Steppin' up to the Eastepp's

Weekend Wrap-Up x2

2010-03-23T12:11:00.006-05:00

We've had plenty of opportunities to party the past two weekends, and we didn't let the cold, snowy weather stop us!

Saturday, March 13

Beautiful weekend in Dallas for the St. Paddy's Day celebration on Greenville Avenue. In the picture, we're holding our first beers of the day. What you can't see is the 18 pack of beer we just purchased from the gas station behind us.

We mainly hung out on the street and watched the crazy train of people parade by. After a while, we took a break from people watching to have lunch at the San Francisco Rose. We had little burger sliders that were delicious, especially when you've had a few beers. I so recommend this place.

Saturday, March 20

"I just love carrying pink princess bags through the mall."
-- Craig Eastepp

Megan "Mego" Smith celebrated her 2nd birthday at California Pizza Kitchen at Stonebriar this past weekend. And like any cute girly-girl, she had to ride the carousal that's inside the mall. So Craig carried her birthday presents all donned in pink inside the mall for her party. (Mego is Craig's step-brother's daughter... making her our step-niece?)

Mego riding the carousal.

She looks so small on that horse, but you can tell she absolutely loves it.

Isolation

2010-03-22T11:10:00.004-05:00

Ever been surrounded by people, but feel alone? Have something on your mind that you want to talk about, but can’t find the words? I felt that way this weekend. And I know why.

I had a conversation with someone that didn’t go well. It was about a stupid topic, my work; about something that doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things. I knew I was right in what I was saying. 100% right, I mean, I work for the company… I should know what’s right, right? And this person wouldn’t believe what I was saying. But I know with everything in my body, I was right.

When I’m right, I feel the need to help people see the truth in what I’m saying and I can be a bit aggressive about it. By the end of the conversation, I felt like I was still talking in a calm manner, but the other person raised their voice because I wouldn’t let it go and then walked out. Needless to say, that was the end of the discussion. From that moment, I felt isolated.

Craig and I went to our nieces 2nd birthday party with family.
I felt isolated.

We went to our I Believe class at church (the class we have to go through in order to join).
I felt alone.

We went to church.
I felt lonely.

I’ve prayed about it. I’ve tried to work past it on my own.
I’ve hit a brick wall.

Mainly because the other person ended the conversation on a negative note… just walking away. By the end of the discussion, all I wanted was for them to believe me because I work there. I’m of the mentality that if one of my friends told me something about their company, I would believe it without question because THEY WORK THERE.

But now, all I want is for that person to apologize for walking away. They don’t have to believe me if they don’t want to, even though I’m 100% right in this case (and I would tell you if I wasn’t), but I would like an apology for not handling the situation with some class. Walking away from a discussion is a childish thing to do. It’s what our niece does if she doesn’t get her way.

Until the apology, this conflict is going to weigh heavily on my chest. Some of you may ask yourselves, why doesn’t she say something first? Why not bring up the topic of them walking away? Because I feel like they walked away to avoid finishing the discussion. Since they “ended” it, I believe they should come back first.

I know it’s a stupid topic and a dumb problem to have, but I’ve been hurt by this and when I hurt people, I apologize. I want the same thing to happen here.

Is an apology too much to ask for?

I realize it’s a 2-way street with this discussion. I know I’ll need to apologize for being too aggressive with my “rightness” and for not letting it go. I’m fine with that and I’m happy to do so, but after they approach me first.

Survey Says...

2010-03-15T17:00:00.006-05:00

It's been months since I've seen the inside of my hair stylist's salon. Thus, I have split ends and tweener hair that I'm dying to cut. But... I've come this far! I almost have "long" hair again.

Okay, so it's not that long, but I'm able to put it up in a pony tail... with no less than 4 bobby pins for the stragglers… but it’s still up!

So today's question is -

Should I cut my hair?

I want to, but I also don't want to. I need your help and honesty. Incase you have forgotten what I look like (with long hair, of course) I've included photos just for you.

(and they are in order of l for "long" comes first in the alphabet... none of this subconscious mumbo-jumbo of which photo I put first is what I'm secretly wanting...)

I and my hair thank you in advance for the completion of this survey.

Canvas + Paint + Kaylan = Art

2010-03-12T10:08:00.004-06:00

Move over Picasso. Step aside Monet. There is a new painter in town and there’s only room for one in the Eastepp Gallery for the Arts.

Okay, so I’m not Picasso or Monet… I’m not even Dali worthy… but I have unleashed a new found love of painting.

Last night, M from Yoyo’s House met me at Painting with a Twist in Grapevine. I wasn’t sure what to expect or if I’d be any good. But two of the rules stated:
1. Remember to have fun.
2. Remember to drink your wine!

M and I accomplished both of those rules and created beautiful pieces of art ready for a blank wall and a longing nail.

They call this “Moonlight Cherry Blossoms.” I call it art.

Welcome to the Wilderness

2010-03-10T13:32:00.006-06:00

Our hike this weekend was great. We met a group of adventurers at Backwoods in Fort Worth and set off for Eagle Mountain Lake.

We all agreed on a path and went from there. You go at your own pace and have a great time in the wilderness. It’s was kind of chilly at first, but as we got into the harder terrain, we were almost sweating. This picture is of my favorite part. It’s flat and has the canopy of trees that will be so beautiful when the leaves come out. It reminded us an English country manor road leading up to a lovely cottage. I want this to be my driveway.

Here, we’re at the top of the scenic overlook.

I really enjoyed getting out early in the morning and experiencing nature. I can’t wait to go back.

This weekend is sure to be fun times. St. Paddy’s Day in Dallas! Since Craig isn’t working in retail, we’ll actually be able to experience more than in the past. We plan on cheering on our Pirate Friends as they race in the Dash Down Greenville and then enjoying the parade and plenty of beer!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Pictures Speak a Thousand Words

2010-03-05T15:41:00.012-06:00

December 2009

At my parent's house for Christmas.
I’ve always loved playing in the fire, specifically burning paper.

At Craig’s mom’s house for Christmas.
Carole and I got the sweater dress memo!

January 2010 – Ski Trip to Colorado

Craig and I in Breckenridge.

Craig and I beginning our night skiing at Keystone.
So much fun!!

February 2010 – New Orleans
On Bourbon St. ready to party.

Bourbon St. right after the Saints won the Super Bowl.
It was madness and took forever to get to the other end.

Monster Truck Jam at Cowboys Stadium

They had all kinds of cool trucks.
One shaped like the car from Batman, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle,
and my favorite - the “Monster Mutt”.
It had a tail, floppy ears, and a tongue.

Having too much fun at the Monster Truck Jam.

And one picture to grow on.

Maddie loves the snow!
She especially liked catching snowballs in the air.
She did not like having to sit still for this picture…
she wanted me to throw another snow ball!

This weekend, we're going on a hike with Backwoods. Bright and early tomorrow morning, Craig and I will be cruzin' the paths at Eagle Mountain Lake. Don't worry, we'll have a guide! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Been Away For Too Long

2010-02-26T10:31:00.004-06:00

I know, I know... it's been too long since my last post to even still have a blogger account, but I'm doing my best here people!

Actually, my best would be blogging more often, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

A friend sent me a link to a new blog online and I think it's on a path to crazy town.... so naturally, I had to share. It's Project Husband 2010. I can't even begin to describe it. But it's cute and sweet... and hopefully it works for her. I'm going to subscribe to her blog so I can find out what happens.

To catch everyone up with our world:
December – We had a lovely time with family and friends during Christmas. Flutissimo concerts went well, but I decided to take some time off from the choir.

January - SKI TRIP!!! We spent a full blissful week in Colorado and skied at Copper Mountain - love!!, Breckenridge - new found love (I skied there when I was in high school and didn't love the mountain, but now that I'm an experienced skier, it was fabulous.), and we tried night skiing at Keystone - double love. Craig was still searching for a job but was able to finish the bathroom project and he started on building our shed/car port in the backyard.

February - Who Dat! Saints are World Champions!! Since I was a little girl, I've followed the Saints. During the years when we were called the 'Aints, I wasn't such a good fan. But they've reeled me back in over the past few years and I've been following them religiously ever since. So, naturally, we had to go to New Orleans to the biggest Saints watching party of all time. It was pandemonium when they won. The streets were packed, people were high fiving strangers. There were tears, shouts of joy, and plenty of Who Dats. Everyone was happy that night.

Weekend plans - Monster Truck Rally at Cowboys Stadium. Crazy I know, but it's Clint's birthday and Craig wanted to take him to the rally. We managed to get free tickets, so I can't complain. Many thanks to my friend - you know who you are!

So many things happened since the last time I posted. I'll post a picture show if things in the days to come.

Until next time, we'll keep Easteppin'.

Book Ends: -- Between the Pages --

2009-12-10T15:04:00.007-06:00

I've read a few books since my last book post, so I'd like to catch you up on some page turners.

1. I recently finished reading Atlantis Prophecy by Thomas Greanias. It's the second in the series, but the first one I read - the City of Hurst Library didn't have the first one.
I would suggest starting with Atlantis Raising. There were a few parts of the book that I think carried over from the first one, so I didn't get all the "inside jokes", but it wasn't too distracting.
If you like books like The DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons, you'll like this. It's set in Washington D.C., so think about the movie National Treasure mixed with DaVinci Code.
Next book in the series: The Atlantis Revelation -- Definitely one that I’ll pick up at the library.

2. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
I borrowed this one from a friend (thanks, Michelle) and to be honest, I didn't think I would like it. I'm not a big sappy story reader. I don't like to cry. I don't like to read sad stories. I don't typically like love stories. And this definitely wasn't my usual mystery/suspense kind of book. But after the first chapter, I was hooked. I know he's a well known author, but geez, he's good. He really sucks you in and while the story is pretty predicable, it was still a page turner.

Let's put it this way, I didn't think I would read the other two books I borrowed, but I'm now on the second Nicholas Sparks book!

3. Which brings me to what I'm currently reading - The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

Also borrowed from Michelle, it's an engaging short read that keeps me awake at night because all I want to do is see what happens next.

If you haven't read one of the many Sparks books, I recommend either of these as a launching point. But do not hold me accountable for sleepless nights and the addiction that may ensue for more of his books.

Happy reading.

Trees & Coco

2009-12-10T14:59:00.002-06:00

Nothing like sitting at home on a cold winters evening with your Christmas tree all lit up and a warm cup of coco (with milk, kahlua, and marshmallows.)

Hope your cold night is as warm as a cup of coco.

Picture Show II

2009-12-10T10:17:00.005-06:00

Left out a couple of pictures in my post from yesterday.

Saints Watching Party at Hooters

Monday Night Football on November 30

Saints v. Patriots in NO.LA.

The whole gang of Saints Fans... the ones I converted!

L-R: Allen, Kaylan, Craig, Blue, Doss, Michelle, and Brittany
The Saints WON against the Patriots!
Who dat'... who dat'... who dat'... who...
GEAUX SAINTS!

Tune in this Sunday, December 13 to see the Saints take on the Falcons in Atlanta. Game time 12:00 p.m. CT. Last time these two teams faced off, Saints were on top 35-27.

GEAUX SAINTS...
make your run at 13-0!

The story of how I came to love the Saints, in readers digest form:
When I was a little girl, merely four or five years old, my mom was the flight attendant for the Saints chartered plane on Braniff. She would take me on some of the flights with her and I got to know the team and the owner pretty well, as well as a little kid-o can. Several times, my family was invited to sit in the owners suite at the Super Dome to watch the games. I would walk around with my little Saints umbrella saying crazy things like "The Saints are on a roll, like a biscuit." (Apparently, I thought rolls were like biscuits.) Anywhoodle, I've been a Saints fan ever since. The Cowboys are okay, but they will never match up to my Saints. And there will be a divided house when the Saints v. Cowboys game kicks off on December 19! Cowboys are going down!!!

