Dallas thoughts

Friendship

2009-11-08T14:51:00.009-06:00

Sometimes I think about friends that remain and friends and friendships that have come and gone. There are those friends who are true and simple friends everyday. There are the friendships that you thought were true but for one reason or another that friendship slipped away but you treasure the time it was relevant.
There are the friendships that meant a lot to you but went away and leave you wondering what happened. Did I do something wrong, hurtful? Was it my fault? With this situation you have to come to a realization in your own heart that, Yes you did do something and try to fix it. OR, you make peace with the fact that there was nothing you did personally but the fact that people approach friendship differently. Some search for lifelong friends and others have friends just for a short time and then dispose or recycle. Plain and simple.

Promise Never To Untie
by Hope
The tender words are spoken
Each body and soul bared
Told secrets over endless days
Often doing more than dared

New world beyond my door
With intrigued and intensity
Now we have shared our hearts
A bond now made it permanently

Facing our days made easier
Despite any type of weather
Each other's heart felt deeply
Both happy we stuck together

It took us little time and effort
The bonding as strong as glue
I now promise never to untie
The strings I have tied with you

The understanding of each other
Breaths to take, we breathe the air
As the relationship interchanges
Knowing our loving hearts are there

Now we are never left on the outside
Lovingly enter each others domain
Smiling. laughing and forever teasing
But forever friends we then became

I want

2009-11-07T19:42:00.007-06:00

I want to be her when I grow up, I can't help it.

... I been thinkin....

2009-11-02T21:40:00.008-06:00

As we age and we begin to see our parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends begin to leave us and go home... our world shrinks.

My father passed away at age 84. The amount of people who came to show their respect touched my mom so. My uncle passed away nearly 2 weeks ago at the age of 96. He and my aunt Hazel had no children and now there is just one brother and one sister left of those siblings. Uncle Bill's world had become just his immediate family. He had pretty much outlived all friends and business acquaintances he had made in his many many years making barbeque.

Our family is so lucky that Mom, even at 85, remains active and busy. She is active with her Sunday School class. She volunteers one day a week at Baylor Hospital Garland. She still keeps in touch with all the "girls" she Line Danced with. She is part of a quilting group. We can't keep up with her but still... The world of lifelong friends has shrunk.

This is my mom and a lifelong friend. Stanley Bennett. When my mom was a young girl her best friend was Hortense. When they went to Woodrow Wilson HS in Dallas, Hortenses boyfriend was Stanley. Stanley and Hortense introduced my mom and dad. Now that is lifelong friends. Stanley lost Hortense not long after we lost my dad. There isn't many from that era left around. Their world has shrunk.

Who is your lifelong friend?

Photos

2009-11-01T18:05:00.007-06:00

Is this not a great face? Or what?

Then I made some changes just using basic Picasso.

And then there's this cutie:

Family

2009-10-25T18:08:00.012-05:00

It is a shame when life gets so busy that the only time you see family is at funerals.

Moore Men from 28 to nearly 70.

My mom and a dear life long friend.

Leaning on each other as they have both lost their loves over the past 5 years.

Cousins

Aunt Marie Moore Ellis

Uncle Bo, I think his name is James but I wouldn't put a lot of money on that. We just call him Uncle Bo, that's all we've ever known.

I love having a place where we can gather and talk about old memories. I pulled up old photos I had scanned and gave Bo and Marie a little slide show. They thoroughly enjoyed it and were so appreciative that I had wanted to have them over.

Fall

2009-10-25T08:57:00.015-05:00

A couple of weeks ago my church (Meadows Baptist, Plano) set up for their annual Pumpkin Patch. Volunteers showed up to unload the semi and get everything ready.

Everyone got in on the action, young.

and not so young.

The colors are amazing.

The next day, Ray and I met Leslie, Tony and the two grandboys at a very large Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound. It was the first pretty day after days upon days of rain and needless to say we weren't the only ones with this idea. It was fun!

NASCAR

2009-10-14T10:02:00.013-05:00

OK, I know among my closest friends I am a freak. I love NASCAR. I have always been a car nut. I love to go fast. I love to watch NASCAR. The best part of my job has been the opportunities it has given me to attend some races, drive some cars, meet some drivers and coming out of that, meeting some new and great friends.

