A Great Christmas!

This is late...but I was waiting on photos (which I NEVER got!) So, here goes...
Christmas is always awesome, and until this year I didn't think it could get any better! We have some pretty steadfast traditions for the holidays in my family. . . Christmas Eve at my parents', FAJITAS for dinner, candlelight services at the Lutheran Church, then spend the rest of the evening opening presents, PLAYING with presents, playing games and stuffing ourselves with dessert! I LOVE IT!

For the past several years, one of our newer traditions has been that my neice Shaina (sometimes accompanied by Summer) sings a Christmas song, while Roney plays the piano. Since we were having Christmas at Jonna's house this year, and since Jonna has no piano, Shaina asked Paw (my dad) if he could play his guitar for her while she sang!! He happily agreed and dug out the old guitar to begin practicing. I guess after strumming a bit my dad realized how much he missed playing. (He was in a country & western band when I was a little girl, and played his guitar often!) He went out and purchased a new guitar...a pretty new RED guitar...and worked up a handful of Christmas songs.

Shaina sang Silver Bells, and then we all sang for the rest of the evening. When we ran out of Christmas songs, it was a free-for-all! We sang a little Freddy Fender, some Elvis, Three Dog Night...and The St. Louis Blues (whoever sings that!?!?!?!) I'm pretty sure a new tradition has been started. (At least it has if I have anything to say about it!!) What a BLAST!

Okay Oprah, Sometimes You Gotta Draw The Line!!

I am a HUGE Dr. Oz fan. I love to listen to him explaining ANYTHING to me about health and the body. I record Oprah often just so I can watch my Dr. Oz segments. So, yesterday I had a few minutes to kill and checked my Oprah recordings. "Ah HA!" There was a Dr. Oz segment about OCD. Sounds interesting. TRY DISGUSTING!

To make a long story short, this "OCD Expert" took six people who suffer from various forms of OCD to a "retreat" to cure them of this awful condition in three days. His method is, basically, "extreme" treatment in a short period of time. Throw their worst fears at them times 1000. Dr. Oz accompanied them, but mainly an observer.

A few of the patients had the type of OCD that involves fear of germs, bacteria, etc. Okay...so when he made them all put their hands on the floor and then lick their fingers, it was kinda weird, but I could kinda wrap my brain around it. Then when this "expert" takes one man into the bathroom (because the man has a severe aversion to toilets, among other things) and makes him touch the toilet in the cabin and lick his fingers, I'm totally grossed out. I tell myself . . . "well, I would never do that, but if it cures this man okay. They probably cleaned the toilets first, right?" But my stomach is turning little flips by this time. (By the way, the man DOES lick his fingers).

Fast forward to the alley in a seedy part of town where there are open Dumpsters with God only knows WHAT coated on them inside and out. I KNEW in my heart what was going to happen next, but. . . surely not!?!? By this time, I'm watching the show as if it were a horror flick, peeking between my fingers, praying i'm wrong. Sure enough, he makes them put their hands flat against the inside of the dumpsters, take them out, and then lick them. HELLOOOOO! I can't pretend to know what that condition is like, and if it worked for them and they are all cured, that ROCKS . . . but that was freakin' disgusting and when it was all over I felt like I might make a trip to the bathroom myself! (Without touching the toilet or licking my hands!!)

Could they not have done a little bit of editing to include something else BESIDES all of the licking. For God's sake, they were at the cabin THREE days. Surely you could have filled in some of the time with something a little less revolting. My thoughts are that this particular episode should have gone on the back shelf in the film room.

There's a THESPIAN Among Us . . .

. . and SHAINA is her name! All those years in PJ's and performing for the family seemed to have served Shaina well. The Rice High School Drama Club's presentation of TREASURE ISLAND was a huge success, with Shaina Gayle Bowen starring in the lead as Jim Hawkins. How she memorized ALL of those lines (as well as everyone else's) is beyond me. All I know, is that her performance was flawless, she was beautiful (umm...I mean HANDSOME), and the play was complete entertainment. It was also so funny to see Shaina and her buddy Caleb (a/k/a BEN GUNN) getting to act a little silly together. Way to go, Shaina! We are so proud of you.

