Thanksgiving/Black Friday!

Thank God we're back in South Texas this Thanksgiving to spend it with our families first of all!

On Thanksgiving Day Travis & I spent the day in Victoria, we had Thanksgiving Dinner at his Grandma & Grandpa's house, lots of food, family, and fun!

 

 

 

After dinner we went to my in-laws house, we were looking through the black Friday ad's, and after a phone call to my Mom and off we were to Wal Mart! Travis & I waited for said item until 10pm, then we waited in the check out line another hour! Crazy! It was fun, worth it, eh...but fun! By the time we got out of there I was like "ooo lets pull an all nighter!" That changed QUICKLY when I saw the lines to check out of the stores! CRAZY! We went to my in laws, slept a few hours and then up & at em! We had breakfast at ihop, then hit PetSmart up! :) we got some AWESOME deals for our pet kids! Then off to work I went for a couple of hours! Had some Vera Cruz ( YUM! ) and then we came back to Port Lavaca. I ended up taking a 3 hour nap lol.

 

Saturday (today!) we spent the day with my parents. Mom taught me how to make her yummy dressing and how to "properly stuff the bird", and we had it all. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin, pecan, and apple pie!

 

Mom let me crumble the corn bread & bread :)

My Mom showing me how to "stuff the bird"

Ready to go!

After dinner we played UNO (Dad won!) and then we had fun decorating the "Gingerbread village", kind of a "contest" but not really! It was fun though, we all enjoyed it and hopefully will make it a tradition!



 

Fun times :) Tomorrow is church & then we'll spend the day in Victoria with my in laws. I am looking forward to December! LOTS going on! Dickens on the Strand in Galveston, Boat parade at Kemah Boardwalk, move my husband back HOME for a month, New Orleans for our TWO year anniversary, CHRISTMAS and lots of fun! :) Hope everyone has a safe Holiday Season...I'm sure I'll post more of our happenings before Christmas!



Cake Decorating

So...I've been taking a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby on Monday evenings! I REALLY love it. Sure, you could buy the book and teach yourself...but what fun is that!? Plus I'm a hands-on learner! First class I was intimidated, 2nd class discouraged since my icing was like cement and my cake was TOO moist and my icing literally PEELED my cake up! OH well, a little help from the instructor and all worked out.

Before class started (the day before) my husband took a picture of me with my CUTE cupcake apron one of my former co-workers from Amarillo made me! :) (Cupcake pattern, SO me!)

So, week one we did basics! We decorated "practiced" the star tip with sugar cookies.

 

 

Week 2 we had to bring a cake, make our own icing (week before with cookies it was Wilton's icing!), and we had to FILL our cake. I made a yellow cake and filled it with pineapple. It was "Okay". I used almond extract in my icing...never again. I'm more of a vanilla extract girl! Here's my finished cake (My cake had "freckles" like me...yep, the crumbs were ALL in my icing! Ohhh well!)We had to pipe the outline on, and use our new pointers we learned in class to decorate!


                                      

After week 2 I felt more "confident" and we had a pot-luck luncheon at work. SO I decided to make a Fall cake! It started off slow...and I just kept going. I wasn't going to do a gel outline, but when I decided to go for it, it went and I just went with it! Here's my "step-by step", and honestly...it was picture by picture JUST in case something got screwed up, I'd have PROOF it started good. HAH!

 

It was a strawberry cake, double layered, with pineapple filling. Everyone LOVED it, taste wise AND decoration wise! :) YAY!

 

 

 

 

Week THREE was cupcake week! YAY! When we learned how to "ice a cupcake", all I could think is..."Wow...had I just KNOWN it was so easy!" I did some of these in class, then came home to finish them and by now I'm sure they are HISTORY! (I took them to work!) They are confetti cake (my favorite!) with the buttercream icing. We learned how to do leaves, flowers, "shaggy flowers" and swirl roses :)

 

I personally think it's going GREAT. I'm loving it and I plan to continue the classes...hopefully Santa brings me some of the "wish list" items I have for my upcoming classes to do awesome stuff!



 

 

 

Thankful 30

So instead of the daily postings for November, I decided to do all of my "thankful-ness" on here, at once! These are really in no particular order.

1. God. I'm so thankful to know God and have him in my life.

2. My parents. They have been there for me my entire life, be it for moral support, emotional, financial, you name it. I couldn't have asked for better parents.

3. My husband. He is my best friend, my soul mate, my everything. I thank God for him everyday. And to imagine it was all because we BOTH posted a cheezy ad on yahoo personals one day. I'm very blessed to have him in my life, and that we both have Christ in our life and as the center of our marriage.