Today is Hall of Fame Day. 25 drivers, media, owners, etc... are nominated as inductees into the first ever NASCAR Hall of Fame. 5 will be inducted. The history of NASCAR is very interesting and it's originators a very colorful mix of hot rodders and moonshiners!!!

The Hall of Fame building itself will open in May of 2010. For our 10th wedding anniversary I got Ray and I a Brick inscribed with our names and the date of our wedding. The actual brick will be somewhere on the grounds of the Hall of Fame campus. We will go there one day to find it.

I have also recruited my husband into the NASCAR fan family. When we married Ray had no clue, no idea, had never even watched a full race. Now he is a full fledged fan, participating in Fantasy competitions, he has favorite drivers and so like every other fan has drivers he can't stand!

The fanfare at the races is usually spectacular. The traditions will not be broken. The drivers, crews, owners and cars are accessible to the fans. It's just fun.

Someday I will drive an actual stock car on a track.
We plan on being out at the track this November for another race. Here are some pictures from past races I and we have been to.

Busy and Fun

2009-10-05T11:57:00.036-05:00

This past weekend was busy but it was all fun stuff that hubby and I wanted to do, not stuff we had to do or felt obligated to do. Those weekends are rare. I love hanging out and doing stuff with my guy.

Friday started out at our high school homecoming. Hubby was one of the first graduating classes and I was one of the members of the first class to attend high school and graduate after all four years at North Garland High School. My graduating class is trying to get together at least once a month and we've been pretty succussfull lately thanks to Facebook. Our next venture is to schedule a once a month breakfast. We'll see how that works out.

We all remember the band being bigger, the drill team having more members, etc... We did relive a few moments of our past and none of us feels like we are about to turn (or have turned) 50 years old!

Yes, I can remember the words...
Of spirit and friendship
Of wisdom and truth
These things that you taught us in the days of our youth
The Red and the Black will
display hearts swelled with pride
For our alma mater
NORTH GARLAND HIGH

My great-niece Kayla now attends NG. (the above is her Homecoming Mum and by no means was the largest one there!) Her mom, my niece Misti is also a NG alumni. At the game was my mom, my sister, my niece, my great niece(s)and myself.

I love the way my sister and my niece are standing in this picture. EXACTLY the SAME!!! too funny. Trust me, the apple(s) does not fall far from this family tree.

After halftime the class of 78 group moved the gathering to a local restaurant. Shared more memories and fun.

It was great seeing everyone... Kelly M, Kelly C, Stephanie, Lynda and Brad, Michael (and his mom!), Todd, Renee, Jim (sorry Dianne wasn't feeling well!) Chris and family...

That was Friday. On Saturday we made the trip down to the State Fair of Texas. We traveled via the new DART train direct from downtown Plano all the way to the front gates of the Fair.

We walked alot.
We ate too much.

Saw some beautiful livestock.

Saw some cute images

Rested our feet a bit....

We had a great time together just like we always do. But when all was said and done.... we were still ....

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Well
You get the idea......

Idea House

2009-09-29T21:35:00.012-05:00

Most of those who know me know my favorite magazine is Southern Living. I absolutely love, love this magazine. The recipes. The travel. The decorating. I love it all.

While I was in Port Aransas this past weekend we got to visit the Southern Living Idea House on Mustang Island in Cinnamon Shores. Something I had always wanted to do. It was a lot of fun.

Here are some pics I took going through the house. Can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the front of the house.

This is the porch as you walk in the main door. There is a fireplace to the left of the chairs.

The great room and kitchen.

Master bedroom, love the barn door to the bathroom. I love pocket doors and they aren't always practical or manageable. There was another bedroom I guess I forgot to take pictures of too... Black, White and turquoise color scheme. Really pretty.

This is a little doggie room. I'm a dog lover so I think it's great. Since it is on an outside wall though, I would have made it more a doggie mud room with a dog wash. If you're going to use the space, use it for a reason.

Upstairs is a huge kids area with great bed space and kids media room.

Then, my favorite room. The guest area. It is seperate from the house and I loved it.