One more time for the road - GEAUX SAINTS!

Picture Show

2009-12-09T16:04:00.017-06:00

Here are some pictures I promised I would share once I received them.

Our tree before it was cut down. It was leaning on the southern side of the house

Tree almost cut down...

No more tree.

At my second cousin Zac's football game. He plays for the Eustace Bulldogs.

He'll be a senior next year.

L-R: Doss, Zac, Nana, Tyler (Zac's brother), Kaylan, Craig

First Thanksgiving - okay, not our first, but the first one for 2009!

We're at Craig's aunt's house.

L-R: Kaylan, Craig, Uncle Mortey(seated), Aunt Judy, Clint (Craig's brother), Kim, Natalie (held by Kim)

The start of the second Thanksgiving.

Only appropriate with football and beer - those are spanish olives in my beer. Yum-o.

Turkey before the fryer.

Turkey in the fryer.

Kaylan the carver - I carved two turkeys and one ham.

And I get kind of possessive of my turkey/ham carving station!

Almost pirate like...

Thanksgiving Dinner Table.

Friday, December 4 was my mom's birthday. We had a lovely dinner and on Saturday, Mom, Dad, Nana, and I went to the Stars game. We were so high up that we could touch the back wall. It was nauseating climbing the stairs.

On Sunday... busy weekend... was Craig's holiday party for his store. We went to Bosses Pizza (delicious).

L-R: Joan, Bo, Danny, Marylin, Shawn, Jennifer, Corey, Julie, Marcia, Craig

Also, this weekend, we put up our skinny Christmas tree.
Count down to Christmas: 16 Days!

Happy Turkey Day

2009-11-25T11:12:00.002-06:00

Hope you have a woner-FULL Thanksgiving tomorrow.

~Kaylan & Craig

Fun Times a Plenty

2009-11-23T15:57:00.010-06:00

Wanted to share some fun times with family and friends lately.

November 13 – Went to Mesquite to watch my second cousin Zach play football for Eustace High School. He’s a junior and he’s big – well over 6 ft. tall! He’s being pursued by TCU. Keeping my fingers crossed for him. Zach is my cousin Brit’s first son.

November 14 – my brother Doss got a new tattoo for his birthday. He'd wanted to get a new one for some time and finally got the cross with wings for his birthday. It took a few hours, but it looks great! Smitty at Randy Adams Tattoo did a phenomenal job.

November 14 – again – We celebrated his birthday and Who You Callin’ Cupcake’s birthday at 8.0’s in Fort Worth. Always a good time with that crowd.

November 22 – Craig’s soccer games are always fun because his team can be a bit drama filled. Last night was no exception, but the real fun was on the sidelines watching little Ava, my other second cousin, chase after bubbles that Ashley (my cousin/Ava’s mom/Brit’s sister) was blowing. It was a bit chilly and her little hat was just too cute.

Check out the video below of Ava chasing bubbles.

Oh, and I “fixed” my camera. Turns out if you put in NEW batteries it works just fine.

And… drum roll, please! Flutissimo! Flute Choir has officially launched a website – flutissimoflutechoir.com. I’m super pumped. Please visit the site often and see what new things are happening with our group.

I hope you have fun times ahead this week with Thanksgiving! We’re going to be at Craig’s mom’s house and we’re playing Turkey Day Bingo during the football game. If you want the bingo sheets for your friends and family to play, email me!

Two Weeks

2009-11-11T16:15:00.005-06:00

Oh my, where did the time go? It's been several weeks since my last posting... to catch up to speed on what's been going on:

We removed a tree from our front yard. With all the extra rain we've received this year, the tree, which was already leaning, started to lean on the house. Since that's considered dangerous, we decided to have it removed. One week later, we're less one tree in the front and our house should be safe! I'll upload pictures after they're downloaded from my mom's camera.

Which brings me to number 2. My camera died on Halloween. Every time I turn it on, it dies. I can't even get the lens to go back in. Bummer. So I've been borrowing my mom's camera and my brother's, which I'm sure he doesn't know I have!

We had our company softball tournament last Tuesday. It was a fun day full of tailgating, drinking, pizza, and softball. I even got my picture taken with the best pitcher to ever play the game - Mr. Nolan Ryan!

My co-worker, Jenny turned the big 3.0. on Monday. We celebrated her birthday this past weekend at Joe T's and Four Day Weekend. Can't beat margaritas and comedy!

5. This week, I've been under the weather with a sore throat. Craig even missed work today because he was feeling crummy. But my good friend Heidi brought some spice tea by the office this afternoon. I'll definitely drink a cup tonight. Cheers.

This weekend, we'll be celebrating some birthdays. My brother and my bestie's sister will turn one year older on Monday, November 16. AYAYAYAYAYA (if you don't know what that means, don't ask!) I plan on hanging out with Doss and Molly and then convince them that the real party will be at 8.0's. That's where Girl v. the World and Who you callin' Cupcake will be celebrating Cupcake's birthday. We always have good times, so I really want to be there.

And last but not least - My bestie and her lobster are engaged! I'm so excited I think I just peed my pants. I know she's wanted this for sometime and my heart is so happy that she is going to experience all the joyous times of marriage (and the not so joyous!) To C & Lobster - Congratulations a million times over. I can't wait to watch as you two begin a life together.

And that has been my life in a nut shell for the past few weeks.

Next on the docket is Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday! I know, it should be Christmas, but there seems to be so much pressure around that time of year. I have so many fond memories of turkey, stuffing, pie, my grandparents, my family, Athens, Texas, and many more from my childhood. Of all of my memories as a kid, I would relive Thanksgiving over and over if I could.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? What's your favorite memory of this time of year?

2009-10-30T10:59:00.001-05:00

Dear Mother Nature,

Thank you for creating the swimming pool in my backyard with all the excessive rain. I had one as a kid and always wanted one at my house now.

Problem is, my pup, Maddie, like's to play in the "pool". So, will you please make it stop raining so the pool dries up? I don't like having to clean her each time she wants to come inside.

Oh, and I'll send you my carpet cleaning bill from Maddie tracking mud in because we thought she was clean enough...

Okay, thanks a bunch.
~Kaylan on Valentine

Slutty Halloween

2009-10-21T16:42:00.003-05:00

Anyone ever noticed that once you become a female adult, your Halloween costume must include the word “slutty”?

Why is that the case?

I don’t want to be a slut. Ever.

Thanks for letting me vent… I’m better now.

I’m open to suggestions on what I should be for Halloween (that doesn’t involve the word slut).

State Fair Picture Show

2009-10-15T15:01:00.007-05:00

Craig and I visited the State Fair of Texas on Tuesday. Here are some pictures from our excursion.

See Big Tex then hop over to Fletcher's to get the best corny dog on the planet!

FYI - if you're going to the fair, the cheapest beer is 6 tickets and is located in the Food Pavilion next to Big Tex. Do not pay the 12 tickets that they ask for at Fletcher's. Just get the corny dogs from there.

Yum-o... a Fletcher's with mustard.

After our corny dog, we tried the fried oreos. We tried the fired cheese curds last year. They are okay, but the fried oreos are delicious. They taste like regular oreos, but with a very crunchy exterior. We saw the fried butter, but I just couldn't bring myself to try it. It sounds disgusting.

After the Fair, we went to Uptown to the Idle Rich Pub and enjoyed a frosty Oktoberfest beverage and bratwurst. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the sights and sounds of being in downtown.

The fair closes this Sunday, October 18. Hope you're able to visit Fair Park before the fair rolls out of town.

Over The Top

2009-10-15T14:08:00.003-05:00

The rules of accepting this award is that I have to answer the following questions and then pass the award on to six other bloggers.

Where is your cell phone: in front of me on my desk... waiting for it to ring... but it never does.
Your hair: short and straight
Your mother: creative, crafty, loving no matter what
Your father: when I was younger, we always said he was a square, but he would do anything you asked of him. Also very loving.
Your favorite food: my mom's chicken enchilada's
Your dream from last night: I don't really remember
Your favorite drink: diet dr pepper and wine... no, not together
Your dream/goal: not really sure at the moment... I'll get back to you when I find out
What room are you in: my office at work, which is really in a hallway, but still an office
What is your hobby: working out
What is your fear: not finding a goal in life, not having enough money to pay the bills or buy groceries
Where do you want to be in 6 years: 6 years older and happy about it
Where were you last night: went to the gym and kicked butt at kickboxing then came home to read my book
Something you are not: stress free
Muffins: pass me the blueberry any day of the week and I'm a happy girl
Wish list items: the new Dan Brown book, a second iron tea kettle, more of my favorite tea
Where did you grow up: Texas - born and bred
Last thing you did: start this blog
What are you wearing: khaki pants and a black top
Your TV: is nice
Your pets: are lovable - Monkey (kitty) and Maddie (doggie)
Your friends: couldn't get any better
Your life: moving along while I enjoy the ride
Your mood: strange
Missing someone: Jim, Salem, and Squirt (family and pets that have passed within this month... too much death lately)
Vehicle: Pepper - my Ford Edge
Something you're not wearing: would it be weird if I said I forgot my underwear this morning? I didn't... I have underwear on, but I thought I would ask.
Your favorite store: I don't shop... but if I had to pick I would say New York and Company, Guess, Express, Victoria Secret, Target... okay, maybe I shop a little
Your favorite color: purple
When's the last time you laughed: at the State Fair on Tuesday... some people should really look in the mirror before leaving the house
When's the last time you cried: Sunday - when I found out Salem died that morning
Your best friend: the smartest, most loving, crazy funny person to be around
One place you go over and over: work... for some reason, I can't stop going
One person who emails me regularly: my friends at MLBAM
Favorite place to eat: I don't really have a favorite place, but I live for anything Tex-Mex

Sorry, but I only have three people I would like to pass this to:

YoYo over at YoYo's House

Laura at The O'Arnolds

Jenny & Kelly living the good life at Muy Muy Muy

Tootin’ a Fluten’

2009-10-12T15:53:00.002-05:00

Nope, I’m not speaking another language. Just talking flute… Flutissimo! Flute Choir. We’ve been rehearsing for over two months and things are starting to come together nicely – just in time for our concert.

Our main concert is this Sunday, October 18 at 6:30 p.m. and it’s our annual Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser. We’ll be playing spooky, Halloween type music for our “Boo” series.

Hope you’re able to join us this Sunday.

Sunday, October 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Richland Hills United Methodist Church
7301 Glenview Dr., N. Richland Hills

Tail Waggin’ Good Time

2009-10-12T14:34:00.004-05:00

Yesterday (Sunday) Maddie, Craig, and I participated in the Life Bark/Walk in Dallas. It’s an event that helps raise awareness for AIDS and HIV. We went because I love taking Maddie anywhere that allows dogs.

After the walk, we were going to hit up the Gingerman Bar in Dallas, which I had heard was dog friendly. They typically are, but something happened and they lost their permit, so we weren’t sure what we were going to do.

After asking around, we found a place in Uptown with a dog friendly patio called the State & Allen Lounge. We hung out on their heated patio, watched the Cowboys game, and enjoyed some good food. Even Maddie got a few table scraps for being a good pup.

Sunday was such a great day for our little family.

How was your weekend?

Oktoberfest

2009-10-12T14:14:00.003-05:00

Two weekends ago, we traveled to Fredericksburg, Texas for Oktoberfest with Allen and Michelle. We stayed at the Inn on Baron’s Creek, which is within walking distance to the festival – walking after drinking = good idea.

We had a blast. Lots of German style beer, yummy brats with sauerkraut, and the chicken dance. This makes for a very, very good time.

Things to do and see while in Fredericksburg:

-- Visit a winery or two. I recommend Grape Creek… delicious.

-- Stroll down Main Street. Super cute shops and plenty of places to eat and drink like The Brewery.

