See Sallie Run

Green Wednesday: How to make a recycled book

2012-02-08T14:22:00.000-06:00

Green Wednesday is back!

The Captain is to thank for this Green Wednesday, (ok maybe he is to thank for all of them, this was his idea in the first place). He saw via Tech Announce that Susan Gaylord would be at the Tech Museum teaching people how to make their own recycled books.

After some unnecessary complaining about how lazy I wanted to be that day, he convinced me to go :)

And I'm glad because it was actually really fun and interesting!

There were 4-6 different kinds of books you could learn to make at tables with step by step instructions.

Here is one that is just old computer paper (the ones with the sides that you have to rip off) bound with a stick and a rubber band.

My favorite: the accordian book with front and back sides made from old food boxes. I think those are easier to work with because they are thin cardboard. I almost let out a scream when I saw that she had diet coke boxes ready to be made into a book.

Of course I had to make two....one for me and one for my mom!

This last book is called the Hot Dog Booklet and is made out of the same recycled computer paper that is folded a certain way to make it flip like a book.

I think this would be the perfect little project to make for church meetings, long car rides, babysitting fun, or a simple afternoon craft. We saw a family from church at the activity having a great time!

We were even surprised to see Kip and Sam there making books when we got there!

(These 3 pictures taken from the Tech Museum Blog)

To find out more about these recycled books, go here.

Now go...Be Green!

{Sallie}

Have you heard about this virtual run in memory of Sherry Arnold (Teacher from Montana who was killed while running)?

Super Sabbath Sunday

2012-02-07T12:48:00.001-06:00

Growing up in my house meant that on Super Bowl Sunday was a party day.

But it wasn't like all the other parties on the block.

My mom referred to it as our Super Sabbath Sunday Party.

Since we had a general family rule of "No TV on Sunday", this was our solution to the biggest TV watching experience all year that famously resides on Sunday.

It included lots of yummy eats and treats.

A few games of Skipbo.

Possibly Spoons...but we all know how that would end.

Possibly a round of 10,000 or Canasta.

We had so much fun that no one cared about missing the Super Bowl.

I'm sure my Dad and brothers would have loved to sit and watch it, but they were happy to hang out with the family instead.

(Ha! I'm sure there was a bucket of complaints I seem to not remember)

Following tradition, I insisted that we also throw a Super Sabbath Sunday party this year.

So we did.

And it was awesome.

And a great excuse to make a dent in our STACK of B-dub boats from our wedding reception.

We had potato wedges, lil' smokies, homemade Taquitos (found via pinterest, way to go Kip&Sam), Edamame/Black Bean Salad and Fruit&Cheese.

Poor cootie catcher...our little guest friend got the best of you while we were busy playing a game.

Oh look who I found under the table!

And he mops....I want one like that!

Just a little game of Wits and Wagers

I don't want to point any fingers, but the Super Sabbath Sunday tradition of not watching the Super Bowl might have been interrupted by a a couple of guests who insisted on watching the game on mute.

And cute little Gabeys stole Joleen's heart at the party.

How stinkin' adorable are these pictures?!

How do you watch the Super Bowl?

Green Wednesday is coming back tomorrow!

{Sallie}

Shake it.

2012-02-03T16:25:00.002-06:00

Shake Shake, Shake Shake a Shake it.

We went to Blue Sky last night for dinner because my school was having a fundraiser. It's a WT original and it was delicious. One of the best burgers I've indulged in quite a while.

Dad, it might actually be better than 4 Guys...I mean 5 Guys :)

I can't wait to take you to Blue Sky when you come to visit.

Anyone. Come and make me take you there so I have an excuse to go again!

Top 5 of the week:

1. Getting 4 boxes of new PE equipment!

2. Dinner at Blue Sky with Sip and Kamantha and the Captain

3. Actually having time to make and eat dinner with the Captain.

4. Having and keeping a clean house for more than 2 days! Go us!

5. playing way too many games of TTR on my iphone.

6. Talking to ifer about the Ifer Hungry cupcakes I finally get next weekend.

7. Getting pictures of my chubby little nephew Asa.

8. Art Trail and Temple tonight with the Captain!

Hope you had a great week and are planning on a great weekend!

{Sallie}

Remember when....

2012-02-02T12:36:00.002-06:00

...I forgot to post the pics from our family Turkey Trot way back in November...ha...ha.

We all just look too adorable to leave them hidden on my computer.

False start Ben!

Happy Mid-day Thursday!

{Sallie}

Say what...???

2012-02-02T07:59:00.000-06:00

Dear Punxsutawney Phil,

I heard that you saw your shadow this morning and I was wondering if you might have confused your chubby little tush with your shadow. I ask because I see no signs of winter in my future here in the WT. Of course I would love for you to be right about the whole winter thing because I still haven't gotten a single snow day this entire school year. I just want to wake up one day to blankets of snow and stay snuggled in bed all day with the Captain. Punx, is it too much to ask good friend?

Thanks,
Sallie from the WT.

Ferguson Adventures

2012-01-29T21:33:00.000-06:00

Our weekend was fabulous.

We left our house 4 times.

To the gym.

The grocery store.

Church.

Park.

I would pay big money for more weekends like this.

The week before was one of those "live out of the laundry basket weeks" and we decided it was time to actually fold the clothes and do laundry again since we didn't know what was clean anymore.

I know you have those weeks, don't lie!

But in all the cleaning frenzy, I decided to finally wrap up last summers surprise envelopes from when the Captain was in Chile and put them away for posterity.

Hopefully someone gets a kick out of them someday.

The Captain and I should never be allowed to go to the store with cash during Girl Scout cookie season.

We go weak at the knees when we see the boxes.

I asked the girl scout if she had any Samoans and she said, "Those are actually called caramel delights now."

Yeah yeah yeah...everyone still calls them Samoans.

And I'm friends with a Samoan and I think she would be flattered that her ethnicity shares a name with this delicious cookie.

Right Dani?

These have to be some of the most amazing tortilla chips on the planet.

Sold right here in the WT at United Grocery.

I think you can find them at Market Street if you have one of those.

And Julio's Salsa....do they sell that anywhere ourside of the WT becuase they should.

It's delicious, even though the Captain had to settle for "mild" instead of "hot".

Still delicious.

Enjoyed some us time walking at the park on Sunday afternoon.

It felt like we were dating again walking and laughing around and around the park.

I love this man.

And I love the weekend.

Happy Monday!

What did you do this weekend?

{Sallie}

Dear Friday.

2012-01-26T22:16:00.000-06:00

Dear Friday,

I am so glad you are here. It's been a long week. My first 5 day work week since Christmas. And I have the remnants of my voice to prove it. It's been a great week! Here are my top 5 from the week:

1. Red Velvet Cheesecake. The Captain is awesome.

2. My students singing to me in Spanish!

3. Being introduced to Biscoff cookies and Biscoff spread by Dani. Life changing.

4. Fuzzy's for birthday lunch with Ejune, Sawyer and Christina.

5. Talking to Melissa and Asa for an hour on my birthday.

6. Going for a run.

7. Getting a birthday card in the mail from my parents and sisters that literally brought me to tears.

8. Spending every evening cozied up to the captain wishing that we could stay home the next day instead of being apart for 12 hours.

9. The Pie Bar.

10. iphone! I love that my camera, phone and ipod are conveniently in one place now. Much easier to keep track of....and much easier to loose now that I think about it.

The Camera is one of my favorite parts about the phone because it's so easy to take, email and load.

Bazinga.

Here are a few pics I've been meaning to share:

The DVD shelves and the bar hanger kitchen things are tokens from the San Diego Ikea. The Captain once told me that he hated Ikea. Ok maybe he didn't say hate but it was along those lines.

I know what you thinking, but that isn't a good reason to not marry someone.

And look....he conceded! In fact, he picked them out!

Again, love that man.

What do you think?

That about wraps up the week.

And yes I do know that my Top 5 turned into my Top 10 but aren't you glad I didn't stop at 5?.!

Happy Weekend!

{Sallie}

San Diego Part 2

2012-01-25T22:20:00.000-06:00

Here is what I think.

My blog posts have been very timelineish for the past few months.

We went here.

We did this.

We ate this.

A lot of eating it seems like.

But I am dying to write something gutsy and vulnerable.

I just have to figure out what the topic is.

It could be about this stuff because I was just introduced to it today and I think it my change my life.

And my body if I eat it too fast.

But hopefully I won't write about food again.

I would rather write about the time I went running last week and I came home sobbing because it was so good for my soul.

Yes. Perhaps I will write about that.

Soon.

But for now, San Diego Part II :)

I still miss this place. But good news, I can still go to the beach with Tara via facetime because the Captain got me an iphone for my birthday.

Best.Husband.Ever.

Now we can play ticket to ride without the hassle of passing the phone back and forth.

Whew, wouldn't want to have to strain ourselves now would we.

San Diego.

Chuckles and Giggles drove in Friday afternoon and I'm SOOO glad because I miss them a lot way out in the AZ. They only live about 4 hours away from SD. And I think...why don't they come here every weekend?

They brought their people mover van and we all went sightseeing on Saturday.

Wait...can I interrupt myself and say that I kind of want to be just like my SIL Elizabeth when I am a mom. She is ALWAYS prepared. If we were hungry, she gave us fruit snacks. If we were thirsty, she pulled out sodas/waters from her cooler in the back of the van.

Sidenote: she is really good at sneaking food into nonfood places (like 6flags) by hiding the snacks in unused diapers. Genius.

Point is, she is the best travel buddy to have!

First stop: USS Midway.

It's a ship. Not a boat (don't make that mistake around a Coast Guard Officer)

I loved this place! It was packed full of history and amazing stories. If you go to SD, go here. Totally worth it.

Here's Tara learning some serious knots.

Ethan tied every single one of those.

By the way, aren't his glasses adorable?!

At least we aren't spinning in these chairs.

I guess we are stuck in SD forever...wah wah wah.

It was SUPER hard to convince Ethan that he couldn't take this toy plane home.

He is exactly like his father.

Now here is a quality ship captain.

A view that is ~~rare~~ extinct in the West Texas.

The Captain made me promise to eat fish while we were in SD because it's not like the fish you order in West Texas. Even though the signs in Lubbock say, "Fresh Seafood" you know it had to travel at least 8 hours to get there. Not appetizing to a fishy taste hater.

We ate at the Fish Market right up the road from the USS Midway and I have to say that if fish always tasted like it did there, I wouldn't be such a hater!

I wish you could have seen the crumbs on the left sleeve of my cardigan after we were finished eating. It was a little, "you are my favorite aunt" treat left by Ethan.

Good thing there was a window between us and the ocean or else we both would have jumped!

We finished the afternoon with a tour of David's ship on one of the Navy bases in SD.

Long day, tired feet but lots of good memories.

Off to dreamland for me.

Night!

Oh wait....what are you favorite apps? I'm so not used to this app world but I know you have your favorites so do share!

{Sallie}

It's my Birthday Week.

2012-01-23T15:23:00.003-06:00

So I begged the Captain to make me a Red Velvet Cheesecake.

Yummmmmmmm.

There might be 3 sticks of butter in the cream cheese frosting.

I said might be!

And then I added 20 points to my cooking self-esteem after successfully making homemade lasagna.

Look at that delicious goodness of cheese.

I used to think Lasagnas were hard, but this one was Capital Easy.

Meat sauce

noodles

cottage cheese

mozzerella cheese

parm cheese

repeat

...until you realize that you have filled up the pan past the rim and are faced with a bubbling over scrumptious looking lasagna.

whoops.

