Haven't heard this in a long time.....

Had the entire "Hysteria" album on cassette tape. Wore.that.thing.out.

Love tastes like chicken......

Kyra just ate some chicken wings that Richard BBQ'ed on the pit. Look who won't leave her alone now.....

New haircut....

She's totally losing her baby face. *sigh* I can't believe that she'll be 4 at the end of April!

Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe ever......

It's on the bottom of the lid of the cylinder Quaker Oatmeal can.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat together margarine and sugars until creamy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
4. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.
5. Stir in oats and raisins; mix well.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown (I don't bake mine that long because I like them soft and chewy).
8. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack

Makes about 4 dozen.

Different scenery.....

I dropped Maeve off at school this morning and since it was yet again a beautiful day, I made Town Lake my destination for a good run. I also ran on Monday. Two times in one week hasn't been done in a while. I had been doing 3 days of Body Step, but decided to change it up again.

The run was good. I don't ever remember it being that easy. I started at Auditorium Shores and made the circle on the north side of Town Lake....running by Austin High and then under Mopac. Then I was on the south side of the lake again. This loop is 4.17 miles.....very much like what I do here in our little town.

Today, I decided that people watching is now boring. I'm now into dog watching. I saw every breed imaginable. Jen, I even saw a Ridgeback! When I reached Auditorium Shores again after my run, I saw a lot of dogs bathing in the lake, fetching tennis balls and even playing frisbee! But the funniest thing of all was seeing dogs on the trail having fits over the squirrels. They could care less about humans and other dogs, but those squirrels always capture their attention. It reminded me of how my sister always says, "Raider, get that squirrel." There is one that hangs out in their backyard that drives him nuts.

I was eager to get the run over with and head back here to grocery shop, but I think next time, I'll take a book and blanket with me, spread out, and dog watch. Sounds good, right?

Oh, and I have to say that the Austin skyline is a changin'. Goodness. They are so many high rise condos going up downtown. One of them is higher than the Frost Bank building! Amazing.

Just another beautiful day in Austin, Texas........ ;)

And you'll laugh too!

This is simply adorable. I can't wait to hear my nephew Brant laugh like that!

Anyone remember these?

Saw a pic of Jessica Alba with some funky looking shoes on and thought of these. I proudly wore a pair back in the 80's. Did you?

In a funk.....

To be really honest, I haven't felt like myself for the past week or so. It takes me forever to fall asleep. My moods have been up and down. Granted, it was "that time of the month" last week, so yes, I have to cut myself a little slack.

I also think I have a bit of the post-holiday blues. From Thanksgiving till now, I've been going nonstop. Then it's all over with and you think, "Now what?" The very same thing happened to me after our wedding was over with. I was in the same frame of mind for about a month after that. Eventually, I accepted that it was over with and I found other things to focus on.

I think that some of my depression is normal. But I also think that some of it is not. So, being the proactive person that I am, I called my doctor this morning and I will fight tooth and nail to get on a name brand form of my antidepressant. Right now I'm on the generic and it just isn't working. The same thing happened with my thyroid meds. I was so tired of my regular doctor that I went to see an endocrinologist and she immediately put me on Synthroid. What a difference! I feel so much better now.

I refuse to sit here and not feel like myself. Usually, I keep myself busy until that "icky" time passes. And it does. We all have hormone fluctuations. I think I'm just more sensitive to mine.

So what do I do? Well, I continue to enjoy life and do everything possible to make myself feel better. Today, I will teach Body Flow. I will enjoy the sunshine. I will talk and play with my kiddos. I will pick up around the house. I will try my hardest to do all of the things that make me "me". Soon things will be better. I just know it. I have faith in God and I pray constantly. He will get my through the rough spots.

When having my pity party, I also stop and think about how lucky and blessed I am. I think of all of the others that don't have it as good as I do. I think of people with bigger problems.

I think from now on I will make a "thankful" list on the dark days. That should perk me right up. And if it doesn't do the trick right away, that's fine. At least I know that even in such a rough spot, I can find things that will lift me up and make me feel better.

Thanks for reading. I know that this was a more different post for me. ;)

Busy day....

My poor sister has been sick for a few days now up in Seminole (they went to visit Nate's parents). They drove back today (7 hours!) and it turns out that she has pneumonia. Poor girl. I'm so worried about her. She went to the doctor this evening and had a slew of tests run and got 3 different shots. She's now home resting. Hopefully she's turning a corner. Pray for her.

Megan and Mike had a baby girl this morning. Her name is Haedyn Elexis Cooper. She joined big sister Haylie Elizabeth and big brother Holdyn Edward. She was 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 18 1/2 inches long.

I'm pooped. Good night! ;)

Thoroughly disappointed....

I think I ordered about 60 Christmas cards this year. And from the looks of it, I sent about 50 of them. And how many did we receive? Probably about 30 or so. Ugh.

For two years in a row, I've sent to many people who I didn't receive from. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and send again just in case the previous year was busy and they didn't get around to sending a card. But I'm highly disappointed by the fact that yet again, I didn't get any from the same people that I sent to last year. I'm a big believer in the philosophy of "You send to me and I send to you...." I also understand though that some people just don't send out cards. That's fine. But I know that a lot of these people DO send cards. I'll go to my dad's and see that he got one from some of them.

I'm just at a loss as to what to do. I think next year, I just won't put forth the effort to send to them anymore. This bothers me though because I hear from these people via email quite frequently. And I figure that if they are forwarding emails all year long, then the least they can do is send out a card in December.

My kids grow a lot within a year. I know that a lot of people want to see pics of them. I use this blog for that. But a lot of people don't know about it, so I think it's nice to send a card with a picture at such a special time of year. Chances are that if you're reading this, you DID send a card. And for that, I thank you very much!

But maybe people don't send because my dad parades all of our pictures around for his friends to see. So then they don't feel the need to mail a card? I don't know.

I'm at a loss.....and VERY irritated.

My job might be extra important this year.....

And here's why. Read this.

Frankly, I'm excited about the fact that I might see more people in class than ever before. My job is to introduce them to Body Flow and comfortably ease them into the workout. I also want to learn even more names this year and keep those newbies coming back for more! I say the more people we can get addicted, the better! ;)

Your efforts don't go unnoticed.....

It was time to change the picture frame that's hanging in our little hallway again. So if you are a family member and sent a pic of yourself or your kiddos this year, chances are it's on here! So, thank you!