All in all pretty cool. One problem, the kitchen area had a step up... not good when carrying food to the table... OR when having people come in and tour. They have had numerous falls.

A Reunion

2009-09-28T12:13:00.016-05:00

In September of 1969 I walked in to a new school, new class and did not know one soul. Over the past forty years some of the friends I met at Janie Stark Elementary and at Vivian Field Jr High have remained friends and kept up with each other. I lost touch with some of those friends and unfortunately we have lost a few way too soon.

Thanks to the world of technology those that were lost were found, those that had kept in touch but sporadically have a much easier time now making contact on a much more regular basis. Because of this technology, mainly Facebook, four of us got together this past weekend for a very long over due weekend of catching up. It was much too short and there was no way to pack in all that has happened to us in just two short days. But we did our best.

We headed out on an eight hour road trip early on Friday morning. Misti and I had not seen Krista in we think about 16 years!!! It was just like we'd never been apart. We slipped into our old familiar roles and hit the road and made it to just short of our final destination with plenty of sunlight left in the day. Just as we had the beach (Port Aransas) in sight we found ourselves in a mile long line for the ferry.

The wait wasn't too long though and we were loaded up and headed across the water.

... being silly, singing songs as we floated over....

Misti's mom Sandy (now MiMi to me) started out as our Camp Fire Girls leader those many moons ago and she hasn't changed a bit. Dr.P hasn't changed either!!! He's still afraid of what trouble we might get into! He wanted to check the car to make sure we didn't stock up on toilet paper to go paper someone's house while we were there!!! (that would look pretty funny on palm trees). Our hosts were fabulous and again, just like old times except we never did a craft project like the old days. I think we were talking too much!

We had yummy seafood Friday night, stayed up late talking and laughing trying to remember names and faces from the past. Coffee and cinnamon roles were ready for us the next morning and then it was a morning of shopping for normal tourist beach paraphernalia. More yummy seafood for lunch sitting and enjoying the gulf breeze on a beach side deck. What more could you ask for?
A side trip to a 2009 Southern Living Idea House was cool. Something I wouldn't miss and I'm going to post on that separately.

Showers a nap and then we were off to the Belt Sander Races at The Gaff. Yes, Belt Sander Races. It was hysterical, made more hysterical by the "line judge" and his "colorful" commentary and side betting.

What next? More seafood for dinner of course. Small, tiny corner restaurant with some of the best food ever. Stuffed flounder, rice & broccoli to die for. Fried portabello mushrooms that I have to try myself very very soon. More laughing and I thing we look pretty darn good these many years later.

Then back to the house, with a stop first by the local store for s'mores makings. Doc had wood and all the equipment needed for a beach fire. We changed into some better beach fire clothes, fixed up some metal hangers and headed out.
Tamara put some muscle into it and dug a fire hole and Doc got the fire started with some unorthodox/un Camp Fire Girl approved gasoline!!!

More laughing, sticky marshmallow chocolate fingers and delicious s'mores. You can't duplicate this taste without the real fire. (pictures of this to follow) We remembered our friend Nancy who this year was taken from us after a long, long battle with MS. A late night but soo much fun.

We loved every minute and vowed to never let time keep us apart again.

We all hit the road for home before noon on Sunday and we all made it safe and sound.

Until next time....

Another Dancing Countdown

2009-09-22T13:03:00.011-05:00

Well, Dancing With the Stars 2009 got started last night with the men of the group. Just a few thoughts:

Ashley Hamilton

First let me say I never knew George Hamilton had a son.... second.... my mother taught me if I didn't have something nice to say, not to say anything at all. I'm not sure we will have time to learn much more about the younger Hamilton.

Michael Irvin

...Don't give up your day job... at least you have the man audience there.

Aaron Carter

I know very little about this kid but his first dance out of the box was awesome. Not quite sure why the judges seemed a little harsh.

Marc Dacascos
Ok, this guy makes me laugh because all I can think about when I see him is Iron Chef!!! Well, until he started dancing. He is a contender.

Chuck Liddell
Had no clue who this guy was when he was introduced. BUT, he will be the sentimental fav. He is trying sooo hard to get this. He isn't great and may be short of good, but he'll get the votes for having the most heart!