Just bake it on a cookie sheet and bazinga....yummy homemade lasagna.

Recipe compliments of my mom, Mimi.

The cake fit ever so perfectly into my lovely cake stand.

And then we put the lid on and it quickly went from saying, "Happy Birthday Sallie"

to, "H~~~y Bi~~~~ay Sallie"

And when the lid came off, so did the frosting.

But who cares, it was delicious!

And maybe one day I will tell you about my reaction to the first gift the Captain gave me this weekend.

Maybe.

I'm off for a run!

How was your weekend?

What's your favorite kind of birthday cake?

Are you hungry now?

Happy Monday!

{Sallie}

San Diego Part 1

2012-01-19T21:08:00.002-06:00

The Captain and I went on a little adventure last week.

We traveled from the cold brown WT to the warm, sunny SD.

Let's just say that it was really hard to come back to this brown place.

1st phase of pictures from Coronado Island and even on a cloudy day the beach was dreamy.

It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Ocean. That goes on for-e-ver.

I miss this girl! Come back to Texas....but could you please bring the SD beach with you?

We laughed a lot over the weekend.

A lot.

David is holding onto Maverick's leash. The other dogs just photo bombed our moment.

At some point during the trip I may or may not have asked, "We're at sea level right?"

Yes. I did say that.

I miss it already. All of it. Tara and David, Maverick the puppy, Chuck and Elizabeth....Ethan (I'm the favorite aunt now!).

Happy Friday! More pics to come soon!

{Sallie}

Green Wednesday

2012-01-10T21:25:00.003-06:00

I feel a little like I'm still on Christmas Vacation.

Minus the part about me going to work everyday.

But when I come home...the Captain is home!

That rarely happens when he is in school and since his school doesn't start for another 2 weeks, we are living it up.

Catching up on Psych.

Playing Ticket to Ride with Friends.

Making dinner together.

Catching up on Psych.

And...

Counting down the days until we head off to San Diego this weekend.

2ish days by the way.

Anyway. I love the Captain and I failed to mention something amazing about him over all the holiday hoop-la.

The Captain Graduated!

I'm really proud of him. He works so hard.

And he gets to keep working hard for the next 2 years in Grad School!

Go Captain go!

And for Green Wednesday, I'm going to introduce the newest team member in Team Green Ferguson:

And then check out these upcycled shipping pallets.

We are on the hunt for an awesome coffee table and if this one had some drawers, it might be the winner!

And go be Green!!!

How is your week?

Have you played Ticket to Ride?

Are you sick of me playing Ticket to Ride?

Have you ever been to San diego?

{Sallie}

Holiday Post Partum

2012-01-02T15:26:00.002-06:00

Well.....The Captain and I were supposed to go back to Lubbock today.
But we never made it out of our PJ's.
In fact, I'm still in my PJ's as I'm writing this.
You know what I think about that?

AWESOME!

It was just too hard to pull ourselves away from game after game after game after game of Ticket to Ride.
And the chocolate.
And the toast.
And the nephew.
And of course the family.

2 weeks of family fun has been amazing. We started in Denton with the Fergie fam.

We enjoyed lots of movies (Muppets was awesome and War Horse, well....bring a tissue), lots of good food including sour cream cookies which I had never had. So Yummy!
Braums
Babes
Yum-O
Oh, and we played Ticket to Ride. Of course!

Then our 1 year anniversary.

Going back to the place where it all happened!

Euro Deli for Peirogi!

Ice Skaaaaaating!

! --just in case you needed one more of those.

Then over the freeways and to the city we went to Mimi's house!

My mom used to make fun of people who went by anything but Grandma.

I don't think she has ever been more proud of being called Mimi.

Little Benjamin walks around saying "mimi...mimi"

And pretty much anything else you ask him to say.

That kid...

I can't get enough of him!

The Party at Mimi and Papa's consisted of about a million games of Ticket to Ride.

Food

Six Flags

Food

and more Food.

Just when you thought all the food was gone, Mimi would pull something else out of her magic fridge/freezer and we would continue the eating fest.

And NYE was awesome with more Games, more food (Pierogi, Punzit, Kalua Pork, sugar anything) and smashing gingerbread houses!

Mimi always says that you spell love T-I-M-E and that was true-er than true the past few weeks.

Soon we will be forced back to our productive lifestyle in the wild west.

And quit eating chocolate every 10 minutes.

And put Ticket to Ride away.

Maybe.

But it's been a good one fam!

We will miss you.

Come visit?

No....don't. (Unless you want some Pie Bar!) We will come to visit you.

Soon!

About those PJ's....maybe I should go change.

Nah!

{Sallie}

1 going on for-e-ver...

2011-12-28T01:00:00.000-06:00

The Captain and I went to the Temple last night with his family (most of them...we miss you Megan!)
As I was leaving, a lady came up to me and asked,
"How long have you been married?"
Me: "oh, well...Tomorrow will be 1 year!"
Lady: "Oh wow, I was going to guess 2 days, you two are still so cute together!"

1 year and we still look "cute".

To My ~~C.O.W~~ C.A.M.E.L. (Crush All My Entire Life):

You put the awesome into my life. I never thought I could laugh so hard and love so much. Oh the adventures we have had and oh the adventures still to come.

I wouldn't care to take them with anyone but you.

I love you forever.

For-e-ver.

Love,

Your favorite kind of crazy.

And dear lady at the temple...wish you could have seen the cute couple 5 minutes later:

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T12:55:00.001-06:00

To all of our AWESOME friends and family (and blogger friends):

Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Ferguson Duo

You can't catch me....

2011-12-22T12:20:00.001-06:00

I'm the NINJAbread man!

Hi...yah!

1...2...3...ready or not, here I come!

Not sure if this is cowboy cookie or asian cookie man.

Run Run Run...

Waahooooo!!!

2 Ninjabread men were sitting in an oven.

One said to the other, "Hey, it's baking hot in here!"

The other one shouted, "Eeeek! A talking ninjabread man!"

1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and...work it ladies! Burn that butter right out of your bootay!

I'm not sure what the end of these to ninjabreadmen's story is...keep reading.

"I forgot my pants!"---poor little man!

"The Potty Dance"

Picture A goes with the naked cookies 3 rows up...hmm...any guess as to what's going on there?

See if you can find all the Anderson/Ferguson/Wilsons there?

Shout out to my AWESOME little sisters who were the brains behind the NINJAbread men this year.

They are AWESOME!

Did you decorate sugar cookies this year?

Merry Christmas!

{Sallie}

Green Wednesday: Brown paper packages

2011-12-21T01:00:00.000-06:00

I loved this so much that I might wrap all my gifts like this next year!

Whenever the Captain or I would forget our reusable shopping bags, we would ask for paper and then I had enough for this project. 1 paper bag will wrap 2 medium size gifts.

Directions found here

My critique...

Level: Easy

Time: 10 minutes

I didn't measure exactly, I just put whatever I was wrapping on top of the bag and cut out pieces to match, giving plenty of room to sew. (can't remember what that is called...seam something).

My awesome maching didn't love the zig zag on the paper, but the straight stitch worked liked a dream.

You can either sew all the way around or sew three sides, leaving one side open to fold over and tape if there is enough room.

I preferred to sew them shut because it leaves a clean look.

And my dad ripped through the sewn edge with ease.

Plus I can sing like , "Brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things..!!!" just like Julie Andrews as loud as I can the entire time I am making them!

Who wouldn't love that.

Do you have any "green" christmas projects/crafts you are doing this year?

Do you love the sound of music as much as I do...Probably not.

Are you eating Christmas goodies as you read this just like me...as I type this?

I should hope so!

Go now. Be Green!

Merry Christmas!

{Sallie}

On the last day of School my students gave to me...

2011-12-20T13:00:00.000-06:00

Some serious laughs and some hysterical pictures.

We played this game called "Decorate the Christmas (holiday for my nonchristmas kiddos) Tree".

Confusing title, I know.

Here's how it goes:

Relay lines with 4-5 kids in each line.

The first kid runs across the gym and plants their roots in the hula hoop and sticks out their branches (arms).

When the music starts, they run to the middle of the gym, grab 1 random piece of equipment from the giant pile I threw everything in and balance/hang it on their teams Christmas tree. When the music stops, decorating stops and anything left on the tree is counted.

The team with the most decorations wins.

And then we play again.

15 more times before the bell rings.

And it's awesome!

Wahooooooooooooooooooooo!

Christmas break starts now!

Back to the Big D for us!

What is your favorite PE game from back in the day?

{Sallie}

(I usually don't post pictures of my students, but I chose pictures that have no faces so I feel ok posting them. Please do not take these pictures off my blog with out my permission)

Deck the Halls

2011-12-19T16:20:00.001-06:00

mARRRRGHy Christmas!

A Polish Nativity

Our humble collection of Nativities

The tiny one reminds me of my mom's nativities. She had a bunch of tiny nativities from around the world that I loved to play with. I'm probably to blame for a few missing pieces...I secretly hope this one has missing pieces one day from tiny people playing with them.

The Caramel jar used to be 3/4 of the way full.

I have no idea where they all went!

And...LWPH's awesome Christmas card. Such a refresher from the popular long winded year recap novel...that I love to read as well.

Merry Christmas Friends!

{Sallie}

The Forever Stockings

2011-12-13T22:24:00.001-06:00

I want to call these our "Forever Stockings" because if we don't use them for the rest of our lives, I will cry a little bit because they took me FOREVER to make.

Not because they are hard, but because I dont speak sewing lingo.

And partially because I still refer to thread as string.

Sorry Mom :)

I considered throwing this project in the "I'll get back to this next year" box (which means they will forever sit unfinished the rest of my life) but every time I mentioned that, the Captain would get this puppy dog sappy face that melted my domestic heart and gave me a little bit more confidence to keep going.

But he wouldn't dare say a word for fear of stressful/confused Sallie unleashing on him.

He would just watch, tell me how awesome he thought I was and take pictures of me:

Dearest the Captain, I love that you love your stocking so much. You will need to fill mine with love notes from now until Christmas to make it worth it.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

I love you?

Yes.

Yes I do.

Love your almost domestic wifey.

Oh man---i just realized this is going to post on green wednesday!

Sheesh!

I will try and be back Thursday with an awesome green-friendly alternative to wrapping paper!

And no---it's not the comic section of the newspaper.
But...if you can't wait until Thursday, scroll down a little more and check out the pringles cookie containers that I made.
Bam.

Happy Day!

{Sallie}

Check.

2011-12-12T21:42:00.003-06:00

Wouldn't it be great to open a pringles can filled with delicious chocolate chipper cookies?

The Kringle would love the new Pringle.

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

This was a process, but I LOVE how they turned out!
It only took...

6 sticks of butter
in

4 batches of Becky's chocolate chippers.

8 pringle cans provided/collected by the Lowe family.

Patience from the Captain as I swatted his hand away from oh so many perfectly shaped cookies.

Lots of dough eating.

And I literally almost burned down our house in the middle of this process while trying to fry homemade onion rings.

Nothing a bottle of febreeze couldn't fix!

Note to self....one thing at a time.

Happy Day!

{Sallie}

Fa la la la la la la la la

2011-12-09T12:43:00.001-06:00

How can I blog when I am busy spreading Christmas Cheer?!

I did most of my Christmas shopping last night with the Captain and then we went to B-dubs for only the 3rd time since we got married!

It's ironic to me that we love that place seeing that neither one of us are sports fanatics.