-- Delight yourself in a German style bakery for breakfast. There is one just down from the Fredericksburg Winery on Main Street, but I can’t remember the name… oh. my. goodness… it’s sinfully good.

-- Make the trip to the Hill Top Café. It’s in a random place outside of town, but the pie is worth the drive.

-- Drink a beer in Luckenbach. Only 10 minutes from Fredericksburg, this town is like stepping back into the Wild West. The general store, the post office, and saloon are all in the same building. At least they have their priorities. Don’t forget to bring cash.

-- Try to make it to Oktoberfest in October. You have to book your rooms early in order to stay within walking distance, but the festival is so much fun. If you like crafts, music, good food, and plenty of beer, this is the place for you.

When it Rains…

2009-09-30T13:31:00.005-05:00

… it pours. Or at least it seems too.

Craig’s step-father, Jim, passed away on Sunday, September 20. After Craig’s grandfather passed away in November of last year, then his grandmother had a stroke and is confined to a bed, and now this. How much more heartache can the family endure?

With God, we can endure anything, including this.

Jim was a great guy. He was absolutely wonderful to Craig’s family and he had many, many friends that cared deeply about him. But Jim was more to me than a great guy, a wonderful person, or a good friend.

We had a different relationship that involved our love of the Rangers. Even though I only knew him for a short time, I feel like he took me in and made me a daughter. You see, he’s estranged from his only true daughter, and he had Carole and Clint’s wife, Kim, that he could call daughters, and not to down play their relationships with him, but I feel like Jim and I had something deeper than they did. That deeper connection was sports, more specifically, baseball… Rangers Baseball.

I’ll miss my talks with Jim about how we’re doing, who we’re playing, and if we’re going to get some pitching. I’ll really miss him.

Needless to say, the past week and a half has been very difficult. And to add fuel to the fire, we found out that Craig’s store will be closing for good on December 31, 2009. His company filed for Chapter 11 and needed to sell Bailey, Banks, and Biddle to make up some of their losses. When the auction was held for the rights to Bailey, Banks, and Biddle, no one expected a liquidation company to win the bid and ultimately seal the fate of all the stores closing.

But there is always a silver lining to every rain cloud. You just have to look for it.

During Jim’s funeral, Craig read a eulogy he’d written for Jim. In his speech, he mentioned going through the teaching program. After the service, the pastor’s wife approached Craig to see where he was teaching. When he explained that he had not found a position yet, she told him about an opportunity at Southwest Christian School’s Preparatory Campus in Benbrook. Then, Pastor Grassley told Craig he would personally visit Southwest Christian and put in a good word.

Craig completed his application last night. We’re continuing to pray for a position, especially in light of the new developments with Bailey, Banks, and Biddle.

When things like Jim’s passing, the news of Craig’s store closing, and the potential for a job all happen within a short time frame, I know exactly what’s going on. God is working and moving through our lives during the times when we need it most. He is walking beside us, giving us a shoulder to lean on, and He is carrying us during those times when we can’t walk on our own.

I love God. He is so amazing. And I’m so jealous of Jim for having seen Him in person. I know I’ll see Jim again in Heaven. He’ll meet me at the gates with the rest of my family that precedes me. I know God will take these dark and dismal times and make the sun shine on our faces again soon.

But until then, when it rains, it may pour, but I’ll put on my galoshes and splash in the puddles.

In Memory of Jim Smith
1947-2009

“The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face to shine upon you,
And be gracious unto you;
The Lord lift His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”
~Numbers 6:24-26

Progress

2009-08-31T12:06:00.003-05:00

I feel like I made some serious progress this weekend. Not only did I get the majority of my “list of things” done, I completed a few things I left off.

Here was my list from Friday:
1. Check, check, and check - Workout (tonight is turbo kickboxing, tomorrow is weight lifting and a calm & core class, and Sunday is yoga.)
2. I don’t get a check, but Craig does! - Mow the overgrown jungle that is my yard - front and back... yikes.
3. Check Plus - Laundry and lots of it (I was lazy last weekend).
4. Check Minus - Attempt to de-clutter the guest bedroom and office.

Even though I only tackled the guest bedroom (because I selfishly wanted to be outside on Sunday), I still got plenty done around the house.

Like:
1. Clean up the back porch
2. Vacuum the house and the couches
3. Dust the furniture
4. Make cute heart cakes for dessert – yum-o.

My pride and joy for the weekend: I did a serious overhaul on the back porch. Since it’s so hot outside, we don’t typically spend much time in the back yard. And with Maddie digging a big hole near the porch, we had dirt everywhere. After shoveling and sweeping the dirt back into the hole, I decided to clean the rest of the porch, too. Two hours later, it was complete. I feel so much better.

We would have eaten dinner outside last night if it weren’t for the plethora of mosquitoes that automatically started sucking my blood when I went to show Craig my accomplishment with the porch. Not one mosquito on him… not one, but my legs were covered with them. Drat. So we ate inside, but I still feel great about the way our porch looks.

Did you get anything accomplished this weekend?

Book Ends: Undone & The Doomsday Key

2009-08-28T14:05:00.005-05:00

A fictional novel by Karin Slaughter, Undone is the third in her Will Trent series. He’s the main detective in her gripping murder suspense series set in Atlanta, GA.

A badly beaten and tortured woman is in the middle of county road when she is struck by a car being driven by an elderly couple. When the police are cleaning up the scene, Special Agent Trent is searching the surrounding forest area when he comes across a crudely built underground cave where he believes the victims were tortured. Yep, victims… he determines that two girls were kept in the cave. Do Special Agent Trent and his partner Faith Mitchell find the other girl? Are there other caves?

Ms. Slaughter captures you in the first few chapters and keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire ride. With all the twists and turns, you can’t seem to get a good grasp on who the killer is, and with the next girl missing, you want them to find the killer now.

Parts of the story can be a bit gruesome and the language is definitely R rated. Even though this is a third installment, it is not necessary to read the previous two books to understand what’s going on.

Over all, I give Undone a 4+ out of 5.

**********************************************************

If you’re looking for a less gruesome book but with all the suspense and action, check out the next book in the Sigma Force Series by James Rollins. The Doomsday Key is sure to keep you up at night while you fly through the novel.

As in his previous novels (mentioned here), the science and history lesson you get will be well worth the read. Plus, the action is non-stop and jam packed with sophisticated weapons, exotic places, and theories and ideas that threaten our world today.

I definitely recommend Sigma Force Series to any and all that are looking for an adventure in the palm of their hands. However, please start this series at the beginning. While Mr. Rollins “catches you up”, it’s not the same as if you were to read the others first.

Over all, I give The Doomsday Key a 5 out of 5.

I wish you happy reading.
Do you have any books that you recommend?

Hello Friday...

2009-08-28T13:13:00.002-05:00

... I've missed you all week.

Just a few short hours until the weekend and I can't wait. Not that anything particularly fun is going to happen. Nonetheless, I won't be at work for two days.

What will I do with my two days, you ask?!?! Hum... let's see:

Workout (tonight is turbo kickboxing, tomorrow is weight lifting and a calm & core class, and Sunday is yoga).

Mow the overgrown jungle that is my yard - front and back... yikes.

Laundry and lots of it (I was lazy last weekend).

Attempt to de-clutter the guest bedroom and office.

On another subject, Craig is taking another test this weekend. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues the ever daunting task of finding a teaching job.

Hope you have a great Friday.

Magic Genie

2009-08-27T14:33:00.005-05:00

Oh Magic Baseball Genie, would you please grant me one wish this summer?

That the Rangers win this

by beating the

Please?!?

GGGGGGGOOOOOOO

It worked!

2009-08-17T11:42:00.001-05:00

Thank you to everyone for their continued prayers and good thoughts! Craig has passed his test. Whew. What a relief.

Now he can fully apply for teaching positions. (He was able to apply before, but he couldn’t get an interview until he had test results.)

School starts on Monday… please continue to pray for him to find a job.

Ketchup

2009-08-04T14:55:00.007-05:00

Whew, I can’t believe its August. Time seems to be flying by this summer. Since I haven’t blogged in a while, but have plenty to blog about, the following is a brief synopsis of what’s been happening in my small corner of the world.

July 22 – Went to see Harry Potter. You’ve gotta see it… but only if you’ve already seen the others.

July 26 – Club America vs. Chelsea Football (soccer) Game at the new Cowboys Stadium. Not only was the place uber nice, but Chelsea FC gained a new fan! Clap, Clap, Clap, Chel-sea!

July 30 – Finally saw my brother again. It’s been since my birthday but our schedules never lined up. Now that he’s quit one of his three jobs, I can see him again. We went for drinks at Boomerjack’s in Bedford. We had a great time and when we were leaving Derek Holland, pitcher for the Rangers, was walking in. He had just pitched a great game, so we told him that as we were talking out. Kind of cool to see Derek in Bedford.

August 1-2 – went to Houston to see Craig’s grandmother. She’s been having a hard time of it as of late, with the stroke and all. Craig really wanted to see her.

On a happier note, we stayed at a really cool hotel just outside of Houston, in Tomball. It’s an earth friendly, green hotel that strives to be as green and organic as possible. They are building more around the country and there’s one slotted to open in the coming months at DFW Airport. Check it out here>>

The best part of our trip to Houston was Lupe Tortilla. It’s our favorite place to eat fajitas. I don’t eat fajitas anywhere else because they will never compare to the delicious, sizzling, yummy concoction as Lupe’s. Oh, I’m getting hungry thinking about it!

Also, I’ve started designing my flute choir’s website. We haven’t had one before so I’m putting it all together from scratch. It’s been extremely fun for me, but kind of time consuming. See what’s going on here>>

All I have left to do on this one is get the domain name and start officially posting it.

I forgot how much I love to design web pages. Almost makes me wonder if I’m in the wrong business. I’ll never be able to do what we have on the Rangers side and still work for the team. I’d have to go to work for Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media (MLBAM). But I love the team aspect of my job and I wouldn’t have that at MLBAM.

So I guess I’ll have to continue designing part-time. I already have another website in the works for my mom and her business. I’ll be starting that one soon. If you have any website needs, please let me know!

Things coming up:

August 6 - Flute Choir starts. I’m going to miss my free time on Thursdays!!!

August 12 - Craig will take another test for teaching. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to look for a job. This test will also make him marketable to middle school and junior high.

August 15-16 – potential to go somewhere, anywhere with Craig. We haven’t really celebrated our anniversary other than dinner. We’re thinking Austin, Lake Texoma, or maybe just a simple ‘staycation’… we’ll see.

I think this is all for my Heinz 57 blog. It’s a little all-over-the-map, but it’s my life in a nutshell.

Book Ends: Play Dirty

2009-07-21T12:46:00.004-05:00

I finished reading a fictional novel last night that I wanted to share with my bloggie friends.

Play Dirty by Sandra Brown is set in Dallas and involves a juicy love story with the twist of murder, deception, and strange requests. The fictional cast of characters includes a former Cowboys Quarterback, CEO of a Dallas based airline, his wife, and Dallas Police Detectives. (The book also mentions the Texas Rangers which was an added bonus.)

Ms. Brown does a phenomenal job of drawing you in hook, line, and sinker with in the first few pages. The strange and emotional story of the quarterback make you continue to turn the page. Then, as the request of the CEO and his wife are brought to fruition, you can’t put the book down. Between the love story and the intense race to right the wrong, you’ll fly though this book in no time.

As an added bonus, this book has been on the shelves for a few years, so you should have no trouble finding this at Half-Price Books.

It’s a great easy summer read, but there are a few slow parts that could have been avoided. Her style of writing is simple yet complex and allows the reader to feel what the character feels.

Over all, I give it a 4 on a scale of 5.

Do you recommend another easy summer read?

The Waiting Game

2009-07-20T11:33:00.003-05:00

Do you hate waiting for things? Christmas? Your birthday? Big test results that could determine the outcome of your life?

