4th of July Weekend = Half Moon Holiday's for us Shinerites!

So this is what we did on 4th of July weekend! I LOVE Shiner - it's my HOME! Always has been, always will be! The first full weekend in July is the Shiner Half Moon Holiday's festival. They moved it into town this year (from the big park just off the main highway) and my preference is the old way, but I guess it's up to the Chamber to decide.

Enjoy the pictures!

Me and my bestie! Diva's! LOL

 Miss Sophie sweatin' it out! (trust me, she wouldn't have it any other way!)

 Part of our group

 Meggers!

 Here comes the Color Guard. Always gives me chills......

 And the very LOUD fire trucks!

 Shiner Royalty (I used to be up there - a 1,000 moons ago!)

 Shiner High School Marching Band - Go Band!!!

 A parade isn't a parade without the Polka Lovers Klub of America!

 American Legion members from the Schulenburg post

 No small-town parade is complete without a tractor contingent!

 Granny's and Grandpa's and babies, oh my!

 Best Float EVER! I love HEB!!!!

 Nice ride

 Yoakum Royalty

 Bubba! Leading the trailriders.

 Had a couple of wagons in the trailride as well

 Matt snagged the watermelon!!! It was so funny watching him sprint out there to grab it!

 Relaxing after the parade. 

Hope you had a great 4th!
Happy blogging, y'all!

July 4th, 2012

This is what we did on our Wednesday off of work to celebrate our great country's independence. It was a GREAT day!

We took a little ride on this little doozie - the Andromeda! (yours truly perched on the deck trying to not get sick! *sigh*)

And on our way out of the bay we passed by these lil' ole cottages. (WOW! they are something else and one after another -- what a life!)

And we cruised on through Kemah. That's The Beast there -- fun speed boat guaranteed to thrill ya a little and chill ya a little more! We watched it a few times when we were in the bay.

And that's my man doing a little fishing. (thank goodness we had the Star Wars rod! whew!)

Our gracious hosts and lil baby girl Snickers! awww

Hold the picture taking!!!! FISH ON!!!!! whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa???

Some sort of catfish with more than usual pinchers that supposedly hurt. I ain't jumpin in there, ya'll!

 And of course Matt was not going to be out-done by his daddy-o. When we got back to the dock he caught a mullet with a net! LOL Fisherman for life!

 Silly boys! 

And this little one stayed on my lap pretty much the entire ride. She was feeling about as good as I was. Darn diesel fumes get me every time. But....I was a trooper and kept praying I wouldn't feel icky. I still had a great time!

Thanks Blaine & Lindy for an AWESOME time! It really was! Thanks for sharing your boat with us for the day!

Happy blogging, y'all!

Fabulous (step)Mother's Day!

I have to say - I'm blessed to have THE MOST AMAZING woman in my life as my best friend, and she just so happens to be my Mom. I have several other besties, but my mom takes the cake. We laugh together, we argue, she drives me crazy, we love spending time together and we talk on the phone at least every other day (and yes, we only live a little over an hour and half apart!)! When I grow up, I wanna be just like her and have the same kind of friendship if I'm ever blessed with a daughter.

Right now I'm blessed with two (step)sons! They are great kids! The oldest just finished up his Freshman year in college and the youngest is about to finish elementary school. I'm not the best and I'm not the worst, but I do love these boys a whole heck of a lot!

We were able to have the boys this weekend plus one (our neighbors son and the Youngest are best buds)! I had a 7:30 a.m. Sunday appointment but when I got back, the Hubster and the Youngest brought me breakfast in bed (yes, I was still dressed in my Sunday appointment outfit!), snuggled under the covers. It was sweet. While I waited for breakfast I grabbed a new book off the shelf, I think it's called In Her Shoes by Kristen somebody (eeks!) and so far so good. I LOVE TO READ! And in the last 5 years the most reading I've done is on a plane bound for a business trip somewhere. (oh the life!) :) It was GREAT to read, at home, when I wanted, in comfy clothes. And once I get started on a book, I don't like to put it down. So I read in bed, on the patio, at the pool and even on the couch. MAGIC!