We didn't realize it would be PACKED with Steelers fans hootin and hollerin.

I am almost finished making 1 of our Christmmas stockings.

It took me forever and I sewed it shut the first time around.

Learning curves....just a learning curve :)

I have a few other secret projects up my sleeve that are taking over my brain!

One of them being the Captain's totally awesome radical christmas gift of 2011.

I named his gift.

Thanks for the tip Whitney!

...

The Captain is finished with classes and I so super wish that I could stay home and be lazy with him.

That is the only part about final exam time that I miss.

Tara and I perfected the art of ~~procrastination~~ playing before studying during finals.

Tara---just over a month until we get to play again!

...

We put my mom's delicious homemade caramels in a container that would keep us from eating them.

It's a big mason jar with a little opening.

That way when you reach in to get one, you can't get your hand out unless you drop it.

Food proof.

Until the Captain turns it upside down and they come out.

hmmm

...

I am hitting up the Pie Bar with some girlfriends tonight.

Be jealous.

...

Do you have any super secret christmas projects going on at your house?

Really...I want to know!!

And...

GO HERE TO ENTER A TOTALLY AWESOME RADICAL GIVEAWAY FROM LWPH.

Happy Friday! Go get a sonic drink or something.

{Sallie}

Green Wednesday: My Green Christmas list.

2011-11-30T14:30:00.001-06:00

Anyone have an old ladder they don't want?

Because this is Awesome.

This little Koostik device uses NO ELECTRICITY.

It's completely made from walnut or cherry wood, depending on which you choose.

The Captain would LOVE this!

Too bad they are over sold and can't ship by Christmas.

Birthday maybe?

What do you think?

Green Wednesday is short and sweet today. I didn't receive any pictures after my request last week so I'm adding some motivation.

Let's have a contest.

Stay tuned for more details.

How are you "Green" Efforts coming?

Whats on your Christmas list?

What are you getting for your significant husband because I can't figure out what to get the Captain!

Do you like fudge?

I like fudge...Melissa....are you singing yet?

{Sallie}

Spinning Bears

2011-11-29T12:49:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving was AWESOME.

So awesome that I might have shed a few tears on my way out the door Sunday night.

Ya Ya and Papa (Ethan and Ben's grandparents) took the grandkids to McDonalds while the marrieds went on a date.

It was a BLAST.

Wanna see?

Thought you might....enjoy the pics!

1st stop: Chili's....with a coupon and a good deal!

Keith and his awesome wife Danielle (who taught us all how to make these wreaths...so cute!)

The lady taking the above picture actually gave us an "Awwwww" after taking it.

I guess we are just that adorable.

Danielle doing her usual thing, hanging out a window.

We went to Six Flags the night before and like Anderson's do so well.....we got overly excited about a seemingly insignificant radio contest in the park and won tickets to Prairie Lights in Grand Prairie.

AWESOME!

It was way better than we anticipated and if you are in the area, it would be a fun thing to do with you family...or significant other.

Is it just me or is that elf holding a bomb?

Run little elf!!!

Chuck, the driver, and his sweet wife Elizabeth

The crazies in the backseat!

Here is the best part...not only did we get to meet the real Santa (see picture below) but we also go to ride on the spinning bears FOR FREE!

Think Tea Cups...but insert giant hollow bear instead.

And Chuck spinning us.

And Elizabeth laughing like a man.

And the Captain about to fall out.

And me...about to throw up.

I highly recommend the spinning bears.

Just skip the corn dog right before.

I told you...it's the real one!

SANTA! I KNOW HIM!

Just in case you haven't been convinced that this light show is awesome...

They finished it off with a time machine vortex of lights!

Ok...maybe the time machine vortex wasn't true, but it felt like it.

Maybe my brother will post a video of it soon.

Then I will prove to you how awesome it was.

And that my friends, was our awesome date night.

Can't wait to do it again soon!

Have you ever ridden on such things as Spinning Bears?

Where is your favorite place to look at Christmas lights?

What's your favorite thing at Chili's?
Ribs!

{Sallie}

Green Wednesday: How to have a Green Thanksgiving:

2011-11-23T01:00:00.000-06:00

I love Green Wednesday.
I have had quite a few people tell me that they started making some green changes in their house/life!

GO YOU! Way to be AWESOME!

Making a recycle box is the most popular thing.
I just made one in my office at school.
Can you make one in your space where you live/work?

Email me a picture of your recycle pile/box/mess/stash/tower and I will post it to the blog! (garrettandsallie{at}gmail{dot}com)

I would especially like to see Kari's because she sent me a very funny facebook message about it and I'm dying to see it!

On to the topic of the day: A few tips on how to have a "Green" Thanksgiving.

I'm going to try and make this as realistic as possible. I don't expect everyone to go out and buy biodegradable cups/napkins/utensils or to serve a completely local/organic turkey dinner.
You can if you want.
I'm not going to.

Shopping:

Bring reusable bags with you---EASY!
Buy only what you need

Food:

Buy only what you need
Don't throw away anything! There are so many recipes for leftover thanksgiving food. Try making a leftover thanksgiving dinner casserole. Turkey noodle soup anyone? My favorite, turkey sandwiches on homemade rolls with mayo and cranberry sauce. My point: There is probably something you can make with the leftovers. The Captain tells a story about one thanksgiving where they ate leftover Turkey for so long that they couldn't handle eating another one for Christmas. That's when their Christmas Tradition of Prime Rib was born.
If you really can't eat the rest of it, start a compost pile if you don't already have one.
Recycle Paper, Plastic, Glass and Aluminum.
Use reusable napkins...I think these would be so fun! (from here)

Travel:

The easiest way to be green when traveling is to not travel. But I'm not even doing that. So if you have to drive somewhere, make sure your car is in good working order and your tires are properly inflated. You'll get better gas mileage that way, which means more $$ for you!
Carpool! Saves gas and keeps the emissions low!

What are some ways that you are going to have a "Green Thanksgiving"?

Do you have a compost pile?

No, but we want one in the future

Email me a picture of your recycle pile/box/mess/stash/tower and I will post it to the blog! garrettandsallie{at}gmail{dot}com)

Go...be green!
{Sallie}

Bouncing cranberries and cute little men

2011-11-22T11:52:00.001-06:00

These adorable people are at my parents house waiting for their favorite aunt and uncle to come.

We are coming---soon!

Don't have too much fun without us!

And Jill---don't eat all the stuffed french toast, save us at least a few pieces.

The Captain and I will be reading this on our way home:

We are so hooked. I bought it before we drove to Denton last weekend and read it to the Captain as he drove.

1. He drove the entire way. (yay!)

2. We had to swear to each other that we wouldn't peek until we started on the drive back for Thanksgiving.

We cant wait to finish it!

OMWord (No offense Joleen), it's good.

Have you seen the movie trailer?

My PE lesson today is Thanksgiving Trivia.

The kids ride on their teams Mayflower Ship (a mat with 2 scooters underneath) to different trivia questions posted around the gym. If they get the answer right, they only have to do 5 of their choice of exercises and 10 if they get it wrong.

They love it, but the questions are hard!

Did you know that cranberries are bounced to see if their ripe?

Did you know that Thanksgiving became a national holiday all because of a lady who wrote a letter to a Women's Magazine?

Go here to see the quiz I used.

Crazy!

As fun as that game is, I'm anxious to go home!

We are learning how to make my mom's christmas goodies tomorrow.

Possibly seeing Breaking Dawn (again for me) tomorrow night.

Turkey Bowl Thursday morning (Or a family turkey trot if I can convince them).

BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING! Did you know that Target opens at Midnight?

Six Flags on Friday!

Play with nephews.

Love my family!

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

Do you have any fun family traditions?

Are you going Black Friday shopping? Where and for what??

Happy Day!

{Sallie}

$10 OBO

2011-11-21T16:41:00.001-06:00

Text/Call me or email me garrettandsallie {at} gmail {dot} com

I'm so excited I could pee!

2011-11-18T16:08:00.001-06:00

I CAN HARDLY STAND IT! I have been craving Christmas music from this group since I bought their album last year. I even checked their website this week to see if they were announcing a Christmas album soon.

I saw nothing.

But then C.Jane posted the release of their Christmas album today.

TODAY!

I am so excited and I am probably going to make the Captain listen to it the entire way back to Denton tonight.

And...when you buy the actual CD, they give you a copy to download while you wait for the CD to come in the mail.

So AWESOME.

I was, again, so excited when I saw they included "Go Tell it on the Mountain" into this album. I love that hymn, it is one of my favorites this time of year. There was a very nice man in my ward growing up who would share his testimony over the pulpit through song. He sang this song once and I have loved it ever since.

Go listen, get hooked, purchase the CD, listen immediately and start your Christmas season off right.

I promise, you will LOVE them!

The Lower Lights: Come Let Us Adore Him

Green Wednesday: Monsters in a baggie

2011-11-15T22:26:00.001-06:00

I was this close to putting off Green Wednesday, until I read a comment from yesterday's post mentioning Green Wednesday.

You should feel loved right now.

So, I bring you my little green monsters:

I got this little tip from little miss cardigans and cookie dough.

At the time, I wasn't a huge green onion fan but as of recently, I want to top everything with these little green pieces of flavor!

How to grow your own green onions:

Cut the green stem off leaving the white bulb.

Put the white bulb(s) into a shallow glass of water and watch them bloom.

These pictures were taken 1 WEEK after I planted the bulbs in water!

Amazing!

My white bulbs that would have gone in the trash (which wouldn't be a bad thing because they would just decompose) are now being regenerated for free.

I save money.

I use less resources.

I eat good food.

Raise your hand if you like any of those things.

Then great! Try this!

Remember the comment mentioned previously?

It made me so proud! Read on:

Mrs. Fox: I have a request for your green Wednesday posts. I now have a recycle pile in the corner, I turned down the water while doing dishes and showering, and I even walked to the grocery store instead of driving. Its a seven minute walk....and I still usually drive. Embarrassing. Anyway...my request: Can you come up with something to replace plastic baggies? I'm pretty sure I'm single-handedly using up half of Utah's landfill space with my Ziplocks alone.

First of all...GO YOU for making all those green changes!

(I feel for you on that 7 minute walk, maybe you get some of those really awesome heely shoes with wheels in the heels)

Second, I am so happy that you asked me about greening up your ziplock usage.

Our house is the same way.

We tear through a 100 count of baggies like it's a bowl of chocolate.

Now that's embarrassing.

I've actually been thinking about this exact thing for about a month now so it's perfect that you would pick my brain about it.

And I have the coolest solution.

LUNCHSKINS

My friend introduced me to these lovelies one day while she was emptying out her son's backpack. A snack size lunchskin fell out and I was immediately drawn to it's modern design.

What was this thing?

Photo from Lunchskin

A reusable "ziploc" baggie.

That is dishwasher safe

BPA Free

Grease proof

Moisture proof

Manufactured in the USA

Created by 3 stay at home moms.

and...

there are 1000 different uses for them.

(or so they say)

Image from Lunchskins

I found a 3 pack on amazon for around $22.

The initial cost is high at first, but if you consider how many 100 count boxes of ziplocs you go through in a year(s), it should pay off in the end.

Or you end up paying a few bucks more to empty a landfill.

The Sub Bag

I actually really love the designs, and there are lots of choices on their website.

The Sandwich bag

What do you think Mrs. Fox? Is this a realistic product to consider?

What would you use these bags for aside from Lunches?

Has anyone else heard of other reusable "ziploc" baggies?