Okay, may not the outcome of my life, but definitely close. Craig took his competency test for history yesterday. Now we play the waiting game to see if he passed. He feels good about it, but he was questionable on several answers, so he’s a wee bit nervous. I’ve have so much anxiety about this, and it’s not even my test! I just want this so badly for him and for us.

We should know by the end of the week, but for the time being, please share how you overcome anxiety such as this. My fingernails are already bitten to the quick and I don’t want to pull my hair out… it’s kind of cute on me!

Still waiting…

Weekend Wrap-Up

2009-07-13T16:42:00.006-05:00

It was a busy yet relaxing weekend.

I got up early on Saturday and restarted by gym membership. YEAH! I’ve been so down since I haven’t been able to workout as frequently. Sure, I could run out side, if I survived the heat. So I bit the bullet and started back. I’m pumped. After work today, I’m hitting up the gym… but I digress.

After the gym on Saturday, I went to my favorite grocery store and managed to be a frugal shopper! At Central Market, I snagged 2 ahi tuna steaks, 1 big bunch of asparagus stalks, 1 bottle of pinot noir from Oregon, and some spinach artichoke dip with garlic parmesan flat bread crackers.

After the grocery store, I swung by North East Mall to see Craig at work. I couldn’t tell you the last time I was at the mall!

Then it was back to the house to start on dinner. After searing the tuna and sautéing the asparagus, dinner was ready… very quick meal! We had a delicious, seemingly fancy, yet inexpensive meal at home before going to see Little Shop of Horrors at Bass Hall. Oh, it’s my favorite! I had a hard time not busting out in song with the cast. During intermission, they had a Thriller show in honor of Michael Jackson. My night was complete.

Sunday was a lazy day at home with house cleaning. Since Craig was working, I got caught up on some reading and finished my book – The Last Oracle by James Rollins. It’s the fourth book in his Sigma Force series and it’s full of history, science, suspense, mystery, and action. Check out his website for an excerpt and to see a list of his other books.

The weekend came to an end with Craig’s soccer game last night, where he got a yellow card because he took a guy out. It’s not as bad as it sounds, he just tackled the guy. The game ended in a tie, but it was a well fought game with lots of drama. His team is great with drama, considering they are all grown men.

What did you do this weekend, anything exciting?

My Friday Prayer

2009-07-10T16:52:00.003-05:00

Dear Lord,

It’s Kaylan, again. Do you mind turning the heat down a bit, it’s really hot here. See what my car temperature gage told me yesterday?

I would prefer the temperature to not be this hot any more. I do thank you for the warmth, but we can use a break from all the heat.

Sincerely yours forever,
Kaylan
<><

I know what you’re thinking… I live in Texas and I shouldn’t complain, but my fingers almost blister up when I touch my door handle to open my car. Then, I climb into my sauna-on-wheels, known as a Ford Edge, and I continue to bake to a nice bubbly brown until the a/c can catch up. Let’s face it, 110° is bloody hot!

I do hope God hears/reads my blog-prayer because I would really like it to be less hot.

How do you beat the heat?

I prefer a nice margarita or an ice cold beer. The best place for cold beer is this place called The Pit BBQ in Saginaw. They keep their glasses so cold that when you get your beer it’s a slushy liquid! Mmm… beer.

And my pick for the best margarita is R.J. Gators in Hurst at the North East Mall. If you get the regular frozen Gatorita, it comes in a huge martini glass, and I mean huge, and there is a tequila topper on top. One of those things makes me loopy. Hola, margarita!

Please silence your kids!

2009-07-09T11:12:00.002-05:00

It should say this before a movie “Please silence your cell phones and your noisy kids before the movie.” Either that or the movie theater should have a strict limit on what age should be allowed into the movie, a loud and seemingly scary movie at that, regardless if a parent is present.

Sorry to all you parents reading this, but if you pay $8.50 to watch a movie, you shouldn’t have to put up with talkative and screaming kids that are 4 years old and sitting right in front of you.

Last night, Craig and I went to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. At a major part of the movie, the young kiddo in front of us stood up and wanted to have a conversation. Maybe the parents can tune that noise out, but I can’t. It was so distracting that I had to say something his mom. It was only then that they tried to keep the kid seated and quiet.

Geez… you have a theater full of people and they have no courtesy for those watching the movie. Get with it people… you’re not the only one on the planet.

If I wanted to hear babies during the movie, I would have gone to see a matinee Disney film. Instead, we saw a loud, blow-em up, action, thriller at 9 p.m. on a Wednesday. Who brings their young kid to see this?

Sigh. I’m stepping off my soap box now.

For those interested, the movie was good, although much darker than the first. I would say the first movie is fluffy, getting the full story with a feel good ending. The second is more action packed, lots of moving parts (no pun intended), with highs and lows periodically placed throughout the movie. Again directed by Michael Bay, the one thing I wasn’t fond of was some of the scenes where people were falling. Their scream couldn’t have sounded more fake to me. And some of the effects looked like they didn’t take their time in post-editing. Also, those that have seen it, did you think Megan Fox’s lips look like she’s trying to be Angelina?

Over all, I think the movie is worth seeing, especially if you saw the first one, and definitely see it in the theater were you can get the big booms and bangs during the action.

Vote for Ian

2009-07-07T15:09:00.001-05:00

I don't mix work with pleasure very often, but please vote for Ian Kinsler to go to the All-Star Game. Voting is unlimited, so vote now and vote often!

That’s a Wrap…

2009-07-07T09:59:00.001-05:00

… on the family vacation.

I didn’t have a good wifi connection on the last day of our vacation so I couldn’t post a follow up to the day before.

The chutes were cool on Thursday. Much better than I thought they would be. We floated on the Comal River in New Braunfels. Here’s a fun fact: it’s the shortest navigable river in the State of Texas. After that float, we floated the normal part of our river in Canyon Lake. After the sun starts to set, that river gets really cold. Okay, so the temperature of the water doesn’t change, but you practically shiver out of your tube because you’re missing the warmth of the sun. Our frozen booties made it back to the trailer for a nice burger dinner, compliments of Craig the grill-mister.

Friday morning, we got in one more float before packing up and heading out. That afternoon, Craig and I had a snack at Mozie’s in Gruene before starting our trek to Granbury to hang with the folks for the 4th of July. We traversed the back roads of Texas where there are quaint little towns and lovely scenery. Moo Cows abound in those parts of Texas, along with cactus. Who knew there was so much cactus territory here? How do the cows and horses maneuver through it all?

Anyway, we spent the weekend in Granbury at my parent’s lake house. The weather was nice and the water was warm, very different from the rivers we floated. We watched fireworks from the lake on the boat and watched Craig kneeboard on Sunday before returning to our neck of the woods in Hurst.

Now it’s back to the grindstone. Craig started his teaching program yesterday with online classes. He’s so gung-ho about it that he almost finished two days worth of classes in one day. Nice.

Things are going well back at the office. It’s busy with All-Star stuff, but it’s better to come back and be busy, than be bored and wishing you were still on vacation.

Pictures to come soon…

Family Vacation – take 3

2009-07-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hola. Yesterday was a nice relaxing day floating the river after breakfast. With the rain from yesterday and the day before, the water level was a little higher and moving slightly faster. That equals better floating conditions, because you don’t have to get out and move your tube off the rocks when you get stuck. Don’t get me wrong, I still get stuck every now and then, but it’s not nearly as much as on Monday tubing adventure.

After tubing, we went to this bar called Daisy Dukes. That’s the same name as my brother’s two boxers – Daisy and Duke! Anyway, the bar was a cool, local bar with fun people.

I think we’re going to float this thing called the chute today… but I’m not sure on that. I’m on vacation, so I’m just rolling with the flow, literally.

Until tomorrow, have a killer time doing whatever it is you do.

Family Vacation – take 2

2009-07-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

Hello friendly bloggers. I wish you were all with us on this trip.

After a late and rainy start to the day, things shaped up nicely for a wonderful afternoon. We began at Magnolia Café in Austin with a rather large breakfast. I had the Magnolia Omelet… two fluffy eggs filled to the brim with yummy goodness - avocados, tomatoes, lots of gooey cheese, and black olives all topped with a phenomenal lemon sour cream sauce. I threw eating healthy out the window… but I wasn’t hungry again for hours! Oh, and I had two sides, home style potatoes and black beans. Oh, to eat breakfast there again.

To let the food settle and to make us feel better, we went for a stroll in the park… for a geocache. Yep, I know what you’re thinking, I’m a dork, but it’s a great way to see the city or at least the small park we were in.

We found a short windmill in the middle of this park, hidden from the street view. It took us about 10 minutes before we made the find, but I pointed to spot here I thought it was and Clint went and got it. It was the first find for Carole and Blue. Clint had never heard of my game before, so needless to say, it was his first, too.

Now that breakfast is officially settle, off to swim. Remember kids, you have to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before getting in the pool!

We headed over to Barton Springs Pool, a natural spring that comes from Colorado. Whew, it was chilly, but after you were used to the cold, it was actually really nice. The water was so clear and clean, minus the seaweed, which we aptly named spring weed. But the spring weed was few and far between so it was a nice time to swim. We had some rain move through yesterday morning, so it was that much nicer sitting on the bank of the spring after getting out of the water. Craig even snuck in a nap while we were swimming. That was a stellar place… I wish we had one in DFW. If you get a chance to swim in Austin, no matter what time of year because it’s always the same temperature – 68/70 degrees, I encourage you to visit this spring in Zilker Park.

We were worn out after swimming all day, but we had worked up an appetite. For dinner, we visited Salt Lick Barbeque. Oh. My. Goodness. Those of you that really know me know I love one type of meat at a barbeque joint, sausage, and sausage only please! The only place where I really love their sausage is Spring Creek. But now they have a competitor. I got the sausage plate and it came with so much sausage I felt my stomach would explode if I ate it all, and I’m not even talking about the side items. Fortunately, I only cared for their potato salad which is extremely hard to describe, but they are so simple and good. The other two sides, which I only had a bite of, were barbeque beans and coleslaw. Back to the sausage… it was delicious and juicy. Not one piece of grizzle and when partnered with their delectable sauce you wanted to scream out loud that it was so good. I have leftovers that I’ll probably eat for breakfast this morning after my blog. Gotta hurry… I’m hungry for more bbq.

After dinner, we trekked back to the campsite and wound down the day with some good conversation outside the trailer in the nice muggy outdoors. Today, it’s back to the river to tube, after bbq breakfast that is.

Pictures of our family adventure will be posted after I return, but stay tuned for more excitement.

Family Vacation – take 1

2009-06-30T09:26:00.004-05:00

Good morning, Texas… or good–fill in whatever time of day you’re reading this.

Craig and Kaylan are on vacation. We left bright and early yesterday morning heading for the river, with a short pit stop in Caldwell to help Clint with our hotel – uh, trailer. We arrived in Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Canyon Lake yesterday afternoon. After getting the trailer all set up, we were ready for some beer and fun… so off to the river we go.

It’s our first time to tube the river and they don’t quite prepare you for the chilly water. Who knew river water would be chilly this time of year, the lake wasn’t that cold a week ago in Granbury! Once you get used to the water and you’re in the sun, everything is perfect. The trees droop just over the water with their long limbs with bright green leaves, their roots look like many fingers as they reach into the water for a drink, and the day is fine with relaxation. No work, no bills, just you and lots of other people tubing down the river.

We are at a place in the river that makes a horseshoe in town. So you get in at one bridge and get out at the next. Then you start the process all over again. But since we were here in the afternoon, we only took one drift around the bend. Then we came back to the trailer and got ready for dinner.

We had dinner at the Gristmill in Gruene, such a cute little town. I didn’t snap any pictures last night, but I will when we go back for Gruene Hall.

