This Could Certainly be Wordless Wednesday...

But when have I ever missed an opportunity to tell a story? My Nana loves Krispy Kreme. Like, loves it. There used to be one close to her house but it closed down. Now the closest one is across town, about 15-20 minutes away. On my birthday, I took the day off and we went to lunch and then were on our way to get a manicure. It was like a 6th sense...her eyes widened, she sat up in her seat and started looking out the window on alert and she said,

"Aren't we near a Krispy Kreme??"

"Yes Teeny. We are. Would you like one?"

"Yes."

"Do you want it before or after your mani?"

"Well, I'd really like it before it it's not a problem."

That's actually no problem at all, Teeny. I aim to please. :)

Suzie Homemaker...

You guys are superwomen! I read so many of your blogs and you have super busy lives and super busy kiddos and you still manage to build sandcastles, fly kites and I'm guessing you feed them because they're still growing!

We've had a really busy spring and it is catching up with me. Every night after work we have a scheduled event (except for Wednesdays) and it's been making it very hard to schedule my meals. I normally go to the store on Sundays right after church and get everything for my meals for the week and then it makes it easy to get home from work, get something together for dinner since it's pre-planned and be done with it. But the last few weeks when I've been going through the store I have just been totally blank on what to make for dinner! I'm out of ideas. I'm starting to recycle tacos, spaghetti and pizza like it's my job. So I'm doing a random McLinky day! Go through your blog archive and link up to a recipe (preferably EASY, but beggars can't be choosers...) to share with all of us. I'll start by letting you know that I've finally started tagging my old posts! You'll notice it on the right. So just click the recipe tab and hopefully you'll find some new ideas for this week.

Here is what we're having this week, and hopefully next week I can shake it up with some of your favorites!

Sunday- Brisket Tacos
Monday- Chili
Tuesday- Dave's having left over brisket tacos. I'm eating out before the baseball game
Wednesday- Barbecued pork chops
Thursday- Pizza and salad
Friday- Dinner Club! Alice and Jeff are hosting and they are doing surf 'n Turf and martinis! YUM!

Have a great week, and share some great recipe ideas with us!

Fabulous Find Friday! "Oh No She Di-int!" Edition!

Swimsuit season. Ready or not...here it comes! I, for one, am NOT ready for the swimsuit business but I AM ready for sun, the lake and the pool and I'm not sure those things are possible without a swimsuit. So, I'll suck it up and do my best to find a suit that hides as many imperfections as possible without wearing a mu mu.

It's an absolute fact that spandex isn't for everyone. Can I get an amen? So can we all agree that not every swimsuit is made for every body? It may take a few trips and a few styles to find your perfect fit....It will take carnival mirrors for me to find mine but I'm over it. So in an effort to save the season before it even hits I'm showing you a few of my current favorites I've seen this season. Hopefully there's a little something for everyone!

My absolutely favorite is this DARLING seersucker suit from JCrew. Oh, I can just picture one of you tiny tan things walking around in this and it makes me slightly ill. Happy shopping.

This one would be more up my ally with a bit of tummy control and maybe some straps to support my girls. It's slimming but still feminine. This suit is from Lands End and there are tons of cute styles and mix-n-match options.
These 2 adorable suits are from the GAP and I can almost see my sister in the cute plaid top! Of course I love the ruffled bandeau but I might need a bit more support these days.
Back to a bit of tummy control, I really like this La Blanca suit from Macy's. It comes in brown, black, white, teal and this fun pink.
And just to keep it real...I'm definitely going to need a cover-up! I think this one is precious! It's a ruffled halter dress from Kenneth Cole.
Ok, I found the swimwear now someone plan the vacation! :) Does anyone already have a fun trip planned?

Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow....

Hairstyles and fashion are a thing of complexity. There are oh-so-many rights and there are oh-so-many dead wrongs, but what I've learned over the years is that it might not be a wholistic thing. Although teased bangs as a whole are horrible, the perm might work for someone although it was a disaster for me. Just like gladiator sandals might be darling on you but they are a big H-to-the-no for me. I spent the better part of my youth chasing something I couldn't have. Maybe it was because there was no Chi at the time (and computers had just started making their way into every household....I know, it was basically primitive. I'll be something of a caveman to my children...) but quite possibly it was because I was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. I'm something of a Monica but I was trying to be a Meg.

You may think I'm kidding, but all of my friends will tell you that every time I went to get my haircut I was armed with a picture from Meg's latest flick. I spent 2 years trying to achieve "You've Got Mail" Meg. And as a result I hate just about every photo from college! ha!

So now, I'm seeking advice from you dear readers. My family has differing opinions so I figured I would put it to a vote. I'm about to inundate you with photos from the past 3 years. My hair grows VERY fast, so in 3 years I've been shorty-short, LONG, in between, short again, etc. I've had bobs, layers, bangs (but I always had longer bangs swept to the side) and I just can't decide where to go next, but I know I need to go somewhere! It's time for a change.