Go now...live green!

{Sallie}

The Pie Bar--A must taste for Lubbock!

2011-11-15T01:00:00.000-06:00

Post Edit: I'm not sure why I felt the need to write a Review like I am some kind of food critic---especially after the awful homemade mac&cheese I made for dinner last night! I have absolutely no credentials to be writing this---I just really like food. Good food. So take it for what its worth and GO TO THE PIE BAR!

We considered skipping dinner on Saturday night and heading straight to the Choc'late Mousse instead. Our conscience got the best of us and we scarfed down some leftover soup before heading over to the Pie Bar. The Captain was beyond excited. Almost as excited as he was to see me on the news---in fact, he quickly forgot about his famous wife as soon as we got to the Pie Bar.

It wasn't at all what I expected on the inside. I thought we would walk into a froyo-esque atmosphere---loud colors and loud music that make you want to come and go as fast as you came in. It was quite the opposite! The Pie Bar immediately had a cozy/warm feeling that immediately made you want to sit down and relax. Which is exactly what the handful of people were doing in there. There was a lady sitting on a leather couch enjoying a Piebite. There were a few friends sitting in a cluster of comfy chairs sharing a Piedip. And then there was the friendly curly haired man (the owner) standing behind the counter waiting to dish up your pie. He kind of looked like Josh Groban...in a Lubbock kind of way. We quickly told him we were first timers and he happily gave us the run down.

6 different styles (From what I can remember, the descriptions could be a little off)
Pietini--Just the Pie filling
Piedip--feeds3-4 and served with graham cracker sticks
Piefait--layers of your choice of pie filling and crust
Piebite--a smaller version of the piefait
Piewich-Pie filling between 2 chocolate or honey graham crackers
Another choice in a goblet---can't remember the name.
8-10 Pie Choices (out of a rotation of 30)
6-8 Pie Crust choices
and homemade whip cream to top it off.

Pretty simple, but I'm terrible with choices, especially when choosing between several fantastic options. There was the white chocolate mousse, chocolate mousse, blueberry cream, snickers, peanut butter cup, milky way, pecan pralines...only to name a few! No worries---Mr. Pie Bar will let you try any of the flavors.

While trying to decide between flavors, I decided to get to the bottom of this Pie Bar idea. I asked Mr. Pie Bar himself how this all came about. Well, Mr. Pie Bar and his family were sitting around last Christmas having a discussion about Lubbock's lack of quality Pies (to which I added, Lubbock has a lack of a lot of things..). After the discussion and through a series of unmentioned events (Insert heavenly inspiration here...it just had to be!), Mr. Pie Bar started dreaming and soon enough The Choc'late Mousse Pie Bar was born.

Amen Mr. Pie Bar!

Back to the Pie.

After consulting with Mr. Pie Bar, I went with his recommendation of the Blueberry Cream Piefait with a Nilla Wafer Pecan Crust.

OMW. It was scrumptious! The homemade whip cream was perfectly sweetened, but not overdone. So good that I wanted a Pietini with just whip cream! The pie filling reminded me of a creamy cheesecake, hold the cheese. Then the blueberries. THE BLUEBERRIES! (Said like, "Shnozberries!) They had just the right amount of tartness to them to compliment the creamy goodness below it.

And last but not least, the simple nilla wafer pecan crust that completed the Blueberry Cream Piefait. It made me reconsider ever eating graham cracker crust on a pie again!

I have nothing bad to say about my piefait.
Except, I want another.

The Captain thoroughly enjoyed a Peanut Butter Cup Piefait with Chocolate Graham cracker crust.

Ephraim scarfed down a Snickers Piefait with the yummy Nilla Wafer Pecan crust.

Notice the Captain's empty glass...

And before we could even say yum....this is what remained.

I highly recommend taking a trip to the Choc'late Mousse...whenever you drive through Lubbock.

It's actually something to be proud of around here :)

The downers:

Don't expect to pay the price for a Wendy's frosty, but do expect a much tastier treat.

($3-$6 per treat)

We asked for a cup of water, but was only offered bottled.

Understandable considering the fact that Lubbock water taste foul and would probably ruin the pie experience.

Will I go back?

Most definitely! This is a great date night/special occasion joint. I will be looking for another excuse to return!

Have you ever been to a Pie Bar?

Whats the most unique food place around your town?

What's your favorite Pie?

{Sallie}

Run Lubbock Birth Story

2011-11-13T21:29:00.000-06:00

June.

I wanted to put together a training group.

Emily wanted to put together a race.

And suddenly Run Lubbock started to become something.

I guess you could say that June was conception and yesterday was birth.

(If only gestation were 6 months!)

And what a fabulous birthday it was!

I can't tell you enough how incredible the entire experience was! Putting together a 5k is not a side job and it certainly isn't something you can throw together in a weekend.

But it was most certainly worth it.

All the late nights and the last minute bumps in the road. Finding out that we needed porta potties and paper cuts from stuffing so many packets. Lots of patience from the Captain and Emily's husband as we worked through every little detail. We couldn't have done it without their support and I think this was just as much their success as it was ours.

So many women gathered together in support of women in our community. We asked for a raise of hands from everyone running a 5k for the first time and surprisingly, a third of the crowd raised their hands!

Awesome!

Yes that's me. I nearly died on the way up the scaffolding.

And yes that's a news guy! Check out our 30 seconds of fame here.

Thanks to the Tech Tri team for leading us out and back in the run, they were awesome!

Hey, there are some familiar faces! Get it girls!

Doesn't everyone look awesome?!

And just as we promised...

Ghiradelli chocolatey goodness:

And complimentary post run massages!

Maybe I can get the Pie Bar to come out next year :)

To see more pictures from the run, check out our facebook page.

And I was kind of serious about the Pie Bar. Did I mention that we celebrated the 5k success with a to-die-for-Piefait from the Pie Bar?

We did...but you will have to wait for my review on that tomorrow!

I know---it's killing you!

What will kill you is not going to the Pie Bar.

Dang it...giving too much away!

I've been planning my life for the past 2 months up until the 5k on Saturday so the rest of the weekend was full of relaxation and fun.

After a long nap (interrupted by a pizza man at the wrong house...so disappointing) we were excited to have Ephraim in town for a quick get-away trip.

We gave him a true Lubbock experience...as always.

So Pie Bar 1st.

Then corn maze...complete with the corn shooter!

Remember this from last year???

Still one of my favorite things in Lubbock.

Yes, that's corn. It was so sad to walk in and see it all brown and dry.

Obviously we are in a drought.

Made me think twice about leaving the water on while I brush my teeth.

I'm trying...I promise!

And to top the weekend off, Ephraim brought us a coconut!

Whew...are you exhuasted?

I am! I am going to sleep like a baby for the next week. This weekend has been a big spoonful of awesome!

How was your weekend?

Have you ever run a 5k?

Do you like the juice from a coconut?

I have mixed feelings about this.

Happy Monday!

{Sallie}

Hopefully this is what happens on seesallierun this week:

Pie Bar Review--get excited!

Green wednesday with the Green monsters!

Appreciating the little things.

11.11.11

2011-11-11T01:00:00.000-06:00

I'm craving one of these right now.

A pumpkin pie concrete from Sheridans.

In honor of 11.11.11, here is the top 11 happenings from the past week:

1. I stuffed 250 race packets for the Women Run Lubbock 5k

2. The Captain cleaned our house at 1:30am, after he got home from school, when I was asleep, because he loves me.

3. A mid week date night with 2 coupons making our sit down dinner for 2 $10.

4. lost my keys

5. found my keys

6. 2 words: Breaking Dawn

7. Free lunch for teachers on Friday

8. Finally caught up on a particular TV show

9. Green monsters are growing! (More on that later)

10. Currently sporting my Women Run Lubbock 5k t-shirt for the 3rd time this week.

11. Checking off list after list getting ready for the Women Run Lubbock 5k.

Get excited!!!!

Are you coming to the race in the morning?

Registration from 7:00am to 8:30am

Race starts at 9am

Hope to see you there!!

{Sallie}

Going Green 101

2011-11-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm really excited about the Captain's blog post today! I may have deleted the entire thing on accident last night on my way to bed and I may have had a slight break down because of it. He quickly took the computer and typed the entire thing again. I love him. Thanks Honey.

Enjoy his words today!

(Inserts in italics are from Me)

People (and businesses) say they're going green all the time, but I don't even think a lot of people have the big picture of what going green really means.

How do I compress all of the information I've gathered about sustainability into a single blog post (That people won't fall asleep to)? I've actually contemplated writing a thesis about sustainability in architecture, and consider myself to be reasonably well informed. So where does Mr. The Captain, not-actual-professor begin? Education. Let me tell you a little something about sustainability and what it really is, and I promise to keep it short in my long-winded-let's-have-fun-along-the-way style.

What is sustainability? The best definition that I know of on sustainability is from The Brundtland Commission, where they state that Sustainability is the ability for current generations to meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Basically, there might be enough water or oil or whatever your resource for you to survive, but will there be enough for your children? And will there be enough for their children?

That shows a lot of forward thinking. And I like thinkers.

Let me give you just a few points that will help you live more sustainably, and experience some really cool and innovative ideas that may begin to transform your life.

Step 1: Open a window. Go on a walk. Reconnect with nature. It's not us vs. nature, it's just nature. We are a part of it, and when we live that way everyone is better off.

Step 2: Remember the three Rs you learned in grade school? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. They got it right, they really did! If we actually did all of those things, there would be a whole lot less garbage and a whole lot more creativity.

Reduce: Use less. It doesn't matter what you choose, you could probably use less of it. Take water for instance. I don't know where you're reading this from, but Texas is currently in quite the drought. When you turn on your faucet, don't turn it up to its highest setting. Turn it to the middle or even less. I'm not saying to rinse your dirty dishes using an eyedropper, just to turn the flow of the water down a little. You'll use less water, and that means saving the environment and saving some money too!

Reuse: When things are done with their job, see if you can repurpose them. Maybe buy an old coffee table, add some paint HGTV style and make it something you really like! Instead of throwing away t-shirts, turn them into something else like a reusable bag or a sweet rug (I've actually seen these things.)

(Compliments of Sallie's pinterest. Cut the sleeves, sew the bottom and bam, you have a t-shirt tote)

I've also seen some really innovative upcycling, which means taken a broken thing and giving it a new life as something different. That would be like turning a broken umbrella into a waterproof purse or taking old vintage records and making them into a sweet cake stand or a cool clock. And you can do a lot of this yourself, you don't have to pay somebody to do it for you. Terracycle is a great organization that collects things like your used Dorito bags, or your Oreo wrappers and upcycles them into a sweet cover for your spiral notebook or an Oreo Messenger Bag. And the best part is they do the whole thing while helping you fundraise for your school!

Recycle: This one is maybe the most important. It goes back to the thinking thing. What we can't use again, or choose not to for whatever reason, we can put it back into the cycle. They melt the plastic, the metal, or alter the paper so that it can go back into the cycle to begin a new life.

These things are all super easy to do, and all will make a difference. And like I said, things like that Oreo Messenger Bag are pretty dang cool.

So go, turn down your water, reuse something, and recycle what you have to.

And if you're interested in going green or in green architecture, come visit me at architectureinthegreen.tumblr.com.

Go! Be Awesome, and Be Green!

The Captain

Lubbock isn't that bad...

2011-11-08T13:41:00.000-06:00

They do have a PIE BAR.

No really, it's called a Pie Bar.