4. My brothers & sisters. Eventhough we are so far apart in age, as I've gotten older our relationships have gotten closer. They are all so different and each add a little something to my life with advice and good times :)

5. My grandparents. Without them I wouldn't have my parents! In all seriousness, my Grampy passed when I was a child, Grandma Bernice in 2007, Nana in 2010, and I still have my Grandpa Husak who is 88! They have been through so much in their lives, and I'm very blessed to have gotten to know each of them and make special memories. IE: Nana's apple pie will ALWAYS be on our table for Thanksgiving! I'll always remember Grampy and my conversation before he passed. ME:"Grampy, you're in ICU", Grampy:"I see you too!" :) And with Grandma Bernice, you were always garunteed a new pair of socks at Christmas time...but she had a heart of GOLD and no matter what, she gave to all! Grandpa for his historian side of him, his arrow heads and the neat wood carvings he's given!

6. My Mother & Father in law.They are awesome people, who are always there for us and they raised an awesome son (well, 2 awesome sons, but one is my amazing hubbs!)

7. My grandparent in laws. My husbands grandparents are awesome. They have all taken me in as a grand daughter early on. I'll always cherish his Grandma and Grandpa Smith, Grandpa keeps us laughing! And the 4th of July's on Nanny & Paw's lake in East Texas!

8. My brothers & sisters in law's. They are all like siblings to me, but they deserve a special thankful for! I have 1 sister in law, 3 brother in laws and one soon to be sister in law! They are all amazing people, and I'm glad to have them in my life.

9. Our pets. Pudge, Barkley, Princess, Stinky & Gizmo. They are all special to me in so many ways. There are no words to coming home from work and having kisses galore from a 90lb Basset/Lab and little 25lb Barkley scratching your leg like a post in the yard to get your attention!! Love them all!

10. My job. I couldn't be happier with the opportunities I've been given and the learning experience. Thank you God for blessing me with such an awesome job/co workers!

11. My health. Eventhough my jaw/wisdom teeth are giving me a fit (and I will be having them out in January) I am very healthy, and very blessed for that he had given not only me my good health, but my loved ones as well.

12. Opportnities! VERY thankful for awesome opportunities.

13. A house to live in. Eventhough it's not our house, my parents graciously opened their house up to us for us to save money for our own house! And hopefully my Thankful 30 of 2013 will include OUR own house :)

14. My vehicle. I used to think I would always have new cars. Well, my Jeep turned 5 yrs old this past summer, and I love it. I want to drive it forever. It's a great vehicle and well, it gets me from point A to point B! :)

15. Education. I remind myself every month as I pay my student loan, how blessed I am to have had to opportunity to go to school (had to use loan money but still!) and get a great education and become a PTA, something I LOVE doing.

16. Pictures, I love to take pictures. And I'm thankful for technology to be able to share my life in pictures with my friends/family, and to have pictures to remind me of all the good times with those no longer with us here on Earth.

17. Memories, I'm thankful to have a great mind still and remember all the little things that make life complete. After working with dementia, brain injuries, ect you realize how blessed you are to be able to remember things.

18. Church... we LOVE our church (Blyth Road Church of Christ). It's small, it's where we put on Christ in baptism, where we united and marriage and where we hope to raise our children.

19. Travel, eventhough we haven't ventured TOO far from home, I'm thankful we are able to take trips, even if it's to our favorite place ever...San Antonio, or Vegas, or our upcoming trip to New Orleans. I can't wait!

20. Flowers, yes I'm thankful for flowers. They make me smile, make me happy and show caring and compassion.

21. Our freedom. How thankful can we be to live in a country where we are FREE! We have rights, and that in itself is awesome.

22. Internet. Thankful to have internet to be able to keep in touch with so many people, no I don't think "texting" or "emailing" or "tweeting" even are appropriate for some news/conversations, but it's amazing to be able to skype when my husband is away!

23. Talent. God gave us all some talent, some more than others. I have to work on mine :) I'm thankful for being able to scrapbook, sew, and my new cake decorating class I just started!

24. Money. I'm thankful that I have a job (yes I said that already! but hear me out!) Money makes life "easier"? It is a blessing, and I'm thankful that I make money to provide for myself and my family and give to the church to continue to work of God and spread his word.

25. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and all those in between! They mean a lot to me too, each of them bring a little something different to the table with different views, perspectives, but they are all amazing people.

26. Friends. I have learned who my true friends are, and unfortunately it's not many...but I count quality, not quantity!