Tom Delay
OK, I laughed so hard at the House Majority Leader... we were laughing out loud. Not at his dancing really but at his personality. Who knew!!!??? Only a Texan!

Donny Osmond
Wow, wow, wow. He is a performer! Hubby and I both agree he will only get better. For the men... it is between him and Marc for sure.

Louie Vito
For the young girl vote there is Louie. Cute as a bug and everyone is giving him a hard time about his hair... backoff! Of course, I do have a soft heart for those men vertically challenged and this guy does have some short legs. Hope he can hang, I think we might see huge improvement from him.

All in all the show was very entertaining. One of the most entertaining snips was at the very last when they voted Michael Irvin better than Tom Delay. You could see Cheryl Burke FUMMING!!!!

More to follow...

Another wedding

2009-09-17T22:07:00.005-05:00

ok, borrowed another photo.

This is another wedding that happened last weekend on the same day as niece Tara got married. This is Jessica Cortez (now Gatlyn) and her new husband Samuel. Another amazing photo and yet so totally different from the one of Tara in my previous post. Each speaks to the individuality of the bride's personality.

I do have to say here that the photographer is amazing and is a friend of Jess's. See her stuff on her myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/tirzahphotography

this is my favorite though:

Jess and Samuel took time the day after their wedding to put their wedding ensembles back on and take more photos. How cool. More relaxed, more time, no rushing around. What a great idea. I just had to share. I hope Tirzah won't mind....

A wedding continued

2009-09-15T20:51:00.002-05:00

I borrowed this photo just to show how absolutely it is.

Tara's bridal portrait is sooo Texas.

A Rainy night can't stop Wedding fun.

2009-09-13T01:24:00.024-05:00

The wedding of Max Montgomery and Tara Kneggs was not dampened by a rainy night in Dallas.

The 6pm wedding was held at the historic Old Red Courthouse in downtown Dallas which has become a great wedding venue. The weddings are held on the fourth floor of the building and my sister in law tells me the staff was amazingly helpful.
The ceremony was very sweet, oficiated by a minister who was a former youth director who had known Tara for many many years.
After the ceremony, guests moved to the reception where we started with fruit, cheese, crackers and punch. Various shades of purple and green were beautiful all through the reception hall, flowers and cake.

Once the bridal party was done with pictures, the couple was introduced and had their first dance... (remember, I hate this camera)

More fun and festivities followed!!!!

The happy couple is in there somewhere under a shower of wedding petals then into the real shower of raindrops.

It's always fun to hang out with our kids and tonight was a lot of fun for Ray and I.

We had Trey and Neely, Tony and Leslie, Laura and Carl and one very very well behaved grandson Jake. He will do just about anything for strawberries and the promise of cake.

Then there was dancin!!! I love dancin with my husband.

Son in Law Tony grabbed my camera and took this shot. I'll have to explain in person the story behind the pic....

It was a fun night. Best wishes to Max and Tara Montgomery! Have fun in Paris.

This week

2009-09-09T11:42:00.002-05:00

This week I have the privelege of attending a conferenc of my peers at the AFLA Conference. This is the Association of Fleet Lease Administrators. Lots of people who do what I do and take care of company cars. We manage a wide variety of fleets for a wide variety of companies. Managers are here from Bristol Myers, Hallmark, Loreal, etc... so our car specifications run anywhere from Mercedes to Fords to Toyotas. From small hybrid cars to large box truck like I run. This is where I can still learn something. This is where I can ask questions of my peers on how they handle unique situations that our companies may never ever think of as being a challenge for us to handle.

The first of these conferences that I attended 3 years ago was very, very informative. One of the speakers on the agenda was a General Wald who spoke of the safety and security of our fuel sources... (or lack thereof). I actually took notes. He was awesome. There are some interesting topic titles on the schedule this week so hopefully IU'll learn again.

West Texas Fun

2009-09-06T20:25:00.011-05:00

Had the first opportunity to hang with some BF's this weekend at their land west of Weatherford, just south of Cisco. Tons of fun but still really hot from mid day to dusk. I don't do heat well. Never have, never will. So excited to go back soon.