Here are a few more photos from the great evening!!

CHEER for the CURE!

I didn't expect this year to be much different than years past...but BOY was it! For several years now Summer and I have signed up as volunteers, along with some of her Girlscout friends, at the Susan Komen Race for the Cure. It is always fun, and I always walk away feeling like we contributed to an extremely worthy cause. However. . . THIS WAS THE YEAR. Something *clicked*, and Summer Got It. How truly awesome it is to see your little girl succumb to the full reality of what this event, and more specifically..this disease...means to millions of people.

Summer and I met up with Michelle and Julia Robison and Donna and Carrie Knigge at 6 a.m. We stood in the Target parking lot and spray-painted the girls' hair pink, divided up our "pink goods" among the 3 girls, went through Chick-Fil-A for breakfast, and headed downtown. I have to say. . . Our Three Little Groupies were the HIT of the event. Everyone who saw them asked them to be in pictures with them. I swear. . they were probably stopped and asked to pose for well over 100 photos. (They got really good at it after awhile!)

This year we were signed up to help with the "Education" materials. Each girl was given a packet with information about mammograms, a reminder calendar, and instructions for breast exams. We handed out THOUSANDS of pamphlets. After about an hour, it was time for the race to start. Some of the adult volunteers pulled our 3 girls aside and gave them pom-poms and told them to please cheer for the walkers and runner! Of course, they GLADLY participated. There were so many people . . . more than I've ever seen in downtown Houston. To see all of the teams walking in honor of loved ones was awe inspiring. I felt so happy to be a part of something so big. Seeing all of the t-shirts and banners with photos on them, Summer started asking so many questions. "What causes breast cancer?" "Are the people on the shirts dead?" "Why can't it be cured?" "Can men get breast cancer?" And...most importantly, "How does this "party" help them?" Her heart, I could tell, was FULL. She poured herself into being there and helping. She cheered loudly, smiled big, and was gracious and kind. I was proud, to say the least. Here are some of the photos from the event.

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3 1/2 Months....It IS Possible!

Inspired by ALL the women in my family, I am giving myself until the end of March to knock off 10 lbs!! That is doable...right? I do not like the way I feel right now, and I definitely do NOT like the way my clothes feel on me. My track record in the past has proven that RIGHT NOW is the best time for me to start a weight loss program. So, I'm starting now...not tomorrow, not Monday, not AFTER Christmas...NOW! I went to HEB and stocked up on all the good stuff (i.e. $$$$$).

My mother, sister, and sister-in-law have all been on a program for over a year and I am SOO impressed and amazed at them. I need to get some before and after shots of them. It is so awesome. My sister looks like a completely different person! Kim (my sister-in-law) is putting on clothes that she bought when we went out for my 30th birthday. (Yes, over 10 years ago).

I started walking/jogging with my neighbor several weeks ago, plus I am starting over on my 30-day Shred, I am getting my Jillian WII program for xmas, and of course...I will continue with my bike riding! WISH ME LUCK!!!

Thanksgiving!

Well, we did Thanksgiving at my parents' on Thursday. I always enjoy it so much, but this year was bittersweet, due to the fact that Jonna's family couldn't stay long (UT - A&M game) and Troy's family didn't come at all. Well, we did at least get to see Zayne & Hayden for the ALWAYS stressful, yet amusing, family photos. If it weren't for Uncle Wayne's talents he learned while in the circus, there would not have been any smiles!!! We are off to see Joe's family on Saturday...I've started packing up the wine!!! ;o)

My "Happy Things"....