27. Clothes and Shoes. Can you imagine life without them? They keep us warm, stylish, and well, CLOTHED! :)

28. The changing weather. I enjoyed the 4 seasons in Amarillo, because frankly you shouldn't be able to wear shorts AND even need to mow the grass in November! haha.

29. Dreams. We all have dreams and aspirations in life. We have stuck to our dreams/goals pretty well. :) Dreaming keeps you young!

30. The future. I'm thankful for a promising future with my amazing husband, family, friends, and I'm looking forward to our future. Future house, future babies...:) Future love and laughs!

Happy November everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family. May you get to spend time with loved ones, make good memories, take lots of pictures and eat great food :P

Galveston Weekend

So, Travis is on clinical number TWO! And that means he's within driving distance for seeing each other every weekend (YAY!!). This past weekend I went to Galveston. As most of you know I've been having what I thought was TMJ (Jaw) problems/pain, so I was excited for the weekend but afraid I wouldn't be much fun. Well, luckily my pain eased up and it was a fun weekend!

On Friday night I got there at about 7pm-ish, traffic was horrific on my way in! bleh! But we went and ate at "The Original" Mexican food! YUM! It was delicious!

Saturday we woke up, cooked a yummy breakfast and we were off to do some shopping! We went to the new Tanger outlet mall in Texas City on our way to "Rocky & Maggies" (The Little Couple from TLC's dog store in downtown Houston!), the outlet mall was AWESOME, got some good deals and started Christmas shopping!

At Rocky & Maggies I MET "The Little Couple"!

 

 

We also went down to Harwin street where I bought a couple more Christmas gifts! YAY! :) feeling productive! haha!

 

After that we went back to Galveston and ate dinner at "The Spot", great place for hamburgers! Mine was delicious...your traditional hamburger (no veggies of course!) and fritos & chili! YUM! Travis' was a burger (with pickles only!) and BBQ sauce and bacon! YUM!

After that we went to Ben & Jerry's and got some ice cream, went to Kroger and bought pumpkin carving stuff!! :D

My love & I before the pumpkin carving adventures of 2012!

Icky guts! :P

Carving his pumpkin!

Mine is the face, Travis did the kitty! :)

 

 

On Sunday we made yet another yummy breakfast, got ready for the day and away we went! First stop, the beach! It was cool but NICE! We took some pictures and enjoyed the beach for a few!

 

 

 

Then we went to the candy shop on the strand, had some delicious chocolates and then went and did some more shopping at the outlet mall! Had some BBQ for lunch and then I had to head back home to start another week of work, and Trav another week of clinical! Goodbyes suck, but it'll all be worth it in a few short months!

 

At home I had 2 of my fur babies waiting on me, and their treats from rocky & maggies!

 

They were glad I was home...but even more glad I came bearing gifts! :)

 

 

Oh, and back on my "TMJ" problems, went to the dentist today and yep...it's buh-bye time for my wisdom teeth in the near future. That's what's been causing my pain :( I guess I won't be so wise anymore! ;) 

Cricut!

As most of you know my mother in law is very crafty! She sparked my interest in scrapboooking many years ago. So, I've always joked with Travis about wanting a Cricut. Ok, they are expensive in my books! On our way to Ganado for Market Days I brought up how I'd like one one of these days. Ok, dropped topic and we continued our day. We went to lunch with my in-laws and then on to Hobby Lobby to look for some stuff my MIL needed. We were just browsing, and we looked at the Cricut and I'm like "yeah, wayyy too expensive!" and my husband is crafty and artistic and he's like, man, I could use this. Well, so could my MIL and me! Anyways, long-story short, we ended up splitting the cost and we purchased a Cricut!! We're going to share it and we'll all get use out of it! It's pretty stinkin awesome if you ask me! :)

 



It's been a while

Hey everyone! Figured I'd give a little update on the where-abouts what-abouts have been going on with us! :)

I'm settled in with my parents, loving it! It's definitely different, but I'm SO thankful that I'm able to be here to help them out when they need it and spend time with them.

Travis only has SEVEN days of clinical at his first 8 week clinical left! I can't believe how quickly it's going by! This whole YEAR is going quickly. I miss him like crazy, but getting to talk a LOT helps. I still miss my best friend, we do everything together...even clean and grocery shop! :p

I've been keeping busy working and my projects! One of my good friends is having her baby in December so I'm working on neat baby gifts for her! :)

Speaking of DECEMBER...we all know that 12-18-10 was a very very special day :)

For our Honeymoon we went to Disneyworld in Orlando Florida!



For our 1 year anniversary we went to Las Vegas, NV!


And now for our 2nd Anniversary we are going to "the big easy"...YEP...NOLA, New Orleans, Louisiana! We're very excited!