Our husbands worked hard all day Saturday getting everything just right. Leveling the little home away from home, their Casita trailer. After that was done, the firepit was dug so that we could enjoy it after dark. Friend S and I found reason to head to the grand town of Cisco. Groceries were needed and the Brookshires has excellent AC!!!

Speaking of Brookshires, while checking out we came upon a very nice employee who was more than happy to assist us with our bags out to the car. (I love this about Brookshires!!, they don't ask, they just do it) Anyway, I had overheard this girl talking about her foot surgery and ask her about it. Noticing that this girl was EXTREMELY tall, I ask if she had played basketball.... ok, long story/short and another Six Degrees of Lisa Story.... She says "yes ma'am I played 4 years for the University of Texas. ok, ok, trying to shorten the story... I look at her name tag "STACY" She had played against my stepdaughter Leslie in high school and I recognize her as one of the most outstanding players at UT during her time there and had watched her on TV. She was REALLY mean when playing but was so nice to talk to this weekend! so funny. I think she was shocked and pleased to be recognized. Stacy is here in the red shorts.

My friend just shook her head and said no one but me could be in the grocery store in Cisco TX and find someone they would know.

Oh yea, on our way to town, we picked up a rider. Isn't he cute!!?
After it cooled down we had some dinner, went to visit friends on the adjacent property, had a glass of wine or two and then back to camp for an awesome fire. The little boys entertained themselves with electronics while my big boy played in the fire.

We could hear coyotes alllll night long. My bedroom was the blue tent which worked out really well. Except for those coyotes, again alll night long and sounding like they were getting closer and surrounding us. Every time they started up, it sounded like hundreds of them. All in all, sleeping was good.

Breakfast was sausage/egg tacos and hot coffee. Hubby always does great breakfast!
Not long after we finished eating it started warming up again so we headed to a shaded area for some rifle/target practice. I love stuff like this.

So far only one mosquito bite but chiggar bites TBD... Great friends, great weekend, I think I see a trailer in our near future.... don't tell hubby.....

Great reunion

2009-09-04T20:32:00.001-05:00

just this week hooked up with a friend who I really haven't gotten a chance to talk to since 8th GRADE!!!! Can you believe that. We met after work at about 6:30 and had to shut up and leave at 10:30. We went to Vivian Field Jr. High in Farmers Branch Texas, but knew each other before that in Camp Fire GIRLS when it was just that; CAMP FIRE GIRLS!!!! no boys allowed. We had so much fun.

I've got to find some photos of us at 12. Here we are now. We still look pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

Our Newest Teacher, Frisco's Gain

2009-08-28T19:34:00.002-05:00

Here's our newest teacher in the Family. Clay and Amanda will both be Special Ed teachers at Frisco's Centennial High School. We are so excited and they are too!!! Carpooling is a good thing!!!!

Gotta Love it.

Do you need a Smile, this will do it.

2009-08-27T08:39:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI-l0tK8Ok0

this is awesome.

be sure and turn on your sound.

our babies

2009-08-22T22:08:00.001-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

our family babies

I am looking for one of these

2009-08-22T18:13:00.008-05:00

What is this you ask? It is a teardrop trailer. The first teardrop camping trailers in the United States were made in the 1930's with their popularity soaring after World War II. The depression was over and the war had given the economy a big boost. The soldiers were home and wanted to go on vacations with their families. And the roadway system in the United States was becoming well developed with more paved roads then ever, which made traveling easier than ever before. Plus the teardrop campers were economical and didn't require a special towing vehicle. Nearly any vehicle, and some motorcycles, could pull one and still can.

People who have these little gems are a unique group. They decorate and customize (and name) their teardrops in very unique ways.

Is this me or what? We don't need much room. We love cooking outside, Ray sleeps in the back of the truck anyway! Can you imagine the attention we'd get at Texas Motor Speedway!?
If anybody hears of one for sale or knows where one might be let me know.