Rumor has it that it's a mix between a cupcake place and a froyo joint.

You pick your pie filling, your crust and it all goes in a lovely little container.

Not sure about the rest of the details...

The Captain and I heard about this place a couple of weeks ago and decided to go see if the rumor was actually true.

I'm reporting to you that yes....it's true. The Chocolate Mousse Pie Bar is realer than real.

And closed on Monday's.

The day we decided to try it.

It was like Thai Tuesday all over again!

Have I convinced you to move to Lubbock yet?

Expect a future post with a review of the Pie Bar...when we go between Tuesday and Saturday.

Tomorrow: The Captain gives us the in's and out's of green living.

Get excited!!!

{Sallie}

How the Grinch stole Halloween.

2011-10-31T19:01:00.001-05:00

Halloween is so great until you become an adult. Actually, even then it's great. It's when you get a house that it becomes ungreat. More like anti-climatic.

We had a trunk-or-treat tonight at church that we were planning on going to, but then the Captain had mounds of homework and I didn't feel good. And to top it all off...the Captain told me that I wasn't allowed to go trunk to trunk asking for candy.
That is when I decided to bail.

I remember the days when trick-or-treating season lasted a week.
First, there was the "Cube-or-treat" at my Dad's office. Cubicle trick or treating is great because those people work. They have money. Money means the good candy.
Then there was the church "Trunk-or-treat" where we would rake in another bucket load of sweet goodness.
And finally, the mother load. October 31st. The day every kid waits for as soon as December 25 is over. It marks the official beginning of the sweet treat season. At the end of the night, my siblings and I would be sprawled out in our bedrooms separating the candy into piles of the good, the bad and the i've-never-seen-this-type-of-candy-before.
All of this was wonderful until my parents came up with something like a "Parent Tax" on candy. We were required to give a portion of our good pile (yes, she made sure we weren't just donating the gross stuff) to the family pile. This pile went into a huge container that was saved for one specific purpose.

Gingerbread houses.

In our family, no one blinked an eye at our slightly spooky Christmas creations. So what if the rooftop was tiled with orange and black m&m's. No that's not a vampire, it's an angel!

But seriously, it was kind of like that.
And kind of awesome. I loved it all.

Everything except for the Big Brother tax. This came into effect when my mom decided that my big brothers were too big to go door to door trick or treating. They probably complained about their lack of candy and for some reason my mother took their side---thus creating the big brother tax.

Was there ever a big sister tax....no.
I'm not bitter.

So I sit here, on my couch, hoping that no one rings my doorbell because I only have about 15 pieces of candy.
Now 14 pieces.

Have I become the Halloween Grinch?

Maybe. But I would give you candy if you came to my door so stop your boobie-aching.

GREAT NEWS! This video may have saved our marriage if either the Captain or myself became zombies in the future. (This is a real possibility because Kip moved our of his 2nd story apartment which was the Captains survival plan in the case of a zombie attack)
OMW---I am writing about Zombies. Who am I?????

Really though, it's a cute halloween video. I promise, you will love it.

Happy Halloween!

{Sallie}

Why I love my job #3 and some Halloween

2011-10-28T17:48:00.000-05:00

We had our "Fall Festival" last night at school. Fall Festivals are one of my favorite things about fall. Cake walks...and other stuff but I love cake walks.

I didn't get to participate in any cake walks last night (apparently that is only for the students...) but I did get to serve up all kinds of junk food at the concession stand.

The Menu looked like this:

Nachos

Frito Pie

Giant pickle

Snow Cone

and the top seller:

Hot cheetos topped with Nacho cheese.

We literally just cut off the top of the bag and poored nacho cheese in it and served it with a fork.

The kids LOVED it.

I had one kid ask me for regular cheetos but we didn't buy any to sell.

Love.My.School.

But I actually hate hot cheetos. They are way too spicy for my taste but that's typically not a good measure because I think most things are too spicy.

Well I couldn't help myself. After serving up a gazillion hot cheetos w/cheese, I had to try this delicacy for myself.

First and last time for me. My mouth was on fire and I felt my arteries clogging at the same time.

But at least I tried this, now hopefully my students will stop making fun of me.

On a side note, the Captain and I went to an Adult Halloween party that some friends from church put together last Friday night.

Can you guess who we went as?

Here is a hint...

The party was a blast. They moved all their furniture out of their house and turned the house into a hoppin party spot. Complete with a "Thriller" Tutorial for the entire 30+ people in attendance.

Oh---and don't forget some Just Dance 3! (Now on our Christmas list)

Have you ever seen full grown adults compete in a "donut on a string" contest?

You're about to...

Ready, set....

GO!

As you can see, comparatively, I'm doing quite well.

Getting a little crazy here.

The green lantern, in the back, is thinking, "look at these fools..."

He missed out.

Emily just can't compete. Just kidding!

If you ask the Captain, I got third place (to 2 men) but I swear I finished 2nd.

My mom used to string donuts between 2 trees in our front yard almost every year for Halloween. I remember lots of neighborhood kids coming over to eat a donut off a string in between all the trick or treating. Who doesn't love eating donuts off a string??? It's one of my favorite memories and one that I hope to continue as soon as I get a front/backyard.

I hope you have had a great Friday!

Don't forget to register TODAY for the Women Run Lubbock 5k. The price goes up tonight at midnight, so don't wait too long! It's going to be awesome!

{Sallie}

Mean Green II

2011-10-25T23:22:00.005-05:00

It has been a long day(s). So many of those right now. I thought life would slow down post graduation but it hasn't. The great thing about it is that I am loving all the things that keep me busy. My job, The Women Run Lubbock 5k (register by friday before the price goes up!), Church, pumpkin cooking (mmmmm), cross-fit to make up for the pumpkin cooking, and of course my sweet husband, the Captain.

He is so good to me. I love him.

Oops! I always seem to slip that into almost every post!

I'm tired, but I wanted to share some of my favorite green decorating ideas with you:

This is from here.

The girls (roommates) ordered all of Anthropologies wall paper samples and then made Free Wall Art with it. Since Anthropology has a certain look to it, the whole collage goes. I love this idea!

Just take a guess at what this wall art is made out of.

Keep guessing...

TOILET PAPER ROLLS!

Now that is Awesome. Especially since the Captain claims that I use way too much toilet paper.

Now I have an excuse!

(ok, maybe TMI)

Every time I pass a yard sale, I secretly hope that I will find a cheap coffee table that I could paint some incredible shade of green.

Hasn't happened yet.

But what do you think about something like this:

Palettes are inexpensive, I think. And how awesome would it be if I put wheels on it!

And last but certainly not least, my very own DIY upcycled project:

I have had this old window pane since our wedding. We found a bunch of these gems in a family friends garage, they had been there for years. They were used as an art gallery of sorts into our reception. Aunt Pam claimed one before they went up, they were so awesome! (how many times can I use the word awesome?)

Luckily, the Captain ended up with one and it has been sitting behind our chair for 9 months now. I finally got the supplies to make this board. The black part is chalkboard vinyl and the brown part is cork board, both from Hobby Lobby. I think I spend $9 on supplies and I still have plenty of the chalkboard vinyl leftover. I plan on putting some hooks at the bottom and putting it up in our kitchen. The Captain wants to put scenery pictures in the top to make it seem like we are somewhere else besides this brown city. It think that would be funny.

My writing sounds tired so I'm off to bed.

What do you think of these green decorating suggestions...would you actually use any of them?

What should I write about next week pertaining to Green Living?

Go out and get some green in your life.

{Sallie}

Mean Green

2011-10-19T01:00:00.000-05:00

I graduated from the "Mean Green" Capital. At my graduation ceremony, the Dean told us that we would run into a number (not sure what number but I'm assuming he was going for a big one) of fellow Mean Green alumni wherever we would go in life. Though I have not run into any number of them, I have slowly been finding the inner Mean Green inside. I have the Captain to thank for most of my inspiration. He is kind of into the whole "Green" thing. Kind of as in he hopes to make a living out of it in the future. I 100% support his ambitions and I figure that I might as well jump right on into it all if this is going to stick around for a while.
I guess you could say going "Green" would help us all stick around for a while longer.

So...every wednesday, or whenever I can remember, I am going to try and post some "Mean Green" ideas and suggestions. All of these green things that I write about will be realistic, inexpensive and awesome. That's what I hope "going green" ends up being in the long run. Some of the ideas and suggestions will be from around our own house and some of them will be from websites and other places that I frequent.

So first up today....our recycle bin.
Now, you know that I absolutely love everything that Lubbock has to offer (minus haboobs). But I absolutely hate everything they don't have to offer.
Like a good recycling program.
Lubbock makes it nearly impossible to recycle.

But we try.

The Captain and I started a recycle bin a couple months ago and every so often (mostly when it's taking over our house) we take it to one of the few elementary schools in Lubbock who have recycle bins behind the school.

Here is our recycle ~~pile~~ bin today:

No we are not going to recycle those drills. We are borrowing them but somehow they ended up in our recycle bin. It often gets a bit cramped in the recycle bin, but hey...it's a start! (Sorry captain, I know I put those drills in the bin but there was no where else for them to go!)

And now for my REUSE suggestion:

We have accumulated quite a few clorox bottles like these from coupons (and my mom). I think they are genius little creations and I'm so excited that I finally have a use for them after those fantastic little wipes are gone.
If we forget our reusable grocery bags, we end up with quite a pile of plastic bags and of course we keep them under the sink in a neat little stack.
Wrong-o.
Sometimes I can't find anything but bags under the sink. it's a mess and I CAN'T wait to clean them all up into a neat little container like this one.

And here is how you fold them in order for them to dispense properly. (Click HERE)

And there you have it. A few little green steps towards being Mean Green!

**What are you doing to be Green?

**I think I'm going to post about Green decor next week. Any other green suggestions?

Happy Wednesday! Don't get stuck in any Haboobs! (Sorry---new favorite word)

{Sallie}

I interrupt the previously announced blog post...

2011-10-17T21:28:00.000-05:00

...because of the HABOOOOOOOB!

Excuse me, but I did not just sneeze.

Haboob is a real word and apparently it comes from the arabic word habub.

Arabic because these storms usually only happen in Sudan.

But no.

It happened here.

In Lubbock, Texas.

I kid you not.

I have the pictures/video to prove it!

It was basically the coolest thing that has ever happened to Lubbock.

So cool that it deserves an interrupted post.

Ok enough already.....on with the pictures!

Once upon a time, the Captain and I stopped at Wally world on our way home from work/school.

On our way out to the car....we saw this:

Hmm....a very peculiar cloud on the horizon.

Except it wasn't a cloud because if you look closely, the clouds are above that thing.

It was a HABOOB!

I just saw Independence day for the first time so I almost immediately broke into a cold sweat.

The Captain decided that we should head straight home.

And that we did.

Only to run into this:

The HABOOB was headed straight to our house!

And then it started getting closer.

Really fast.

Like so fast that I barely had time to whip out my camera just for you!

Also so fast that I needed to take some footage in order for people to believe me when it swallowed us up.

Take a look:

All I have to say is....

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

And be sure to close your mouth tight while you run or you will have sand/dirt in between your teeths.

Just when i thought we were going to miss it....we drove straight into the eye of the storm!

All of these pictures were taken within a 3 minute window.

It changed that quick.

Despite what you may be thinking....we are still on Earth and not on planet Mars.

It's funny---but I was honestly a little scared. It was insane how fast everything changed.

I even gave one last goodbye just in case we didn't make it out alive:

Whew.