Per my friend Heather, I am required to post 6 things that make me happy. (I had already started my GIVING THANKS posts, so I will not include Microphones and Shower Heads in my "6 things"). LOL

1. *Fruit Salad* I am a FREAK for fresh, ripe fruit...but a WHOLE bowl of them. Thank you GOD! 2. *Fuzzy Socks* Because I'm a TOTAL whimp in the winter! If my feet get cold, don't even bother coming near me. I love me some fuzzy socks.

3. *Martinis* DIRTY OR FRUITY!! Crack-a-lackin'
4. *The Beach* I can't think of any place I would rather be than lounging on a chair with a view of the ocean, a book in my hand, the kids laughing around me, and that AWESOME smell of the ocean breeze! 5. *Riding My Bike* Me, my bike, and giant disco headphones hooked to my ipod cruising around the neighorhood after the kids go to bed. PERFECTION! 6. *Family* ALL of them! Parents, siblings, hubby....and of course my kids! I never dreamed in a million years that these tiny, little people could be so FREAKIN' hilarious! {I will add a photo after Thursday...}

On a side note, Heather M. is the QUEEN of all blogging. Her blog, unlike mine, is not just a way to stay in touch with friends and family and show them your latest photos of the kids. Her blog is a novel and a work of art! I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read! http://www.stepfordlife.com/

Giving Thanks (2)

Dual Shower Heads!

GIVING THANKS (1)

With only 4 days until Thanksgiving, I thought I would choose something each day this week that I am thankful for. But just so we are clear, there are TONS of items that are a "given" and I refuse to try to narrow it down to just "My Children" or "My Friends"..or any of the other countless things I could list that would tell you NOTHING about me!!

So today I am thankful for MICROPHONES! Yes...without microphones, my hour and a half in the garage cleaning up would have seemed like a long, boring chore. Thankfully, Summer and Evan came and asked me if I would hook up the Karaoke machine for them. Thinking they were planning on singing a bit, which is always a fun thing to do, I went inside and hooked everything up, then returned to my chore. For the ENTIRE time that I cleaned up the garage I was smiling because of the "reporting" that was coming from inside my house.

You see, the kids assumed that since no one was inside with them, that no one could hear them. As we all know...that is when children are their funniest. I couldn't stop myself from quietly opening the door over and over to actually SEE what they were doing. After a quick little Rap song by Evan...with his boxer shorts pulled up under his armpits so that he looked like a nerd...complete with the boom box base "spit" sound that all good rappers know how to achieve...Summer took the mic and proceeded to anchor the news. "That was Evan the rapping nerd singing his new hit single! NOW...back to you Sally!" Throughout the next hour and a half, they sang a few songs, Evan did some bird calls and monkey sounds, they interviewed a few actors, and then Summer stretched the microphone out to my exercise bike and interviewed bike racers (she was both the newswoman, and the racer). She won, of course...beating Ricky Bobby by just a mouse's tail!

My New Favorite Products!!! WOOHOO

Before November, I had never even heard of ESSENCE OF BEAUTY! But one Monday, a few weeks ago, I stopped by CVS to pick up a couple of items. I had some time to kill before I picked Summer up from tennis lessons so I started browsing through the bath and body section. A line of products caught my eye...only because one of the fragrances sounded like something PERFECT for me. CITRUS COCONUT! Wow, surely this can't be as great as it sounds!??!?! I was feeling "frisky" and decided WTH! I picked up one of the body cream jars and a shower gel in the Citrus Coconut scent!

WOW WOW WOW WOW! I am in love with this product. First of all, the SCENT rocks. I love Citrus Coconut! It is JUST what I had hoped it would be. Not overwhelming in either of the fragrances, but an amazing, pleasant blend that is "tropical" and "Fresh" at the same time.

The Shower Gel has a hook at the end to hang in your shower, and the gel itself is a great consistency that really did leave my skin soft. The Body Lotion wasn't like other body creams I have bought. It was Whipped, and it felt so wonderful. A little bit goes a long way, and it is so soft.