Oh - and don't let me forget to mention these beauties!!!

From my Mother-In-Law, given to me at our Mother's Day Lunch on Saturday afternoon. So pretty!

And this gorgeous bouquet given to me by the Hubster and the boys and Sophie-dog too! xoxo They are GORGEOUS!

And how awesome is my Hubster? He had two gorgeous colorful bouquets for both my mom and his mom. What a guy!

So, back to my story:

After breakfast in bed and a long session of r&r and after receiving a most beautiful card which everyone signed and wrote a little something in (I'll cherish it always), I decided it was time for a visit to the 'hood's pool. It was CHILLY after all the rain on Friday night (4 inches! Thank you God!) but I did get some nice rays as I read and the boys (all ages) swam and fished. Home for chili dogs for a very late lunch. It was such a beautiful day we piddled outside then it was time for the boys to leave for the weekend. :( Boo. But the Hubster wasn't finished there. He treated me to an AMAZING and I mean AMAZING meal! (pictures below)

These beauties are Dahlia's and Gladiolus in our yard. We have so many planted in all shades and I cannot wait to see them all bloom. I did stop and smell the roses (and these flowers) on Sunday.

I also worked on this special lil project below. I had it started (and complete) but hadn't hung it up because I was frustrated with the ribbon -- I used 3 rolls of it on this wreath and all but one were on there correctly. SO - Sunday I took it off the hanger in the closet and re-did it. And now, the finished product hung on our front door. I love it! And the feathers are extra-special - they were used in our wedding, just 2 years ago. :) <3 Awww! ;)

And now - dinner pictures. How yummy does this look? Bacon-wrapped shrimp and the most amazing EVER grilled salmon! Honey - you dun goooooood!  

 Homemade ceviche (which I tossed onto my salad) - It was zesty and good!

 And homemade Strawberry Limeade I had made a night or 2 before.

It was a WONDERFUL Mother's Day! Made me realize how blessed I am with all the love in my life.

I hope yours was equally as great. xx

Master Bedroom Renovation - COMPLETE!!!

We've been in our home for 2 years and one month and one week now and LOVE IT! We have a beautiful subdivision, great neighbors and a lovely home. We've added our touches to different areas since purchasing, but our bedroom was the "next big thing" on our list of plans. (pool next?!?!)

Anyway, it started with needing new bedroom furniture. We had been using a beautiful set from my youth - solid wood and in great condition - but it was time to trade up a little. :) I blogged previously about it, but we settled on Bassett furniture and I (we) do love it! We also put Plantation Shutters throughout the front of the house and wow they look great!!! (baby steps for the entire house - ouch $$$!)

So now - what to do with the walls? Here were some of our color choices:

 We decided to go with Behr Ultra in Vast Desert on top and bottom and keep our white chip chair rail / mouldings.

 Oh - one more color palette to check out - the dark chocolate was pretty - but would have drowned out the beautiful color of our bedroom suite.

 So for the past few weeks we have been working on getting the room painted and the BIG accent wall stenciled. Stenciling was Robert's idea and I. LOVE. IT! So finally, after getting after it all day yesterday and reinforcements (i.e. Robert) coming in yesterday afternoon - our bedroom make over is COMPLETE and it's BE-U-TEE-FUL!

The stenciled wall and the plantation shutters. Love!

 Our new bed (still looking for bedding....but in no rush!). The stained glass piece I did a year ago really stands out even more now!

 Looking towards the master bath.

 Happy 10th birthday to Miss Sophie!!!! We love you, baby girl!

 And one more look, with the Mr. relaxing.

I was physically and even mentally exhausted yesterday. We rewarded ourselves with grilled T-bones and some Michelob Ultra. Well worth it!!!