Monday, September 26, 2011

Southern Living Showcase Home

Decorating your home can be big fun but also kinda overwhelming all at the same time.

Sure, I flip through all kinds of magazines, have been known to go on HAR.com just for ideas and definitely pinned my fair share of decorating ideas on Pintrest. But sometime you need inspiration, up close and personal.

Ladies...brace yourself.

The Southern Living Showcase Home is right in our backyard for the next 3 weeks.

15026 Hidden Valley Waters Dr.
Cypress, TX 77429
Hidden Falls Subdivision

2011 Tour Dates
October 6th-9th
October 13th-16th
October 20th-23td

Thursday: Noon- 8 pm
Friday-Sunday: Noon-6 pm

A $10 cash donation will benefit Home Aid Houston

Monday, August 1, 2011

Fall Ladies Bibles Studies

August 1. What is it about the first day of the month that makes you feel like you need to start something?

Maybe it's just me....it also tells me my peeps will be in school in 3 short weeks....and I'll able to go to the store ALL BY YOURSELF and run a few errands that just aren't as magical with extras, if you follow me.

What about Bible Study? Do you attend one? Do you lead one?

Below is a starter list of links for fall Bible Studies in our area. Please leave a comment so we can spread the news of others.

Houston's First Baptist Church

Champion Forest Baptist Church
Lakewood Methodist Church
Northwest Baptist Church
Jersey Village Baptist Church
Foundry Methodist Church
Faithbridge Church
Cypress Bible Church
Cypress United Methodist Church
Second Baptist, Cypress Campus
Second Baptist, Woodway Campus
Second Baptist, West Campus
Metropolitan Baptist Church
Community Bible Study
Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A Remedy for the Stacks

I like information.

I read it in books, magazines, online.
I watch it on TV.
I listen to it on the radio.

And often that information is good stuff that I like to keep. So I dog-ear it, write it down, or tear it out to file for later.

But then do I really go back? Or am I just a chronic information gatherer? I'd say I do a little bit of both.

Then it accumulates and I have to clean it out.

What if there was a way to virtually collect information and easily reference it?

There is, Girls. There is!

Have you heard of Pintrest? I hadn't until a friend of mine shared her newest indulgence.

Pintrest is virtual pin board or bulletin board — a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste. People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things — recipes, decorating ideas, quotes that inspire, outfits/clothing they like...

With print publications becoming fewer and fewer, it seems gone are the days of ripping pages out of magazines and keeping them in files. And perhaps I'm alone, but it sometimes seems cookbooks are better kitchen decor than practical tutorials as so many recipes can simply be found online.

As a person who has collections of folders, real and on my computer, of articles and recipes, this is a wonderful thing.

The downside? It’s pretty addicting.

Interested? Visit their site, ask for an invitation and then start pinning. Easiest way to get started is to just repin other's ideas...and change the captions. You can also install the bookmark to your tool bar and pin items from blogs or websites.

Happy pinning! Don't say I didn't warn you....


Saturday, May 7, 2011

Preparing For The Race

Tray and I both graduated from Texas A&M and we believe all things good happen in Aggieland. After all, we did meet, fall in love and marry there.

And like most Aggies, we began the brainwashing early and often. This was going along nicely until a certain football player came on the scene and captured my oldest's attention... that player was Colt McCoy. Of all the dern teams he had to play for... Seriously? And so began JT's 4 year period of wearing that dreaded color, burnt orange.

We might have outwardly been incredulous that he like the Longhorns... but inside, we knew Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley loved the Lord and would use their sports platforms as much as they could. And they did, on national TV. Oh yes, they did.

Brad McCoy, Colt's father, gave the public a glimpse into one of the greatest secrets of parenting their children... He and his wife prepared their children for the path they would walk, they did not prepare the path for their children.

That one sentence has resonated with us ever since we heard it. We are firm believers in teaching and training our kiddos about all the aspects of life that will be thrown their way. That choices you make carry responsibility and consequences. The good and the not so fabulous. That's reality, like it or not. And we have a greater desire to instill in our boys that integrity plays a tremendous role when working toward a goal and just plain doing life on a daily basis.

So when JT came to us and told us he'd decided to take a break from baseball this Spring, we were given a great opportunity to live out the very things we had spoken before. Would we trust him to make a decision and then deal with the consequences that might come? Or do what we thought was best for him?

You see, this is our kid that LOVES baseball. We jokingly call him a retriever because he will catch anything you throw at him and begs his dad to throw him endless pop flies in our cul-de-sac or on the field. He is never without a ball and glove in his hand. Are you following me? But after several conversations, we all came to the decision that if he felt that strongly about it, a break he would take.

Can I just tell you it has been the biggest blessing? By taking a break, it has allowed margin to do things he would have missed. He is playing 7 on 7 football with a bunch of his buddies and having an absolute blast. He and Weston attended 2 FCA Motocross Camps and he ran his first 5K. And one of the most obvious changes? They both have been able to just be kids in the cul-de-sac in the afternoons with the neighbor kids. Awesome, awesome stuff.