And that my friends....is a HABOOB.

{Sallie}

A lovely drive.

2011-10-17T13:54:00.001-05:00

Do you see that in the Captain's glasses?

That's the middle of nowhere west Texas.

It's growing on me.

We drove back from a weekend in Denton yesterday and I actually enjoyed looking at nothing for 5 hours.

I know---crazy!

Of course it was boring, but the Captain and I have some of our best conversations along that road.

And the funniest.

I think we laughed for most of the time.

I love that man.

Denton was great! We got to spend an evening with some of our best friends and their super adorable little man.

I am so grateful for good friends.

That's what most of our good conversation was about yesterday on that long drive back to Lubbock.

The Captain and I are so blessed with great friends and wonderful families.

In other news....do you know what's happening on Friday?

CHUCK SEASON 5 BEGINS!

We are a little bit excited about that!

{Sallie}

I have some awesome projects I want to share with you tomorrow!

And Wednesday we are going green!

Why I love my job #2

2011-10-07T12:37:00.001-05:00

It's Friday!

And it's crazy hair day at my school.

My kindergarten students thought it was my real hair.

One of my other students thought I was another teacher in the school who has black big hair.

I LOVE my job.

And just in case you were wondering, this is what my office looks like.

It needs some love.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for all the pumpkin ideas, I'm going to need some exercise ideas soon :)

Happy happy Friday!

By the way...my nephews are just about the cutest things in the world.

I thought he had a nose ring when I saw this picture!

Go here to find out what happened.

{Sallie}

I might have an obsession

2011-10-06T01:00:00.000-05:00

You know it's fall in my house when...

I almost have a panic attack in the middle of the grocery store because I remember that there is a rumored pumpkin shortage around here and that there might not be any pumpkin left to buy.

Even though it wasn't on my grocery list.

But it should always be on my grocery list between the months September and December.

So I did what any pumpkin obsessed would do.

I ran to the baking aisle.....and went a little crazy.

10 cans.

I thought about getting more but remembered that I had a grocery budget.

Oh the possibilities.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

Pumpkin Bread--anyone have a good recipe?

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Pumpkin Nutella Muffins

Pumpkin Pancakes

And yes...punkin pie.

And whippa cweme.

It was my favorite as a kid.

And clearly pumpkin is my favorite as an adult.

Pumpkin anything.

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe?

Cause I would love to try it!

{Sallie}

The "I-think-I'm-in-labor" birth story of Asa Brian Wilson

2011-10-05T01:00:00.000-05:00

My sister is awesome.

And here is her sweet baby boy's birth story to prove it.

On the morning of Tuesday September 13^th, I had a doctor’s appointment. On Sunday and Monday I had thrown up and the entire previous week had felt nauseous, so I was anxious to see the doctor and ask if these signs were normal. At the visit, he said it wasn’t common, but not abnormal. I was so ready to be done with the pregnancy and asked my doctor when the earliest time would be that he would induce me (if I was “ inducible”). He told me the week of the 26^th (in 2 weeks) but also to not expect an early labor because first time moms are 80% of the time late. I went home disappointed, nauseous, and annoyed at the taunts of Nick who was sure I would be late. So, I walked to campus for a meeting with one of my teachers. By the time I got home, Nick was heading out the door for his classes and I had class later at 4, so we planned to meet up later that evening at 6 to walk home together.

Before my class, I tried sneaking a nap in which is where the fun stuff started happening. I was awakened by a small gush of liquid and was slightly embarrassed because I thought I’d just peed my pants (which made sense because I had a small accident the week before). I headed to the toilet and realized that there was a lot of liquid coming out of me. I immediately wondered if my water had broken, but didn’t really think that was a possibility because I know it’s not very common for your water to break spontaneously. Just to be sure though, I googled “How to know if your water has broken.” I ended up following some directions and watched a little movie about this particular subject.

During my little experiment, my mom called me back (I had called her after not being able to get a hold of Nick). I explained my situation and she counseled me to call my doctor. I was hesitant to do this because I was still not sure if I was truly going into labor. Of course, I should have realized something was up when I started having huge pressurized pains every 5 minutes (otherwise known as contractions). I guess my mom got a little worried when she realized what was going on, so she called her sister who lives nearby to come take me to the hospital. In the meantime, I called my doctor’s office, explained my situation, then performed another little experiment to be sure my water was truly broken.

Sure enough, a positive test. I quickly began running around the house with a trash bag throwing my hospital gear in (slippers, a robe, extra clothes, etc.). Elaine (my aunt) soon arrived and after piling a few towels under my seat in her car, we were off to the hospital. On the way, we tried getting a hold of Nick some more (this was continually difficult because my phone plan just ended and Nick and I have only one phone). Talking with Elaine became increasingly difficult because of the crazy contractions going on. They were now around 2-3 minutes apart. I had no idea what that meant but was shocked when she told me I might not have time for an epidural and to not push if I felt the urge. She actually called the hospital and told them to come out and help us when we got there. Soon I was wheeled into a room, got in a hospital gown, and tried to breathe (Elaine and the nurses were helping me with the “heeheehoo’s”).

A nurse soon checked me out down south to see how I was dilating. I remember a shocked look and an immediate demand to get me in my own real room. There, I asked if I would still be able to get an epidural (I was sooo concerned about that). My nurse said yes and in the next 10 minutes Bart, the heroic anesthesiologist, had my epidural inserted. As I became more comfortable on the drug, I asked the nurses if they thought I would be having the baby today or tomorrow. They all busted into laughter and told me I probably would’ve had the baby by now if I hadn’t slowed the process down with the epidural. Finally someone told me I was dilated to a 9 and was moving to the transition stage. Well that caught me off guard and I was just hoping Nick would get there in time. Elaine works for BYU so she had called multiple offices to find Nick.

Finally, Nick did walk through the door and told me he was in class and didn’t check his computer until it ended at 4:15. Shortly after Nick’s arrival, we were moving to the pushing stage. An hour after pushing (and throwing up), my doctor came in, helped push a little more, snipped me a bit and the baby was out! At 7:09 pm, Asa Brian Wilson was born at 7lbs 15oz 20 inches long. Later, Nick went home to get the camera and some other stuff we forgot in the chaos. A day and a half later we came home….and that’s the super crazy unexpected 3 week early delivery story. Asa’s due date is coming up on October 2^ndJ.

--Melissa Wilson

{Sallie}

Tis the Season...already?

2011-10-03T21:48:00.001-05:00

Dear Anderson Clan (mainly to those who live in UT or AZ)

A few of us got together this weekend to share in some good times and laughter while watching General Conference (you were deeply missed), and we decided that it was time to draw names for the traditional family Christmas. Benjamin, Ethan and Asa were left out of the bucket of names due to their popularity ratings. Chuck however was the name everyone wanted to pull out of the bucket because we all know that whoever Chuck gives to will get the best bang for his buck. Lucky me. Though, I might add that the Captain is aiming for the same prestigious title that Chuck carries---watch out! There was the classic "I always give to them" statement made from almost everyone. Get over it.

Without further delay.....the 2011 Anderson Family Christmas

Jennifer--Nick
Jill--The Captain
Danielle--Lydia
Keith--Elizabeth
Sallie--Danielle
The Captain--Melissa
Lydia--Keith
Chuk--Sallie
Melissa--Jill
Nick--Chuck
Elizabeth--Jennifer

I wish we could all be together this year but thankfully our mother is on a sabbatical from weddings.

I love you all! Give my nephews lots of smoochie kisses from their favorite Tia in Lubbock.

Sallie

To Pin or not to Pin

2011-09-26T22:03:00.001-05:00

I'm sure you have heard of pinterest.

It's the new addiction in cyberspace and I'm guilty of spending way too many spare moments drooling over ideas.

That's what pinterest is...just ideas.
Ideas about cooking, sewing, decor, babies, photography, clothes, accessories, exercise...blah blah blah.
It's the best place to dream of something you can't have and think about maybe getting around to possibly try something new.
Eventually.

GREAT ideas. But I'm so tired of "pinning" so many ideas and never doing any of them!

So I put pinterest to the test.
Results to follow..

Pin Test #1: Orange Chicken in the Crockpot

Looks amazingly delicious right?

WRONG.

This is what it actually turned out to be:

And yes, that's chicken.

Not beef.

The directions said to cook it on low for 5-6 hours.

This picture was taken after 6.5 hours (while I was at work).

I came home early to check on it and this is what I found.

Black, dry, orange juice smelling chicken.

It was foul and we opted for some Thai Pepper instead.

Was it worth a try...definitely! I wouldn't have the rights to brag that I burned something in the crockpot if I hadn't tried the recipe!

Pin Test #2: Knotted T-shirt Headband

Looks cute and easy right?

RIGHT!

I actually loved making this headband. I have been looking for something to spice up my shorts and t-shirt/wet pony tail PE teacher uniform and I think this might do the trick!

The Captain was trying to get me to laugh for the picture but I was rather annoyed at his attempts.

But I guess they worked :)

In the end....

You will still find me on pinterest...happily pinning ideas.

If you would like an invitation to Pinterest, let me know and I will send out the evite.

{Sallie}

I'm an Uncle.

2011-09-19T15:30:00.005-05:00

I'm going to try and convince my sister to write about her birth story on here because it was hilarious.

She didn't really know she was going into labor and by the time she got to the hospital, she was a 9.

She is awesome.

And my nephew, Asa, is so adorable. He has curly brown hair and I hear he looks a lot like his Pops.

Did I mention that his Pops almost missed the birth because he is such a good student?

Yes----I must convince her to write about this.

What do you say sis?

In other news, fall is here.

Fall is the best time of year. I think I write about how much I love fall every year around this time so I won't bore you with a list of my favorite fall-whatever.

But I will mention the corn maize.

Corn Maize! Remember this from last year?

And yes, we already bought our tickets, thanks groupon!

My students love fall too. I heard them talking about halloween costumes at lunch the other day and I almost told them what the Captain and I were going as but I didn't want the 4th graders to steal my ideas.

Wouldn't want that to happen now would we??!!

Speaking of 4th graders...one of my students told me the following while twiddling his thumbs like he was in the middle of a really intense video game session:

"playing video games is good for your thumbs because it exercises them"

Unfortunately I still have word vomit as a teacher and I impulsively said, "um...no it doesn't, your thumbs don't need exercise"

Which is a lie...I give my thumbs a workout everyday on pinterest.

I'm sorry dear student. Please forgive me.

By the way...if only I had some little ones:

This is for Asa...who doesn't love a baby burrito?

And my favorite:

As Tara (more like David) would put it...I'm getting baby fever. Better go take my tylenol.

Happy Monday!

{Sallie}

Go here and like it! Spread the word, Women RunLubbock 5k Nov 12!!!

Gurgled.

2011-09-17T23:01:00.001-05:00

Today was splendid:

I mopped my floors.

I did all the laundry and only shrunk a couple shirts.

I ran at RunLubbock.

I made peanut butter and nutella cookies that were...omw...amazing.

I cleaned the window sill of all it's Lubbock grime.

I recycled...or at least tried to.

I pulled pork with my hands wrapped up like Mystic.

I had a gurgle contest.

I went down a slide.

I heard my newest nephew, Asa, make cute noises through the phone.

I saved money with groupon.

I kissed my husband.

Splendid

{Sallie}

The Flashmob.

2011-09-12T11:55:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard of a flashmob? The Oprah show did one and T-mobile did a spoof on one.

Well...we thought we were cool enough to do one as well.

