Life is a Highway, or RASCAL FLATTS!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday night I went to a Rascal Flatts concert with my friend Kelly. I've always wanted to see them, and when we found out they were coming a couple of months ago, we snatched up tickets. Chris Young and Luke Bryan opened for them, and then they came out with a bang:

Sorry the video is so bad...I may or may not have danced my way through the entire concert. Also, sorry if you hear a random shriek halfway through the video...I may or may not have screamed incessantly through a good portion of the concert. I can neither confirm nor deny these rumors...

I decided not to take my DSLR camera, because it's just so big. Instead, I brought a small digital camera and my Flip video camera. Unfortunately, when I pulled the digital camera out of my purse at the concert, I discovered that the batteries were dad. Needless to say, the Flip camera was going to have to suffice for both video and still shots.

When we left the concert, it had started to sleet, but that's a story for a different day....

snOMG

The heat is cranked up. The dog and I share several blankets on the couch. All of the plants are inside, safe and sound, viewing the patio from my bookcase. I have a roaring fire in the fireplace. I'm about to start a pot of chili and make a vat of hot apple cider. All of this, in preparation for what has been termed the "Storm of the Century" or "Snomaggedon".

Keep in mind, though, that I live in central Texas, and, while it is frigidly windy and cold, the chances of it snowing at all -- let alone a blizzard -- are almost null. We won't get the several feet of snow that much of the country is expected to get, but that doesn't lesson the fact that it's wicked cold out there! I woke up in the middle of the night last night, startled by the sound of what were supposedly 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts.

Most ironic of all, though, is that yesterday our temps were actually in the 70s. On Sunday, Dutch Boy and I took Miss Lady for a serious hike at the creek, and she even went swimming. Some pictures from the weekend, pre-Ice Age:

And, since it's February, I guess I need to declare my February resolution to the masses: This month, I will spend 10 or 15 minutes straightening up every night, in order to lessen the need for cleaning on the weekends (because nothing ruins a weekend like decluttering).

Top Ten

Be warned...this post has nothing to do with anything except for the random thoughts that dance around in my head.

1. I'm watching American Idol right now. There is a man from Milwaukee who just auditioned in his Civil War re-enactor's uniform (complete with rifle), singing that old Lion King song, "In the Jungle". Need I say more?
2. I'm addicted to Lay's Kettle Chips. Seriously. I just finished off one bag, and ate 1/3 of another.
3. I just unzipped my jacket and out fell a kettle chip.
4. I bought a new planner at Target and I'm kind of obsessed with it...like I'm trying to come up with things to do just so that I can write them down in the appropriate date. I'm a little OCD like that.
5. I know that it's a little late in the "new year" to make a list of resolutions, but I decided that instead of doing resolutions for the whole year, I would pick one goal to focus on a month, and hopefully they would build on each other.
6. January's goal? Get a planner. Mission accomplished.
7. To keep myself accountable, I think I'll post the goal on here at the beginning of each month. Not that you have to care, it will just make me focus.
8. I'm contemplating breaking into the bag of kettle chips again.
9. Someone help me...I have a problem.
10. G'night!!

Christmas, Part 2

Once again, I'm a slacker and have yet to finish a blog post I started about 10 days ago. Well, Christmas and New Year's have both come and gone, and I just finished my third week back to work with the kiddos.

The second part of our break was spent with my family. Dutch Boy and I flew back to Houston, where we met my parents and grandparents (both sides!), plus my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We all drove over to San Antonio to meet my baby brother and to see his graduation from Air Force Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base.

Here come the pictures!

Christmas, Part 1

As I mentioned in my last post, our Christmas vacation was fairly hectic. During the first couple of days, we traveled to Michigan to visit Dutch Boy's parents. As evidenced by this photo out of the airplane, the Midwest has gotten a ton of snow.

I don't know what this picture tells you, except that the clouds can form in pretty cool ways:

At his parents' house, we opened presents:

We drove to "The Thumb" (otherwise known as the east-central part of the state) to visit with some of his extended family, and endured the blustery 20-30 mile/hour winds and drifting snow. I only took a couple pictures here, because that was as long as I could stand the frigid temperatures!

My in-laws' house is surrounded by farms, which means ample opportunity for fantastic cow pictures (Have I mentioned how much I love cows?),

And also some pictures of the beautiful northern outdoors:

To be continued...

There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays...

Sorry I've been MIA lately. I'm still recovering from my holiday travels and food coma(s). If this map doesn't do my two weeks of rest and relaxation justice, maybe my explanation will:

1) It all started in Austin...
2) We drove to Houston to drop the dog off at my grandma's and catch our flight...
3) Flew to Chicago
4) Drove to Grand Rapids, where we had a delicious meal of Homemade Beef and Noodles (Dutch Boy's Grandma's specialty)
5) Drove about an hour north to his parents' house
6) Drove back to Grand Rapids for Christmas Day
7) Drove back to his parents' house
8) Drove to the east side of the state (The Thumb, if you will) for the other side of his family's annual gathering
9) Drove back to his parents' house
10)Drove to Grand Rapids to stay the night
11)Drove to Chicago
12)Flew to Houston
13)Drove to San Antonio with my parents and grandparents for my brother's graduation from Basic Training
14)CAME HOME.

Ugh. I'm tired just typing that. Soon, I will include a full report of my action-packed Christmas. Happy hump-day!

Holiday Treats

Last week, I caved and decided to make some Christmas goodies. Here is the recipe for the Chocolate Cake Balls:

Here's what you need: A box of chocolate cake mix, (plus whatever ingredients are called for on the box), chocolate frosting, chocolate chips, and a container of your favorite sprinkles.

Bake the cake according to the directions on the box. Allow the cake to cool, and then crumble it into little bits using a fork.


Mix most of the container of frosting into the cake (you probably won't need it all, because it tends to get soggy and sticky).

Shape the mix into balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in wax or parchment paper. At this point, you should refrigerate them for several hours so that they do not fall apart when they are dipped in the hot chocolate.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Dip the balls in the chocolate until they are covered and then allow them to cool on the cookie sheet.
**I found that it was easier to drizzle them with chocolate than to dip them, but then they don't get covered all the way around.

Cover with your favorite sprinkles and pop them back into the refrigerator for a little while to harden. YUM!!!