October

In October, we went to a concert at House of Blues and even sprang for reserved seats instead of standing room.  My streak of sitting behind tall people continues... 

The show was still probably one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  JohnMark McMillan, Gungor, Chris August and David Crowder Band.

BigJoel and I spent a day at the Mecum Auto Auction.  It was really a lot of fun.  He makes everything fun.  I just love that guy.

Finally, we went to see NeedtoBreathe in concert at Cowboys Stadium...oh, and Taylor Swift was there, too.

September

In September, we went camping at Beaver's Bend with Elizabeth, Mr. Gary and Mrs. Cheryl.  Know why this picture is blurry?  Because it's so dang humid that the lens fogged up.  How's that for fall in Oklahoma?  Oh well, we had a blast anyways.

One Man's Trash...Is Probably Another Man's Trash, Too

Despite the 106 degree heat today, BigJoel and I finally made a consolidated effort to reclaim all my school things that have been socked away in the deepest, darkest recesses of our garage, which meant purging the place of all unnecessary items.  
Cleaning out things that are too valuable to throw away, but not valuable enough to merit a place indoors is tricky.  (I gave up a long time ago hosting any delusions of earning extra income through garage sales.  I'm waaaay to lazy and prone to procrastination to pull that off.)
So I always begin with a heart of stone and declare, "If it's out here, we don't need it.  Throw it away!"
Then I soften ever-so-slightly to, "That's too nice to throw away.  Let's donate it." (The 'Donate' boxes then ride around for weeks in the trunk of my car before I finally need the space and they find their way BACK in the garage.)
And finally, before I know it, I've pretty much gone through every box--laughed, cried, sighed and moved everything from one side of the garage to the other.  We sweep, reorganize and put it back where it was to begin with.
It's a vicious cycle...but when you have the kind of treasures we do, one can't be too careful.
Here's an example:

The May 1985 issue of Seventeen magazine...the year I graduated high school.  I thought for sure it would be worth something someday.  Now I'm just fascinated by how the "New American Style" has come, gone, and is actually coming back again.
Other things I unearthed today:

• corsages from both my senior prom and BigJoel's
• a Texas Tech yearbook from 1990 that doesn't have either of our photos in it
• salt and pepper shakers that survived my house fire when I was 15
• letters from BigJoel when I was a summer missionary on the Texas coast in 1987
• small bride & groom stuffed bunnies--the "bride" is made out of scraps from my wedding dress
• a gold record
• my college diploma
• my autographed copy of "The Last Voyage of the USS Pueblo"

...And those are just to name a few.  Now do you see why I have such a difficult time parting with things? Treasures, I tell you.  Priceless treasures.
*sigh*

Back to School

Today I went to my first teacher inservice in over three years and I have a confession...I LOVED it!  There's usually a lot of eye rolling that goes on this time of year when teachers trying to prepare for the new school year are pulled out of their classroom/lesson prep and subjected to "professional development".
Maybe it's just the fact that I have been away from the school environment for so long, or maybe I'm just a teacher-nerd at heart but I thoroughly enjoyed the day.
I came away feeling inspired and encouraged...even though I still have no idea exactly what I'm doing.
I think I need a teacher sweater.

Yep, definitely a teacher-nerd at heart...

How Did I Get Here?

August? It's already August?  And I haven't blogged since March? Sheesh! Not sure how that happened. Although I do remember something about trying to upload pictures and getting really frustrated with Blogger...
Then I'm pretty sure my mind just turned to mush...
I will blog again, or at least I hope I will.
But I should probably ease back into it...
slowly...

Playing Catch-up

Wow, how is it possible that an entire month has passed since I last posted?  It's not that I don't have anything to talk about...well, ok, maybe nothing interesting to talk about...but that's never stopped me before. Things are good.  Busy.  Blogging just seems to be the last thing on my mind these days.
Here are a couple of pictures to bring you up to date.

We took a road trip to Lubbock to catch up with BigJoel and the Roadshow; and also to indoctrinate, I mean introduce, the girls to Texas Tech.  We had a great time and I got to see one of my former college roommates and her family.  HannahKate is completely sold on the university--not because of its outstanding academic programs or even the charm of one of the most beautiful campuses in Texas...but because there is a Freebird's Burritios, Raising Cane's, and WhichWhich all located in about a two block span.  (She might just be her mother's daughter.)

The other exciting thing we've done:  Elizabeth had us over for Monday Night/Mardi Gras Supper Club complete with traditional cajun meal.  On the way there Hannah asked, "Will I like gumbo?"  To which I replied, "Mrs. Cheryl is making it...of course you'll like it." (And she did).    Hallie found the baby in her King's Cake, which I think means that she has to host the party next year...sure hope she knows how to make gumbo...

Snow Day

Last week, "Snowpocalypse" hit Northeast Texas.  After three days of being iced in on the verge of crazy, we finally woke to over six inches of snow.  Actual snow.

Since we're relatively ill-equipped to handle extreme cold temperatures here in Texas, we had to get creative with our winter wear. HannahKate has cute leopard print rain boots and so does Hallie.  I have...Wal-Mart sacks over my tennis shoes.

 Hallie dubbed herself a "snow ninja".  Sometimes she's a strange kid.

The girls made snow angels on the trampoline...about as close to "angelic" as they will ever be.

We had a great time, but really only lasted outside for about thirty minutes.  I know, I know...we're wintry wimps.  Don't get me wrong, I love snow...as long as I'm nice and warm inside the house looking out at it.