After such a long and event full day, we slept great… until this morning.

Craig and I are sleep in the top bunk in the back of the trailer when it feels like someone took out the back right side of the trailer, BOOM. Craig and I sit straight up and say “what was that?” Crickets, chirp, chirp… Carole didn’t know what happened and Blue and Clint aren’t in side. After a few scary moments in the top bunk, not knowing if we should move, we found out the legs that were holding us up in the back had shifted and were not longer flat on the ground.

Not to worry, right? We still have six tires holding us up! So it’s out of the trailer, as slowly as possible, so we can check out the damage and help put it right again. Now, I’m inside blogging while the trailer is being leveled… I’m helping tell them which way we are leaning!

But the day has just begun… it looks like it’s going to rain, but we’re off to Austin to swim in Barton Creek. We are poised to have another great day of fun in the sun, with a little rain in the mix.

Stay tuned for more family vacation fun as the trip continues.

My Elvis

2009-06-26T16:27:00.002-05:00

Michael Jackson, my Elvis Presley, is dead at 50.

As a four year old girl living in Dallas, I wore a sparkly glove and carried a magazine with his face gracing the cover. I went every where with my glove and magazine. I knew all the songs. I tried to dance like him. I loved Michael Jackson.

My first memory of a tape was Michael’s music. I was in the car with one of my parents and we were going fast down the freeway. I kept trying to hold the tape out of the window and they told me not to; that I would let go and lose it forever. Like a silly girl, I held the tape out the window. Sure enough, my little hands couldn’t hold on against the whipping wind… my parents were right.

For months, when we would travel that section of the freeway, I would look for my tape. I would see the sparkly ribbon scattered around the shoulder. I wished I could string the tape back together in its hard case and listen again. I was sad I couldn’t do this… I had lost his music.

Many, many years later, I bought his greatest hits cd. Now, that same cd is stored digitally on my iPod.

Michael Jackson’s musical influence impacted me in ways I can’t put into words. He might have been a crazy guy, had some strange things happen to him, and transformed in many sad ways but after 28 years of life, he’s the one musical constant from my childhood. His songs never get old to me.

Selfishly, I don’t want him to be gone, but I’m happy that he’s no longer suffering on Earth.

So, here’s to Michael… May his music live on in the hearts of fans like me forever.

Have you been impacted by him as much as me? Tell me your story so we can keep him in our memory.

A Marvelous Monstrosity

2009-06-12T15:21:00.003-05:00

I’m not feeling much in the writing mood today. As a matter of fact, I started, stopped, erased, and restarted this blog about 5 times before deciding I didn’t have much to say.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Click here.

This afternoon, I attended a luncheon at the New Cowboys Stadium. I’ll admit the only reason I went was to see the inside. And what an inside it is to see.

Everything done to the nines, everything shines and sparkles, everything is beautiful. To be honest, I didn’t want it to be so lovely. I mean its football for crying out loud; meant to be played in the cold, dirty muck that is the field after rain and snow.

I didn’t want it to be so ravishingly stunning.

I didn’t want it to be better than Rangers Ballpark.

In my heart it will never top what I see when I come to work everyday. But Jerry out did himself with the new stadium. It’s absolutely beautiful, elegant, and timeless.

I hope you have as good a Friday as I have.
Cheers.

Welcome to the Jungle

2009-06-02T18:10:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, June 1, was my birthday and I learned a couple of very valuable lessons. It’s a long post, so grab a coffee or soda and enjoy the story. I’m sure you’ll laugh about it when you read on.

Craig and I both took off work for my birthday. I decided that all I wanted to do yesterday was hang out and go geocaching. That morning, we started our research on where we would go, but knowing that Craig likes the tricky, multi-location caches, there wasn’t too much around that would suffice.

Then, I remembered a location that I’ve wanted to try and it had two good multi caches to boot. Trouble is, neither one of us had ever been in that area nor were we really prepared for what we were getting into.

The location: Hwy. 360 & Trinity (in the very wooded area on the east side of 360)

Upon arrival, we noticed some no trespassing signs around the train station were we parked. So we drove around a bit before we decided that was the best and most secure place for my car. Plus, it was a great way into the wooded area after you went under the bridge for the train tracks. Now I know you’re thinking; we were caught trespassing. Nope, we were never spotted.

Craig and I make our way into the jungle. We start on a dirt bike/four-wheeler path that’s clear. No bushwhacking necessary. But when we see on our gps that we’re even with the location, but still 350 feet away, we think it’s a good time to turn into the jungle. We thought we would come across a path of some sort, but wasn’t too concerned when we didn’t. I mean, that’s half the fun, creating your own path.

The jungle is very thick with lots of prickly briars, knee-high weeds, and dead trees that have fallen (I wonder if they made a sound?!?) Anyway, as we traverse this section of the jungle, we come across a big tree that has fallen, but not quite made it to the ground all the way. Craig takes two steps to get over it and opens up a huge ant colony. He isn’t able to see this since he has already crossed the downed log and is continuing on about 5 feet in front of me. So I go a few paces down to cross the log, whew, I made it. But then, I feel a bug bite on my forehead. “Ouch, I’ve been bitten” I say. Craig swats something off his neck, too. Then the swarm hits.

Craig and I are attacked by a swarm of bees. Craig yells at me to run, but you have to remember, we’re in a jungle… lots of trees, briars, and tall weeds, oh my! I didn’t really have a great place to run. I’m screaming and Craig’s calling out to me to go where he is, all while bees are flying around us. It felt like it took me forever to reach Craig, but adrenalin kicks in and you just do what you have to in order to survive.

I finally reach him and we’re swatting the air, jumping around, and screaming. If there had been a camera, we would win America’s funniest home videos, hands down. I’m sure we looked even more ridiculous when Craig thought like MacGyver and sprayed us down with sunscreen. See, we didn’t think about bug spray, but happened to bring a can of continuous spray sunscreen. It worked like a charm, except for the bee that was stuck in my hair.

Craig thinks I’m delirious at this point. From his perspective, he can see that the swarm of 40 to 50 bees is gone, but he can’t hear the one that’s buzzing in my hair. I’m still acting crazy when he finally realizes that ones stuck. He takes off his hat and whacks me up side the head with it. Gentlemanly, huh? After about 30 seconds of many licks to the head, we can’t seem to get the bee out. Finally, I pull myself together and whack my own head with my hand about 5 times. Craig is in shock that I’ve done this, but I killed the bee!

We get out of that area, picking bee parts out of my hair and move along to a more open trail about 50 yards to our east. If only we’d known that trail was there. Arg! But the fun doesn’t stop here. Craig lost his Oakley sunglasses in the battle of the bees. So we backtracked to the lions den to see if we could find them. Bug spray, I mean sunscreen in hand; we cautiously search for the glasses. Luckily we found them after searching for a few minutes, but we high tailed it out of there.

All of this adventure and we haven’t even found a geocache yet. We regroup, and decide to leave that geocache behind and move on to the next one. We found it without having to bushwhack or fight bees. After this one, we started the trek to the next one, but decided we were still too freaked out and should go home.

We walk on the path back to the car, the path we should have been on the whole time, and make it back without any other encounters of the jungle kind.

Lessons learned:
1. Do not geocache in the jungle or other remote locations this time of year.
2. Craig and I are not allergic to bees.

We had a really good laugh about the day’s adventures over a nice sushi dinner. Craig kept saying it was my “BEE-Day.” I guess the bee’s got that memo and wanted to wish me a special birthday wish. Nice.

Total bee stings:
Craig – 3
Kaylan – 2 small stings and 1 very large

All I can say, is I’m another year older and another year wiser.

To all of you that made it through our story, I hope you enjoy a laugh at our expense, and I hope you have a happy BEE-day, when ever yours might BEE.

Us in the jungle, post-bee stings.

2009-05-25T14:37:00.005-05:00

Thank you to all the soldiers, past and present, for their service to our grand country. I proudly fly my flag today at home and work to honor all of the men and women that have sacrificed for our freedom. (I fly my flag everyday because I’m proud of our country, but that’s beside the point.)

Today is another day game at work; hence the reason why I’m here, but it’s a great day (minus the current score). The ballpark is full, we had a fly over, and a great anthem after a Navy swearing in ceremony. I always tear up during the anthem, but I had to stay focused in order to get a picture of the helicopter fly over.

This was really cool. Normally it’s a large plane, but the helicopters were so loud. You could hear them coming for a while before they finally made it to the park.

I hope you enjoy your Memorial Day, but please don’t forget to remember those that have served our country.

Adventures in Driving

2009-05-19T15:16:00.003-05:00

The on ramp I use everyday on my way to work was closed for construction this morning. No message from the City of Hurst yesterday saying this on ramp would be closed. I was on my happy way this morning thinking everything would be fine and dandy until I made the turn to get on the freeway.

ARGGG… close my on ramp? Not while I’m trying to get to work. ARGGG… time to detour. Well, Craig is a few cars behind me this morning. I get to the light past the closed on ramp… only one lane goes straight through the light. Next thing I know, I see Craig zooming past me in the left hand turn lane! I watch ahead thinking no one will let him in, they’ve all waiting in line PATIENTLY (like me). But to my dismay, he cuts in and makes it through the light. Double ARGGG. I end up making it to the on ramp through a slight detour and get on the freeway. But traffic is slow going where I get on. I’m frustrated, angry at every driver, and just ready to get out of traffic.

Finally, the road clears up a bit and I make it into the fast lane. I go a little more than a mile before I have the best laugh in a long time. I see a moving truck with the truck sticking out of the back end. I know, you’re probably thinking I’m crazy, but to prove I’m not, I took a picture to post online!

I call this picture “Truck in a Truck!”

Hope you’re able to laugh today when you might need it the most!

Day Games

2009-05-14T10:53:00.003-05:00

Today is a day game at Rangers Ballpark and I'm super excited. I love day games because it means that the day will go by fast and I get to watch baseball. The only down side to day games is no Rangers baseball on TV for me to watch tonight. But it's okay, don't feel bad for me, I'll be a flute choir for most of the evening.

The Rangers have been hot as of late, so I hope they keep it up today while I'm watching the game in person!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RANGERS!

Survey Says…

2009-05-05T16:36:00.004-05:00

Well, I’ve decided what I’m going to do about the reunion. First, let me thank those of you that provided an opinion. Everyone’s individual comments were very helpful in settling my internal struggle.

Survey Says…
I’m not going to go to the reunion. I know, mom, I told you I was going. But if I had only done a little more research before I posted my last blog, I wouldn’t have needed to ask for help.

Turns out none of my close high school friends are going. I semi-quasi took Jennjilla’s advice (see comments from last blog if you haven’t already done so) and looked up my friends on facebook. Many of them were my friends already, but I had neglected to ask them if they were planning on going.

Now that I have, none of them are and we’re going to set up a mini-reunion for those of us that still care about each other. This way we’ll also be able to meet their little kids, too.

This has really been weighing on my mind lately and I’m so glad it’s over. Thanks again for all the advice and opinions.

Now on to the fun stuff; the following links are some pictures from Rangers Opening Day 2009 and the flowers and herbs in my yard.

Flowers in the Yard

Craig and I did some yard work this past Sunday and you’ll see a picture of a giant snail we found. His name is Sticky Fingers MaGoo, named after our deceased saltwater snail – Sticky Fingers MaGee.

Rangers Opening Day 2009

Ole, ole, ole, ole!
I hope you have a wonderful CINCO de MAYO and enjoy some sort of Mexican favorite. I prefer a margarita while enjoying cheese or chicken enchiladas with rice and beans. I won’t be having the ‘grita tonight, but I’m making my mom’s delicious chicken enchiladas tonight.

I’m sure she won’t mind, and if she does, I’ll remove it… but here is the recipe incase you would like to celebrate Cinco de Mayo – Whetstone/Eastepp style.