My hair is getting long again and I either need to style it up with some layers and let it grow, or cut it again. But how short? The pictures below are in sequential order of the past 3 years. There are some things in these photos I'm not proud of. There are eyebrows that would make the ladies at my nail place cringe. There is an outfit or two that my friends should be ashamed they didn't warn me about. I'll take that up with them personally. And I must shamefully point out my weight gain. Because the short bob might not be the way to go with my more "full-figured" face. Y'all weigh in. Short or long? Layers or no? And tell me which picture you prefer because I've had several different stylists. (I'm the queen of inexpensive cuts. A few of these came from salons and were a bit pricey but the majority of my cuts have been $20 or less!! Don't judge....I'm actually pretty proud of my very high maintenace hair at low maintenance prices:)

Cast your vote! And thank you!

Bag Envy...

You know how they say everything is bigger in Texas? Well, I find that to be true. I like big hair (or maybe I just HAVE to like big hair since it's raining today and I have a tendency to look like Monica Geller at the end of the day no matter how hard my Chi tries...) I like seeing men walking around in big cowboy hats and opening doors for their lady loves, and I like a big handbag. You never know when you're going to need an umbrella, so good thing I've got one in my purse. Or what about a retouch of your makeup because you go straight from work to the Longhorn baseball game? Sunglasses? Check. Camera? Check. Coco covered almonds in case of starvation or chocolate emergency? Check. These are just a few of the many reasons I....like....big....bagsandicannotlie....

That was a bad joke. And I'm sorry. But I'm not sorry for loving these handbags that are undoubtedly beyond my budget. I can guarantee you you won't see any of them on my shoulder in the near future considering we are looking for couches and most of these are more expensive than the couches we are considering. Brutal. And after all, I'm just playing along with Kelsey's Wishful Wednesday...I'm not actually out spending money....for now anyway. :)

I love this Valentino Hobo even though the bow will throw some of you off. I'm a very simple dresser. I wear mostly solid colors or very simple patterns and I like jewelry or bags to compliment the outfit. This would be the perfect bag for those Longhorn baseball games!

Just to bring us all back to reality, this Hobo bag is really cute and it is a fraction of the price...literally like 1/6th of the price.
And this one's cute too...

Or this one...
I'll stop now and go hit the sale racks...

Sheer Randomness...

This post is so random that you shouldn't be surprised if you hear about Real Housewives of NYC, health care reform, March Madness and even my new perfume. But I'll rethink over sharing on a few of these topics because who really wants to hear my views on the Countess and Bethenny anyway??

Y'all were so funny about my tongue! Thank you for your sweet comments of disbelief and a few of you even sent me really funny e-mails wanting detailed descriptions of my "ailment". But I did get several questions many times, so I'll quickly say that no, my tongue does not hurt in any way. It is only half of my tongue and honestly, I hardly even notice it anymore. There are certain times when it will tingle a little (kind of feels like when your foot goes to sleep) but in all....I'm over it. Right after it happened I bit my tongue all the time and I would bite it HARD. I couldn't feel it until I had bitten down really, really far. But now, it's just kind of a way of life and It hardly effects me. I have no speech problems, so for that I am very grateful! The corrective surgery did help a little bit. Instead of the intense tingling and zero feeling in the right half of my tongue I have a bit more feeling towards the center of my tongue. The left side is completely normal. And finally, I had a couple questions of taste...it's really hard to tell because the right side of my tongue is A-ok, but the majority of the tatse buds on the right side are dead (according to the doctor). But I really don't have a problem with tasting foods. I do have heightened heat sensation. Like if something is hot then to me it is REALLY hot. Like scalding. So, in a nutshell, that's what it's like with a partially numb tongue! And to my commenter who also has this....holy cow!! I could not even believe that! I am so sorry you have the same issue, but I'm also so glad to know I'm not the only person out there with really bad luck! Ha!

Moving on from the randomness of my numb tongue...

I got a new perfume for spring this weekend and I L-O-V-E it!! It is Beachy by Lilly Pulitzer and I got it on sale at Dillard's for only $20! I first heard about her fragrances from Pink Lace and Cupcakes and when I saw it I had to stop and smell! I'm so glad I did, and the price had me at hello. I also got the candle because it was on sale for $10 and I have it on my nightstand. My room smells so good. I might even go back and get a few more!
Did any of you see Dancing with the Stars last night? I didn't, but I DVRd it. I can't wait to watch. Who are your early favorites? Was Jake super cheesy and goofy? I have to admit that I am not a fan of Kate Gosslin. I really have never been a fan of her even before all of the drama so seeing her on the show will be interesting. I do love Erin Andrews! I think she is so sweet and fun (you know, since we're BFF and all....Kind of like me and Joey Potter...I have an issue with thinking these people are exactly as they are on TV) so I can't wait to see how she does.

