I was tired of the perpetual nothingness that was the corner of my dining room.
One wall held 3 stars.
The other showcased a picture Jaz painted.
Decided to change it up today.
Ross Purchases
-Lamp
-Laundry hamper (repurposed as a table)
Walmart Purchases
-6 ft bookshelf
-6 ft bookshelf
-Pair of wooden folding chairs
All the stuff on the shelves, I'd already owned.
Quite pleased with the results.
So was Jaz...since she helped pick which lamp and hamper and bookshelf color we wanted :)
Got a special note from school today.
Jaz was invited to participate in the U.I.L. Ready Writing Competition!!!!!!
In second grade!
As always, I am extraordinarily proud and impressed and amazed and bewildered by her limitless talents.
This kid is astounding.
And it's not just because I'm her Mom. Lol. I walk around carrying a fairly filled bucket of intellect myself so I can easily recognize traits I like about myself fully magnified within her.
Immediately saw an issue with after school practice and quickly contacted her Coach via the email provided.
God...AS ALWAYS...worked it out in her favor! ♥
Visited family. Decorated my cubicle (office) at work. Took a few pictures along the way.
This was the first Thanksgiving without Mu. 109 days have flown by since she got her all access pass to kick it wit Jesus. Waves of sadness washed over us, sporadically, on Thanksgiving. But, more than anything else, laughter was abundant. Family I'd become used to seeing annually, I hugged for the 4th or 5th time this year. As always, Mu brought us together. As she always will. For these things and many more, I am grateful. On a random note, I actually got to have a pretty cool conversation with Pawpaw. The wisdom he imparted came from the school of life. Stuff you won't ever get in any textbook on any college campus. Smiling now as I recall laughing SO HARD about him charging all 4 of their kids for gas to take them to work and having them pay Mu for washing and cooking. Hilarious! But priceless money management education! ;-)
Oh...back to the pictures....
Yesterday was my baby's 8th birthday! Geez, time waits for no one. I still remember going into labor. I still remember the 4.5 hours it took to bring her into this world. I still remember the doctor stating she was born approximately at 2:33 AM. I still remember the 6 lbs 5.2 oz and 19 5/8" of wiggles being placed in my arms. Fast forward to now. Tallest 2nd grader at 4'10. Time flies when you're having fun!
Yesterday's Events
Woke up at 5:30.
Surprised Jaz and told her to wake up and take care of personal hygiene so we could go to breakfast.
She was excited!
She and I went to Ihop about 6:30.
She decided on the "Scary Pancake" as her birthday breakfast.
Ate then dropped her off at school.
I then headed downtown for an interview in the Texas Medical Center. Really excited about it. Went very well. Will update on the outcome in a couple weeks! ;-)
Came back to our side of town then picked up 72 mini cupcakes. 36 for school. 36 for daycare. All for $18 at Walmart! Yay!
Then came time to pick Jaz up from daycare.
She was shocked when she saw Mr. Desmond walk in with me. He also got to see the tedious process to pick her up. LOL. Enter a code to get in the building. Enter a code in the computer to sign her out. Enter a code on the door to gain access to the classrooms at the daycare. I'm used to it now. He thought it was high tech. I guess it kinda is....lol
We got back to his truck.
He handed Jaz a large gift bag and she started tearing through it!
JAZMINE IS FINALLY IN POSSESSION OF A PINK HOUSTON TEXANS FOOTBALL JERSEY!
I'm pretty sure she now feels her life is complete. She knows nothing about the Texans. She thought the #8 on the jersey was an 8 for her age. Had no idea who Schaub was. LOL LOL
From there, we came home so she could open her presents from Grandma and Grandpa & PawPaw & me.
Moneyyyyy. And coooookies. And a Bible storybook. And Hello Kitty goodies. And an obnoxiously pink and zebra print travel mug and a box of tea k cups. (K cups go in the Keurig Coffee machine. All I had was coffee and Jaz likes putting in the k cups. Since we drink tea every night, now she has her own k cups she can use! Also, whenever we're running errands in the morning, she wants a travel mug to bring her tea or hot chocolate. Now she got one.)
After all of that...we surprised her by taking her to ITZ. It's like Chuck E. Cheese but bigger.
Finally, here are the pictures and Facebook posts all about the birthday girl!
So if we missed your call yesterday or took forever to call you back, now you know why. Twas a busy busy busy day! :-)
One of Desmond's gifts to me on my birthday last week was a crock pot.
Pause for birthday gifts from Des:
-Two pairs of glasses
--I'd picked up both pairs at Target and decided not to buy them a few weeks ago. He went back to Target the next day and bought them for me.
-Huuuge full length mirror
--Jaz & I pose in it ev-ery-day!
-Dinner at my favorite steakhouse
--Of course I chose an 18 oz ribeye, medium rare! ;-)
-Crock pot
--Same one I ooh'd and ahh'd over at Target!
-Lunch at Tokyohana yesterday
--It was a post birthday lunch for me and a pre birthday lunch for Jaz. Our birthdays are a week apart. I've included the pic I snapped when she realized we were hitting up her favorite Japanese hibachi grill.
My boyfriend is pretty awesome.
Anyway, I'd been talking about needing to budget for one and lo and behold....I looooove it! So pretty. Using it for the first time today to make chicken soup.
Ingredients:
6 chicken drumsticks
2 carrots, chopped
3 green onions stalks, chopped
5 petite potatoes, quartered
Handful of cabbage, chopped
Big can of chicken stock
Directions:
Boiled drumsticks for 15 minutes on the stove.
Poured the whole can of chicken stock in the crock pot and turned it on high.
Chopped and threw in veggies and potatoes.
Added chicken.
Currently cooking now. Hopefully it'll be ready in the next few hours. I don't remember what time I started cooking it. I wrote down ingredients and directions just in case this actually tastes good. Will update and give the results. I'm bad at not following recipes or directions. LOL
