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!!!