until someone mentioned the other side and I was like DUH! It had been a long day, ok?! :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZ_C0DAMEOor1yMkVytqI2D8pY-g1ojvARGdmj9neAUkg2-nWCfh_DGPOxrNrav9RAx5seHPRvjAs7y5Gqj9qQtj4YZtjH_Kt9vioIiPgPAYDHkjd1a8R_phuTrDxqMlnCizrYlBuShQ/s1600/IMG_20170418_175459492_HDR-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZ_C0DAMEOor1yMkVytqI2D8pY-g1ojvARGdmj9neAUkg2-nWCfh_DGPOxrNrav9RAx5seHPRvjAs7y5Gqj9qQtj4YZtjH_Kt9vioIiPgPAYDHkjd1a8R_phuTrDxqMlnCizrYlBuShQ/s320/IMG_20170418_175459492_HDR-L.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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We had been there for about 5-10 minutes when cops came and rushed us out. Literally, they were moving us out and wouldn't say why. "We don't have time to say why". I was halfway scared and halfway wanting to see what was happening. I'm very nosey. We stayed in the general area and kept hearing and seeing sirens from fire trucks and other official looking vehicles. About 20 minute later I saw one of the cops and asked him what was happening and if we should stick around.<br />
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He said "I can't answer that."<br />
Me: "Hmm. Well, if you were me, would you stick around?"<br />
Him: "I would"<br />
Me: "Cool, if you were me, where would you stand?"<br />
Him: "Over there in that field with those other people."<br />
Me: "Gotcha, thanks!"<br />
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I wasn't totally sure what was happening but by the time I got to the field I figured Trump might be driving in or something. Well, nope he was driving in, his helicopter was flying overhead! You can view the <a href="https://flamingosandfun.smugmug.com/Washington-DC-April-2017/i-bTkHRxZ" target="_blank">video here</a>. There are snipers on the tops of buildings so anyone that tries to mess with him is out! <br />
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After that, we headed back to the hotel to turn in. My feet hurt sooooooo bad but it was a super fun day. Part two tomorrow!<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08216760489626452847noreply@blogger.com1