Has he left baseball forever? Nope. He intends to jump right back in and play next Spring and knows he'll spend this fall preparing in the off-season. But these last few months have taught a 10 year old boy to trust his gut on something and trust an even bigger God that He does have great plans for Him..because His thumbprints are all over his life.

Each decision we make is a part of the race God has planned for us. I pray we make the choice to run the race He has planned for us, not anyone else. Because even though the race might look different than we planned, it's the one He has created just for you and me.





Wednesday, May 4, 2011

A Tale of Two Personalities

As you know, our children couldn't be more different....they basically share a last name and that is about where the similarities end. But no matter how much they fuss during the day, they are still best friends by 9 pm when they finally fall into their beds, side by side, each night.

Tray was talking to Weston this morning about finishing his baseball season strong as their last regular season game is tonight. Weston paused for a moment and then asked Tray, "Isn't it OK for us to go 8 and 2?" (they are currently 9 and 1).

Tray paused, smiled, and then asked, "Is there a competitive bone in your body?" to which Weston replied, "A funny bone."

There you have it.

And for the record, my oldest son then said, "Weston...we are Mounces...we compete".

And that, ladies and gentleman, is my house in a nutshell.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Fun News: The Help

Y'all, I have news that is gonna bring a big fat smile to your face if you are a reader.

The Help has been made into a movie and it being released in August.

I KNOW!! Shut the front door.

I just watched the trailer and all I want to do is run to the library, check out the book and read it again, cover to cover. It's rather long, to the tune of 544 pages but SO worth the investment.

Check out the trailer and mark your calendars for August 12th. I am almost giddy...I can't think of a time of recent that I've been so excited for a movie to come to theaters.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Y'all, I have a big fat crush.

A crush on my brand new, shiny iPhone, that is.

My man has been trying to get me to leave the Blackberry camp for years and because I'm not much of a game player, I didn't think I really needed an iPhone.

Then we decide to fire our phone company and the new one we joined just happen to have iPhones.

To my great delight, I have owned my precious for almost a month and I could not be happier with my choice. The keyboard is taking some adjusting, but I'm making it just fine, thank you very much.

Of course, I sought out great protection for said device by purchasing a pink Otterbox in advance which just happen to arrive the afternoon I came home with my new treasure.

Fate, I tell you.

True to my word, I haven't been playing many games beyond Fruit Ninja and Words With Friends (which my man hijacks quite frequently, I might add.. as he still has a Blackberry because he needs a phone, not a toy, hmph) but I am loving all the apps.

Some of my faves?

411
Cozi Calendar (thanks, Nicole!) ..although I wish the reminders popped up on the screen instead of coming through my email. But the color-coding makes up for that.
My Fitness Pal
Groupon
ShakeIt Photo
Kindle

New to iPhone like me? Check out these apps:

The Weather ChannelNike Training

Lose It!
My Fitness Pal (currently using this one instead of Lose it and I like it...the database of food is pretty darn amazing but can I tell you that 1200 calories IS NOT ENOUGH. I am SO hungry, dang bathing suit season)
100 push ups
Google
Amazon.com
LPM-SMT (this is scripture memory through Beth Moore's blog)
USA Today
Fox News
AllRecipes
Epicurious
Urbanspoon
Flashlight
Bible
White Pages
TripAdvisor
OpenTable
Red Laser
CardStar
Around Me
Spring Pad
White Noise
GooCal (to link Google Calendar to iphone)
Dream Bot
Find Iphone
Currency
Emoji Free
Angry Birds Free
Angry Birds Rio Free
Fruit Ninja Lite
Cut The Rope Lite

Other fun things? I was able to go into my iTunes library and create my own ringtones. My man's ring tone is Danger Zone. Ya know, the one from Top Gun...circa 1986? How dang fun is that? Although I did date myself a bit when it went off the other day at the chiropractor where all the girls are maybe early 20's. And then they started asking me about my favorite decade of music.

OH MYLANTA. I'm only 37, girls.

The only 2 things that I'm working through are emails pushing through in a timely manner and not cheek dialing.

The email dilemma was solved today through the miracle of the internet. Have gmail or yahoo mail and it's not coming through your phone in a timely manner? Go here for gmail and if you have yahoo:

Delete your Y! Mail Account.
Turn off and then turn on iPhone.
Add your Account.
Turn iPhone off.
Go to your Computer and log out of your Y! Mail. Log back in.
Turn iPhone on.

Magic, I tell you.

Oh, and if you are a gmail user and you are receiving a duplicate sent message in your inbox whether you send it from your home computer or from your iPhone...click here for a remedy to that problema. That used to drive me bananas on my Blackberry and apparently there is a fix for Blackberry gmail email issues on that page as well.

And as for the cheek dialing... as soon as you dial, hit your home button and your apps will replace the keypad. Now, it might open up apps but it's better than conferencing in your mother-in-law like I did last week.

Laugh away....I am an IPhone novice.

I can hardly stand how fun it is and it makes standing in line, or just waiting in general, a much more pleasant experience.

What about you? Have any favorite apps?