What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Halloween!  I can't wait to be at our festival at church tonight.  Lots of candy and fun coming my way!

I'm loving the weather this week.  It's been very fall-ish since Saturday.  Too bad tomorrow it warms up.  However...

..I love that tomorrow I'll be sleeping in Denver and then three nights in Vail!!!

I love waking up to this sweet face every morning.  He is my heart song!

I don't love what Hurricane Sandy has done to the East Coast, but I do love the nurses that are so diligently saving patients, especially the NICU babies.  Their dedication made me tear up yesterday.  May God bless you!  We certainly know what hurricanes can do!

I loved that Dancing with the Stars had Country Week Monday and Tuesday.  It's hit and miss if I enjoy seasons of this show, but I have loved it this Fall.  This week was especially fun with some of my absolute favorite songs being used for the dances.  And anytime that many pairs of boots and cowboy hats are on stage together, fun is going to be had!

I love that part of the Houston Rodeo concert line-up was released yesterday.  I see a lot of bulls, horses, and concerts in my futures. 2013 is going to be a great year at HLSR! Bring on Jason and Luke!

What are you loving this week?

Linking up with Jamie.

Meal Planning Monday

Sunday: Church

Monday: Leftover Salmon

Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan Soup (never got to it last week)

Wednesday: Fall Fest at Church

Thursday: Airport!

Friday: VAIL!

Saturday: VAIL!

Gig 'em, Aggies!

I'll quickly admit I was really nervous about A&M's football season.  The SEC is known for being a football conference, and I was really dreading some absolute wipe-out games this fall.  Oh, how wrong I was!  Even if A&M doesn't do a thing right the rest of the season, the Aggie Football Team has proven itself as worthy of competing in the SEC.  I'm proud of their fight and determination not to be trampled.  Shoot, even the two games we lost (Florida and LSU) were incredibly close games.  There have even been clear glimpses of a Wrecking Crew that makes me proud and really, really makes me wish I had season tickets, or at least cable! 

Now, basketball season will be another story on my nerves.  Oh, why did we have to go to the one place that would guarantee we'd play UK?  Whatever will I do?!  I h

Fall Came For A Visit!

Cool winds lowered the temperatures while I slept!  I got to wear long sleeves and a scarf and not look ridiculous for doing it today!  Oh, rejoice in 62 degrees!  I think Fall is only stopping by for about 5 days, but I'll take even a short visit.  This probably means it's winter in the rest of the country.  Oh, Houston! 

Ha.

This is Vail at 11:35 this morning.  I asked for cooler temperatures for our trip, and I guess I'm certainly getting what I asked for!  So much for fall hikes.  But, I'm still going to be OUTSIDE enjoying all this COLD!  One week!  :)  Any suggestions on things not to miss?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I love that one week from tomorrow I will be sleeping in Colorado WHERE IT'S COLD!  Thank You, God!  It's been pushing 90 here for much too long.  If you have suggestions for things we should definitely do in Vail, let me know.  I have lots of ideas, but recommendations are always welcome.

I love that my students love my Scentsy fetish as much as I do.  Vanilla Cream has made for some happy noses this week.

I love the super sweet thank you cards my Advisory kiddos made yesterday for the troops for Thanksgiving.  Oh, just precious words!

I love this picture Isaac sent me.  Weim Rescue of Texas friends own these two darling Weims and live next door to this horse.  They had a little meet and greet this week, and I think it's precious.  This is how it's supposed to be, folks!

I love that my district is using Google Sites to communicate with students and parents.  I love my page.  It's daily a work in progress, and that's half that fun.  Every teacher should have a Google Site because they're so easy to use, and Google rarely crashes! Check out mine!

I love the cuddles I get with those two, especially when they'll let me cuddle them together.  So sweet!

 I love that early voting has begun in Texas because it means Election Day is that much closer.  And, once that is done, I might finally feel like I can rejoin the Facebook world without wanting to scream.  Here's hoping!  I've got some very dear friends having babies, and I want to freely look at their pictures without having to block half my friend list first.  Sigh.

I'm loving my Jesus!

What are you loving this week?

Linking up with Jamie.

Jack and Liam

I get a blogger fail score for not taking pictures of the two sweetest little baby boys you've ever seen yesterday.  Please just use your imagination and trust me when I say Jack and Liam are precious.  I promise to take pictures the next time I go visit.  If you want to see super cute pictures from Michelle's shower, click here.