I'm overall just excited to have my husband within driving distance again in just a few days! I still won't get to see him everyday like I'd like, but we have to do what is best for us at the moment. And when we're settled in watching the sunset from our own backyard of a house we're buying in a year, we'll appreciate the sacrifices we made along the way!

2013 is a BIG year. And we cant wait!

Until next time my friends, that is a very small update on life here! haha
Tara

Not so "Booming Port Lavaca"

SO as most of you know Travis & I made our "home" at my parents house in Port Lavaca for the next year so we can save for our own home. Living here, the ONLY good thing about it is I'm with my parents as my husband does his clinicals away.

Now on to my rants.

Where do I even begin? Number 1, there aren't really any good places to eat here. Everyone raves about El Patio, but honestly it's dirty and greasy. Fast Food? You have DQ, Mcdonalds, Sonic, Subway, and Whataburger. Wow. Some choices! Pizza you have Dominos & Pizza hut, and hot diggity, they added a Little Ceasers. There are all these fly by night places, and maybe some are good...but I'm not so sure sometimes! It's a good thing that there aren't a lot of food choices, forces me to eat at home more ;)

We have a Wal Mart, HEB, Walgreens, and CVS. Some local drug stores as well, but those are the big stores. And 3/4 are not on my good list as of this morning, well, as of ever, but really after this morning!

My Mom & I went grocery shopping, some things we get at Wal Mart, some at HEB and some at Walgreens, anything to save $$!

Our first stop was Wal Mart. Not crowded early in the morning, we didn't need much, but when we were searching for the batteries we couldn't find them. We asked one of the cashiers who was just standing at her lane waiting on customers to come through her line, she literally shrugged her shoulders and said "i dunno". Ok, well, when I didn't or don't know where something is or know something I always say "I'm not sure, but I'll be GLAD to find someone who knows" EVEN if I'm busy! So, we searched a bit farther, nothing. Asked the same lady just in a different form, and she said "I dont know, maybe try electronics?" Mind you...we are at the front of the store, electronics are at the back and we are DONE shopping. She SHOULD have: 1) Asked another co worker, OR 2) CALLED back to electronics to make SURE they were there and maybe then we would have walked back there! I wasn't walking for a "maybe"!!! Ugh. Wal Mart NEVER has enough cashiers, they pile crap in the middle of the aisle so it's impossible to get 2 people through at once, and the employees stock ALL the time no matter what day, and they won't move out of your way, or ask if you need help. It's disappointing.

HEB- Not as bad, BUT there were about  5 people hanging out around our cashier and I had all my stuff on the belt and was already unloading my Mom's stuff and they still hadn't started scanning my stuff! Then they took forever to bag it! And, I think they need to keep their coupons by the items that are in their ad, some things I saw in the ad weren't listed as a coupon this week in the store.

BIG time on my bad list:
WALGREENS.
Dad & I went Thursday because we saw their water was on for like, $2.49? It was $2 something for a 24 pk. Good deal! Ok, we get there and they had no water under the sign, so I grab another package, no prices anywhere, but we needed water, so whatever. I get to the register and the lady tells us "We are out until our truck arrives tomorrow" and then my water was $5.68!!! Holy moly! I felt guilty for spending that much but oh well. Whatever.
THEN today we knew their water was on for $1.97, so we were going to get 6 cases (3 max per person, but Mom & I were both going). We go, NO water. I ask, and the guy at the register goes "Oh yeah, we're out. We won't be getting a truck until Friday." I was like but the ad says it's $1.97 for today and tomorrow only? and he said, "I know". My Mom asked about a rain check. The guy said I can get a manager if you'd like, so I was like, yes please. He chit chatted some more, then asked if we wanted the manager and I'm like, yes, please. haha. Duh! So the manager comes up, Mom asks about the Rain check. Manager said they don't do that for 2 day sales, AND that they were out until Friday. I said, ok, well whatever, I will just go to Victoria to get it. THEN the manager goes, well I do have 3 cases in the back, how many would you like? I said, ALL THREE. He goes and gets them, then he said that he will see if he can get water from one of the Victoria stores for us and for us to call him back. I said, it's okay, I'll just get some in Victoria tomorrow.
So my guess is they have water (why would you tell me you DONT have ANY and then when I suggest I go to a diff. walgreens tell me you have THREE!?) They just want to keep it hidden till this 2 day sale is over so they can make more profit! Ugh.

So, that's my rant. So if you're in port Lavaca wanting cheap water, you're out of luck! :) THANK YOU Walgreens for advertising something you dont and wont have! :)