Being a Good Friend...

I know, I don't post for weeks, and my first post looks all serious. Hey- it happens. I'll get back to goofy posts eventually (I have so many pictures I have to share with y'all). One of these days I'll quit being so lazy about updating my blog. I have been slacking lately. No real excuse on why I'm not posting, just pure laziness.

I wanted to post today about friends and friendship. I am so blessed to have many great friends. Someone was joking with me one time that I have too many friends, but I don't think a person can ever have too many friends. To quote my favorite angel: "Remember no man is a failure who has friends." (Okay, if you don't know that is a quote from It's A Wonderful Life, we can't be friends anymore....just kidding. But I will make you watch it with me if you confess you've never seen it). :)

I've been thinking about this for a while, but haven't been able to get the words down on paper (or down on my blog in this case). I'm not sure I'm going to do a good job of it now-thoughts are running through my head and it's kinda hard to organize them. I blame my A.D.D. :) Okay, here I go....

When things are going great, it's easy to be a good friend. But what about those times when you feel you should tell a friend something you know they don't want to hear? And I don't mean if a friend asks you if you like their outfit and you think it's hideous, I'm talking about stuff bigger than that. What if you feel a friend is doing something they really shouldn't, or making a decision they aren't in a place to make at that time. What if you feel a friend is about to repeat the past of something that hurt them before? Do you tell them and risk them getting mad, or do you sit back and hope for the best? Which is being a better friend- telling them your true feelings about the situation or letting them possibly get hurt and being there to "pick up the pieces" afterward? No one likes to see a friend get hurt, but at what point do you have to just sit back and let them do it on their own? I understand, NO ONE likes being told they might be doing something they shouldn't. It's very easy to get defensive, I'm sure we've all been there. But would you get more upset with your friend for expressing their concerns ahead of time, or after the fact and learning they had concerns and didn't speak up?

Am I making sense? My mind is a million other places today, so I'm not sure my words are coming together. I look at it like this: It's like telling a little kid not to touch a stove because it's hot. Even though you told them, it might take them touching that stove once to realize you were telling the truth- hey, that's hot and hurts. But what if the kid tries to touch the stove again? You know that they know it's hot, you watched them touch it before. Do you stop them and say, "hey- remember, that hurt before", or do you let them get hurt again? Maybe that was a bad example. I'm going to have CPS tracking me down asking why I'm letting children touch hot stoves. CPS: I'M NOT LETTING KIDS TOUCH HOT STOVES- IT WAS JUST AN EXAMPLE. But seriously, does that make sense?

I'm curious to get feedback on this one. Feel free to tweet me or comment below with your responses. 

XOXO!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday!! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent Friday night at home watching baseball (I don't want to talk about the outcome of that game), and I also worked on my novel a little (well, short story, I don't think I'm ever gonna have enough written to call it a novel). I'll never complain again when my favorite authors take time getting their next novel published, this is hard to do!

Saturday I pretty much stayed in bed all morning and most of the afternoon watching college football.

For some reason, my TV looks really tiny in this picture. It's a 32 inch flat screen, so it's not that small.

I also had college football discussions via text with my nephew James.

If Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk ends up winning the Heisman, this is proof my nephew and I thought early he was a good candidate! :)

Saturday evening I finally pulled myself out of bed away from the television (for a while at least) and met up with my friend Theresa. We went to college together and hadn't seen each other in about 13 years. She and her husband were in town for the weekend so we met up for dinner. It was great seeing her, we have promised it will not be 13 years between our next visit!

Theresa's dog Tux insisted on being in the center of the picture

After I got home, I spent the rest of Saturday evening watching baseball (again, don't want to talk about the outcome of THAT game either) and college football. I wish the Texas Tech game was available on my cable (and I'm not just saying that because I think the Texas Tech coach is good looking- which he is). That game would have been been better than the UT game or the Notre Dame game (I have two friends who are Notre Dame fans, I seem to keep up with the Irish now when it comes to football. The things I do for my friends). :)

Random picture of Texas Tech football coach Kliff Kingsbury. See, told you he was good looking. Wreck 'em Tech. :)

Sunday morning I was up earlier than usual, so I decided to get a breakfast taquito from Whataburger before church. I wasn't the only one with that idea.