Will and Michelle had Jack and Liam last Monday, but due to a perfect storm of events on both sides, Isaac and I didn't get to meet the boys until yesterday.  Let me tell you, those two were worth every bit of the wait!  Liam is still in NICU, figuring out how to keep his blood sugar normal (please add him to your prayer list!), so Jack was hanging out up there with Mom and Dad.  We spent an hour catching up with Will and Michelle while they graciously let us love on their boys.  Isaac was in Heaven holding Jack and chatting with Will.  The man really does love baby cuddles.  These two cuties look so much like their big sister Megan-pretty blue eyes, lots of dark hair, and tiny little mouths.  They are just perfect.  I'm so grateful for the friendship of the Tanners and the blessing of watching their four children grow up.  Thank You, Lord, for these sweet lives!

Meal Planning Monday

Sunday: Church

Monday:  GNO

Tuesday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Wednesday: Grilled Salmon and Asparagus

Thursday: Chicken Parmesan Soup

Friday: Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole (from the freezer)

Saturday: Wings Over Houston Airshow

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I love seeing this sweet face across the table.  She's very good about not begging, but she loves to watch.

 

Bailey has hurt his neck pretty badly and is on lots of pain and anti-inflammatory meds right now.  He's a bit out of it, but Isaac has been taking such good care of him.  This picture is so sweet.  Bailey's in the snugglie with a heat pack.

This morning: heat pack and bed.  Awesome medicine (not to mention the real drugs he's on-ha!).

I love the pumpkin sauce I found for pasta.  Chicken, garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms made it just delightful.  This is going to get pulled out of the freezer quite a bit in the coming weeks.

 Aggie Belle fell asleep on her toys one afternoon.  She plays so hard!

I love that I have three sets of Christmas music to learn for three very different concerts.  It also means there's hardly a night on the calendar that isn't busy, busy, but I thrive this time of year with music.  LOVE!

As of Sunday, I don't have to use a mildew caked, rusty, spray-spitting faucet anymore!  Yay for new faucets!!!

I love that Celebration tickets go on sale Saturday morning.  So much for sleeping in, but I don't want to miss not grabbing our favorite seats by not getting there early to buy tickets!

I love that this will be my view in 15 days!

I love my Jesus!

What are you loving?

Linking up with Jamie.

Outta The Swamp!

This place in the picture above, this SWAMP, is within walking distance of my house.  I live in a SWAMP.  No joke.  Houston, the 4th largest city in the nation, and the largest port in the nation (and tenth largest in the world) was built on a swamp.  Why Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen thought this mushy, mosquito infested, much too warm 8 months of the year boggy ground was a great place to build a city is beyond me.  Oh, don't get me wrong; I really do enjoy living here.  Masterful engineering feats have made Houston a fun place to live in spite of the landscape .  However, the weather stinks.  It's mid-October, but the temperatures have been in the 90s for weeks.  We've had a few little cool gasps of fresh air whisk in for tea and leave before supper.  It's rather rude, but they aren't asking for customer input. 

Last week I decided I needed to get out of the swamp before I suffered a heat induced melt down (take the pun and enjoy).

I began thinking that a trip to central Texas to a horse ranch I want to visit would be perfect.  The extended forecast didn't agree.  I think we'll try the horse ranch for Spring Break.

Then I found an awesome Groupon for Gatlinburg, one of those places I love and would like to visit again.  While the Groupon was good, getting there for a long weekend isn't easy-or cheap.

Since my trip to Eureka Springs never happened this summer, I thought this might be a good third inquiry.  Every place I looked into was booked, and the 10 hour one-way drive wasn't so appealing for a long weekend either.  I will get there though some day.  There are some super cool looking tree house B&Bs!

I was beginning to think it was going to be three strikes and we were out for finding a fall getaway, but then I found a Groupon for Vail Cascade Resort and fell in love!  It's absolutely stunning, the temperatures are cool (some would say cold...), and with Southwest points, we were in business.   I've never been to Vail and don't even know what's nearby, but I think it's going to fabulous for hiking and horseback riding.  In sixteen days, this will be my view for a few blissful days out of the swamp:

Meal Planning Monday

Sunday: Leftover Chinese.  Yum!

Monday: Hopefully grabbing something on the way to meet the Tanner Twins, but this is obviously completely flexible depending on how everyone is feeling.

Tuesday: Aunt Donna's Italian Pasta

Wednesday: Quesadillas

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Boondoggles-School Dinner Group

Saturday: Pizza or Breakfast for dinner.  Probably depends on my mood based on the outcome of the A&M/LSU game.  :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday: Pumpkin Edition Two

Yes, it's time for more pumpkin favorites!