Okay, after a little research I was amazed to find out this brand is only sold at CVS! So, needless to say, I have made a few return trips to get more products! The Pomegranite Apple scent is also fantastic and leaves my whole bathroom smelling so fresh. BUT WAIT...my latest find is the Essence of Beauty make-up brushes! They are very reasonably priced and they ROCK! I've bought one of the powder brushes and a lip brush so far, and they work fantastic. I am especially in love with the lip brush!

There are more frangrances to try and more brushes to experiment with, and I plan to do just that!! My next purchase, however, will be the Soy Lotion Candle..which (according to advertising) melts at a temperature just above body temperature and you can apply it to your skin!! Sounds very SPA-ish to me, and I'm all about pampering myself. I will let you know how it turns out!

Prop 8

Since I'm not so eloquent...i'm with Keith!

Good Genes!!!

It is not very often that I get a photo with both my mom and dad in it.....let alone one where they are actually posing for the photo! So, when Jonna emailed me a photo of both of them, looking mighty Dapper...I was so excited. The first thing that came to my head was, "Blog Time!" So, here they are ladies & gentlemen...SHARON & THURSTON (aka Roney & Paw).

Cool Memory about Dad: Being sick and staying home from school, we were "forced" to go to work with dad. (Yay!!!) Dad had a shop where he repaired radios, tvs, cb's, etc. And, being that we grew up in a time BEFORE all of the over-protective hysteria hit America, to keep us occupied Daddy would give us a soldering iron, a circuit board, and a coil of wire and virtually lock us away until my mom could come and get us. GOOD TIMES!

Cool Memory about Mom: Her Artex Painting Projects.....my favorites being her polyester white shorts with the American Bald Eagle on the butt and the shirt that said "Raquel Welch Has Flat Feet!" (Of course, at the time I took that for FACT and relayed the awful medical news to my friends...only to realize later that my mom was, in fact, a tad bit jealous!!)

Discovery Green

Finally....Houston has a wonderful park in Downtown that the kids can enjoy! DISCOVERY GREEN was opened up this year on about 12 acres in Downtown Houston, next to Minute Maid Park. Joe and I took the kids there today, along with my neighbor Karen and her kids (Nick & Zach). What a fantastic place! (Of course, I've come to the conclusion that, with Karen at your side, you could have a good time pretty much ANYWHERE!!) Besides having just lovely lawns and trails, there was a playground, a fountain the kids could play in, a splash area with water spouts, a pond with remote control sailboats, and a stage for bands to play on! The kids would have stayed all day if we had let them. According to people we talked to, they will be adding on 20 more acres soon, and the lake will be an ice skating rink after Thanksgiving! It was so awesome to just hang out with a view of Houston's beautiful downtown skyline! Here are a few photos of the kiddos having fun!

Happy Hallow-Winn!!!

The kids had a great time last night Trick or Treating!! Amy and Wil Guzman came over with their kids (John & Chloe) and Shirley and Kurt brought Ainsley over! It was a PARTY, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Summer was a hawaiian/hula girl and Evan was a Ninja.

We also had two Halloween Parties last weekend...one for the boys and one for the girls (Can you say EXHAUSTING!!). Thank God for Moonwalks (Jumpies)...the boys had a great time jumping all night. We also had a treasure hunt in the HAY! And of course, musical chairs!! As for the girls' party...music and microphones are all you really need, right!?!?!? WOOHOO, they had a blast! We also did a hay ride for both parties, which is always the favorite part of the evening for everyone.

Of course, the evening wouldn't be complete without Michelle Robison giving Summer a wedgie!!

BRIDGING!

Summer is officially a Junior Girl Scout now. The bridging ceremonies were held at the pond at Lone Star College near our house. At the end of the ceremony, the girls all presented awards to each other that they had made! Never in a million years did I think that my Summer would still be in Girl Scouts! We are so lucky that we got into the troop we did...."I" am so lucky!! I've posted a photo of the girls at the ceremony!

Evan's Race!!