Back in June

2009-08-17T21:35:00.003-05:00

Back in June Hubby and I got to take a fishing trip down to Richland Chambers Lake. It was actually his birthday and we had a great time. Thanks to our friend Richard S. for setting this up, inviting us to his awesome lake house and being a great host. Thanks to both my guys for letting me catch more than my fair share of the fish. I loved it. We caught our limit in less than two hours which is actually a LOT of work if you're not used to it. I think that's what finally did my elbow in.

Here's our catch!!!! (remember, in less than two hours)

Surgery, Pain, Recuperation, Boredom

2009-08-12T15:56:00.004-05:00

I am so bored.

After having elbow surgery last Friday, 5 days ago... I am absolutely stir crazy. I probably should not be typing since it pulls on the exact tendon that was worked on.

I thought the surgery would be similar to carpel tunnel surgery and I would be back at work yesterday... not! The surgery was a little more severe than first anticipated and the doctor told my husband he had to use the "bone biter"! on the bone to create a better site for the tendon to adhere to. Seriously? the Bone Biter? There was only about 5% of the tendon actualy attached to the bone.

Friday was not bad at all. My friend Judy came over and stayed a while, got me some lunch and we just had fun jabbering away. Well, must have had some morphine and anesthesia still in my system cause Saturday, Sunday and Monday... THAT was a whole other story. Pain, Pain. Pain. You don't realize how much you move your fingers and your wrist. Even involuntarily! The slightest movement in the wrong direction would send an electrical charge equal to 10,000 volts up my arm!!!

Since I indicated I am a little sensitive to Latex and adhesives, the doctor was very careful to not use any bandages around the incision or on my arm. He just used gauze to cover the wound and an ace bandage around the elbow... Well there is something in ace bandages that make them stretchy now and evidently I'm allergic to that too. Have a nice itchy rash at my elbow now!!!

It's Wednesday now and I can at least move my fingers without shouting really really bad words. I've worked on emails today so that when I get into the office tomorrow I'm not buried in stuff to do. Maybe just up to my waist at least.

Lovely huh?

normal weekend

2009-08-02T13:52:00.006-05:00

Ahhh a normal weekend without a party to plan for!!! Ray and I stayed home Friday night after I picked up some chinese food for dinner. I stopped and picked up a nice bottle of wine at my new favorite wine store, Angels Beverages. It is in a non-descript, mostly empty strip center at Jupiter and Plano Parkway. They have tastings every other Friday, wine pairing dinners at local restaurants... etc... They know their stuff. Find them at angelsbeverage.com

Ray and I love chinese food but had not found what we liked close to our house and we've been here 5 years now. So, I decided to try something new. Next door to Angel's is Master Wok. I never ever would have tried this place without the referrel from Angel. The place was nice and clean was the first thing I noticed when I went in. We normally spend $25 to $30 bucks on take out chinese... I ordered us 2 dinners and some fried wontons and crossed my fingers. First surprise... total for two dinners $11.95!!!! but still wondering if it can be good at that price.

It was delicious!!! we have found our new chinese food place and it's inexpensive as well.

Saturday I experienced a very, very relaxing and pleasant massage at the Coldwater Creek Spa in Southlake. It was quiet, not too big, not too crowded and the massage was fantastic. (is there such a thing as a bad massage?)

Saturday night was spent hanging out with friends, meeting some new friends and eating fajitas. Our friends, the Purnells live about an hour away so by the time midnight rolled around Ray and I decided to stay the night and head home Sunday morning.

One thing about the Purnell's you might catch is that one of them has a green thumb. My friend Karolyn can grow everything (except cactus, she loves to water!). Get a load of the backyard.

I have learned that I should not touch ANYTHING with leaves. I'm a cook not a gardener. I will kill any plant within an arms reach.

Karolyn can stick a twig in the ground and it will grow into a beautiful plant. She has a Norfolk Pine that I bet is 11-12 feet tall on the patio... I have empty pots.

I am so jealous. My backyard is boring.

here's new shots of my boys

2009-07-31T21:42:00.004-05:00

Grandboys that is. Jake is 3 and Luke is 1. They are too funny.

Jake is the picky eater, note his plate.

And then there's Luke, he'll eat pretty much anything you put in front of him. And he loves his food. Check this out

mmmmmm, food.... mee like food.