Mom’s chicken enchilada recipe

Ingredients:
3-4 skinless/ boneless chicken breasts
Corn tortillas
2 tablespoons of oil
1 medium white onion, chopped (optional)
Monterey Jack Cheese, slices and shredded

Sauce:
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 soup can of milk
1 carton - 8 oz. sour cream

Directions:
Boil Chicken with a little salt and pepper in the water to season
Shred chicken in a bowl
Heat oil in pan on stove and soften the tortillas by rolling in the oil for a few seconds.

Roll chicken, onion, and a cheese slice in tortillas placing them in a row in a shallow baking dish.

In a small sauce pan, heat Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, soup can of milk, and 8 oz. sour cream

Pour sauce over tortillas. Cover with shredded Monterey Jack Cheese and garnish with jalapeno peppers.

Bake at 325° F until heated through and sauce is bubbly. To brown cheese, broil until melted and light brown.

Enjoy.

Help Wanted

2009-05-01T13:59:00.002-05:00

Short post today, I don’t have a lot of time. But I need some help.

My high school 10 year reunion is coming up early next month, but the money for tickets is due a week from tomorrow.

It’s $50 a ticket, per person and we get dinner or something like that. Craig and I have been saving money for later this summer (when we’ll need it) and I don’t know if I can justify spending $100 on one night to see people I didn’t care to see after high school. I mean let’s face it, if I still wanted to be uber-tight friends with them, don’t you think I would be?

Here’s where you come in: Do you think I should go? I haven’t seen most of these people in 10 years and it would be nice to find out what they’re doing now, if they have a family, where they work, how they’ve changed, etc.

I kind of what to go for all those reasons; but I’m worried about spending the money when we’re in super-save mode.

If you’ve been to your reunion or choose not to go, please let me know your thoughts.
If you’re reunion is coming up and you’re not feeling the same way as me, please let me know your thoughts.
If you’re reunion is coming up and you’re feeling the same way I am, please let me know I’m not crazy.

Either way, your thoughts will be much appreciated and very valued!

Oh, and Happy May Day!

Hello blogging world.

2009-04-24T10:13:00.008-05:00

I'm Kaylan and I'm back!

Not really sure what happened or why I fell off the blogging bandwagon, but I'm back in the saddle and ready for the next blogging ride.

Let's start with what I've been doing since March:
1. Work.
2. Work.
3. Hanging out with Craig.
4. Working out when possible.
5. Work.

Yep, baseball season has started which means I have a lot on my plate. I had a lot on my plate before but it was easier to put some things off because the season hadn't started. That isn't the case now.

Here's a recap of the high points from the last month.

We celebrated my grandmothers 85th birthday with a surprise party with family. It was kind of funny... since Nana lives with my parents; they convinced her that a bunch of my brothers 22 year-old baseball teammates would be coming over for lunch, hence the reason for buying so much food. When she found out the party was for her, she asked if the boys were still coming over. When we said no, that it was just a made up reason for buying food, she seemed kind of sad they weren't coming! Funny Nana.

My dad's birthday was on April 1... what a fool! He had a low key birthday, nothing nearly as exciting as Nana's 85th.

Craig's birthday was on April 16. We went to Traildust in Arlington for dinner. We'd never been and now we know why. It's very touristy... not my kind of place. After dinner, we went to the Rangers game. It was the night Kinsler hit for the cycle and went 6 for 6. It was an exciting game but the best part was we were on TV. I kind of blended in, but everyone saw Craig in this blue jersey!

I worked this past Saturday for a friend at work. We had a post-game concert with Jack Ingram and I was on hand to help the partnering radio station set up. After the concert, Doss, Molly, Craig, and I went back stage and met Jack Ingram. He’s such a nice guy. He introduced himself as if we wouldn’t know who he was… he even wanted to know our names. I thought that was pretty cool! Every Thursday for the past two months, I’ve been rehearsing with Flutissimo! Flute Choir. We’re down to our last few rehearsals before the concerts begin. I think I’m ready for the first performance on May 3. I’ll give you guys more details about the concerts in another post.

Well, I think that's everything for now. Thanks for taking me back, blogging world. I promise I won't fall off the blogging bandwagon again.

Necking Pt. Deux

2009-03-27T10:19:00.002-05:00

Not only did I have a crick in my next last week, but I some how gave it to Craig and he’s given it back. I was feeling great, working out again, loving life, and boom! It hits you square in the face… I mean neck… and your life is turned upside down. Well, really, your life is just turned to one side. This time, it happens to be on the left side of my neck. At least I’m treating both sides of my body equally!

It’s strange that I got two within a week of each other. I couldn’t have told you last time I had one… I hope this is the last of them for a while!!!

Necking

2009-03-19T14:04:00.003-05:00

This is me, Kaylan, with a crick in my neck. I'm not sure what caused it, but I know when I woke up this morning, my head would not turn to the right without serious pain. I didn't even work out yesterday! Looks like I'm not going to get my work out in today... and I hate that... and I hate my neck for putting me in pain! Stupid neck.

Anyway, short post today because of neck pain, but I'll update my blog again soon.

To all the normal neck people, please pray for my neck to return to normal so I can work out again and not be bummed.

Spring has Sprung

2009-03-10T15:47:00.001-05:00

And that means I’m getting ready for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dallas. I haven’t actually made it to the parade before, but we crashed a good party last year where the people were so drunk they were giving us their beer for free! Free beer = good times.

Then we went to Ships. A dive bar for sure, but it was fun.

T minus 4 days and counting until this weekend’s celebration.

One Month

2009-03-06T11:19:00.004-06:00

Opening Day 2008

B-1 Bomber Fly Over with American Flag

Only one month left before Rangers Opening Day! Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh… I can’t wait until it’s here. It’s one of my favorite days of the year for many reasons:
1. Baseball season is finally here.
2. It means it is spring in Texas – the best time of year.
3. We’re close to summer – the second best time of year.
4. Flowers, grilling out with friends, swimming, boating, etc…

The reasons to get exciting about Rangers Opening Day are endless, even if you aren’t a fan of baseball.

Go Rangers!

Check out the exciting ballpark improvements that continue at Rangers Ballpark. (I put them on Kodak Gallery because I wanted you to see the pictures in their full size.)

Independence Day

2009-03-02T11:26:00.007-06:00

173 years ago today, Texas became its own Republic by breaking away from the Mexican Government. Many men, women, and children lost their lives defending a land we now know as Texas.

I take great pride in knowing that the state which I am from has such a rich history and I proudly fly my Texas flag today in honor of her Independence Day.

First flag of Texas

Texas Declaration of Independence

Today’s Flag

Pledge of Allegiance to the Texas Flag (from how I remember it in elementary school, but it has changed since then.)
Honor the Texas flag;
I pledge allegiance to thee,
Texas, one and indivisible.

On a difference note, I hung out with my brother and Craig on Sunday. We were goofing around after watching the Saturday Night Live Digital Short – On a Boat (check it out on youtube here). We tried to recreate a portion of the short video while we were driving around on Sunday. We didn’t get much, and the video is sideways, but it’s still funny. At least it’s funny to us.

Check out the short video.

It’s stupid, I know, but in some way it’s really funny to us.
Want to see some more stupid SNL videos:
J**zed in my Pants
D**k in a Box

Enjoy your Texas Independence Day.

Mardi Gras

2009-02-24T09:43:00.007-06:00

There isn't much to say today, except -

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Click here to watch a video about Mardi Gras on history.com.

Hard Hat Required

2009-02-19T16:39:00.009-06:00

Rangers Ballpark is under going some major improvements. It’s fun to look out the window at work and see the progress. It makes me wish Opening Day was tomorrow. The warmth of the sun kissing your skin as you soak in the sounds of spring baseball in Texas.

The crack of the bat, the sound the ball makes as it smacks the glove of the first baseman, and the loud “out” called by the over-excited umpire… then the boys of summer run off the field to step up to the plate.

Oh to see Josh Hamilton at the plate and watch with wide eyes as the ball seems to float out of the yard, then to watch the kids chase after it on the batters eye grass.

Secretly, I’m one of those kids. A few weeks back, on a beautiful, warm Friday afternoon in January, Hamilton was taking BP (batting practice for those non-baseball people). He was crushing them out of the park. With no one in the stands, I only had to compete with my co-workers to snag a home run ball hit by this power hitter. After a few runs for a ball, I finally got one. I was like a kid in a candy store; all excited, slightly hot from the run, and with a smile from ear to ear on my face.

I love baseball, more importantly, Rangers baseball.

Only 46 days until Opening Day.

Pictures of Hard Hat Areas (thank goodness I don't have to wear a hard hat at work.)

(following 4 pictures from Monday - February 16)

Manual Out-of-Town Scoreboard is getting a face lift. Here you can see where the outer wall has been removed. A video board will be installed soon. If you look above the Armitron sign - the black and yellow lettering- you can see that the dot matrix board that was there last season has been removed. (The wall is a lighter color where it used to be).

Here you can see the addition of a brick wall which will allow for more seats (third base side). Rangers Ballpark Trivia - the brick you see is the original brick from the building. It was saved after the ballpark was completed.

More brick additions on this side of the field (first base side).

The brick addition behind home plate. You can also see the scaffolding just below the lower suite level. This part of the ballpark fascia will hold the LED ribbon board that's being installed.

(following picture from Thursday - February 19)

Update on the former out-of-town scoreboard: the metal columns have been removed in preparation for the new video board to be installed. In this picture, you can see where the dot matrix board has been replaced by a new LED board. (What was a light strip on the wall is now dark black).

Check back for more updates.

Weekend Wrap-Up

2009-02-16T15:23:00.006-06:00

Beer Slushy – Friday Night
This weekend, Craig and I hung out with our family. Clint, Craig's brother, came in town to blow off some steam from his turbulent life. On Friday night, Doss, Molly, Craig and I met Clint, Carole, and Blue at a BBQ joint in Saginaw called the Texas Pit BBQ. It was an odd little place where you order and pay for your food in the back, but you bought your beer at the bar.

Anyway, they had the coldest beer I’ve ever had. And I’m not exaggerating. I had a Blue Moon Beer Slushy. They keep their beer mugs in dry ice on Friday and Saturday night so your beer is extra cold. It’s so cold, it turns to ice! I can’t wait to go back there for another beer… yumm-o. While the food was good, I wouldn’t go back just for the food.

Sorry for the fuzzy image, it was taken on my phone, but it’s the best picture of the night.

Hugs & Kisses – Saturday Night
Craig and I love to cook together so we had a nice, quite dinner at home on Saturday for Valentine’s Day. We had a great spread that couldn’t have been more perfect.

Appetizer – Artichoke and Fontina Dip with bell pepper dippers and crunchy garlic parmesan flat bread crackers.
Main Course – Ahi Tuna Steaks cooked rare with Wasabi Lemon sauce, Artichoke Risotto, Sautéed Asparagus, and Cauliflower with cheese.
Dessert – Molten Chocolate cake in the shape of a heart!
Drink – Estancia Chardonnay with dinner and Estancia Pinot Noir with dessert.

I’m getting hungry just thinking about it and I just had lunch!

Sunday Brunch
We tried at new church on Sunday. We’ve been going to Peace Lutheran for a few months now and we both like it but feel something is missing. We can’t put our finger on what it is, but we’re looking for something more. A co-worker told me about their church on Friday and spoke so passionately about his church that it made me want to go.

On Sunday we went to North Richland Hills Baptist Church off of Glenview and Hwy. 26. From the outside the sanctuary looks huge, but it’s nice and quaint on the inside. Craig and I both thought the message was speaking directly to us and the Pastor even said things that really apply to our lives. For example, the message was about Joy and how to be happy. The basic message I took away from the service was in order to be completely happy, I must have joy in my heart knowing that God is always there to guide me through life, even at the most difficult times. This is something I’ve always understood, but was presented in a way that just clicked.