Well worth the wait...

Church went really well on Sunday. I got to sit by a buddy of mine (we both discovered recently that we attended the same church-it's a big church, it's easy to miss people in the crowd). After services, I had a great lunch with one of the lovely ladies from my Bible study before we met up with the rest of our group. It was kind of what I needed after my week last week (I might have mentioned I was feeling blah last week).

I finally went grocery shopping (we won't say how many weeks I've been eating out because I've been to lazy to go to the store). I actually cooked dinner last night. Boom!

I wonder if my back left burner feels like a red-headed stepchild. I never use that burner. Am I the only person who only uses the front right burner?

Last night the Cowboys were the Sunday night game of the week. I know, there are a lot of Cowboys haters out there. I can't help it, I've been a fan too long, why give up now. I'm also an unapologetic Romo supporter. I think he gets the blame for a lot of things that are not his fault (not saying that he doesn't deserve SOME of the blame- he's not perfect). But alas, I can't help but love the man (although he breaks my heart every year). Last night I had a range of emotions during the game (that usually happens when I watch Cowboys football). I didn't get a picture of all of my facial expressions, but here are a few. I was entertaining a friend during the game by texting him. He thought it was funny I was throwing things (my brush possibly went flying across my room at one point. My college roommate will verify I do throw my brush if I get frustrated during sporting events).

The picture to the left is how I looked whenever the Cowboys couldn't take advantage of a Giants turnover. The picture on the right is a happy Cowboys fan after they held on for a 36-31 win.

Yes, I did take a picture of my TV during Romo's postgame interview. Don't judge me.

I'm looking forward to this week. I'm going to three Rangers games (I cannot believe the regular season is just a few weeks from being over- where did the season go?) The Rangers BETTER hold on and make the playoffs this year. I spent an un-godly amount of money on post season tickets (I have no self control) and I want to use them. My folks are also coming to town this weekend- they have never seen my new apartment. I'm actually taking them to the game on Friday night. I bought them new Rangers shirts for their anniversary. I'll post pictures of them next week- they are adorable. :)

How was your weekend?

XOXO!

Big Rigs and Small Town School Zones....

For the first time ever, I'm letting someone else take over my blog for the day (well, I'm actually posting something that a friend of mine wrote, but it's kind of the same thing). My good friend Allen and I met over nine years ago when we were both working for a newspaper in the Dallas area (we don't discuss that newspaper, the publisher was terrible and ended up being a crook, but I digress). The good thing about working there is that I got a friend out of the deal. :) Anyways, Allen drives an 18-wheeler and with school starting up, he wanted to send this friendly reminder to everyone. I think this is some good advice to follow (for parents and anyone who will be driving through school zones). Feel free to comment below!

Happy weekend everyone!

XOXO!!

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BIG RIGS AND SMALL TOWN SCHOOL ZONES
BY ALLEN SHAW

I have been driving a big rig 18-wheeler for six years now and I would like to discuss school zones, primarily small town school zones. Trucks, as well as all vehicles, need to pay close attention in ALL school zones but especially in small towns.

Why especially small towns? Because truck lanes are often the main drag through town. These lanes are often the town's school zones as well.

Last week was the first week of school and as often is the case, my current load took me through several school zones. But this time I witnessed the aftermath of an accident. Don't worry, no one was injured. As a matter of fact, there wasn't even any physical damage to the car the trucker hit. That alone is enough to deduce that the trucker was not at fault. Even if the trucker had been going 5mph, the car would have shown some damage. But because a truck was involved, there will likely be a court case somewhere down the line and the trucker's livelihood and reputation will be damaged.

So the following two sections will address both sides of this debate: four wheelers and the big bad truck driver.

Four wheelers:

Parents: when you are dropping off your kids at school please remember that your responsibility doesn't end after they are safely on school grounds. Stay off the phone until you are well out of the school zone. I would say stay off your cell phone while you are driving anywhere, but we all know that's not going to happen, don't we?