Watch and see:

Happy Monday!

{Sallie}

First kisses

2011-09-06T01:00:00.000-05:00

My little sister was kissed for the first time tonight. She told me all the sweet little details about how they sat on a bench holding hands and then how he turned and kissed her. Pure bliss I tell you. It sounded perfectly romantic which got me thinking about some of my first kisses.

Like when I was 18. I was dating....like actually dating....a really nice guy. You could say he was my first boyfriend. Well, we had been doing this so called dating thing for about a month before we ever puckered up. It happened right in front of my parents house. I remember it well. We pulled up in front of my parents house after an evening out and were chatting in his car when all of a sudden I look over to see the porch lights flickering.

FLICKERING!

It didn't take me long to figure out that my dad was trying to send "subtle" hints that it was time to call it a night.

We both bailed on the sitting in the car thing and stood in the driveway. That's when he kissed me. It was perfectly sweet and like my little sister, I probably went to bed dreaming sweet thoughts about the future.

Well, obviously things didn't work out with that one, but we have stayed friends over the years.

Then came my first kiss with the Captain.

How could I ever forget it.

We had only been "talking" for a couple weeks--long distance in fact--when the Captain decided to make a road trip from Lubbock to Denton to see me. I was ecstatic that he would drive that far to see me.

Then it snowed and the Captain ended up borrowing his roommates 4 wheel drive SUV to make the trip.

Go on....sigh. It's sweet.

The weekend was great. He didn't even tell his parents that he was coming to Denton. He drove straight to my house and decided to take me over to his parents house to surprise them.

Boy were they surprised to see the Captain.

Home.

With a girl.

Very surprised.

I later insulted my then future mother-in-law. Something about overestimating Tupperware. I think they loved me from then on.

Anyway, back to the kissing story.

The next day (Saturday), The Captain took me on a date with is bff and his wife. I texted the wife and asked if the Captain had ever kissed anyone. Looking back, it made no difference and either way, she didn't text me back until the next morning! Too late...but that's jumping ahead.

And you're probably thinking...get on with the kiss already.

Well, the date was great and we ended up back at my house on the couch (which now sits in our living room) chatting about everything and nothing all at the same time.

Till 3am.

(I wish I could stay up that late---geez!)

It was a very important night with very important conversations. The Captain asked me to be official with him and we held hands for the first time.

Obviously it was past curfew and we decided to call it a night.

The Captain got up.

We hugged for what seemed like hours but was probably only 10 seconds and yes we were an arms length away from each other. Ok not really.

Here is where the story gets foggy.

Well---it's clear to me: I walked him to the door and he kissed me!

If you ask the captain, he swears that I walked him to the door and kissed him.

I am still trying to convince him of the truth.

Or at least try and get him to admit to leaning in 50/50.

Anyway, it was so sweet and I think we both leaned up against the door right after sighing like sweet kids should do when they are hopelessly in love.

I loved it.

And things worked out with him in the end.

The end....or should I saw the beginning.

Boy, that was a long story.

{Sallie}

Labor lazy day.

2011-09-05T10:27:00.000-05:00

Good morning friends!

I am alive and doing better than I was. The whole first-year-teachers-get-sick-a-lot thing is true.

The Captain and I are happy it's labor lazy day and we are taking full advantage of it.

We slept in till 8:30---awesome.

My tongue is sticking out.

The Captain went on his normal monday morning newspaper hunt to get some coupons.

He was lucky to get the last paper at United!

Gasp!

Good thing they don't include any coupons on labor day.

wish someone would have mentioned that to us before we bought the paper but hey, good news is I got to read the Target ad!

And the best part about the morning....CREPES!

Banana and nutella are the fav around here.

We ate them so fast we could hardly say "mmmm".

Happy Labor day! Hope you enjoy it---we are!

{Sallie}

RunLubbock: SUCCESS!

2011-08-27T11:46:00.000-05:00

This man i so AMAZING.

He allowed me to "outcome" him on our date night and well into the early morning.

("outcome" is when I get into a to-do list mode and must get a million things done, I typically runover people and someone is bound to get hurt...usually the Captain)

He helped me get ready for RunLubbock's kickoff this morning!

IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!

22 women showed up and we had a great time!

I am so excited about this GROUP!

Hopefully we will have double the numbers next week!

(for more info and pictures, go to www.runlubbock.com)

BIG thanks to the Captain for being so great last night/this morning.

Didn't he do such a great job with the pictures??!!

I'm a teacher.

2011-08-21T22:07:00.000-05:00

I was walking around the track at J.L. Boren Elementary when I decided that I wanted to be a teacher.

I always imagined that being a teacher would look something like this:

A classroom full of desks and alphabet charts.

Me in the front singing a song about multiplication and maybe even a class pet.

I never imagined that being a teacher could look like this:

I think I'm going to love it around here.

Happy 1st Day of School!!!

Wish me luck!

{Sallie...aka Coach Ferguson}

Back Cleavage

2011-08-15T22:06:00.001-05:00

During our impromptu FHE, Joleen and Ashley demanded that I put on my wedding dress because they didn't get to see it 7 months ago.

I warned them.

I did.

Things just aren't like they were 7 months ago.

I told them this.

I have changed---things are different.

I've eaten since then.

Joleen volunteered to help me first, but when uncontrollable laughter took over her body, Ashley had to intervene.

And this is how that went:

Me, on the bed, face first, someone holding and someone zipping...and EVERYONE laughing.

I believe the term "Back Cleavage came out of Joleen's mouth.

And YES.

It did most certainly fit.

I took one lap around the house and when I couldn't hold my breath any longer, that baby came right off---a lot faster than it went on.

And that is why I will be attending the RunLubbock Kickoff Run on August 27th.

What did you do for FHE?

{Sallie}

RunLubbock

2011-08-11T23:16:00.000-05:00

WWW.RUNLUBBOCK.COM

RunLubbock is the soon to be largest women's running group in West Texas! Founded by enthusiastic runners, this group offers a unique and inspiring approach to 5K/10K training.

We believe there is something special about the power of women, especially the power of women who are working together toward the same goal.

All levels of runners and walkers are welcome!

Come join us!

Who is RunLubbock?

Pace Leaders who help you stay on track towards your goals.

Coaches who offer you experienced training tips to help you be safe and successful.

Runners, just like you, who are looking for motivation, a fun environment and success!

We are RunLubbock

TRAIN.RACE.RUN

I am thrilled to be announcing this!

Get excited!

{Sallie}

Whoa Crazy

2011-08-09T01:00:00.005-05:00

I did it.

I went to In-N-Out just like everyone else in the DFW metroplex.

It was crazy.

I even got called crazy while I was there.

Crazy.

The whole adventure was my Dad's idea because he is such a sucker to a good burger and we can almost always convince him of that.

Except my mom did the convincing this time.

We went around 3pm on a Saturday naively thinking that we would avoid the crazies.

This is what we came to.

A {minimum} 45 minute drive-thru line and a pedestrian line outside under a canopy for those brave enough to go inside.

Not only were we some of the brave ones, we were the excited crazy brave ones.

When we were finally ushered inside, we were greeted with another line to the cash register.

We had enough time standing in lines to look up the secret menu.

It's a good thing because "animal style" is the way to go!

Finding a table was also a little bit of crazy.

There weren't any.

And might I add that I was impressed with the diversity of the population in the joint---anyone and everyone from anywhere were there for a taste of the popular west coast burger.

I did what I always do in desperate times.

Got us a table at any cost.

It was simple. I scouted out a table where the people were taking there last bites of burger.

I stood behind it and waited.

Similar to how a vulture waits for his next meal.

But we needed a table so what else was I supposed to do.

And then the Captain, in the middle of the craziness yells out..."WHOA, CRAZY!" to me!

Like I was some kind of crazy person trying desperately to get a table before other vultures got there.

So maybe I was a little crazy but he didn't have to tell the whole world!

Good news: We got a table and no one was injured---not to my knowledge at least.

My meal: Double Double animal style with a side of fries to split with the papa.

I heard the fries were kind of a let down, but I actually enjoyed them a lot. They were crispy and tasty, and there were plenty to split with a friend (or a father).

I was worried about the animal style thing because it's heavy on the mustard, but it was DELICIOUS and I'm so not a mustard person. I highly recommend it. Onions and all.

It was unanimous...the burgers were awesome and cheap for all the hoopla around them.

Total time from getting in line outside to walking out to our car: 36 minutes!

Not bad for all the "WHOA CRAZIES" running around.

The Captain says the following about his experience:

"It was good...I would go back but not if I have to bear fight for another table"

I would bear fight any day, it makes for a much better story :)

{Sallie}

I can't believe I'm about to say this...

2011-08-07T21:16:00.001-05:00

I'm so glad to be back home in Lubbock, Texas.
Seriouly, I never thought I would say that.
I'm so happy to be back, especially since the Captain is finally with me!

After 2 weeks of driving all over Texas, we are both relieved to be back home.
(literally....Mansfield to San Antonio to Mansfield to Denton to Houston to Mansfield to Denton to Mansfield and then all the way back to Lubbock. whew)

My husband is awesome. I know this is a shocker to all of you, but I think he is so great. One of the reasons I think he is so great is because he has dreams that no one else probably has. Like having a wall entirely made of dry-erase board. He used to pin pieces of papers to his office wall with ideas on it since he didn't have a giant dry-erase board. Pretty pathetic, but very creative.
The Captain had a birthday last week and I decided to fulfill this dream by getting him a whiteboard that was almost the size of his office wall. I knew that he would flip about it, but since it was too big to fit in a suitcase (way too big) I kept it a secret for the past few weeks.
It's been killing him.
And I'm happy to report that I never cracked once, he was so surprised to find this in his office when we got home:

The picture doesn't do the size justice. It's clearly taller and wider than the futon.

He LOVED it.

The best part about it: It cost $11.98 at Home Depot.

No joke.

It's panel board that is most often used in showers. I got the tip from my RunLubbock partner Emily when I saw it plastered to her husbands office wall at their house.

(you might be wondering....RunLubbock? Oh, don't worry, I will tell you more about this soon)

And this is what our house looks like 2 hours after getting home.

At least our ceiling was still in tact. (So sorry Kamille!)

And yes, that is Animaniacs on the TV. the Captain also received season 1 of Animaniacs for his birthday from his family. Watching it takes me way back to the days when our house was animaniacs crazed and Melissa and I used to fight over who was going to be dot.

Good times.

Did I mention how happy we were to be back together.?

This week:
I start training for 1st year teachers tomorrow!!!
The Help movie comes out on Wednesday!!!

Happy Sabbath!

{Sallie}

The Unexpected Adventure

2011-08-04T16:00:00.001-05:00

I do apologize for leaving you with a cliffhanger.

I realized yesterday that I kind of left my readers in the dust when it came to my ~~world~~ Texas travels.

Who was I to think that everything would go just as I planned...ha!

2 weeks ago I packed my bags and drove from Lubbock to Dallas super anxious to see my sweet husband after 2 long months apart.

I waited at the airport with lots of Chilean people.

I even got to use what little spanish I know to try and communicate with a fellow non-rev standby passenger like myself. It's funny that an overexaggerated smile/nod means whatever you want it to mean in another language.

Anyway, I got a seat on the plane just fine, which is always a small miracle for a standby passenger.

The plane was full of chilean people waiting to go home.

I was lost in thought about the adventure that was about to ensue.

An hour went by sitting on the plane still parked at the gate.

Another hour went by and I busted out some snacks.