The Pastor made comments like accept your situation, good or bad, with the joy that God is going to take care of you. If you don’t have a job, find joy in it; if your car broke down find joy in it; if you don’t like your job, find joy in it.

He said sometimes Christians will have a leak in their joy and forget to be happy with what God is giving us. The Pastor related it to a tire. If there is a hole in a tire, it will leak the air. If you patch it, the air will stay inside. Those Christians that have forgotten the way have a leaky tire and once they get back on the path to God, the leak will stop and they will be overflowing with His joy.

I really enjoyed the message from Sunday’s service, while I don’t think we’ll choose this as our home church, I feel like God wanted us to be there to hear the Pastor’s sermon.

I love the way God is so mysterious in his ways of speaking to us.

Check out this video that was sent to me, I like the message at the end.

Planning

2009-02-11T13:18:00.006-06:00

Never plan. Nothing ever goes "according to plan", so why do we plan in the first place?

Another tip from yours truly, never blog while you're upset... the blog is never any good under this emotion.

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day... but for now, planning sucks.

Groundhogs Day

2009-02-02T09:25:00.006-06:00

This is a silly tradition that I guess made more sense back in the day, but why do we still believe that we’ll have another six months of winter when a silly groundhog saw his shadow? With things like Dopular Radar and cute weathermen like Petey – that’s Pete Delkus to you – why do we need a groundhog to tell us the future?

I quickly researched why this tradition was started. To enlighten you as well, please read the following blurb about Groundhogs day, as stated by weatherbug.com:

The tradition of Groundhog Day is believed to have evolved from a German celebration called Candlemas. In a tradition that now shadows the Groundhog tradition, if the sun made an appearance on the mid-winter day and a hedgehog casts a shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.

The Candlemas tradition was brought to Pennsylvania and the rest of the U.S. by German settlers in the 18th and early 19th century.

In the past, weather was very important to people because it had more of an impact on their lively hood. For example, if the weather was bad and they were unable to tend to their crops, they could lose money.

But seriously, I like groundhogs day. Things with traditions are fun, even if they are silly and outdated.

On a different note – I’m bummed the Cardinals didn’t win the Super Bowl, but I’m happy for the Steelers. Craig and I watched the big game at Buffalo Wild Wings in Bedford with my brother, Doss, and his girlfriend, Molly, and two co-workers, Rose and Rhianna. It was Rose’s birthday! Rose and Rhianna didn’t want their picture taken, so they aren’t in either picture below.

Doss & Molly

One of Maddie for good measure. This is after a long walk. She came in and passed out in a full out run and jump position.

Morning Commute

2009-01-22T12:11:00.002-06:00

Do you ever wonder why people are so grouchy on the freeway in the morning? Maybe they didn’t have their cup of coffee, maybe they overslept and are running late to work, or maybe they just aren’t nice people.

I pondered this question on my way to work this morning after a rather rude encounter by a woman in a navy blue SUV that selfishly decided that I wasn’t suppose to merge into HER lane.

This story needs a bit of background, so please bear with me. I get on 183/121 at Norwood and I know that in order to make it smoothly through morning traffic, I need to move over into the left most lane before the bridge over Bedford-Euless Road.

This morning was just like any other. I peacefully merged onto the freeway, Craig following right behind me. He kindly lets me merge into the middle lane after he saw an opening. Now I’m approaching the bridge and I’m checking my mirrors for a smooth opening into the left lane. I see one. The black Tahoe is moving faster and there is a considerable gap between the Tahoe and the car behind him – the blue SUV.

I turn on my blinker, I start my merge, and the blue SUV speeds up. I tense up in my car thinking she’s going to hit me, but she slams on her brakes and throws up her hands. I didn’t think much of it, because truthfully, I did what any normal morning commuter would do, check the lane, put on your blinker, then slowly move over, and merge peacefully with faster traffic into a reasonable spot for my car to go.

But this woman, this B, had a bigger agenda to discuss with me. She pulls up next to me on my left. That’s right, my left. For those of you unfamiliar with 183/121, to the left of the left most lane is the shoulder. This crazy lady was driving on the shoulder to yell at me. I simply looked at her, called her a B… I know, I shouldn’t have, but she is one… and then told her I had my blinker on and not to speed up when someone is coming over into your lane.

As a quick reminder, Craig is still following behind me. All-the-while this lady is in the shoulder, Craig pulls up behind me, trying to box her into the shoulder. She quickly cuts him off, making him swerve into the middle lane, thank God no one was there for him to hit. Craig lays on his horn as he is yelling at her. She is now making signs at him explaining that she is mad that I cut her off (which I didn’t). I make signs back at her by throwing my hands up in a “deal with it” fashion.

Things go smoothly after that, she didn’t even tail gate me. I think she knew she was in the wrong after she thought about it. At least I hope that’s why she didn’t ride my behind. Either that or she figured out that Craig and I were a team and no one on the road was going to treat the other that way.

That lady must have had a horrendous bad start to her day. I mean, seriously, are we 5 years old and I took your toy on the play ground? Can you not just drive nice in the morning knowing that everyone around you is in the same boat called traffic? The way I look at it is if someone needs to move over and they are willing to go just as fast, if not faster than me, fine have at it. I have no problem with people moving over into my lane as long as they aren’t close enough to hit me… and I wouldn’t speed up if someone were close.

I admit I’m not the best at tolerating people’s stupidity, especially when they are driving. But in recent years, I feel I’ve gotten considerably better. I don’t yell as much in the car and I try to overlook people’s unwillingness to do certain simple things like obeying a yield sign on the access road as people exit the freeway. All-in-all, I think I’m less stressed when I drive because I try to have a different outlook.

Not this morning… I wanted to rip her battery out of her engine and slash her tires. That lady is an idiot.
There, now I feel better.

Balloons

2009-01-21T12:40:00.002-06:00

Last night was Suzanna’s 4th birthday party. I still can’t believe our little niece is 4. I feel like she was just a little baby yesterday.

Her party was at Carole and Blue’s country club, Brookhaven, in Farmers Branch. It was actually a decent drive over there after work and I found the road to be soothing after a long day. Strange, huh? Anyway, her party was completely pink and she got tons of Barbie and princess stuff. Just what she needs, more girly dolls. I’m sure I got plenty of girly things when I was younger, but I quickly turned to sports, micro machines, and more boyish things. In watching Suzanna last night, I don’t think she’ll make that change, but I hope she takes an interest in sports, sometimes it’s a great way to meet guys. Not that she needs to worry about that now, but I digress.

Back to last night’s party. Oh, to be 4 again and only care about playing games and keeping the balloons on my arm. At one point, Craig’s dad, David, thought Suzanna had a hold of the balloons, but she didn’t. The balloons slowly drifted toward the 10 ft. high ceiling and Suzanna started to wail. With her crying, you would have thought the balloons were going to travel to the moon and she was never going to see them again. David quickly reached up and got them, but it took a few minutes of consoling by Carole for Suzanna to really believe the balloons were going to stay firmly on her arm – thanks to the slip knot I tied for her. Before we knew it, she was tired of the balloons and wanted to play a game without the bothersome string on her arm. Silly girl.

All-in-all, it was a good time. It’s fun to watch her grow up, because while she’s young, she makes me feel like a kid again.

Sorry, no pictures from the party. I accidently left my camera in the car and Carole only had a disposable camera with her… there’s always next year!

In Light of Change

2009-01-16T15:32:00.005-06:00

Things constantly change around us, there is no denying that. The seasons, our hair color – girls you know what I’m talking about, fashion, etc…

I started thinking about the changes currently going on around me, and while it’s not many, some are big changes.

Our nations leader is about to change hands. It will be a historic event that I’m actually looking forward to. I’m not ashamed to say I’m a republican and side more with the republican ideas than democratic, but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t respect a democratic leader. And this new leader of all people, makes me want to follow and respect him more than any other democratic president we’ve had (in my wee little life time).

I’m looking forward to Tuesday and watching President-Elect Obama’s inauguration. I caught a snippet of President Bush’s farewell speech last night and I feel for the man. He’s been through so much as our nation’s president and it shows on his face. I’m sure he’s looking forward to some time to relax and having more breathing room in Dallas.

I’m looking forward to change. My dad always told me, change can be good. Change the route you drive home, change your fashion, change your hair style, change your mind.

But one thing I don’t want to change; my family and friends. I can add new ones, but I don’t want to change the ones I have.

Slaving Away

2009-01-13T10:38:00.003-06:00

I’m safe and sound, back at work. I was off work from Christmas Eve until yesterday. That’s quite a long time to be gone. Fortunately, nothing too big happened while I was away. However, one of my good friends at work decided to put in her two weeks. I’m really bummed that I won’t see her smiling face everyday, but I’m happy that’s she moving on to pursue her dream! You rock, Laura.

Other than that, things seem pretty normal at the good ol’ place of employment. And I’m actually happy to be back. Don’t get me wrong, I would totally love to be a ski bum all day if I didn’t have to worry about money, bills, living expenses, you know…

I’ve posted a few pictures in my Kodak gallery online. Instead of bogging down my blog, you can check them out here: Ski Trip 2009.

Allen and Michelle took tons of pictures. I’ll upload more when I get them.

Copper Mountain

2009-01-08T00:33:00.002-06:00

We’ve been in Colorado for two full days and what an adventure it has been.

We’re staying in the Snowshoe Motel in Frisco, Colorado. Frisco is between Breckenridge and Copper Mountain. We’re skiing at Copper.

We have a little kitchenette in our motel room so we don’t have to spend a ton of money while eating out. It’s a great concept, if the oven was working. So far we haven’t been able to eat our pizza because it’s not working. But the stove top works, so we’ve had potato soup and tacos. All and all, it’s not too bad.

It’s been snowing the whole time we’ve been here. Yesterday was windy and cold as the winter storm was moving in. Today, we woke up to 10 new inches of snow! The skiing conditions are better today than yesterday. Not near as many people because you can’t see very far and the runs have tons of fresh power… knee deep in some places. It is loads of fun skiing when you can’t even see your knees. I love to ski.

Craig has gotten really good on his snowboard. He can ride the mountain like it’s no body’s business.

Allen and Michelle aren’t doing too badly either. They took a lesson yesterday and we picked up with them today. Michelle is really good at snaking down the mountain. Allen is getting the hang of it, but he’s really good at going fast.

Yesterday while we were waiting for them to finish with their lesson, Craig and I were defrosting at Union Station, a little indoor rental and locker place. The skis and snowboard were outside in the racks just outside the door. When we finally met up with Allen and Michelle and were ready to head back to Frisco, we noticed my skis were missing. I was freaking out! If you don’t know, I own my skis.

I went back inside and had, Tyler, the person behind the desk, call security. When the security guard arrived, he took down my information and a description of my skis. I asked him what the chances are that I would get my skis back, and he said only 7% of skis are returned. I lost it. I could barely look at the people after that because tears were streaming down my face. Craig was so mad he had to keep going outside in the cold to cool off.

After filling out the paper work, we started to head over to lost and found to see if they had been turned it. We noticed that there was a pair of skis still in the rack that looked similar to mine and we through they might have picked mine up by mistake. We went back in to see if they could look up the person’s name and/or number to see if the resort could call the person. We brought the skis in and I memorized the rental number. At that location, they couldn’t look up the renters name… talk about a bad feeling.

We then headed over to lost and found. They were able to look up the persons number based on the rental number I memorized, but couldn’t contact them right then. It was just a waiting game now.

We hopped on the bus to bring us back to Frisco. Talk about a long ride home. I didn’t look up once because I was praying the whole time that God would help those people be honest and bring the skis back.

God answered my prayers (and those of Allen, Michelle, and Craig)! We received a phone call when we were walking in the door of the motel saying that they picked up the wrong pair of skis by mistake.