FINALLY! Race Day arrived. Evan has been anxiously awaiting the Cy-Fair H.O.P.E. funrun for MONTHS. The day before the race, he became very nervous and decided he may not want to do it after all. With a little coaxing, he agreed to go ahead.

On Saturday (10/18) he put on his t-shirt, his "running shorts" and his "Fast Shoes" and Summer, Evan and I headed to Langham Creek H.S. The place was PACKED. There appeared to be a few thousand people there (there were races for all school age children, through 12th grade, and even some adult races). Immediately upon getting out of the car, he started holding his side and complaining of a "side ache". I figured it was just nerves (hoped so, at least) and tugged him along until we made it to the Kindergarten Boys gathering. He was looking pretty pale...until he saw his friend Brett! YAY BRETT!! Brett pretty much saved the day. Once Evan realized that his buddy would be there, he forgot about his nerves and started "stretching"!! LOL

So Summer and I stood on the sidelines as about 50 little boys took off to run their quarter mile. It was nice that Evan was so easy to pick out of the pack (with all that fluffy hair blowing in the wind). When he rounded the turn and saw Me and Summer and heard us yelling for him, he put on his "race face" and passed a few kids...leavin' them in the dust! ;o)

In the end, Evan did not get a medal, but he did fantastic. We don't know his exact finishing place, but I estimate he was about #11 or #12. His friend Brett won a medal for 7th place!! They were so AWESOME! Above is a photo of Evan and Brett after the race!

Tennis Anyone?

Summer started taking tennis lessons a couple of weeks ago at Huber Tennis Ranch near our home. KNOCK ON WOOD... I think we have finally found that one activity that Summer will not only excel at, but truly enjoy. And ME..I'm THRILLED. This is a sport that Summer can play for the rest of her life. Not to mention the fact that this is something that I can actually do with her. I'm not a great player, but I CAN play, and I enjoy it.

I'm amazed at the coaches at Huber TR. They are so good with the kids and have a way of making it seem like they are playing..rather than learning! Summer gets a lot of instruction and exercise without even realizing it.

The Graduate

Evan graduated from Pre-K III last week! He was SOOO handsome and "scholarly"! Here is his "graduation" photo! We were just so proud of him. We could not be more pleased with the progress he made while attending Legacy Learning this year, and now we look forward to Kindergarten!!! How time flies!!

What's In A Name?

What's In A Name? Well, in this particular case, YOU WEAR IT WELL was pretty much a "meeting in the middle". First off, I'm not a huge fan of generic titles, so "Webb Family Album" or "Sharri's Cool Photos" was not even an option. I knew I wanted something that had at least a little bit of meaning, or a would make me smile! My first thought was "Jeremiah...", but I knew that only Jonna and I would chuckle when we read it. So I asked myself, "what is something that the ladies in my family can all relate to AND get a warm, fuzzy feeling from?" BAM...Rod Stewart came to mind! (Sorry guys, my instincts tell me that you personally will not be contributing much to this blog, so your feelings were not taken into consideration)! Sure there are other artists that each of us love....but Rod holds a special place in our hearts and we have shared many good times going to his concerts and listening to his music.

Okay..I have a general theme in mind, but now what? While I think my family is pretty FANTASTIC-looking, entitling my new blog "Do You Think I'm Sexy" may put others off! And, "The First Cut Is The Deepest", will probably only bring back bad memories for Troy! There was definitely the option of "Blondes Have More Fun"...but wouldn't that really be a slap in the face to some of our REALLY FUN friends and family who are not now nor have ever been Blonde? So as I went through some of my CDs, it all fell into place! YOU WEAR IT WELL!! A phrase that could describe fashion, fun, attitude, comedy, drama, or tragedy...all of which are a part of our lives and which we intend to share here.

So Welcome, and hopefully this will be the beginning of a great place to share special moments. I will leave you with a quote from Rod now....

My love for you is immeasurable, my respect for you immense. You're ageless, timeless, lace and fineness, You're beauty and elegance.....