Pumpkin Bagel Poppers at Einstein Bagels:

Pumpkin Spice Cookies at American Cookie Co:

World Market has tons of amazing pumpkin products.  Here are the ones I'm looking forward to trying:

I decorated the porch with hay and pumpkins.  I love how my truck looked like a real farm truck after hauling hay-when I drove afterward, it looked like a scarecrow spontaneously combusted in my bed.  Awesome!  The pups had to get in on the fun, and then I used some more gourds to get my hall table looking cute.

And of course I'm loving my Jesus!

What are you loving?

Linking up with Jamie.

Meal Planning Monday

Sunday: Church

Monday: Poppyseed Chicken Casserole and green beans (finally pulling it out of the freezer!)

Tuesday: Pampered Chef Party: Skillet Lasagna and Chocolate Lava Cake

Wednesday: Beef Stroganoff

Thursday: Pumpkin Pasta with chicken, mushroom, and zuccini

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Out

Pumpkin Spice Latte

For a brief moment this morning, the earth stopped spinning on its axis and through everything into a state of complete chaos.  I had the urge to try coffee.  I don't drink coffee-period.  I love the scent and there are certainly some creative flavors out there, but the aftertaste of bitter is just more than I can stand.  However, I was incredibly tired yesterday, and the urge for caffeine, the convenience of Starbucks inside of Kroger, and the gift card in my wallet made for a perfect storm of events to lead me to try the ever famous Pumpkin Spice Latte.  I will gladly admit that the flavor was bold and delightful, just as any pumpkin confection should be.  Yet, the awful bitter coffee-esque after taste ruined the whole experience by half way through the cup.  Coffee just isn't for me.  Thankfully, I was on my way home with a truck full of groceries, so my toothbrush was just a few moments away.  Ah, well, at least I can say I tried!

Movie Review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

After a fabulous shopping night for GNO with Danielle, I came home and finally treated myself to a viewing of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  I was quite please with this little film.  I love British movies.  I always have, and probably always will.  In true British fashion, it's a bit slow in building its characters, but the end results were a delight for me.  And besides, who can resist Judi Dench and Maggie Smith on the same screen?!

The Marigold Hotel in India caters to older British expats.  It's actually a farce as it's not nearly ready for guests. As the younger Indian owner explains, Indians know that everything turns out right in the end, so if it's not right at the moment, it must not be the end yet.  Love it!  Of course, the characters find this to be quite true by the end of the movie. 

These older ladies and gentlemen learn a lot about themselves as they open up to all that is India.  I really want to visit India after seeing these scenes from Jaipur, Rajasthan.  Oh, the film is all about finding beauty in the unexpected and adventure out of the ordinary.  It's about finding happiness out of pain and overcoming prejudices to find friendship.  The conglomerate of a cast is quintessentially British and puts a finesse on the story that drew me in and helped me quite enjoy two hours.  I found myself falling in love with a place I've never been and a people I've never truly experienced.  I grew in appreciation for a culture only glimpsed through studies of Gandhi (stereotypical, I know).  I appreciate the British take on India more than 70 years after independence.  Yep, the travel bug has bit again, but I think it'll be a while before travel is feasible. 

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving how much fun my pups had with their uncle and cousin this past week.  What a treat for us all!  Bailey even was brave enough to show off his swimming skills for Jason and Jacob yesterday at the beach (I was at work...).  These two bring out the best in my dogs, and we will miss them now that they are gone!

I am not crafty and decor oriented at all, so I love how my hall table turned out!

I found this costume at Target yesterday, and I loved it for Bailey and Aggie Belle.  Maybe they'll decide to wear it for me...

I adore Christy Nockels.  I loved Watermark when she and husband Nathan still recorded together.  Their music is classic, and Christy still keeps writing amazing songs.  I don't typically follow many female vocalists, but Christy is one I will always be anxious to hear the next song.  This is one of current favorites: Waiting Here for You:

I love that we have finally had a front come in to knock the temperatures into the 50s and 60s at night.  This time it looks like it's here to stay for a while.

I love that Once Upon a Time is back on ABC for new episodes.  I think this show is pretty ingenious.

I love my Jesus!

What are you loving?

Linking up with Jamie

Movie Review: Darling Companion

For dog lovers and mountain lovers, this is a super sweet movie.  Freeway is a precious dog rescued by a lady and her daughter.  When Freeway gets lost, everyone learns some great lessons about what it means to really love.  It was filmed in Salt Lake City and Telluride, so get ready for some serious eye delight!

Meal Planning Monday

Sunday: Too full from lunch at BJs for Jacob's birthday-no one ate.  Ha.

Monday: Tacos (never got to them last week)

Tuesday: Tookies

Wednesday: Poppyseed Chicken Casserole (never got to it last week)

Thursday: Chambers Singers' Performance; Dinner at Church

Friday: Out with Danielle

Saturday: Breakfast for dinner