My skis were waiting for me this morning at lost and found! I was so happy that I kissed my skis when I got them back.

I’m one of the 7% of people whose skis are returned… what a good feeling!

A Dogs Life

2009-01-03T22:28:00.008-06:00

I traveled with my parents to Weatherford today. What a fun trip. I introduced my dad to geocaching (found 4 out of 5 today) and we visited First Monday – a trade/fair ground thing before the first Monday of every month.

My mom was looking for some antique barbed-wire for making these crosses. I got one for Christmas and it’s very cool, so she wanted to make more of them to sell.

While we were at First Monday, we came across this lady selling pet beds. After hageling with her for a little bit, I decided to get a new bed for Maddie. I brought it home and she absolutely loved it. She took her time smelling it, then laid down for a short nap. She became wiry once Craig came home from work, but was so cute laying on the giant pillow during the Colts vs. Chargers playoff game.

Gotta love a simple dogs life… then again, Monkey’s life isn’t too bad either. She doesn’t need a cool pillow; she has the short couch!

Please enjoy the pictures from today.

Dad being silly with Maddie's new pillow.

Maddie on her new pillow.

Monkey's favorite sleeping spot.

Happy 2009

2009-01-01T22:37:00.004-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Love,
The Eastepps

My First Find

2008-12-28T16:50:00.008-06:00

I experienced my first geocaching find yesterday! I’ve wanted to start this game for almost a month now and I finally got to find something. Many, many thanks to my parents for giving me the ability with my new hand held gps receiver – my Garmin eTrex Summit HC – that they gave me for Christmas.

The Find
Listing: Beans & Rice
Coordinates: N 32◦ 49.450, W 097◦ 11.118
Team: Me and my mom

My mom and I spent about 2 hours looking for more caches around the area. We found 7 out of the 11 we were searching for. Not too shabby for the first time out!

I’ve already plotted out more to find… it’s so much fun.

A Simple Gift

2008-12-23T16:13:00.002-06:00

Today I was approached by the head of our Human Resources department. He asked me if we were going to do something for Maria, our office cleaning lady. I hadn’t heard of anything that was planned but I told him we could work on something.

He then gave me some cash and told me, because she’s considered part-time, that she isn’t eligible for a yearly bonus. I took the “seed money” and went office to office of those that are here and asked if they wanted to donate to Maria’s Christmas bonus.

I was amazed, for the second time, at how many people wanted to help her.
At 3 p.m., three of us met Maria in the fishbowl – a glass conference room in our office – and presented her with her “bonus.” She was so appreciative, said Merry Christmas, and wished that God would repay us ten-fold for helping her and her family.

You may be wondering why we care so much about Maria. Like many people, she hasn’t had an easy life, but her story touched our office.

A little over a year ago, her husband tragically passed away and was left to raise four young children on her own. Due to the nature of his passing, she no longer wanted to live in their home and decided to move her family in with her in-laws. Shortly after moving in, her father-in-law passed away.

The majority of the Rangers staff didn’t know all of this had happened until six months later. Three of us banded together and started asking for donations from within the company and local businesses. In June, we presented her with a huge package of cash and gifts to help her and her family. This was the first time I was amazed by my fellow employee’s willingness to give so much to someone. Everyone went above and beyond to help her and we were able to give her something many people wish for but never receive.

It’s a nice feeling to be apart of something so selfless and to see that selflessness spreading to others. It truly is moving and rewarding.

Just the other day I blogged about how I wasn’t feeling in the Christmas spirit. It wasn’t until we put up our Christmas tree that I felt something for the season. It has hit me in the face today that I don’t need a tree, or lights, or gifts, or anything to connect me with God’s spirit. His spirit is within me and I can feel it when I help others. Not just at Christmas, but always.

I can’t wait for the next opportunity to help someone.

Counting Down – 2 days

2008-12-23T11:09:00.003-06:00

The girls with our tree

New addition to this year’s tree, the snowman family ornament. There’s a snowman for each of us. Craig is the tall snowman, I’m the one with the red gloves, and Maddie and Monkey are together (Maddie is the taller of the two that are together.)

Counting Down

2008-12-22T12:05:00.001-06:00

Only three days left until we celebrate Jesus’ birthday.

I’ve had this snowman on my desk counting down the days until Christmas. I put him up right after Thanksgiving and, at the time, December was just starting and I wasn’t ready for Christmas to come. It meant more time by myself with Craig at work and longer days for him closing his store at 10 p.m.

I had all the time in the world to decide what we were going to give people, time to get all the presents, time to wrap them, and place them neatly under our tree.

Flash forward to yesterday…

I spent most of my day finishing up last minute Christmas shopping. With my new car, I naturally park as far out as I can to avoid door dings… but yesterday, in the cold wind; I was parking miles from the door of any store I visited. I can’t complain too much, I have two working legs that God blessed me with.

That wasn’t the issue, it was the fact I let it get to within four days of Christmas to finish everything up. Then it was on to wrapping. When you wrap a few packages at a time and then wrap more days later, this job isn’t so bad. If I had started my shopping sooner, I wouldn’t have had to wrap the majority of our packages all in one day! Curses to me for that one…

The worst part of all this, we hadn’t set up our Christmas tree. I know the tree isn’t “the reason for the season” but it made me feel like a bad Christian not to have some outward sign of my faith in my own home. Don’t even get me started on the fact we don’t have any decorations in our yard or on our house…

We had times set aside to set up the tree, but other things seemed to come first. Last night, we made the time. That one simple act of putting up a tree and turning on the lights made me feel much better about the Christmas season.

The tree is decorated and we have pretty packages underneath. Christmas is three days away… and now I can’t wait for His birthday to come.

All I want to do…

2008-12-20T12:25:00.003-06:00

… is complete my first geocaching find.

If you haven’t heard of Geocaching you should look it up. It’s like treasuring hunting, only there isn’t really a prize involved, in most cases. I did find one posted online where you get the prize that’s in the box, but you have to be the first to find it. Unfortunately, it was already found by the time I came across it.

You find coordinates online and use your GPS to find the hidden item, sign your name to a book, and then post online that you found it.

I’ve asked for a hand held GPS for Christmas. I hope I get it so I can complete my first mission!

Terrible Two’s

2008-12-19T11:30:00.008-06:00

Do dogs go through this stage in life? I hope not… because Maddie turned two yesterday!

Craig and I surprised Maddie with a special dog birthday cake made out of canned dog food. If you would like the recipe for your dog, here goes:

Open a can of wet dog food, put it in a bowl, and top with the candle of your choice. Viola! Watch your dog go crazy over you with the excitement of their very own “cake.”

Beware, dogs may be too excited to eat the food to notice the burning candle… whiskers may be burned in the process!

Enjoy the additional pictures.

Maddie waiting for her cake...

Dog cake essentials.

The cake.

Maddie scoping it out.

Maddie says, "Thanks, it was good. Do we have more?"

Cheese Whiz

2008-12-18T11:38:00.003-06:00

Have you ever wondered why cheese tastes so good?

I mean seriously, it’s probably my favorite food. Just think about it for a moment. If you put cheese on some foods that you absolutely don’t like, the cheese suddenly makes it bearable to eat. For example, I hate cooked spinach. I thought it was because my mom made me eat it as a kid, but I tried it again a few months back, and yep, I still hate it. But when you add cheese to it, like in spinach artichoke dip, suddenly, it tastes so good I almost don’t want to share.

Think about the last time you were at a party where there wasn’t a cheese tray. Can’t think of one can you? My company holiday party was just a few weeks ago. One of the main things I love about our holiday party is that there is always a cheese table full of fun cheeses I wouldn’t think to purchase in the store. This year’s party didn’t disappoint! There was a huge table stacked with three levels full of fun and exciting cheeses just waiting to be devoured!

Cheese table at the Rangers holiday party

Then the next night was Craig’s holiday party. But of course there would be the standard cheese plate, but they didn’t stop there. Oh no, they had a special cheese cutting board with horseradish flavored cheese. Talk about yumm-o. Then someone else brought a cheese spread that had been shipped in from Wisconsin, the cheese head capitol! I immediately fit in with Craig’s new employees.
If they love cheese, I love them!

So many foods include cheese, some of best foods, if you ask me. I mean, who can resist:
Nachos
Tacos/Taco Salad
Enchiladas (especially cheese enchiladas)
Queso and chips
Chicken Tortilla Soup

And I’m not just talking about Tex-Mex, either:
Lasagna
Ravioli
Tortellini
Pizza (and you know I love the cheese pizza)
Mac ‘n cheese (the quintessential of all foods with cheese)
Grilled cheese

But forget all the cooked dishes with cheese, you can put it right on top of veggies and they are suddenly scarfed down by hungry, cheese loving, people.

Most salads (two of my favorites - greek (feta), caesar (parmesan))
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Potatoes
Tomatoes
I even put feta in my green beans with some red onions

You can even find cheese in deserts, too. Who doesn’t like cheese cake after a nice meal?

Want something for a quick appetizer? Put some cream cheese on plate and cover it with:
Salsa and eat it with corn chips
Jalapeno jelly and eat it with wheat thins
Chipotle raspberry sauce and eat it with wheat thins

Talk about some good crudités!

All this talk about cheese has made me hungry… is it time for lunch yet? Not quite, but I think I’ll eat my string cheese now!

Snowy Weather

2008-12-16T11:49:00.007-06:00

Don’t you just love winter weather in North Texas? If you’re not from here, please replace “winter weather” with “patchy, freezing drizzle which will turn to ice on overpasses and elevated surfaces.”

Schools and businesses shut down and people drive really slow. It took me almost 45 minutes to get to work this morning… it typically only takes me 25 minutes with minimal traffic.

Even with all the slowness, I love the cold. It’s a time to brew a splendid cup of hot mocha, wrap up in a blanket on the sofa in front of a fire (or fake fireplace like at my house), and read a good book. Monkey will curl up with me and Maddie will sleep on the floor in front of the fire.

You may ask where Craig is during all of this lazy warmth at home. Well, as he said this morning, that’s the life of retail, “You must go in if the mall is open.” I happen to know that the city of Allen, Plano, and their respective ISD’s are closed today… but Christmas shopping must go on!

Okay, I’m not at home either… I braved the icy bridges to make it into to work this morning.

I snapped a few pictures of the snowy… uh, I mean icy field that I can see from the balcony.

But it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that I love snow, at least not for those of you that have seen my office during Christmas. I have an over infatuation with snowmen. I just think they are too cute. My office is decked out with them this time of year. (16 snowmen on my credenza, 4 on the wall, and 2 on my desk.)

I’ll be making my own snowman in 20 days during our ski trip to Copper Mountain, Colorado with our friends Allen & Michelle McCarty. Bring on the cold weather!

My First Blog

2008-12-15T17:10:00.001-06:00

So, I’ve never really blogged before, but I guess you can tell that by the title of this one. I feel like there is nothing really exciting in my life to share. But I read a good friends blog the other day that really made me want to try… so here goes.

My life is simple. I have a wonderful husband, Craig, and two fur kids, Monkey (really a cat) and Maddie (our dog). I work for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club as the marketing manager and Craig works for Bailey, Banks, and Biddle as the store manager of the Shops and Willow Bend location.

This time of year is always stressful for us. Not only because it’s Christmas time but because Craig’s in retail and works ungodly hours. This year seems to be a tad harder than what I remember, 1. because he works in freaking Plano – 45 minutes away from our home and 2. the economy is hitting people pretty hard and they aren’t buying luxury items – like jewelry from Baileys. Things will pick up, or at least I’m praying they will.

For my job, it’s pretty slow this time of year. For those of you that think we do nothing during the offseason, you’re wrong! A few weeks after the season ends, we start preparing for the next season. I’ve already cranked out several brochures for 2009 already! I feel a head of the game!

By the way 113 days until the Rangers home opener on Monday, April 6!