They kept making announcements about some maintenance problem they were trying to fix.

I was hopeful that all would be fine.

The Captain and I were happily making plans via text about our trip.

About a half hour later, the captain (pilot) came on and announced that the flight had been cancelled.

CANCELLED.

CANCELLED!

I immediately start bawling right there on the plane because a cancelled flight is the worst news for a non-rev standby passenger like myself.

Suddenly everyone on that plane becomes standby and all hope of going to Chile evaporated just like that.

I could write about how sad I was, but I think you get the picture.

We quickly started making plans for the Captain to get back sooner than planned and he was able to get on the Sunday night flight which meant I only had to wait 2 more days to see him.

Obviously I survived and monday morning came quickly.

YAY!!! THE CAPTAIN FINALLY CAME HOME!

We quickly tried to recover our stolen honeymoon to Chile.

San Antonio....Chile.....Mars.....Jupiter

We didn't care, we were happy to be together.

(go on...sigh now)

So Instead of a trip to Chile, we took a trip to San Antonio.

&loved every minute of it.

Instead of seafood at the port in Vina del Mar.....

We enjoyed pastries from the czech stop in West, Texas....

and Chips & Salsa on the rivewalk.

(look how happy the Captain is....he is the only one in Texas happy about the 100 degree weather! Seriously, he was loving it compared to the 50 degree weather in Chile)

Instead of walking along the beach bundled up in coats...

We walked along the riverwalk in sandals and shorts.

Instead of saying Feliz Cumpleanos....

we said Happy Birthday to the Captain with a trip to Beni Hana's, Harry Potter VII pt 2 and the biggest dessert I had ever seen.

Instead of taking a boat ride in Valparaiso,

We took a trip to Schlitterbahn and had a BLAST!

Instead of experiencing the culture of Chile...

we experienced culture in Unicorn Country...

...and found a charming little stop for dinner.

The Captain found a groupon for a little cafe in New Branfels.

We were happily surprised by the delicious food, ice cream and free sounds!

And instead of running into old friends from College in Chile.....

We ran into great friends from Lubbock on the riverwalk!

So maybe it wasn't exactly what we planned.

But who cares...it was still a great adventure!

Most importantly...can you find sonic in Chile???

I think not!

More to come soon!

{Sallie}

Finally.

2011-07-21T23:04:00.000-05:00

Remember this?

Now look at this!

I was never so happy to open an envelope.

What a summer it has been.

What a summer it's about to be.

I can't wait to share my adventures with you when I return!

I will {try my best} to update the Chile Blog while we are there.

But...if I don't, I don't want to get nasty emails saying where's my water buffalo, why don't I have a water buffalo.

But I do have very good intentions to post pictures along the way.

Bon Voyage my friends---wish us well in our adventures!

{Sallie}

Tuesday: Fail

2011-07-19T19:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a weird day. I may be jumping the gun here because the day isn't over but I'm willing to take the risk.

Danielle and I decided to splurge and get some delicious Thai Pepper. We called to place our order for pickup.
No answer.
We called again.
No answer.
Switch phones and call again.
No answer.
We finally decided to get our little bums, including the littlest one of all, cute baby Gabriel, into the car and headed over there.
Posted on the door was a sign that read..."Closed from July11-31st"
Rude.
I'm assuming they went on vacation which is great and all, but I was really excited about eating some Pad Thai.
Maybe it's a Thai holiday.
Maybe they just wanted to get out of Lubbock.
Either way I don't blame them for wanting to get away.
I was just feeling a little entitled, like they should have called me personally to tell me they were closing down for a few weeks.

I will be getting away in 3 days!
Sorry to digress.
Back to today.

After the let down of Thai Pepper, we decided to go to Josies for some out-of-this-world chilcken tacos.
On the way, however, we got distracted by the thought of Thai food and made a quick turnaround for Thai Thai...another decent Thai food joint in Lubbock.
It was quite the drive across town but we thought it was worth it.
And then this happened:

SERIOUSLY???
And this, my friends, is when I made the decision never to eat Thai food again in Lubbock on a Tuesday in July.

Don't ask me to reconsider. I've made up my mind and I'm sticking to it.

By the end of this failed attempt at Thai food, it was 2:15pm so we went straight to Sonic across the street to drown our sadness in Diet Coke.
And we got a burger to go with it.

All was well until I walked into my house and it was a bajillion degrees.
My A/C went out.
Yay!
I just marched my little bum over to Danielle's where I have been basking in cool air and good company.

How was your Tuesday?

{Sallie}

I conquered the yeast.

2011-07-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

I grew up eating dinner at 6:00pm. Most days, I would ask my mom as soon as I got home from school, "What's for dinner" to which she would reply, "...oh good, you can set the table..." or something along those lines. Thinking back, it was a mute point because I have never eaten anything from my mother's kitchen that I didn't like.

Oh wait...there was the easy mac (by the way, some kid at camp today told me that her little sister burned easy mac the other day. I laughed and felt a little better about myself)

Or the BBQ rub spaghetti sauce...thanks Ifer!

There is one dinner that is ALWAYS a hit.
ALWAYS.

In fact, one of my brother's best friends always wanted to be informed when we were having this meal so he could accidently drop in.

HOMEMADE PIZZA.

It's a no-fail hit with anybody and I really believe that you can win people's souls with this stuff. I have had a dream for years to know how to make pizza like my mom does. And let me tell you what...I have tried to learn.

Alice taught me one time. It was delicious--honestly, really great pizza. After that night, I never tried it on my own.

Michelle taught me as a "Happy Wedding/Going Away" present. The bread was delicious and could have easily been made into a pizza dough. After that night, I never tried it on my own.

I even think my mom has actually taught me a few times a while back. I don't remember exactly what happened, only that I got distracted by something in the middle of adding this and this and making sure this was there. After, I couldn't remember enough to even attempt to try it on my own.

Thus---I have never successfully made pizza/bread dough.
I'm just too scared. There is always some kind of rule about the YEAST. I think that is the root of my fear. YEAST.

Anyway. I decided a couple weeks ago that it was time to get over this fear and conquer the yeast.

Of course I enlisted the tutoring of my mother. We came up with it on a walk. I was going to learn how to make pizza dough so that the Captain and I could be rich and skinnier.

She took me step by step in her no fail pizza/bread dough.
I paid attention the ENTIRE TIME.
I know, shocking.

We wrote everything down and I was on my way home to try it.

I quickly invited some friends over for homemade pizza...still not having attempted the dough alone.

Today was the day. Pizza day.

I got up at 5:30am....made the dough. FAIL.
It didn't mix at all.
My mom is in the moutains in Utah with no service.

Dump out the first batch, start over. This time adding some water since I assume that we forgot that on the list of ingredients.
FAIL.
It didn't mix at all.

I cry a little because this was what I FEARED ALL ALONG.

I went to the gym and then straight to work.

After taking a breather, I came home to try again.
Suddenly I get a text from my mom telling me that she is in civilization.
2 seconds later..."Mom, the bread it didn't work. I feel dumb. Is there supposed to be water in it?"
Mom: "Yes...oh yes, I forgot. 2 cups."

DING DING DING.

10 minutes later I have SUCCESSFULLY completed 2 batches of pizza dough.
More good news....they actually rose!

I felt like shouting, "TAKE THAT YOU PIECE OF DOUGH!!"

And the best part about the whole thing....IT TASTED DELICIOUS!

{Sallie}

Best Grocery Shopping Experience of my Life. Seriously.

2011-07-13T23:07:00.000-05:00

Today I went grocery shopping.
Today my grocery shopping experience changed my day (maybe my life but I don't want to get over dramatic here).

I was feeling a little lonely. Grocery shopping makes me feel that way these days because it's boring to shop/cook for one person. After a meal of ice cream, another meal of rice and another meal of mac and cheese, I decided that I needed to get over the lonely feeling, buck up and go shopping.

It took me about 30 minutes to make a list that looked like the same list that I always take to the store.
Boring.

And then I had to decide where to go grocery shopping. Wal-mart is always my automatic response, but today, I just didn't think I could handle that place. Bad produce, occasional grouchy people, busy aisles. and lots of walking around. Definitely not what I wanted today.

My only other option was United. United is great, they have awesome produce, friendly workers and cool shopping games to play. I sound like a kid, but really, it's always exciting to go to United. It is slightly more expensive than Wal-mart and since I am one of the cheapest people I know, I tend to settle for Wal-mart.

Not today my friends!

I quickly drove to United before I changed my own mind.

I had about 25 things on my list and I quickly got to it. Milk products on this side....produce on the other side....ooops, forgot something back at the milk side and while I'm at it I might as well get some bananas which are on the produce side...baggies, those are in the middle...call my sister, get a sweet recipe...shop for those ingredients....back to produce, these tomatoes look awesome, and this brocoli is gigantic....forgot about the cheese...now, where's the pepperoni? Ask a friendly staff person, they direct me right to it....oh, look at this awesome stuff.....to the frozen section, pick up some creamy melty goodness and head to the checkout line.

This whole process took me about an hour. I was feeling a bit rushed to get home so I was on the hunt for the shortest line and found 4 open lanes! Holy batman...that would never happen at Wal-mart! (This whole blog post might kill any chance of Wal-mart someday sponsoring seeSallierun, but I'm willing to take the chance).

Open checkout line.
Young man takes my cart and unloads it.
I suddenly decide that I only want 2 of the 4 potatoes in the produce bag and ask him if he would hang onto the ones I don't want. He laughs and says sure!
Young Man: "That reminds me, I run triathlons and someone once told me to eat a raw potato before a big race..."
Me: "Oh yeah! I've heard that! I ran cross country in college and we used to joke about doing that one day. Do you run Tri at Tech?
Young Man: "Yes..."
Then we had a friendly conversation about how we both know several of the same people on the Tri team---one of which is Garrett's BFF in the college of architecture and who recently got back from his Study abroad in Italy.
So then of course we talk about Chile---the Young man would much rather go to Chile over Italy.
Then the bagger boy pipes in about Chile.
He wishes it were 50 degrees here.
Or in Ropes, Texas where he lives.
I almost forgot to pay for my groceries, I was having that good of a time!
Bagger boy walks my groceries out to the car.
Opens the door and loads the groceries into my car while telling me about playing football in Ropes, Texas.
Opens MY door and then wishes me well on my travels to Chile.

Now....tell me if you have EVER had that kind of experience at Wally World?

I would pay extra any day to have that kind of grocery shopping experience.

Back to blogging!
{Sallie}

sweet summertime

2011-07-05T22:10:00.000-05:00

Who has time to blog when you are hanging out with this crowd?

**taking a little R&R this week at my parents house and loving every minute of it**

Happy belated 4th!

{Sallie}

An every day love

2011-06-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

Marriage is a lot of daily choices.

It happens one day at a time.

It's waking up everyday and choosing to love the person next to you.

Everyday deciding what matters most, them or something/someone else.

Everyday choosing them.

Today is our 6 month-iversary.

The Captain and I have never made a big fuss about our monthiversaries.

As significant as they are, it's only one day out of forever.

As far as I can tell, yesterday was just as great as today and tomorrow will be even better.

I love the Captain so much.

The past 6 months have been awesome. There are good days and hard days. Days where we laugh and days where we cry. Days where we don't understand each other at all and days where we don't have to say anything to communicate.

Most days are filled with lots of hand holding, winking, sweet kisses and immature jokes.

Thank goodness we still have a gazillion more days to choose to enjoy.

Happy 6 months my love!

I miss you.

{Sallie}