Also, teach your kids about basic physics. It's very simple. It takes a lot longer for a 73-foot, 80,000 pound truck to stop than it does for a car to stop. So even if a truck is traveling the school zone speed limit, you might want to think twice about walking, or driving, if your 16-year-old just got his driver's license, in front of said truck.

18-wheelers:

Now for the advice for truckers. Ignore everything I just recommended to the four wheelers and their kids. It doesn't matter what you try to teach kids about cars, trucks, motorcycles or bicycles. THEY WILL FORGET.

You are the professional driver. It's your responsibility to pay attention and protect wayward drivers and especially wayward kids in school zones. Drive below the posted limit. Turn the radio off and roll down your windows so you can hear. Constantly check your mirrors. Because even if there is an accident, you will be responsible. I don't care what the investigation ultimately concludes. You are the professional.

Final Blog Challenge Post AND What I'm Loving Wednesday....

Blog Challenge Day 30: What is your favorite comfort food?

I would have to say Blue Bell ice cream. If I'm having a bad day, or just feeling "down", I usually grab a pint of Blue Bell to make my day better. And yes, it has to be Blue Bell. :)

Just a small portion of the flavors offered by Blue Bell

Blog Challenge Day 31: What is the history behind your blog?

I honestly started a blog because a friend of mine at work had one and said she really enjoyed it. I originally thought that only my family and maybe some of my friends who would ever read it. Then I discovered blog hops, and my blog was introduced to many others. I've made some good friends through my blog (yes, they are now "real-life" friends). And after I got on Twitter, I found that I could share my blog there too. I feel so honored when someone tells me that they love reading my blog. It's really nothing special, as you can tell, it's usually some random stuff, but I'm very touched that you all read it. XOXO!! :)

I'm loving...

Spending time with my family. I went "home" last weekend and got to see my folks, my sisters, and some of my nieces and nephews. As always, a lot of pictures were taken (which of course, I'm going to share). :)

I missed my niece K and my nephew C's birthday parties the past few months, so I had to take them their presents. My nephew E's birthday is next month, so I went ahead and gave him his gift early (I felt bad giving the other two gifts in front of him). I just realized K ran off with her gifts before I got a picture with her.

C is my little Duck Dynasty fan. I got him a Duck Dynasty lunchbox, folders (for school), and headband.

I made C special Duck Dynasty pictures that I taped onto the wrapping paper. They even framed one of them he liked it so much!

E is my little Superman fan. I got him a cape, Superman blanket, and action figure (oh, and Superman underwear, which is he proudly wearing in this picture).

My sweet boys

Someone didn't want Aunt Rachel sleeping in on Friday morning, so he was over bright and early at GiGi and Pawpaw's to wake me up

We decided to go swimming for most of the morning and part of the afternoon (well, K and E did, C was in school). This was before a yellow jacket stung me. Yeah, I'm allergic to those by the way. Fun times. I'll spare you a picture of my swollen ankle (for now at least).

Swimming with Aunt Rachel. I was so proud of K, she took off her floaties and was swimming so well!

Me and my niece Alice after a long day of swimming with her kids. We were all ready for naps after that!

I'm loving...

Football. I know, baseball is my first love and it's still baseball season, but I was excited to go to a high school football game on Friday night (and I was able to catch the last half of the Texas Tech game on TV after that). And I watched the Texas A&M game on Saturday with my sister, the Aggie graduate. 

Friday Night Lights

 C loved watching football

E probably enjoyed dancing to the music the band was playing more than he did watching the game.

Watching the Texas A&M game with my two sisters and C and E

I'm loving...

That it takes so many attempts to get a picture with my little nephews and niece. The outtakes are fun though!

I'm loving...

My guy friends. I was having a blah day yesterday and some of them sent me a text to me to cheer me up. I love you guys! I'm removing their names (because I don't want to embarrass them, but they know who they are). :)

I'm loving...

That CBS is back on Time Warner. I will have football and Shemar Moore in my house this fall. Weehoo!!

YAY!!! CBS is back!

Hope everyone has a great day!

XOXO!