Ok, I will stop with the random topics and just say, have a great day! I am SO excited because we are expecting an 80 degree day here in Austin and you know what that means....patio dinner and then....

Lucky me! I get to be the medical miracle!

I used to be a gum chewer. I always had gum in my purse and most of the time I was chewing it. I liked the flavor, I liked having something to chew on, and not worrying about bad breath is a nice perk too. It all stopped abruptly in 2005 when I had my wisdom teeth taken out. I was 25, one of them was bothering me a bit, so I went in for a routine extraction. I didn't have any that were impacted so it should be a piece of cake, right? WRONG!

I woke up that evening with a pain medication hangover, Dave was watching something on ESPN classic, I had a plethora of mashed potatoes and chocolate milkshakes because my friends are the bomb, and I felt like I had been hit with 2x4's on both sides of my face. I got out of bed and went to sit in the living room because who could resist the 1987 classic: LSU vs. Georgia Bulldogs...I remember it like it was yesterday...

I digress...so I woke up and began to change all of the necessary dressings and I realized the right side of my tongue was still really, really numb. Like crazy numb. I told Dave how weird it was because the rest of the anesthesia seemed to have worn off. A couple of hours later, my doctor called himself to check on me. At this point it was around 6:30pm. Dave told him I seemed to be doing really well, didn't have a lot of swelling, no immediate bruising, but the right side of my tongue was still very numb. My doctor seemed a bit baffled, but figured I was just highly receptive to the anesthesia and told me he would check in the next morning.

Well, let's just say it's now March of 2010 and my tongue is still numb! Yep...freaking weird!! And guess what, "In his 35 years of practice he has never had this happen." Lucky me. I get to be the medical miracle!

It seems the doctor severed a nerve while taking out my wisdom teeth and as a result I have no feeling in the right side of my tongue and very hightened sensation in the gums on the lower, right side of my mouth.

I've had corrective surgery, I've had one of the top oral and maxillofacial surgeons in.the.country. take my case and he is the one that performed my corrective surgery....and it didn't work. Ah, friends, it's always fun to have doctors calling you to interview you when they are WRITING THEIR BOOK because you are a "very interesting case".

I'm virtually the 8th wonder of the world. You know, the 8th wonder that bites their tongue when chewing gum and can't feel the right half of their tongue....

Joy Ride...

There ain't nothin' out here but a big ol' Texas sky

There's a red sun painted across the coming night

Well, your daddy's got plans for you, and mine thinks I'm at school

They say it's reckless to chase a dream, but this town's got nothing for you and me

Let's roll the windows down, turn the radio up, Let the wind blow through our hair

There's a moon tonight and a road outside, baby We're gettin' out of here

I could care less where it leads us, Love is reckless, let's get reckless tonight

Halfsies...

We generally talk about things "as a whole". Whole fruit. The whole enchilada. The whole sha-bang. But sometimes things are better in halves. Like only eating half the pizza instead of the whole thing. Having your morning commute cut in half because it's spring break (thank you Lord!). Getting to the counter to buy that new skirt and finding out it's half off! The thrill of completing your first half marathon!

We traveled to Dallas this weekend to see my sister-in-law run her first half marathon and it was so much fun! The weather was gorgeous! Absolutely perfect. We had a great dinner on Saturday night and let the excitement build for her Sunday morning run. Sunday morning came and Dave went to pick up his parents at the hotel. My sister and I made posters, got some coffee and a bagel (carb loading for the run...) and set out to find our favorite runner.

We made our way to the first place we wanted to see her which was around mile 3. We got out, got our posters, camera, coffee and we were walking the short block to our stalking post and Kristen (thankfully!!!) called another friend, who had met Kate along the route around mile 2, to see when we might expect her to hit mile 3. We were informed we had just missed her!! She was running faster than she thought based on her training runs and we were behind the 8 ball. We jumped in the car and Kristen demonstrated her mad driving skills as we tried to figure out our new viewing area. I'm not gonna lie, Kristen was pretty clutch. We first saw Kate around mile 4 and we jumped back in the car and continued to "follow" her throughout the race. We always had the closest parking spot! We would get out, cheer for her and watch her pass, hop back in the car and head down another 2 miles. Closed streets, police men and one way streets were no match for Kristen!

We had tons of fun. Kate had a great cheering crew with lots of family cheering her on. She inspired us! Kristen and I might have even said that maybe our next goal should be a half marathon and we can run it with Kate next year! I wonder if the sun was messing with my head???

Congratulations, Kate! You did an awesome job and we are all so proud of you!